Creating a Chart in Analyst's Notebook

Creating Your First Chart

Creating a chart in Analyst's Notebook is the first step in visualizing relationships and conducting analysis. This process involves setting up a new chart, adding entities, creating links between them, and organizing your visualization effectively.

Starting a New Chart

To create a new chart in Analyst's Notebook:

1. Launch i2 Analyst's Notebook
2. Select "File" > "New" or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+N
3. Choose a chart template if prompted, or start with a blank chart
4. Set up your chart properties, including page size and orientation

Adding Entities to Your Chart

Entities represent the objects of interest in your analysis, such as people, organizations, events, or locations. To add entities:

1. Select the appropriate entity type from the palette on the left side of the screen
2. Click on the chart where you want to place the entity
3. Enter the entity's identity and label information in the dialog box
4. Add any additional attributes or properties as needed
5. Click "OK" to create the entity

Creating Links Between Entities

Links represent relationships between entities. To create links between entities on your chart:

1. Select the link tool from the palette
2. Click on the first entity (the source)
3. Drag to the second entity (the target) and release
4. Enter the link's identity and label information in the dialog box
5. Select the appropriate link type to represent the relationship
6. Add any additional attributes or properties as needed
7. Click "OK" to create the link

Organizing Your Chart

As you add more entities and links, organizing your chart becomes important for clarity and analysis:

• Use the Auto Layout feature to automatically arrange entities
• Manually position entities by dragging them to appropriate locations
• Group related entities together to show clusters or subnetworks
• Use theme lines to organize entities by common characteristics
• Adjust the zoom level to focus on specific areas of interest

Saving and Managing Your Chart

Once you've created your chart, it's important to save and manage it properly:

1. Select "File" > "Save" or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+S
2. Choose a location and filename for your chart
3. Select the appropriate file format (.anb is the standard format)
4. Consider using version numbers in filenames for tracking changes
5. Regularly save your work to prevent data loss