Question 1

How to use MSAGL in a Windows Forms application?

Accepted Answer

Install the Msagl.GraphViewerGDI NuGet package, create a Graph object, add nodes and edges, assign it to a GViewer control, and embed the control in your form. The README provides a C# code sample demonstrating this exact workflow.

Question 2

MSAGL vs Graphviz for .NET: which should I choose?

Accepted Answer

Choose MSAGL if you need interactive viewers built into .NET desktop apps with features like pan and zoom. Graphviz is better for static graph generation and has wider language support, but lacks native .NET UI components.

Question 3

Can MSAGL handle real-time updates to graphs?

Accepted Answer

MSAGL can layout dynamic graphs, but real-time updates may be slow for large graphs due to computational overhead. The web version uses web workers to avoid UI blocking, but performance depends on graph complexity and frequency of changes.

Question 4

How to export a graph from MSAGL to an image?

Accepted Answer

While not detailed in the README, use the Drawing module to render the graph to a bitmap or vector format. Check the samples or documentation for methods like saving the viewer's surface to a file, as it's supported in the WPF and WinForms controls.

Question 5

Is MSAGL good for web apps using React?

Accepted Answer

WebMSAGL can be used with React, but it's not a drop-in component; you'll need to create a wrapper to manage the Canvas or SVG rendering. It's more suited for custom web visualization rather than seamless React integration.

Question 6

What are the performance limits with large graphs in MSAGL?

Accepted Answer

GraphMaps helps by tiling and loading details on zoom, but initial layout can be heavy. The README notes that Release/x64 build is needed for large graphs, indicating memory and processing constraints, so test with your dataset size.

Microsoft Automatic Graph Layout

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