Where there are DoView links between steps, you also have the option of drawing in lines (lines with arrows at their ends) as an additonal way of showing the link exists.

 

For basic information on making links, read the Section on Links. For information on arranging link lines see the Section on Link lines - arranging.

 

Tip: Remember, it is not possible to have a drawn line without also having an underlying DoView link. However, you can have an underlying  DoView link without also having it also represented by a drawn line.

 

Tip: When working with drawn lines, you should first make sure that you are in the right viewing mode. From the View menu select the Show links and drawn lines mode. This mode will show both underlying DoView links and any drawn lines. For further information see the Section on Views for Links and Lines.

 

Drawing link lines

To draw lines for links, select the Insert link, and draw straight line mode from the small black down-arrow to the right of the Link Tool on the Too Bar to put in straight line links. To put in bent line links select Insert link, and draw bent line.

 

 

The Link tool icon changes between three icons - the one for Insert link only without a drawn line; the icon for Insert link, and draw straight line; and the icon for Insert link, and draw bent line depending on which option has been selected from  the drop down menu beneath the arrow next to the Link Tool. The three possible icons are shown below:

                                     

 

       

 

Links are made by selecting the step you want to link from, left clicking on the small blue square in the middle of the selected step and dragging your mouse out and over the step you want to link to. Alternative you can just select a link and hold down Alt as you do a left-mouse drag out and over to any step you want to link to. For more information on making links see the Section on Links.

 

Inserting different types of links

If a link is made when the Insert link only option is selected from the Link Tool on the toolbar, a DoView link only is inserted as in the left-hand side of the screenshot below. However, if a link is made using the Insert link, and draw line mode (either for a straight or a bent line link), a link and a drawn line is inserted at the same time, as in the right hand side of the screenshot below.

 

 

               

Automatically inserting links

One of the things that distinguishes DoView from standard drawing software is that in DoView there can be a link between steps even where there is no drawn line and arrow. This means that the user can automatically draw as line links, underlying multiple links between steps. So for instance, DoView links can be made between steps on various pages. These steps can then be cloned onto another page (say a large poster-sized page) and  the pre-existing links between steps can be automatically drawn in. Link lines automatically inserted by Right-clicking on a step > Draw every link line. They can be erase in a similar manner (Right-clicking on a step > Erase every link line). The screenshot on the left below shows the pre-existing DoView links and the screenshot on the right shows how the link lines have been automatically drawn in after Draw every link line has been selected from a Right-click on the step.

 

 

DoView knows that there is a link between steps even when there is no drawn line link. This means that if steps

 

Erasing links

Right clicking on a link line, or a DoView link, shows a menu as in the left-hand section of the screenshot below. Selecting Erase Line only gets rid of the link line, but does not delete the underlying DoView link as shown in the middle section of the screenshot. A line can also be quickly erased by re-dragging from the blue box in the center of a selected step out and across the step to which it currently has a drawn line. Selecting Delete Line deletes both the underlying DoView link and its drawn line as shown in the right hand section of the screenshot.