Mapify Rendering
New 7.7.0
The Mapify Rendering modal is the licensed interactive View Mode for relationship exploration in Nodinite. It delivers a live, physics-based graph of how any entity in your CMDB connects to surrounding entities. Unlike a static diagram, the graph is alive: nodes repel and attract each other, you can drag them into position, and you can pan and zoom freely.
It uses the same relationship backend as Mermaid Rendering. Both view modes show the exact current relations for the selected center entity.
Mapify Rendering is not a Saved Map. It shows the current truth for the selected entity and lets you explore it interactively. Saved Maps are different: they are saved filter definitions that you design once and then re-run as a report-style view.
- ✅ Physics simulation automatically surfaces clusters and isolated entities
- ✅ Drag individual nodes to any position while the graph adapts in real time
- ✅ Reveal soft-deleted entities alongside active ones for historical investigation
- ✅ Print or export to SVG, PNG, or JPG directly from the interface
- ✅ Keep your analysis on current truth by reloading live relationship data
Mapify Rendering requires a Mapify license. Contact Nodinite Sales to enable this feature.
For a static diagram without a Mapify license, see License Options and Feature Matrix.
Example of Mapify Rendering View Mode showing interactive relations for a BPM.
Mapify Maps vs View Mode Rendering
Mapify includes three similarly named but different capabilities. Distinguish them before choosing your workflow:
| Capability | What it is | Purpose | Editability | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mapify Maps (Saved Views) | User-defined reports with saved filters and options | Build repeatable analysis views across many entities | You create, manage, and delete Maps | Mapify feature pack |
| Mapify Rendering (this page) | Interactive relation graph modal | Explore exact current relations with pan, zoom, and drill-through | Relations are read-only; graph position is interactive | Mapify feature pack |
| Mermaid Rendering | Static relation diagram modal | Read and export the same current relations in multiple diagram types | Read-only output | Included with Repository |
Mapify Maps are role-based and controlled by permissions. Users with access can create report filters, including grouped conditions with bracketed logic and AND/OR combinations.
Mapify Rendering and Mermaid Rendering are not modeling tools. They display the current truth from the same backend for the selected center of gravity.
Saved Maps take the extra step of defining what to show. Rendering modes show what already exists for the selected entity.
Open View Modes from Integrations
From the Integration action menu, use Show in Mapify for interactive exploration or Show in Mermaid for static rendering of the same relationship set.
Example of the Integration action menu with Show in Mapify and Show in Mermaid view mode options.
View Mode Controls
The interactive graph includes controls that help you inspect the current truth without changing it.
- Edit — available only when you have edit rights on Maps; it returns you to the designer for the current saved map.
- Find — search for an item that is already on the graph. The search is limited to the nodes currently loaded on screen.
- Labels — show or hide the relationship labels on the graph.
- Size — use node size as a quick indicator of how many relations each item has.
- Expand — toggle fullscreen mode to maximize the canvas when the graph is dense.
- Right-click actions — open a context menu on any circle to navigate further. The menu options change based on the entity type.
Interactive Force-Directed Graph
The graph positions nodes automatically using a physics simulation that pushes unrelated nodes apart and pulls connected nodes together. The result is a natural-looking layout that surfaces clusters and isolated entities without any manual arrangement.
What You Can Do on the Graph
- Drag nodes — click and hold any node to drag it to a better position; the rest of the graph adjusts around it.
- Pan — click and drag on the background to move the entire graph.
- Zoom — use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out, centred on the cursor.
The Mapify Rendering modal is best when you want to explore relationships interactively—pulling nodes around, zooming into a cluster, and building an intuitive mental model of how things connect—rather than reading a fixed layout.
Edge Labels
Toggle the Labels button to show or hide the text on relationship lines.
- Labels on — see the type or name of each connection, useful when the nature of the relationship matters, for example "depends on", "deployed to", or "owned by".
- Labels off — a cleaner view that is easier to read when you primarily want to understand the shape of the graph rather than the detail of each connection.
Labels are off by default to keep the initial view uncluttered, especially for entities with many connections.
Show Deleted Entities
Click the Deleted toggle (red trash-can button) to reveal entities that have been soft-deleted in the CMDB alongside their active relationships.
Use this when:
- Investigating historical configurations or ghost dependencies
- Auditing what was removed during a clean-up exercise
- Tracing the origin of an unexpected relationship that no longer appears in normal views
Deleted entities are visually distinguished in the graph so you can tell at a glance which nodes are active and which are historic.
Fullscreen Mode
Click the expand icon in the modal header to maximise the graph to fill the entire browser window. Click compress to return to the standard large-dialogue size.
Complex graphs with many nodes benefit greatly from the extra canvas space. Fullscreen gives you the maximum room to spread nodes out, making dense graphs far easier to read and navigate.
Refresh
Click the Refresh button (rotating arrows) to reload the latest relationship data from the server and re-draw the graph from scratch. The icon spins while data is being fetched.
Use refresh when you or a colleague have recently updated relationships in the CMDB, to ensure you are looking at the current state rather than a snapshot from when you first opened the modal.
Zoomed-Out Lens
When you zoom out, the lens helps you keep track of crowded areas without losing the broader shape of the graph.
Example of the Mapify Rendering lens showing the number of items inside a crowded area of the graph.
The lens is useful when a cluster contains many items. Instead of losing context, you can zoom back in and continue exploring the same current-truth graph.
Click the Print button to send the current graph view to your browser's print dialogue. All surrounding page chrome is hidden automatically so only the graph itself is printed.
Useful for architecture reviews, handover documentation, stakeholder meetings, incident reviews, or any time you need a snapshot of the current relationship map on paper or as a PDF.
Download as Image
Click the Download button to save the graph as a file. Three formats are available:
| Format | Best for |
|---|---|
| SVG | Documentation, wikis, and situations where the image needs to remain sharp at any size. Vector format means it scales without loss. |
| PNG | Presentations, Jira/DevOps tickets, emails, or any context where a standard image format is expected. |
| JPG | Embedding in Word documents or other tools where background transparency is not needed and a smaller file size is preferable. |
A spinner overlay appears while the image is generating. You can cancel at any time if it takes longer than expected.
Entity Information Panel
When the entity has a description or a website URL stored in the CMDB, these are shown in a compact panel just below the modal header. The website link opens in a new tab.
You get immediate context about the entity at the centre of the graph—its purpose and any associated documentation link—without having to navigate to the entity's detail page.
Keyboard Shortcut
Press Escape at any time to close the modal.
Licensing
Mapify Rendering is a premium feature and requires a Mapify license. For static diagrams without a license, use Mermaid Rendering instead. For report-centric workflows where users save and reuse grouped filter logic, use Saved Views (Mapify Maps).
Saved Maps are the right choice when you want a repeatable, filter-driven report. Mapify Rendering is the right choice when you want to explore the current graph interactively.
Contact Nodinite Sales to enable the Mapify license. Pricing varies with licensee turnover.
Next Step
- Build report-centric Mapify Maps with Saved Views
- Compare with static Mermaid Rendering
- View Mode in Mapify Overview