This topic provides an overview of the configurable aspects of the connections of the xamDiagram™ control.
The following topics are prerequisites to understanding this topic:
The following table explains briefly the configurable aspects of the diagram connections and maps them to the properties that configure them. Further details are available after the table.
There are two possible methods for configuring the start and end points of diagram connections in the xamDiagram control:
Relative – by specifying the nodes to connect to – the start and the end node, respectively.
This approach requires associating the connection with a start and end node; in this case, the start and end points of the connection are controlled by these nodes (When the node is relocated, the connection adjusts automatically.). * Absolute – by specifying the coordinates of the connection’s start and end points on the diagram space.
A mixed approach, i.e. specifying a node at one of the ends of the connection and coordinates for the other end, is allowed, too.
The caps of a diagram connection are the shapes that indicate its start and end. By default the start of a connection has no cap and its end is a filled arrow cap.
The xamDiagram provides a number of pre-defined shapes for the caps. (See the Visual Elements Overview ( xamDiagram ) topic for details.) A pre-defined cap is selected through the StartCapType/ EndCapType properties. These properties accept as a value the respective cap shapes available as a DiagramConnectionCapType enumeration. When using one of the pre-defined cap types, you can additionally specify the cap size through the StartCapSize/ EndCapSize properties.
If you need entirely custom caps, a custom Style with target type of DiagramConnectionCapPresenter can be set to the StartCapStyle/ EndCapStyle properties. In this, style any custom ControlTemplate can be specified for achieving the desired look.