Generate Diagrams from Hierarchical Data

Jul 02, 2024
5 minutes to read

You can use the DiagramOrgChartController class to generate diagrams from hierarchical (organizational chart) data.

View Example: Use DiagramOrgChartController to Generate a Diagram from a Collection

Set Up the Behavior

Attach DiagramOrgChartController in one of two ways:

Open the DiagramControl‘s Smart Tag and select Add OrgChartController :
Add DiagramOrgChartController in code:

Bind to Data

DiagramOrgChartController supports two source types:

Self-referential Source
Hierarchical Data Source

Use the DataSource property to specify a source collection of data items that describe shapes/containers. DiagramOrgChartController automatically generates diagram connectors according to the parent-child relationship.

Bind to Self-Referential Data Source

Each item in a self-referential data source contains a unique item identifier and the identifier of its parent. That allows DiagramOrgChartController to determine the parent-child relationship and build a diagram accordingly.

Use the following properties to configure the hierarchy:

Property	Description
KeyMember	Specifies a source property that uniquely identifies shapes/containers.
ParentMember	Specifies a source property that identifies an item parent.

C#
VB.NET

csharp

diagramOrgChartController1.Diagram = diagramControl1;
OrgChart chart = new OrgChart();
diagramOrgChartController1.DataSource = chart.Data;
diagramOrgChartController1.KeyMember = "Id";
diagramOrgChartController1.ParentMember = "ParentId";
// ...
public class OrgChart {
    public List<Employee> Data { get; set; }
    public OrgChart() {
        Data = new List<Employee>();
        Data.Add(new Employee() { Id = 0, Name = "Carl" });
        Data.Add(new Employee() { Id = 1, ParentId = 0, Name = "Bob" });
        Data.Add(new Employee() { Id = 2, ParentId = 1, Name = "Ann" });
        Data.Add(new Employee() { Id = 3, ParentId = 1, Name = "Jack" });
    }
}
public class Employee {
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public int ParentId { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
}

diagramOrgChartController1.Diagram = diagramControl1
Dim chart As OrgChart = New OrgChart()
diagramOrgChartController1.DataSource = chart.Data
diagramOrgChartController1.KeyMember = "Id"
diagramOrgChartController1.ParentMember = "ParentId"
' ...
Public Class OrgChart
    Public Property Data() As List(Of Employee)
    Public Sub New()
        Data = New List(Of Employee)()
        Data.Add(New Employee() With {
            .Id = 0,
            .Name = "Carl"
        })
        Data.Add(New Employee() With {
            .Id = 1,
            .ParentId = 0,
            .Name = "Bob"
        })
        Data.Add(New Employee() With {
            .Id = 2,
            .ParentId = 1,
            .Name = "Ann"
        })
        Data.Add(New Employee() With {
            .Id = 3,
            .ParentId = 1,
            .Name = "Jack"
        })
    End Sub
End Class
Public Class Employee
    Public Property Id() As Integer
    Public Property ParentId() As Integer
    Public Property Name() As String
End Class

Bind to Hierarchical Data Source

A hierarchical data structure is a set of nested objects where a “children” field contains child records. Parents and children can be objects of different types.

Use the following properties to configure the hierarchy:

KeyMemberSpecifies a source property that uniquely identifies shapes/containers.ChildrenPath

Specifies a source property that contains a collection of child items.

C#
VB.NET

csharp

diagramOrgChartController1.Diagram = diagramControl1;
OrgChart chart = new OrgChart();
diagramOrgChartController1.DataSource = chart.Data;
diagramOrgChartController1.KeyMember = "ItemId";
diagramOrgChartController1.ChildrenPath = "Children";
// ...
public class OrgChart {
    public List<Employee> Data { get; set; }
    public OrgChart() {
        Data = new List<Employee>();
        Employee emp = new Employee() { Name = "Carl", Children = new List<Employee>() };
        emp.Children.Add(new Employee() { Name = "Ann" });
        emp.Children.Add(new Employee() { Name = "Bob" });
        Data.Add(emp);
    }
}
public class Employee {
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public List<Employee> Children { get; set; }
}

diagramOrgChartController1.Diagram = diagramControl1
Dim chart As OrgChart = New OrgChart()
diagramOrgChartController1.DataSource = chart.Data
diagramOrgChartController1.KeyMember = "ItemId"
diagramOrgChartController1.ChildrenPath = "Children"
' ...
Public Class OrgChart
    Public Property Data() As List(Of Employee)
    Public Sub New()
        Data = New List(Of Employee)()
        Dim emp As New Employee() With {
            .Name = "Carl",
            .Children = New List(Of Employee)()
        }
        emp.Children.Add(New Employee() With {.Name = "Ann"})
        emp.Children.Add(New Employee() With {.Name = "Bob"})
        Data.Add(emp)
    End Sub
End Class
Public Class Employee
    Public Property Name() As String
    Public Property Children() As List(Of Employee)
End Class

ChildrenSelector

Specifies an object that returns collections of child items based on custom logic.

C#
VB.NET

csharp

diagramOrgChartController1.Diagram = diagramControl1;
OrgChart chart = new OrgChart();
diagramOrgChartController1.DataSource = chart.Data;
diagramOrgChartController1.ChildrenSelector = new ChildrenSelector();
// ...
public class ChildrenSelector : IChildrenSelector {
    public IEnumerable<object> GetChildren(object parent) {
        if (parent is Department item)
            return item.Employees;
        else {
            //...
        }
    }
}

diagramOrgChartController1.Diagram = diagramControl1
Dim chart As OrgChart = New OrgChart()
diagramOrgChartController1.DataSource = chart.Data
diagramOrgChartController1.ChildrenSelector = New ChildrenSelector()
' ...
Public Class ChildrenSelector
    Inherits IChildrenSelector

    Public Function GetChildren(ByVal parent As Object) As IEnumerable(Of Object) Implements IChildrenSelector.GetChildren
        If TypeOf parent Is Department Then
            Return (CType(parent, Department)).Employees
        Else
            ' ...
        End If
    End Function
End Class

Define and Configure Generated Diagram Items

You can use the following techniques to define and configure generated items:

Expand and Collapse Children

DiagramOrgChartController allows you to expand and collapse levels to make the diagram more readable.

The following properties allow you to configure the expand/collapse behavior:

Property	Description
ExpandSubordinatesButtonMode	Controls the availability of the expand/collapse button.
GenerationDepth	Specifies the number of hierarchy levels retrieved from the data source when the diagram is generated.
ExpansionDepth	Specifies the number of hierarchy levels that expand when the diagram is generated.

The following example demonstrates an organizational chart that displays three hierarchy levels. Additional shapes are generated and displayed when a user clicks the expand button.

C#
VB.NET

csharp

diagramOrgChartController1.Diagram = diagramControl1;
OrgChart chart = new OrgChart();
diagramOrgChartController1.DataSource = chart.Data;
diagramOrgChartController1.KeyMember = "Id";
diagramOrgChartController1.ParentMember = "ParentId";
diagramOrgChartController1.GenerationDepth = 2;
diagramOrgChartController1.ExpansionDepth = 2;
diagramOrgChartController1.ExpandSubordinatesButtonMode = ExpandSubordinatesButtonMode.AlwaysVisible;

diagramOrgChartController1.Diagram = diagramControl1
Dim chart As OrgChart = New OrgChart()
diagramOrgChartController1.DataSource = chart.Data
diagramOrgChartController1.KeyMember = "Id"
diagramOrgChartController1.ParentMember = "ParentId"
diagramOrgChartController1.GenerationDepth = 2
diagramOrgChartController1.ExpansionDepth = 2
diagramOrgChartController1.ExpandSubordinatesButtonMode = ExpandSubordinatesButtonMode.AlwaysVisible

Video Tutorial

This video demonstrates how to use the Organization Chart functionality to generate relationship diagrams from the data source.

YouTube video