Patent ID: 7318199

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of automatically re-arranging nodes in a display, the method comprising: displaying a plurality of nodes in a first configuration on a display, wherein each node has associations with one or more nodes, each association being represented by a physical connector between the associated nodes on the display; and automatically re-arranging the displayed nodes to a second configuration such that a total length of all connectors is minimized and such that a number of overlapping connectors is minimized, automatically re-arranging the displayed nodes to a second configuration including: iteratively, for each node: a) re-positioning the node to one of a plurality of pre-designated coordinates so as to form a temporary configuration; b) performing a relaxation process on the temporary configuration; c) determining a number of overlapping connectors in the temporary configuration; d) if the number of overlapping connectors is less than a previous number of overlapping connectors, storing the pre-designated coordinates as new coordinates for the node; e) repeating a) through d) for each of the remaining plurality of pre-designated coordinates, wherein the coordinates for all other nodes in the first configuration are used during steps a) through d); and thereafter determining the second configuration using the new coordinates stored in d), if any, for each node.