Bug 131278 - feature request: dynamic polyline connector connection lines between objects
Summary: feature request: dynamic polyline connector connection lines between objects
Status: RESOLVED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: calligraflow
Classification: Applications
Component: general (other bugs)
Version First Reported In: unspecified
Platform: unspecified Linux
: NOR wishlist
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Yue Liu
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2006-07-24 08:38 UTC by Marc Schoechlin
Modified: 2026-05-20 23:45 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

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Description Marc Schoechlin 2006-07-24 08:38:16 UTC
Version:           1.5.0 (using KDE 3.5.2, Kubuntu Package 4:3.5.2-0ubuntu18 dapper)
Compiler:          Target: i486-linux-gnu
OS:                Linux (i686) release 2.6.15-26-686

Thanks for writing this really cool program.

There is a feature which i am missing - dynamic polyline connections between objects. (sorry I have no better description for this)

What are dynamic polyline connector connection lines ?
If you are creating a UML diagram you typically use a polyline connector connectors to connect depended objects. These connectors are ancored at certain connectors of the envolved objects. 
If you now change the location of one of the involved objects i.e. if you move a object around the other object the connection line is drawed through the
object. This is typicall not what i need and i have to replace the endpoint of
the line.

What could be a better solution for this ?
If you connect two objects by using a "dynamic polyline connector connection" the connectors of the line are placed automatically in a way that:

 - the connector is placed on the edge of the shape
 - the distance between the connector on the shape edge and the next waypoint of the line is minimized (this waypoint could also be the connector on the shape edge of the other object)

I hope my description was not to confused :-)

You want to see this in practical use ? Have a look at TCM: (http://wwwhome.cs.utwente.nl/~tcm/)

 1. apt-get install tcm
 2. Open a "Generic Diagram"
 3. Click on a shape
 4. Create two shapes by clicking in the drawing area
 5. Connect the shapes by:
    - click in the first shape
    - hold down middle mouse button
    - move mouse pointer to the center of the other object
    - release middle mouse button
 6. Move one object around the other object and enjoy it :-)
Comment 1 Yue Liu 2013-12-07 06:25:28 UTC
I'm not sure what you mean and can't figure out how to connect shapes in tcm. After I middle-clicked a shape and start moving and crossed shape boundary, connection line disappered. Please provide more info.
Comment 2 Philippe Cloutier 2013-12-07 07:02:00 UTC
This is a very simple request (although probably harder to implement). Everyone who has used Kivio for analysis must have realized this issue pretty quickly.

When you link 2 shapes, you need to anchor the 2 ends of the connector. You need to manually select which anchor to use at each end depending on the relative position of the shapes. For example, in general, if A is above B, you will connect A via A's bottom anchor and you will connect B via B's top anchor.

While automatic initial anchoring would be great, more annoying than having to locate the anchors initially is having to re-anchor connectors when shapes move relatively. For example, if you move B to the right of A, you will normally re-anchor both ends. This makes maintenance of Kivio diagrams significantly more time-consuming than it could be.

This issue apparently persists in Calligra Flow 2.6.
Once Flow knows how to automatically anchor, the dynamic part should be easy to implement.
Comment 3 Justin Zobel 2021-03-09 05:29:15 UTC
Thank you for the bug report.

As this report hasn't seen any changes in 5 years or more, we ask if you can please confirm that the issue still persists.

If this bug is no longer persisting or relevant please change the status to resolved.
Comment 4 Philippe Cloutier 2026-05-20 23:45:43 UTC
"ms-kdebugs": Please clarify how this was fixed.

Calligra Flow was retired, with the plan to merge it into Karbon: https://frinring.wordpress.com/2015/10/24/karbon-3-alpha-also-pure-qt5kf5-now/
But I'm afraid Karbon still lacks proper support for diagrams.

🅭🄍: https://www.philippecloutier.com/Common+infrastructure+licensing#its