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Online Fractal Map
User Guide |
Contents
1. Introduction2. Viewing Fractal Maps through a Web Browser
2.1 The Fractal Map Internet Explorer Plug-in
2.1.1 Internet Explorer Security Settings
2.2 The Fractal Map Mozilla Plug-in
2.3 The Fractal Map Flash Viewer
2.4 The Fractal Map AJAX Viewer
3. Using Fractal Maps
3.1 Fractal Map Actions
3.2 The Context Menu
3.2.1 Navigation
3.2.2 Display Settings
3.2.3 Control Settings
3.2.4 About
4. Further Information
1. Introduction
Fractal Maps provide a revolutionary improvement in the visualization and navigation of complex or fast-moving data and allows the user to:
- Access information more quickly
- Analyze it more accurately
- Understand it more thoroughly
- Make quicker, better informed decisions as a result
A number of attempts have been made to address the issue of visualizing large data sets. Of these Fractal Maps provide by far the most compelling solution. The key features of the Fractal Mapping approach that make this technology so powerful are:
- Intuitive, patented layout combined with colour-coding and other visual cues provides an instant view of the data, both overview and detail
- Reactive labels and click-and-drill interaction make investigation and navigation through the data effortless and effective
- Applicability right up to the very largest data sets – the interface can present hundreds of millions of items in an accessible way
- Clear screen real estate for intermediate levels allows these nodes to be selected easily on screen and enables intermediate summary values to be conveyed simply and accurately
- Broadly applicable concept provides unified means of access for a wide range of navigation and analysis scenarios
In addition, Fractal Map products offer highly refined application controls to increase the usefulness of the interface and make the creation, fine-tuning and distribution of Fractal Maps as simple as possible.
2. Viewing Fractal Maps through a Web Browser
Fractal Maps can be viewed in a browser using one of a number of client-side viewing technologies, collectivley known as the Fractal Map Client Web Stack. The various client-side Fractal Map Viewers support a range of interaction and functionality and each is best suited to use in a different environment. The Fractal Map Client Web Stack consists of the following Fractal Map viewing technologies:
- Browser based plug-ins (for Internet Explorer and Mozilla based browsers only).
- Adobe Flash based Viewer.
- AJAX based Viewer.
The use of a range of viewing technologies ensures that Fractal Maps deployed over the web can be accessed by as wide an audience as possible. For example, the browser based plug-ins provide the richest user experience when viewing a Fractal Map. However, the need to install a plug-in on the client machine issues may prevent some users from accessing a Fractal Map in this way (for example, enterprise security policies often prohbit the installation of such plug-ins). These users are provided with the additional option of viewing the Fractal Map using the already widely deployed Adobe Flash Player plug-in or pure HTML and Javascript (as used by traditional web pages). Whilst these methods do not support all of the features of the Fractal Map Browser Plug-ins, the core benefits described in the Introduction are still available.
When initially viewing a Fractal Map in your browser, the most appropriate viewer will be automatically selected, based on the following criteria:
- If a Fractal Map Browser Plug-in is installed, it will be used.
- If the Adobe Flash Player is installed, the Fractal Map Flash Viewer will be used.
- The Fractal Map AJAX Client will be used in all other cases.
Regardless of the automatically selected default viewer, the links located at the bottom of the page can be used to select another viewer.
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The links to switch the selected viewer
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Selecting one of these links will automatically launch the appropriate installation process before displaying the Fractal Map if any of the required components are not installed . The individual installation process for each viewer is described in the sections the follow.
Whilst the core features of the components of the Fractal Map Client Web Stack are the same, there are some inevitable differences in the user experience when using each of the viewers. The remainder of this document is based largely on the use of the Fractal Map Internet Explorer Plug-in, although any major differences with the other viewers are highlighted in the text.
2.1 The Fractal Map Internet Explorer Plug-in
Along with the Fractal Map Mozilla Plugin, the Fractal Map Internet Explorer Plug-in provides the highest degree of interactivity available when viewing a Fractal Map in a Browser. The plug-in most be installed locally on your PC In order to provide this degree of interactivity. The plug-in requires Windows NT 4.0 or above and Internet Explorer 5.0 or above and can not be used in any other browser or operating system environment. Select an alternative Fractal Map Viewer if your system does not meet these requirements. The first time you attempt to view a Fractal Map with the Fractal Map Internet Explorer Plug-in, you will be prompted to install it.
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Installation screen for the |
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Installation screen for the |
2.1.1 Internet Explorer Security Settings
Depending on your Internet Explorer security settings, you may not be presented with the install options shown above, or you may encounter problems when attempting to install or view the Fractal Map. To change the Active-X settings in your browser, select "Internet Options" from the "Tools" menu. Click on the "Security" tab and then the "Custom Level" button. Scroll down to the "ActiveX controls and plug-ins" section. The recommended Active-X settings for viewing Fractal Maps in Internet Explorer are as follows:
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2.2 Mozilla based browsers (Mozilla, Firefox, Netscape)
Fractal Maps can be displayed in Mozilla, Firefox or Netscape through the use of The Fractal Map Mozilla Plug-in. This plug-in provides the same degree of interaction as the Fractal Map Internet Explorer Plug-in for Mozilla based browsers. When you first attempt to view a Fractal Map using the Mozilla plugin, the Mozilla "Software Installation" dialog will be displayed, to prompt you to install the plug-in.
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Click on "Install Now" to install the plug-in |
You may be required to restart your computer after installing the Fractal Map Mozilla Plugin. If this is the case, restart your computer and navigate back to the Fractal Map which will load in your browser.
2.3 Fractal Map Flash Viewer
For browsers that do not support the Fractal Map Internet Explorer/Mozilla Plug-ins, or whose security environment does not permit the installation of either plug-in, the Fractal Map Flash Viewer may provide a suitable alternative. The Fractal Map Flash Viewer uses the widley deployed Adobe Flash player to provide interaction with the Fractal Map. Whilst the functionality is slightly reduced when compared to the Internet Explorer/Mozilla plug-ins, the use of Adobe Flash technology means that there is a greater chance the the components required to view a Fractal Map using the Flash Player are already installed on your system.
Interet Explorer and Firefox users who wish to use the Fractal Map Flash Viewer, but do not currently have the Adobe Flash Player installed will be prompted to install the Adobe Flash player in a similar manner to the installation of the Fractal Map Internet Explorer and Mozilla Plug-ins described above. Users of other browsers may need to check for support for their browser. Details of Adobe Flash Player Browser support can be found at the Adobe Website.
2.4 Fractal Map AJAX Viewer
The Fractal Map AJAX Viewer provides the widest possible browser and platform support for displaying Fractal Maps. Any browser that supports Javascript and AJAX can view Fractal Maps using the AJAX Viewer. This client is the default if none of the plug-ins are installed or supported on your system.
3. Using Fractal Maps
To explain the standard functionality of a Fractal Map, we will refer to a Fractal Map of a website originally published by Fractal:Edge. Each circle represents a page in the site starting with the largest, outer circle representing the homepage. If there are further links from that page they will be shown as smaller circles within it. By moving your mouse over a circle and "hovering" over it (by keeping the mouse still) for a short time, you will see labels appear to show you the titles of the relevant page (at 12 o'clock) and the pages it is linked to.
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The mouse is initially positioned outside the Fractal Map |
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The mouse is moved over the largest circle ("Fractal:Edge Sitemap") which becomes highlighted - In this case the highlight is indicated by the red colour |
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The mouse is moved over "Solutions" |
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| The mouse is moved over "Case Studies" |
As well as highlighting circles, you can also highlight labels by clinking and holding down the mouse button to "drag" onto any of the labels or by moving your mouse in one smooth action and stopping when the cursor is positioned over a label.
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Click and hold down the mouse button to "drag" onto labels, or just move the mouse in a smooth action so it is positioned over the label |
When using the AJAX client, the circles will not be highlighted as described and a label will only be displayed for the circle over which the mouse is hovering.
3.1 Fractal Map Actions
With the Fractal:Edge Sitemap, single-clicking on a circle performs an Open action - in this case the open action loads the page associated with the circle into another browser window.
There are two other actions associated with a Fractal Map: a Zoom action which enlarges the circle and will allow further structure to be shown if previously hidden, and an Explore action which performs both a Zoom and Open action.
This particular implementation of a Fractal Map has a relatively small number of items, all of which can be seen from the top level. Due to this a Zoom action has not been assigned to either a single or double mouse-click. The Zoom action along with other actions and settings can be accessed by right-clicking on a circle and selecting "Zoom" from the context menu.
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Right-clicking on an area of the Fractal Map brings up the context menu |
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Selecting the "Zoom" option enlarges the selected circle and any circles within it |
When you are zoomed in, you can see the route you have taken by looking at the bars to the left and right of the map. Clicking on one of these bars has the same effect as clicking on a circle in the Fractal Map.
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The parent bar behind the largest circle shows the path to the
current base (or largest) circle. In this screenshot, the "Solutions" bar (the level immediately above "Case Studies") is highlighted |
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The mouse is moved up another level to highlight the Fractal:Edge |
In this example, to move back to the top level you would right-click on the "Fractal:Edge Sitemap" bar and select "Zoom".
3.2 The Context Menu
The Context Menu is accessed by right clicking anywhere on the Fractal Map, its
labels or associated bars. The Flash and AJAX Fractal Map Viewers only support a limited
set of options on the context menu.
However, when using a Fractal Map Browser Plug-in, you can use this menu for:
3.2.1 Navigation
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Zoom: |
Changes the focus of the Fractal Map. |
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Open: |
Opens the associated webpage in another browser window. |
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Explore: |
A combination of the Zoom and Open actions, changes the focus of the Fractal Map and opens the webpage. |
3.2.2 Changing various Fractal Map and Display Settings
| Outlined Highlight: |
As described above, when you highlight a circle in the Fractal Map, the circle changes colour. By default, the entire circle (not including any sub-circles) is filled, giving a nice bold highlight (in this example red). However, with the "Outlined Highlight" option you can choose to have the highlighted circle simply outlined with the highlight colour rather than filled. Sometimes it is useful to be able to see the colour of a circle even when it is highlighted. To toggle outlined highlighting on or off, select the "Outlined Highlight" option. |
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Fractal Map with "Outlined Highlight" turned off |
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Fractal Map with "Outlined Highlight" turned on |
| Transparent Base: |
When this option is selected, the base circle - the largest outermost circle, is transparent. This option is provided primarily for aesthetic purposes, although it may assist your focus on the contents of a given area. This option is turned off by default, to toggle the display of the base circle on or off, select the "Transparent Base" option. |
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Fractal Map with "Transparent Base" turned off |
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Fractal Map with "Transparent Base" turned on |
| Show Icons: |
Icons can be a useful visual hint about the contents of a circle. In this example, by default, the root (top level) icon is set to the Fractal:Edge icon, whereas all other items are set to a shortcut icon indicating that each circle represents a link to a web page. This setting is turned on by default, to toggle the icons on and off, select the "Show Icons" option. |
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Fractal Map with "Show Icons" turned on |
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Fractal Map with "Show Icons" turned off |
| Show Tooltips: |
Tooltips can be configured to display further information about a given circle in the Fractal Map. The Fractal:Edge Sitemap only uses a very simple tooltip displaying the url of the associated circle, which is turned off by default. To toggle tooltips on or off, select the "Show Tooltips" option. |
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Fractal Map with a very basic tooltip showing the url of the
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| Animated Zoom: |
When you change the focus of the Fractal Map, you can choose to see an animation of the zooming process. If you are zooming in, for example, you will see the circle that you have selected to be the new focus gradually getting larger and larger until it fills the whole area of the Fractal Map. Apart from looking pretty, the animation can also help you to maintain a sense of position within the file structure. You can choose between "Fast", "Slow", or if you feel time is of the essence and you want to minimize the wait each time you change the focus, you can simply turn off the Animation by selecting "None". |
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| Themes: |
A Fractal Map can be configured with various themes. A theme can specify attributes of the Fractal Map including general circle colours, highlight and outline colours, label and text colours, background colours etc. In the Fractal:Edge sitemap example, only the background colours of the Fractal Map vary for the defined themes, the default is "White". To change the theme, select on of the colour settings from the "Themes" menu. |
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Fractal Map with the "White" Theme |
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Fractal Map with the "Black" Theme |
| Shaders: |
Shaders are the shape which are applied to the circles in the Fractal Map. Listed below are examples of the five standard shaders. |
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Fractal Map with "Emboss" Shader settings |
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Fractal Map with "Smartie" Shader settings |
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Fractal Map with "Silk" Shader settings |
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Fractal Map with "Glass" Shader settings |
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Fractal Map with "Cone" Shader settings |
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General The General shader settings apply to all circles in the Fractal Map, with the exception of the Leaf Items and Last Trail Shaders described below. |
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Leaf Items and Last Trail Shaders In addition to the General shading settings, there are specific settings for "Leaf Items" and "Last Trail". Leaf Items are circles in the Fractal Map that do not contain any further items. The Last Trail shows the path to the last item that was selected. If the Leaf Item or Last Trail settings are set to "Default", the General shader settings are applied. If not, the relevant circles will be assigned the selected shaders. |
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Fractal Map with the "General" Shader set to "Emboss" and the
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Fractal Map with the "General" Shader set to "Emboss" and the |
3.2.3 Change the Fractal Map Control Settings
| Sticky Labels: |
When this option is enabled, a slight delay occurs before hiding the labels when the mouse pointer is moved from the highlighted circle. This makes it possible to move the mouse pointer smoothly over the labels to select one. Turning this option off causes the labels to change instantly as you move the mouse pointer and change the highlight. As such, turning the "Sticky Labels" off gives a more instant response to mouse movements over the Fractal Map. In order to select the labels, you must click and hold the mouse button and then drag the mouse pointer outside of the highlighted circle and over a label and release in order to select it. You can either drag the mouse pointer with the left mouse button in which case you will initiate an open action on the highlighted label, or with the right mouse button in which case the context menu for the highlighted label will be displayed. |
| Double-Click Explore: |
This option concerns the way in which the Fractal Map reacts to clicks with the left mouse button. Under normal circumstances the behavior of the Double-Click Explore option is described in the table below:
In this case of the Fractal:Edge Sitemap, however, and for many web based Fractal Maps, the Double-Click explore option is often ignored and a single-click performs an Explore action (that is a Zoom and Open action), though this depends on the specific configuration of the Fractal Map. In this case the behavior of the "Double-Click Explore" option is:
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3.2.4 Learn more About Fractal Maps and their
terms of use
4. Further Information
For further information, please refer to the following links:
Online Fractal Map Examples
Terms of Use for Online Fractal Maps
Fractal Map Solutions
Fractal Map Products