Map controls and styling
In short: The stage controls sit in the left sidebar under the map list: Recenter, Zoom in (+), Zoom out (-), Flip, Rotate clockwise and Rotate anti-clockwise. To change how the map looks, click the Map configuration button (the last button at the bottom of the right-hand panel). It opens Node Config, Node Style, Edge Config, Edge Style, Cluster Style, Map Style and Thresholds. SciNodes remembers your choices for each map, and Reset all to defaults in Map Style undoes them.
Move around the map
| Control | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Recenter | Left sidebar | Fits the whole map back in view. Greyed out when it already fits. |
| Zoom in (+) / Zoom out (-) | Left sidebar | Zooms. You can also press + or - when you aren't typing. |
| Flip | Left sidebar | Mirrors the map. |
| Rotate clockwise / Rotate anti-clockwise | Left sidebar | Turns the map in 45° steps. |
| Mouse | Stage | Scroll to zoom. Drag empty space to move around. Drag a node to move it. |
| Hide panel / Show panel | Edge of the right-hand panel | Collapses or reopens the panel. Widen panel makes it wider. |
The left sidebar also shows node, edge and cluster counts, the Delete map and Properties buttons, and the Composition list of clusters. See Reading a map and Map folders and properties.
Open the configuration panel
- Open a map.
- Click the Map configuration button, the last button at the bottom of the right-hand panel (tooltip "Show the map config").
- Click a section name to expand it.
- Click the button again to go back to the map overview, or click any node to see its details.
Node Config
| Option | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Weightage | Set when the map was built | Opens Node Weightage: search the measures, pick one and click Apply. The current one is marked Applied. See Node weightage metrics. |
| Scale variance | Middle of the slider | How strongly the measure spreads node sizes apart. Locked when every node has the same value. |
Node Style
| Option | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Button | Button, Point, Block, Square or Star. Block shows each node as a text card. |
| Size | 1 | Overall node size. With Block it becomes Text size. |
| Labeling & length | On, 100 characters per line, wrapping on | Turns labels on or off, sets characters per line before a label wraps (∞ means default width), and toggles wrapping. |
| Flag labels | Off | Country maps only. Adds flags to country labels. |
| X-Ray | Off | Makes nodes see-through so you can see what's underneath. Highlighted nodes stay solid. |
Edge Config
| Option | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Adaptive density | On | When zoomed out, only the strongest links show (every node keeps its strongest). Zooming in reveals more. Off draws every link at every zoom. |
| Initial edges | 1,000 for most maps | How many of the strongest links show at the opening view, from 100 to 100,000. Needs Adaptive density on. |
| Reveal rate | 1.5 | How fast zooming in reveals more links, from 1.2 to 3. 2 keeps the on-screen density constant. |
| Weightage | Set when the map was built | Opens Edge Weightage to pick what edge thickness measures. |
| Scale variance | Middle of the slider | How strongly the measure spreads edge widths apart. |
While you zoom, the counts may briefly read "N of M edges". The rest appear as you zoom in.
Edge Style
| Option | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Straight | Straight or Curved. |
| Curvature | 0.25 | How much curved edges bend. Shown for Curved. |
| Color | Gradient | Gradient blends the colors of the two ends. Cluster uses cluster colors. Grayscale uses gray. Uniform uses one color you choose with Pick Color. |
Cluster Style
Click the Color Palette strip to open the Color Palette dialog.
| Tab | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Analyze | Bright, high-contrast palettes. Aurora is the default. |
| Focus | Colors only the largest or smallest clusters and grays the rest. Choose Largest or Smallest under Focus on. |
| Publish | Softer palettes for figures. |
| Accessible | Palettes designed for color-vision deficiencies. |
| Custom colors (palette icon) | Set a color for each cluster. Reset all overrides removes them. |
You can also open the dialog by clicking the colored bar in Composition.
Map Style
| Option | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Stage Theme | Dark | Dark or Light background for the map, separate from the app theme. |
| Reset all to defaults | — | Resets every style and configuration for this map. |
Reset all to defaults asks "Reset all styles and configurations?" and explains: "This will revert every map style and configuration to its default — including node shape, size, labels, weights, edge style, color mode, cluster palette, focus mode, custom cluster colors, and stage inversion." Thresholds, the timeline and the hover effect go back to their defaults too. Cluster names you typed are kept. Click Reset to defaults to confirm.
Thresholds
These only hide items from view. Nothing is deleted, and you can change them any time.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Nodes | Shows only the top N nodes, ranked by their weight. |
| Edges | Shows only the N strongest edges. |
| Omit isolated nodes | Hides nodes left with no visible edge. The label names the node type, for example Omit isolated terms. |
Most maps open showing at most 5,000 edges, with isolated nodes hidden. The reset button next to Nodes or Edges shows all of them again. The overview panel lists active thresholds under View, for example "Top 5,000 co-occurrences".
Tips
- For a manuscript figure, try Stage Theme Light, a Publish palette and Curved edges, then export the map.
- If the map looks like a hairball, lower Initial edges or set an Edges threshold.
- Turn on X-Ray when nodes overlap in a dense cluster.
Troubleshooting
- Weightage is greyed out: "Available once the map finishes saving". The map is still building or being saved. Wait a moment.
- "Couldn't load weight metrics. Please try again later." The list of measures didn't load. Close the dialog and try again.
- Scale variance is locked: "These nodes are all one size — pick a node weight metric to give this something to spread". Pick a measure under Weightage first.
FAQ
Do my style changes affect my collaborators?
Style settings are remembered per map for you. Saving or exporting a map doesn't change anyone else's view.
Can I undo a style change?
Change the setting back, or use Reset all to defaults. Some changes to an open map, such as resetting styles, also appear in the Undo button in the left sidebar.
Why do some edges disappear when I zoom out?
Adaptive density shows only the strongest links when zoomed out. Turn it off under Edge Config to draw every link at every zoom.