vis.js - Place node manually

Question

How do I set a node's position in vis.js?

I want to initially position at least one node manually.

I know that a node has the options x and y. I set both, and also tried variations of layout options (randomSeed, improvedLayout, hierarchical), the node was never placed where I set it.

Here's the simple network I defined:

  nodes = new vis.DataSet([
    {id: 1,  shape: 'circularImage', image: DIR + '1_circle', label:"1", x: 200, y: 100},
    {id: 2,  shape: 'circularImage', image: DIR + '2_circle', label:"2"},
    {id: 3,  shape: 'circularImage', image: DIR + '3_circle', label:"3"},
  ]);

  edges = [
    {id: "01-03", from: 1, to: 3, length: 300, label: '1 - 3'},
    {id: "02-03", from: 2, to: 3},
  ];

  var container = document.getElementById('graphcontainer');
  var data = {
    nodes: nodes,
    edges: edges
  };
  var options = {
    nodes: {
      borderWidth: 4,
      size: 30,
      color: {
        border: '#222222',
        background: '#666666'
      },
      font:{
        color:'#000000'
      }
    },
    edges: {
      color: 'lightgray'
    },
    //layout: {randomSeed:0}
    //layout: {hierarchical: true}
    layout: {
      randomSeed: undefined,
      improvedLayout:true,
      hierarchical: {
        enabled:false,
        levelSeparation: 150,
        direction: 'UD',   // UD, DU, LR, RL
        sortMethod: 'hubsize' // hubsize, directed
      }
    }
  };
  network = new vis.Network(container, data, options);

The node is placed, but not at the point I set (200,100), but at another position.

I haven't found an example for explicitly setting a node's position on the vis.js page. Could someone please provide one? Thanks!

Please add some notes where is your concrete problem and what is your expected behavior! Thank you. — Leonid Glanz, Oct 02 '15 at 08:02
I want node 1 to be positioned at 200,100 (see example), but it is not placed there. — Wulsh Briggle, Oct 02 '15 at 08:04
If you are interested in how to serialize/save the node positions then load them back, check out [this answer](https://stackoverflow.com/a/59588007/1494454). — totymedli, Jan 04 '20 at 05:12

score 30 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 10 '17 at 21:57

You can indeed set a fixed position for a node by setting its x and y properties, and yes, this feature works and is not broken.

The x and y position of a node does not mean a position in pixels on the screen, but is a fixed position in the Networks coordinate system. When you move and zoom in the Network, the fixed items will move and zoom too, but they will always keep the same position relative to each other. It's like your home town has a fixed location (long, lat) on earth, but you can still zoom and move your town in Google Maps.

EDIT: To achieve what you want, you can fix zooming and moving, and adjust the viewport such that it matches the pixels of the HTML canvas, here is a demo:

// create an array with nodes
var nodes = new vis.DataSet([
    {id: 1, label: 'x=200, y=200', x: 200, y: 200},
    {id: 2, label: 'node 2', x: 0, y: 0},
    {id: 3, label: 'node 3', x: 0, y: 400},
    {id: 4, label: 'node 4', x: 400, y: 400},
    {id: 5, label: 'node 5', x: 400, y: 0}
]);

// create an array with edges
var edges = new vis.DataSet([
    {from: 1, to: 2, label: 'to x=0, y=0'},
    {from: 1, to: 3, label: 'to x=0, y=400'},
    {from: 1, to: 4, label: 'to x=400, y=400'},
    {from: 1, to: 5, label: 'to x=400, y=0'}
]);

// create a network
var container = document.getElementById('mynetwork');
var data = {
    nodes: nodes,
    edges: edges
};
var width = 400;
var height = 400;
var options = {
    width: width + 'px',
    height: height + 'px',
    nodes: {
        shape: 'dot'
    },
    edges: {
        smooth: false
    },
    physics: false,
    interaction: {
        dragNodes: false,// do not allow dragging nodes
        zoomView: false, // do not allow zooming
        dragView: false  // do not allow dragging
    }
};
var network = new vis.Network(container, data, options);
  
// Set the coordinate system of Network such that it exactly
// matches the actual pixels of the HTML canvas on screen
// this must correspond with the width and height set for
// the networks container element.
network.moveTo({
    position: {x: 0, y: 0},
    offset: {x: -width/2, y: -height/2},
    scale: 1,
})

#mynetwork {
    border: 1px solid black;
    background: white;
    display: inline-block;
}

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/vis/4.9.0/vis.min.js"></script>
<link href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/vis/4.9.0/vis.min.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />

<p>The following network has a fixed scale and position, such that the networks viewport exactly matches the pixels of the HTML canvas.</p>
<div id="mynetwork"></div>

So you have to explicitly set the positions of all nodes, if you want to place one node at a distinct position relative to the others, e.g. in the middle? I want to show a node-centered graph with one node sitting in the middle, and the others placed around it; where exactly is not important, so I would prefer to have the positions of the others be set automatically. — Wulsh Briggle, Oct 06 '15 at 11:39
Not all nodes have to have a fixed position. (You should set `physics:true` again there are non-fixed nodes) — Jos de Jong, Oct 06 '15 at 13:05

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 05 '15 at 11:46

Documentation says that nodes positioned by the layout algorithm

When using the hierarchical layout, either the x or y position is set by the layout engine depending on the type of view

You can put they in to explicit points but I would not recommend this - it's not the correct way for the work with the graphs - better review your task - maybe you do not need graphs (or your do not need to put points in to exactly position).

Anyway - if you really want to put in to some position then you need to use random layout with the fixed option set to true or physic option set to false

var DIR = 'http://cupofting.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/';
nodes = new vis.DataSet([
    {id: 1,  shape: 'circularImage', image: DIR + '1-circle.jpg', label:"1", x:0, y:0},
    {id: 2,  shape: 'circularImage', image: DIR + '2-circle.jpg', label:"2", x:100, y:0},
    {id: 3,  shape: 'circularImage', image: DIR + '3-circle.jpg', label:"3", x:0, y:100},
  ]);

  edges = [
    {id: "01-03", from: 1, to: 3, length: 300, label: '1 - 3'},
    {id: "02-03", from: 2, to: 3},
  ];

  var container = document.getElementById('graphcontainer');
  var data = {
    nodes: nodes,
    edges: edges
  };
  var options = {
       physics:{
           stabilization: true,
       },
    nodes: {
      borderWidth: 4,
      size: 10,
      //fixed:true,
      physics:false,
      color: {
        border: '#222222',
        background: '#666666'
      },
      font:{
        color:'#000000'
      }
    },
    edges: {
      color: 'lightgray'
    },
    layout: {randomSeed:0}
  };
  network = new vis.Network(container, data, options);

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/vis/4.9.0/vis.min.js"></script>
<div id="graphcontainer" style="border: 1px solid red; width:300px; height:300px; "> </div>

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 04 '15 at 23:59

:) I just did this for the first time this morning. X = 0 and Y = 0 for a graph start centered, not at the top left of the canvas. There is a fixed attribute of the node that you can set to true for both x and y on a node with its x and y values set and have other nodes use physics in relation to it.

Look at the full options tab on page http://visjs.org/docs/network/nodes.html#

and you'll see this piece:

fixed: {
  x:false,
  y:false
},

vis.js - Place node manually

3 Answers3

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