Untangle (Reduce Crossed Links)

Untangle is a layout tool that reduces the number of relationship links that cross each other on a diagram, by repositioning entities that connect to the same targets.

The Problem It Solves

Relationship arrows on an ownership diagram usually all flow the same way — by default, downward. That works cleanly when each entity's connections are simple. It breaks down when two or more entities at the same level connect to the same entities below them: their links have nowhere to go but through each other.

A common example: two people who are joint shareholders of the same three companies. Husband and wife each hold shares in Company A, Company B, and Company C. Laid out naively, both people sit in a column above the three companies, and their six shareholding links cross repeatedly trying to reach the same targets.

What Untangle Does

Untangle looks for groups of entities that share an identical set of connections — like the husband and wife in the example above, both connecting to the same three companies — and, where it measurably reduces crossings, repositions them so their links no longer cross.

For the husband-and-wife example, the layout that removes the crossings puts the shared companies between the two people rather than below both of them: one person stays above the companies as usual, while the other moves to a level below them. That person's shareholding links still represent the same relationship — they hold shares in the company — but now run upward to reach it, against the diagram's usual top-to-bottom flow, because they've been placed on the far side of what they connect to. Untangle can also resolve the same crossings by keeping both people at the same level and placing them either side of the companies instead — it uses whichever arrangement measurably removes more crossings.

This means Untangle can move an entity to a different level in the diagram, not only sideways within its current one. It works along whichever direction the diagram flows — top-to-bottom by default, or left-to-right, right-to-left, or bottom-to-top if you've changed Direction — repositioning entities along that axis. It never changes what a relationship means or which entity it points from and to; it only changes where the connected entities sit, which can change how the link looks on screen.

What You'll See

Turn on Untangle, then trigger a layout run (see How to Change Diagram Layout).
If an improvement is found, affected entities move to less-crossing positions and the layout is applied.
If Untangle can't find an arrangement that reduces crossings, it says so — you'll see No improvement found under the checkbox — and the layout is left completely unchanged. A checked Untangle box is always safe to leave on: it never makes a diagram worse.

How to Turn On Untangle

Open an ownership diagram.
Click the Layout button.
Under Optimise, check Untangle.
Trigger a layout run — for example, click Refresh.

Tips

Leave it on. Because Untangle only acts when it finds a genuine improvement, there's no downside to leaving it checked all the time.
An entity may move to a different level, not just sideways. If a link looks like it's running "backwards" after Untangle runs, that's expected — the entity moved to the far side of what it connects to, but the relationship itself is unchanged.
It won't help every diagram. Untangle looks specifically for entities that share an identical set of connections. If your diagram's crossings come from some other cause, Untangle may report no improvement — try Unzip Rows or Merge Links instead, or manually adjust entity positions.
Works alongside Merge Links. Untangle repositions entities to avoid crossings; Merge Links bundles links that still travel closely together after positioning, but only with Tracks routing. The two often help the same crowded diagram in different ways.
Available with the current Standard layout, on diagrams of a reasonable size. Very small diagrams have nothing to untangle; very large ones may skip the search automatically to keep the diagram responsive.