Direct Visual Editing of Node Attributes in Graphs

• Main Authors: Christian Eichner, Stefan Gladisch, Heidrun Schumann, Christian Tominski
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-10-01
• Series: Informatics
• Subjects: graph visualization; direct manipulation; editing
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2227-9709/3/4/17

There are many expressive visualization techniques for analyzing graphs. Yet, there is only little research on how existing visual representations can be employed to support data editing. An increasingly relevant task when working with graphs is the editing of node attributes. We propose an integrated visualize-and-edit approach to editing attribute values via direct interaction with the visual representation. The visualize part is based on node-link diagrams paired with attribute-dependent layouts. The edit part is as easy as moving nodes via drag-and-drop gestures. We present dedicated interaction techniques for editing quantitative as well as qualitative attribute data values. The benefit of our novel integrated approach is that one can directly edit the data while the visualization constantly provides feedback on the implications of the data modifications. Preliminary user feedback indicates that our integrated approach can be a useful complement to standard non-visual editing via external tools.