Graphviz Integrations

From Static to Interactive:
Converting Graphviz DOT Graphs into Enhanced Unigraph Graphs

Make their graphs interactive and editable,
Overcome Graphviz’s layouting and scalability limitations,
Attach semantics, types, metrics, and behaviors to graph components,
Generate multiple views and perspectives from a single underlying model.

This feature makes Unigraph not just a visualizer, but a graph-native platform for managing living models.

Graphviz Limitation	Unigraph Solution
Struggles with large, dense, or complex graphs	Unigraph handles dense graphs interactively with panning, zooming, filtering, and subgraph exploration tools.
Global layout control only	In Graphviz, layouting applies globally. You cannot adjust the positioning of only a subset of nodes or edges. In Unigraph, you can override layouts locally and create partial or custom layouts within the same graph.
Static output	Graphviz renders static images or exports fixed layouts. Unigraph generates interactive, dynamic, and explorable graphs.
Single-view limitation	Graphviz renders a single visualization for each DOT file. Unigraph supports multiple perspectives derived from the same graph, each with custom filters, layouts, styles, or user-defined semantics.
No runtime editing	Graphviz graphs are defined in DOT source files. In Unigraph, users can edit nodes, edges, and attributes directly inside the graph view.
No data integration	Graphviz cannot link nodes to external datasets, live data, or dynamic content. Unigraph graphs can integrate with external data, annotations, documents, AI systems, and more.

Import
- Upload a Graphviz .dot file via Unigraph’s import interface.
Conversion
- The DOT graph is parsed and converted into Unigraph’s SceneGraph, mapping:
  - Nodes → Unigraph Nodes,
  - Edges → Unigraph Edges,
  - Attributes (optional) → Display styles or semantic properties.
Enhance
- Define types, relationships, metrics, and annotations.
- Attach dynamic data to nodes and edges.
- Define local or global layouts interactively.
- Filter, group, or highlight parts of the graph without altering the base model.
Create Perspectives
- Build multiple views from the same graph.
- Each perspective can:
  - Show different subsets,
  - Use different layouts,
  - Highlight different semantics,
  - Integrate additional data sources.
Explore and Operate
- Dynamically interact with graphs:
  - Drag, reposition, edit,
  - Filter or search nodes,
  - Link to documents or APIs,
  - Combine imported DOT graphs with other Unigraph-native graphs.

Scenario	Benefit
Legacy Graph Modernization	Modernize DOT-defined graphs into interactive, dynamic graphs without starting from scratch.
Complex System Diagrams	Handle graphs with thousands of nodes where Graphviz layouting becomes unreadable, by selectively applying layouts and perspectives.
Ontology & Data Modeling	Start with DOT to bootstrap, then extend into a rich, typed, explorable model.
Interactive Documentation	Convert static architectural diagrams into interactive documentation linked to code, specs, metrics, or other systems.
Educational Tools	Build explorable learning materials from simple DOT graphs into complex interactive graph systems.
Multi-view Analysis	Use the same base graph to produce different analytical perspectives without duplicating or rewriting the model.

The larger the graph, the more global layouting fails, forcing you to manually split graphs or compromise readability.
The inability to make partial adjustments prevents expressing subtle structures within graphs.
The lack of interactivity makes it hard to engage users beyond simply looking at the graph.

Unigraph solves this by turning DOT into a canvas:

Graphs become interactive knowledge spaces.
Layouts are modular, and can be recomposed dynamically.
Perspectives are first-class, allowing multiple interpretations of the same data.
Users operate on living models instead of static images.

By bridging static graph definitions into Unigraph’s dynamic ecosystem, users unlock: