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== What is Styles? == == What are Styles? ==
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 * Specify a default color and shape for all nodes.
  . {{attachment:DefaultColorAndShape.png}}

 * Set node sizes based on the degree of connectivity of the nodes. You can visually see the hub of a network...
'''Specify a default color and shape for all nodes.'''
  . {{attachment:NodeShape.png}}

'''Set node sizes based on the degree of connectivity of the nodes. You can visually see the hub of a network...'''
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 * ...or, set the font size of the node labels instead. '''...or, set the font size of the node labels instead.'''
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 * Visualize gene expression data along a color gradient. '''Visualize gene expression data along a color gradient.'''
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 * Encode specific physical entities as different node shapes. '''Encode specific physical entities as different node shapes.'''
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 * Use specific line types to indicate different types of interactions. '''Use specific line types to indicate different types of interactions.'''
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 * Control edge transparency (opacity) using edge weights. '''Control edge transparency (opacity) using edge weights.'''
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 * Control multiple edge properties using edge score. '''Control multiple edge properties using edge score.'''
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 * Browse extremely-dense networks by controlling the opacity of nodes. '''Browse extremely-dense networks by controlling the opacity of nodes.'''
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 * Show highly-connected region by edge bundling and opacity. '''Show highly-connected region by edge bundling and opacity.'''
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 * Add photo/image/graphics on top of nodes. '''Add photo/image/graphics on top of nodes.'''
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 * At the top of the interface, there is a drop-down menu for selecting a pre-defined style. There is also an '''Options''' drop-down with with options to rename, remove, create and copy a Style, and an option to create a legend for the selected Style.  * At the top of the interface, there is a drop-down menu for selecting a pre-defined style. There is also an '''Options''' drop-down with options to rename, remove, create and copy a Style, and an option to create a legend for the selected Style.
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 * Each property entry in the list has 4 columns:  * Each property entry in the list has 3 columns:
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||''Selection'' ||The color of the node when selected. || ||''Selected Paint'' ||The color of the node when selected. ||
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||''Edge Line Types'' || {{attachment:BorderLineOptions.png}} || ||''Line Types'' || {{attachment:BorderLineOptions.png}} ||
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For each property, you can specify a default value or define a dynamic mapping. Cytoscape currently supports three different types of mappers:

 1. '''Passthrough Mapper'''
  * The values of network data attributes are passed directly through to properties. A passthrough mapper is typically used to specify node/edge labels. For example, a passthrough mapper can label all nodes with their common gene names.
 1. '''Discrete Mapper'''
  * Discrete data attributes are mapped to discrete properties. For example
, a discrete mapper can map different types of molecules to different node shapes, such as rectangles for gene products and ellipses for metabolites.
 1. '''Continuous Mapper'''
  * Continuous data are mapped to properties. Depending on the property,
there are three kinds of continuous mappers:
   i. '''Continuous-to-Continuous Mapper''': for example, you can map a continuous numerical value to node size.
   i. '''Color Gradient Mapper''': This is a special case of continuous-to-continuous mapping. Continuous numerical values are mapped to a color gradient.
   i. '''Continuous-to-Discrete Mapper''': for example, all values below 0 are mapped to square nodes, and all values above 0 are mapped to circular nodes.
For each property, you can specify a default value or define a dynamic mapping. Cytoscape currently supports three different types of mappings:

 1. '''Passthrough Mapping'''
  * The values of network column data are passed directly through to properties. A passthrough mapping is typically used to specify node/edge labels. For example, a passthrough mapping can label all nodes with their common gene names.
 1. '''Discrete Mapping'''
  * Discrete column data are mapped to discrete propertie
s. For example, a discrete mapping can map different types of molecules to different node shapes, such as rectangles for gene products and ellipses for metabolites.
 1. '''Continuous Mapping'''
  * Continuous data are mapped to properties.
Depending on the property, there are three kinds of continuous mapping:
   i. '''Continuous-to-Continuous Mapping''': for example, you can map a continuous numerical value to node size.
   i. '''Color Gradient Mapping''': This is a special case of continuous-to-continuous mapping. Continuous numerical values are mapped to a color gradient.
   i. '''Continuous-to-Discrete Mapping''': for example, all values below 0 are mapped to square nodes, and all values above 0 are mapped to circular nodes.
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The table below shows mapper support for each property. The table below shows mapping support for each property.
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||||<style="text-align: center;">'''Node Property''' ||'''Passthrough Mapper''' ||'''Discrete Mapper''' ||'''Continuous Mapper''' ||
||<style="text-align: center;" |6>Color ||''Node Color'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Transparency'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Border Paint'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Border Transparency'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Label Color'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Label Transparency'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||<style="text-align: center;" |4>Numeric ||''Node Size/Width/Height'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Font Size'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Line Width'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Label Width'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||<style="text-align: center;" |7>Other ||''Node
Border Line Type'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||
||''Shape'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||
||||<style="text-align: center;">'''Node Property''' ||'''Passthrough Mapping''' ||'''Discrete Mapping''' ||'''Continuous Mapping''' ||
||<style="text-align: center;" |6>Color ||''Fill Color'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Transparency'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Border Paint'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Border Transparency'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Label Color'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Label Transparency'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||<style="text-align: center;" |4>Numeric ||''Size/Width/Height'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Label Font Size'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Border Width'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''
Label Width'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||<style="text-align: center;" |7>Other ||''Border L
ine Type'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||
||''Shape'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||
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||''Font Family'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o || ||''Label Font Face'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||
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||''Nested Network Image Visible'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o || ||''Nested Network Image Visible'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||
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||||<style="text-align: center;">'''Edge Properties''' ||'''Passthrough Mapper''' ||'''Discrete Mapper''' ||'''Continuous Mapper''' ||
||<style="text-align: center;" |6>Color ||''Edge Color'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Transparency'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Target Arrow Color'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Source Arrow Color'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Label Color'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Label Transparency'' ||<style="text-align: center;">- ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||<style="text-align: center;" |3>Numeric ||''Edge Line Width'' ||<style="text-align: center;">- ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Font Size'' ||<style="text-align: center;">- ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Label Width'' ||<style="text-align: center;">- ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||<style="text-align: center;" |6>Other ||''Edge L
ine Type'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||
||''Source Arrow Shape'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||
||''Target Arrow Shape'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||
||||<style="text-align: center;">'''Edge Properties''' ||'''Passthrough Mapping''' ||'''Discrete Mapping''' ||'''Continuous Mapping''' ||
||<style="text-align: center;" |6>Color ||''Color'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Transparency'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Target Arrow Color'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Source Arrow Color'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Label Color'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Label Transparency'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||<style="text-align: center;" |3>Numeric ||''Width'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''
Label Font Size'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||''Label
Width'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||
||<style="text-align: center;" |6>Other ||''Line Type'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||
||''Source Arrow Shape'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||
||''Target Arrow Shape'' ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||
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||''Font Family'' ||<style="text-align: center;">- ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||


==== Text Passthrough Mapper ====
In Cytoscape 2.8.0 and later versions, the Passthrough Mapper can recognize some text representations of values. This means, if you have an integer attribute named ''Node Size Values'', you can directly map those values as the Node Size by setting ''Node Size Values'' as controlling attribute name for Node Size Passthrough mapping. The following value types are supported:
||''Label Font Face'' ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||<style="text-align: center;">+ ||<style="text-align: center;">o ||


==== Text Passthrough Mapping ====
In Cytoscape 2.8.0 and later versions, the Passthrough Mapping can recognize some text representations of values. This means, if you have a string column named ''Node Size Values'', you can directly map those values as the Node Size by setting '''Node Size Values''' as controlling column with '''Node Size Passthrough''' mapping. The following value types are supported:
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{{attachment:add_custom_graphics.png}}  . {{attachment:add_custom_graphics.png}}
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=== Tutorial 2: Creating a New Style with a Discrete Mapper ===
Now you have a network with new Style. The following section demonstrates how to create a new style using a discrete mapper. The goal is to draw protein-DNA interactions as dashed lines, and protein-protein interactions as solid lines.
=== Tutorial 2: Creating a New Style with a Discrete Mapping ===
Now you have a network with new Style. The following section demonstrates how to create a new style using a discrete mapping. The goal is to draw protein-DNA interactions as dashed lines, and protein-protein interactions as solid lines.
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'''Step 2. Choose a data attribute to map to.''' Expand the entry for '''Stroke Color (Unselected)''' by clicking the arrow icon to the right. Click the '''Column''' entry and select "interaction" from the drop-down list that appears.

'''Step 3. Choose a mapping type.''' Under '''Mapping Type''', select '''Discrete Mapping'''. All available attribute values for "interaction" will be displayed, as shown below.
'''Step 2. Choose a data column to map to.''' Expand the entry for '''Stroke Color (Unselected)''' by clicking the arrow icon to the right. Click the '''Column''' entry and select "interaction" from the drop-down list that appears.

'''Step 3. Choose a mapping type.''' Under '''Mapping Type''', select '''Discrete Mapping'''. All available column values for "interaction" will be displayed, as shown below.
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=== Tutorial 3: Creating a New Style with a Continuous Mapper ===
At this point, you have a network with some edge mappings. Next, let's create mappings for nodes. The following section demonstrates how to create a new style using a continuous mapper. The goal is to superimpose node statistics (in this example, node degree) onto a network and display it along a color gradient.
=== Tutorial 3: Creating a New Style with a Continuous Mapping ===
At this point, you have a network with some edge mappings. Next, let's create mappings for nodes. The following section demonstrates how to create a new style using a continuous mapping. The goal is to superimpose node statistics (in this example, node degree) onto a network and display it along a color gradient.
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'''Step 4. Define the points where colors will change.''' Double-click on the black-and-white gradient rectangle next to Current Mapping to open the Color Gradient Mapper. Note the two smaller triangles at the top of the gradient. Move the left-side one all the way to the left, and the right-side one all the way to the right. '''Step 4. Define the points where colors will change.''' Double-click on the black-and-white gradient rectangle next to Current Mapping to open the Color Gradient Mapping. Note the two smaller triangles at the top of the gradient. Move the left-side one all the way to the left, and the right-side one all the way to the right.
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=== Tutorial 4: How to Use Utilities for Discrete Mappers === === Tutorial 4: How to Use Utilities for Discrete Mapping ===
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{{attachment:tutorial4_sample.png}}  . {{attachment:tutorial4_sample.png}}
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 1. Prepare images. These can be any type of bitmap graphics.
 1. In this first example, we will use the presets that Cytoscape 3 has.
 1. In this first example, we will use the presets that Cytoscape 3 has. In general, you can use any type of bitmap graphics. Custom images should be added to the '''Custom Graphics Manager''' before using them in a Style.
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 1. Set the '''Default Value''' of node '''Size''' to 80.  1. Set the '''Default Value''' of node '''Size''' to 80. Also change the edge width to 6 and the node label font size to 10, to increase readability.
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  . {{attachment:CustomGraphicsTut5.png}}   . {{attachment:CustomGraphicsNodes.png}}
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 . {{attachment:cgTutorial7.png}}  . {{attachment:CustomGraphicsNodes2.png}}
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   . {{attachment:SeriesExample1.png}}    . {{attachment:NumberSeriesNodeSize.png}}
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The Continuous-Discrete Editor is used to create mappings from numerical attribute values to discrete visual properties, such as font, shape, or line style.  To edit a value for a specific region, double click on the icon on the track. The Continuous-Discrete Editor is used to create mappings from numerical column values to discrete properties, such as font, shape, or line style. To edit a value for a specific region, double click on the icon on the track.
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All Cytoscape Style settings are initially loaded from a default file that cannot be altered by users. When users make changes to the properties, a {{{session_syle.xml}}} file is saved in the session file. This means that if you save your session, you will not lose your visual properties. No other style files are saved during normal operation. All Cytoscape Style settings are initially loaded from a default file that cannot be altered by users. When users make changes to the properties, a {{{session_syle.xml}}} file is saved in the session file. This means that if you save your session, you will not lose your properties. No other style files are saved during normal operation.
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Styles are automatically saved with the session they were created in. Before Cytoscape exits, you will be prompted to make sure you save the session before quitting. It is also possible to save your styles in a file separate from the session file. To do this, navigate to the ''File → Export → Style...'' menu option and save the properties as a file. This feature can be used to share styles with other users. Styles are automatically saved with the session they were created in. Before Cytoscape exits, you will be prompted to make sure you save the session before quitting. It is also possible to save your styles in a file separate from the session file. To do this, navigate to the '''File → Export → Style...''' menu option and save the properties as a file. This feature can be used to share styles with other users.
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From version 3.1.0, Cytoscape can export [[http://cytoscape.github.io/cytoscape.js/#style|Cytoscape.js]] compatible JSON file. Since Cytoscape.js is an independent JavaScript library, and there are some differences between Cytoscape and Cytoscape.js, not all Visual Properties are mapped to JSON. The following visual properties are not supported by the exporter: From version 3.1.0, Cytoscape can export [[http://cytoscape.github.io/cytoscape.js/#style|Cytoscape.js]] compatible JSON file. Since Cytoscape.js is an independent JavaScript library, and there are some differences between Cytoscape and Cytoscape.js, not all properties are mapped to JSON. The following properties are not supported by the exporter:
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To import existing styles, navigate to the ''File → Import → Style File...'' menu option and select a {{{styles.xml}}} (Cytoscape 3 format) file.  Imported properties will supplement existing properties or override existing properties if the properties have the same name. You can also specify a properties file using the -V command line option ({{{cytoscape.sh -V myVizmap.props}}}). Properties loaded from the command line will override any default properties. To import existing styles, navigate to the '''File → Import → Style...''' menu option and select a {{{styles.xml}}} (Cytoscape 3 format) file. Imported properties will supplement existing properties or override existing properties if the properties have the same name. You can also specify a style file using the -V command line option. Properties loaded from the command line will override any default properties. Note that legacy {{{.props}}} files can only be loaded via the '''File → Import → Style...''' menu option, but not by command line.

What are Styles?

One of Cytoscape's strengths in network visualization is the ability to allow users to encode any table data (name, type, degree, weight, expression data, etc.) as a property (such as color, size of node, transparency, or font type) of the network. A set of these encoded or mapped table data sets is called a Style and can be created or edited in the Style panel of the Control Panel. In this interface, the appearance of your network is easily customized. For example, you can:

Specify a default color and shape for all nodes.

  • NodeShape.png

Set node sizes based on the degree of connectivity of the nodes. You can visually see the hub of a network...

  • DegreeSize.png

...or, set the font size of the node labels instead.

  • DegreeLabelSize.png

Visualize gene expression data along a color gradient.

  • ColorGradient.png

Encode specific physical entities as different node shapes.

  • NodeShapeMapping.png

Use specific line types to indicate different types of interactions.

  • edge_types.png

Control edge transparency (opacity) using edge weights.

  • OpacityForEdges.png

Control multiple edge properties using edge score.

  • MultipleEdgeMapping.png

Browse extremely-dense networks by controlling the opacity of nodes.

  • OpacityForNodesAndEdges.png

Show highly-connected region by edge bundling and opacity.

  • Bundling.png

Add photo/image/graphics on top of nodes.

  • CustomGraphics1.png CustomGraphics4.png CustomGraphics5.png

Cytoscape 3 has several sample styles. Below are a few examples of these applied to the galFiltered.sif network :

default_style.png solid_style.png ripple_style.png universe_style.png

Introduction to the Style interface

The Style interface is located under the Style panel of the Control Panel.

  • StylesInterface.png

This interface allows you to create/delete/view/switch between different styles using the Current Style options. The panel displays the mapping details for a given style and is used to edit these details as well.

  • At the top of the interface, there is a drop-down menu for selecting a pre-defined style. There is also an Options drop-down with options to rename, remove, create and copy a Style, and an option to create a legend for the selected Style.

  • The main area of the interface is composed of three tabs, for Node, Edge and Network.
  • Each tab contains a list of properties relevant to the current style. At the top of the list a Properties drop-down allows you to add additional properties to the list.

  • Each property entry in the list has 3 columns:
    • The Default Value shows just that, the default value for the property. Clicking on the Default Value column for any property allows you to change the default value.

    • Mapping displays the type of mapping currently in use for the property. Clicking on the Mapping column for any property expands the property entry to show the interface for editing the mapping. Details on the mapping types provided here.

    • Bypass displays any style bypass for a selected node or edge. Note that a node/edge or subset of nodes/edges must be selected to activate the Bypass column. Clicking on the Bypass column for selected node(s)/edge(s) allows you to enter a bypass for that property for selected node(s)/edge(s).

The Default Value is used when no mapping is defined for a property, or for nodes/edges not covered by a mapping for a particular property. If a Mapping is defined for a property, this defines the style for all or a subset of nodes/edges, depending on how the mapping is defined. A Bypass on a specific set of nodes/edges will bypass and override both the default value and defined mapping.

Introduction to Style

The Cytoscape distribution includes several predefined styles to get you started. To examine a few styles, try out the following example:

Step 1. Load some sample data

  • Load a sample session file: From the main menu, select File → Open, and select the file sampleData/galFiltered.cys.

  • The session file includes a network, some annotations, and sample styles. By default, the Sample for galFiltered style is selected. Gene expression values for each node are colored along a color gradient between red and green (where red represents a low expression ratio and green represents a high expression ratio, using thresholds set for the gal4RGexp experiment bundled with Cytoscape in the sampleData/galExpData.csv file). Also, node size is mapped to the degree of the node (number of edges connected to the node) and you can see the hubs of the network as larger nodes. See the sample screenshot below:

  • galFilteredSessionDefault.png

Step 2. Switch between different styles

You can change the style by making a selection from the Current Style drop-down list, found at the top of the Style panel.

For example, if you select Sample1, a new style will be applied to your network, and you will see a white background and round blue nodes. If you zoom in closer, you can see that protein-DNA interactions (specified with the label "pd") are drawn with dashed edges, whereas protein-protein interactions (specified with the label "pp") are drawn with solid edges (see sample screenshot below).

  • VizMapperSample1Style26.png

Finally, if you select Solid, you can see the graphics below:

  • VizMapperSolidStyle.png

This style does not have mappings except node/edge labels, but you can modify the network graphics by editing the Default Value for any property.

Additional sample styles are available in the sampleStyles.xml file in the sampleData directory. You can import the sample file from File → Import → Style File....

List of Node, Edge and Network Properties

Cytoscape allows a wide variety of properties to be controlled. These are summarized in the tables below.

Node Properties

Description

Shape

The shape of the node.

Fill Color

The color of the node.

Selected Paint

The color of the node when selected.

Transparency

The opacity of the color of the node. Zero means totally transparent, and 255 is most opaque.

Border Paint

The color of the border of the node.

Border Transparency

The opacity of the color of the border of the node. Allows for transparency.

Border Line Type

The type of line used for the border of the node.

Border Width

The width of the node border.

Custom Graphics 1-9

A user-defined custom graphic that is displayed on the node.

Custom Graphics Position 1-9

The position of each custom graphic.

Label Font Face

The font used for the node label.

Label Font Size

The size of the font used for the node label.

Label

The text used for the node label.

Label Color

The color of the node label.

Label Transparency

The transparency of the color of the node label. Allows for transparency.

Label Position

The position of the node label relative to the node.

Label Width

The maximum width of the node label. If the node label is wider than the specified width, Cytoscape will automatically wrap the label on space characters. Cytoscape will not hyphenate words, meaning that if a single word (i.e. no spaces) is longer than maximum width, the word will be displayed beyond the maximum width.

Tooltip

The text of the tooltip that appears when a mouse hovers over the node.

Size

The size of the node. Width and height will be equal. This property is mutually exclusive of Node Height and Node Width.

Height

The height of the node. Height will be independent of width. This property is mutually exclusive of Node Size.

Width

The width of the node. Width will be independent of height. This property is mutually exclusive of Node Size.

X Location

X location of the node. Default value of this will be ignored. The value will be used only when mapping function is defined.

Y Location

Y location of the node. Default value of this will be ignored. The value will be used only when mapping function is defined.

Visible

Node is visible or not. By default, this value is set to true.

Nested Network Image Visible

A boolean value that indicates whether a nested network should be visualized (assuming a nested network is present for the specified node).

Edge Properties

Description

Stroke Color (Unselected)

The color of the edge.

Stroke Color (Selected)

The color of the edge when selected.

Transparency

The opacity of the color of the edge. Allows for transparency.

Line Type

The type of stoke used to render the line (solid, dashed, etc.)

Width

The width of the line.

Label

The text used for the edge label.

Label Color

The color of the edge label.

Label Transparency

The opacity of the color of the edge label. Allows for transparency.

Label Font Face

The font used for the edge label.

Label Font Size

The size of the font used for the edge label.

Tooltip

The text of the tooltip that appears when a mouse hovers over the edge.

Source Arrow Unselected Paint

The color of the arrow on the source node end of the edge.

Source Arrow Selected Paint

The selected color of the arrow on the source node end of the edge.

Source Arrow Shape

The shape of the arrow on the source node end of the edge.

Target Arrow Unselected Paint

The color of the arrow on the target node end of the edge.

Target Arrow Selected Paint

The selected color of the arrow on the target node end of the edge.

Target Arrow Shape

The shape of the arrow on the target node end of the edge.

Bend

The edge bend. Defines how the edge is rendered. Users can add multiple handles to define how to bend the edge line.

Curved

If Egde Bend is defined, edges will be rendered as straight or curved lines. If this value is set to true, edges will be drawn as curved lines.

Visible

Edge is visible or not. By default, this value is set to true.

Network Properties

Description

Background Paint

The background color of the network view.

Title

The title of the network view.

Height

The height of the network view.

Width

The width of the network view.

Scale Factor

The zoom level of the network view.

Center X Location

The X location of network view center.

Center Y Location

The Y location of network view center.

Edge Selection

Edges are selectable or not. If this is false, users cannot select edges.

Node Selection

Nodes are selectable or not. If this is false, users cannot select nodes.

Available Shapes and Line Styles

Available Shapes and Line Styles

Sample

Node Shapes

NodeShapeOptions.png

Line Types

BorderLineOptions.png

Arrow Shapes

ArrowShapeOptions.png

How Mappings Work

For each property, you can specify a default value or define a dynamic mapping. Cytoscape currently supports three different types of mappings:

  1. Passthrough Mapping

    • The values of network column data are passed directly through to properties. A passthrough mapping is typically used to specify node/edge labels. For example, a passthrough mapping can label all nodes with their common gene names.
  2. Discrete Mapping

    • Discrete column data are mapped to discrete properties. For example, a discrete mapping can map different types of molecules to different node shapes, such as rectangles for gene products and ellipses for metabolites.
  3. Continuous Mapping

    • Continuous data are mapped to properties. Depending on the property, there are three kinds of continuous mapping:
      1. Continuous-to-Continuous Mapping: for example, you can map a continuous numerical value to node size.

      2. Color Gradient Mapping: This is a special case of continuous-to-continuous mapping. Continuous numerical values are mapped to a color gradient.

      3. Continuous-to-Discrete Mapping: for example, all values below 0 are mapped to square nodes, and all values above 0 are mapped to circular nodes.

    • However, note that there is no way to smoothly morph between circular nodes and square nodes.

The table below shows mapping support for each property.

Legend

Symbol

Description

-

Mapping is not supported for the specified property.

+

Mapping is fully supported for the specified property.

o

Mapping is partially supported for the specified property. Support for “continuous to continuous” mapping is not supported.

Node Mappings

Node Property

Passthrough Mapping

Discrete Mapping

Continuous Mapping

Color

Fill Color

+

+

+

Transparency

+

+

+

Border Paint

+

+

+

Border Transparency

+

+

+

Label Color

+

+

+

Label Transparency

+

+

+

Numeric

Size/Width/Height

+

+

+

Label Font Size

+

+

+

Border Width

+

+

+

Label Width

+

+

+

Other

Border Line Type

+

+

o

Shape

+

+

o

Label

+

+

o

Tooltip

+

+

o

Label Font Face

+

+

o

Label Position

o

+

o

Nested Network Image Visible

+

+

o

Edge Mappings

Edge Properties

Passthrough Mapping

Discrete Mapping

Continuous Mapping

Color

Color

+

+

+

Transparency

+

+

+

Target Arrow Color

+

+

+

Source Arrow Color

+

+

+

Label Color

+

+

+

Label Transparency

+

+

+

Numeric

Width

+

+

+

Label Font Size

+

+

+

Label Width

+

+

+

Other

Line Type

+

+

o

Source Arrow Shape

+

+

o

Target Arrow Shape

+

+

o

Label

+

+

o

Tooltip

+

+

o

Label Font Face

o

+

o

Text Passthrough Mapping

In Cytoscape 2.8.0 and later versions, the Passthrough Mapping can recognize some text representations of values. This means, if you have a string column named Node Size Values, you can directly map those values as the Node Size by setting Node Size Values as controlling column with Node Size Passthrough mapping. The following value types are supported:

  • Color: Standard color names supported by all browsers or RGB representation in hex

  • Numerical Values: Automatically mapped to the specified property.
  • Custom Graphics: URL String. If the URL is valid and an actual image data exists there, Cytoscape automatically downloads the image and maps it to the node.

Examples
  1. Color Passthrough Mapping
    • ColorPassthrough.png colorPt2.png

  2. Node Size Passthrough Mapping
    • SizePassthrough.png sizePt2.png

  3. Custom Graphics Passthrough Mapping
    • CustomGraphicsPassthrough.png cglorPt2.png

Custom Graphics

For Cytoscape 2.8.0 and later versions, Cytoscape supports Custom Graphics for nodes. Using the Style interface, you can map Custom Graphics to nodes like any other property. Cytoscape has a set of graphics and you can also add your own graphics in the Custom Graphics Manager, as well as remove or modify existing graphics.

Taxonomy Icon set used in this section is created by Database Center for Life Science (DBCLS) and is distributed under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.1.)

Managing Images with the Custom Graphics Manager

The Custom Graphics Manager is available under View → Open Custom Graphics Manager:

  • cgManager1.png

  • You can add images by drag-and-drop of image files and URLs. If you want to add images from a web browser or local file system, you can drag images from them and drop those images onto the list of images on the left.
  • add_custom_graphics.png

If you want to add all images in a folder, press the + button on the bottom of the Custom Graphics Manager window.

Note: When you drag and drop images from web browser, make sure that you are actually dragging the URL for the image. In some cases, images are linked to an HTML page or scripts, and in such cases, this drag and drop feature may not work.

  • To remove images from the current session's Custom Graphics library, simply select graphics from the list and press the - button.

  • Images can be resized by defining specific Width and Height information. If the Aspect Ratio box is checked, the width-height ratio is always synchronized. You can resize the image to the original size by pressing Original button.

Using Custom Graphics in Styles

  • CustomGraphicsVizMapper.png CustomGraphicsNodes.png

Custom Graphics is used and defined like any other property, through the Style interface. There are nine Custom Graphics properties (Node Custom Paint 1 - 9). To select a custom graphic, first add the Custom Graphics property to the Properties list in the Style interface. Next, click the Default Value column of the Custom Graphics property to bring up the Custom Graphics Selector. Select a graphic and click Apply. To remove a graphic mapping, click the Remove Mapping icon (RemoveMappingIcon.png)from the Custom Graphics property in the properties list.

  • CustomGraphicsSelector.png

By default, custom graphics objects are automatically resized to be consistent with the Node Size Property.

Custom Graphics Positions

Each custom graphics property is associated with a position. You can edit their positions by using the UI available in the Default Value column for any Custom Graphics Position property.

Z-Ordering

The number that appears with the custom graphics property represents an ordering of layers. Basic node color and shape are always rendered first, then node custom graphics 1, 2, ..., through 9.

Saving and Loading Custom Graphics

In general, saving and loading Custom Graphics is automatic. When you quit Cytoscape, all of the Custom Graphics in the manager will be saved automatically. There are two types of saving:

  1. To session file
    • When you save the current session to a file, the Custom Graphics used in Style will be saved to that file. For example, if you have a style with a discrete mapping for Custom Graphics, all custom graphics used in the style will be saved to the session file. Other graphics will not be saved in your session file. This is because your image library can be huge when you add thousands of images to the Custom Graphics Manager and it takes very long time to save and load the session file.

  2. Automatic saving to CytoscapeConfiguration/images3 directory

    • When you select File → Quit, all of Custom Graphics in the Manager will be saved automatically to your Cytoscape setting directory. Usually, it's YOUR_HOME_DIRECTORY/CytoscapeConfiguration/images3.

In any case, Custom Graphics will be saved automatically to your system or session and will be restored when you restart Cytoscape or load a session.


Styles Tutorials

The following tutorials demonstrate some of the basic Style features. Each tutorial is independent of the others.

Tutorial 1: Create a Basic Style and Set Default Values

The goal of this tutorial is to learn how to create a new Style and set some default values.

Step 1. Load a sample network. From the main menu, select File → Import → Network → File..., and select sampleData/galFiltered.sif.

Step 2. Create some node/edge statistics by Network Analyzer. Network Analyzer calculates some basic statistics for nodes and edges. From the main menu, select Tools → Network Analyzer → Network Analysis → Analyze Network, and click OK. Once the result is displayed, simply close the window. All statistics are stored as a regular table data.

Step 3. Select the Style panel in the Control Panel.

  • StylesInterface.png

Step 4. Create a new style. Click the Options OptionsDropDown.png drop-down, and select Create New Style. Enter a name for your new style when prompted.

  • NewStyle.png

Since no mappings are set up yet, only default values are defined for some of the properties. From this panel, you can create node/edge mappings for all properties.

Step 5. Change the default node color and shape. To set the default node shape to triangles, click the Default Value column for Node Shape. A list of available node shapes will be shown. Select the Round Rectangle icon and click the Apply button. You can edit other default values in the same way. In the example shown below, the node shape is set to Round Rectangle, while the Node Fill Color is set to white. The new Style is automatically applied to the current network, as shown below.

  • Tutorial1-final.png

Tutorial 2: Creating a New Style with a Discrete Mapping

Now you have a network with new Style. The following section demonstrates how to create a new style using a discrete mapping. The goal is to draw protein-DNA interactions as dashed lines, and protein-protein interactions as solid lines.

Step 1. Choose a property. In the Edge tab of the Style panel, find the Stroke Color (Unselected) property.

Step 2. Choose a data column to map to. Expand the entry for Stroke Color (Unselected) by clicking the arrow icon to the right. Click the Column entry and select "interaction" from the drop-down list that appears.

Step 3. Choose a mapping type. Under Mapping Type, select Discrete Mapping. All available column values for "interaction" will be displayed, as shown below.

  • DiscreteMapper.png

Step 4. Set the mapping relationship. Click the empty cell next to "pd" (protein-DNA interactions). On the right side of the cell, click on the ... button that appears. A popup window will appear; select green or similar, and the change will immediately appear on the network window.

  • EdgeColorTut2.png

Repeat step 4 for "pp" (protein-protein interactions), but select a darker color as edge stroke color. Then repeat steps 3 through 4 for the Edge Line Type property, by selecting the correct line style ("Dash" or "Solid") from the list.

Now your network should show "pd" interactions as dashed green lines and "pp" interactions as solid lines. A sample screenshot is provided below.

Tutorial2-final.png

Tutorial 3: Creating a New Style with a Continuous Mapping

At this point, you have a network with some edge mappings. Next, let's create mappings for nodes. The following section demonstrates how to create a new style using a continuous mapping. The goal is to superimpose node statistics (in this example, node degree) onto a network and display it along a color gradient.

Step 1. Choose a property. In the Node tab of the Style panel, find the Fill Color property.

Step 2. Choose a node table column. Expand the entry for Fill Color by clicking the arrow icon to the right. Click the Column entry and select "Degree" from the drop-down list that appears.

Step 3. Choose a mapping type. Set the "Continuous Mapping" option as the Mapping Type. This automatically creates a default mapping.

  • DefaultContinous.png

Step 4. Define the points where colors will change. Double-click on the black-and-white gradient rectangle next to Current Mapping to open the Color Gradient Mapping. Note the two smaller triangles at the top of the gradient. Move the left-side one all the way to the left, and the right-side one all the way to the right.

  • DefaultColorGradient.png

Step 5. Define the colors between points. Double-click on the larger leftmost triangle (facing left) and a color palette will appear. Set the color white and repeat for the smaller left-side triangle. For the triangle at the right, set its color to green and then choose the same green color for the smaller right-side triangle.

  • GreenWhiteGradient.png

The color gradients will immediately appear on the network. All nodes with degree 1 will be set to white, and all values between 1 and 18 will be painted with a white/green color gradient. A sample screenshot is below.

Tutorial3-final.png

Step 6. Repeat for other properties. You can create some more mappings for other numeric table data. For example, edge data table column "EdgeBetweenness" is a number, so you can use it for continuous mapping. The following is an example visualization by mapping Edge Width to "EdgeBetweenness".

Tutorial3-EdgeThickness.png

Tutorial 4: How to Use Utilities for Discrete Mapping

The following tutorial demonstrates utilities for editing discrete mappings. The goal of this section is learning how to set and adjust values for discrete mappings automatically.

  1. Switch the Current Style to Minimal. Now your network looks like the following:

  2. Minimal.png

  3. Create a discrete Node Color mapping. Select "AverageShortestPathLength" (generated by Network Analyzer) as the controlling property.

  4. Click the Fill Color cell, then right-click it and select Mapping Value Generators → Rainbow. Cytoscape will automatically generate different colors for different property values as shown below:

  5. RainbowDiscreteMapping.png

  6. Create a discrete Node Label Font Size mapping. Select "AverageShortestPathLength" as controlling property.

  7. Click the Node Label Font Size cell, then right-click it and select Mapping Value Generators → Number Series. Type 3 for the first value and click OK. Enter 3 for increment.

  8. Apply Layout → yFiles Layouts → Organic. The final view is shown below:

  9. Tutorial4-final.png

This mapping generator utility is useful for categorical data. The following example is created by adding node color discrete mapping from species column to color.

  • tutorial4_sample.png

Tutorial 5: Using Custom Graphics in Styles

This tutorial is a quick introduction to Custom Graphics feature. You can assign up to nine images per node as a part of a Style.

  1. In this first example, we will use the presets that Cytoscape 3 has. In general, you can use any type of bitmap graphics. Custom images should be added to the Custom Graphics Manager before using them in a Style.

  2. If you are continuing from the previous tutorials, skip to the next step. Otherwise, load a network and run the Network Analyzer (Tools → Network Analyzer → Network Analysis → Analyze Network). This creates several new table columns (statistics for nodes and edges).

  3. Click the Style panel in the Control Panel, and select the Solid style.

  4. Under Properties, add Custom Graphics 1 from Paint → Custom Paint 1 → Custom Graphics 1.

  5. In the Default Value cell of the Custom Graphics 1 entry, click to open the custom graphics selection interface, and select any of the custom graphics from the list.

  6. In the Default Value cell of Transparency, set the value to zero.

  7. Set the Default Value of node Size to 80. Also change the edge width to 6 and the node label font size to 10, to increase readability.

  8. Press Apply. Now your network looks like the following:

    • CustomGraphicsNodes.png

  9. Open the Custom Graphics Manager under View → Open Custom Graphics Manager. Drag and Drop this sampleImage.png icon to the image list which automatically adds it to the manager.

  10. cgTutorial4.png

1. Create a continuous mapping for Node Custom Graphics 2. Select "BetweennessCentrality" as controlling property. In the Continuos Mapping Editor, add a handle position by clicking in the Add button, and move the handle to 0.2. Double-click the region over 0.2 and set the new icon you have just added in the last step.

  • cgTutorial5.png

1. Press Apply. Under Properties, add Custom Graphics Position 2 from Paint → Custom Paint 2 → Custom Graphics Position 2. Change the Default Value and move the position of the graphics to upper left.

  • cgTutorial6.png

1. Press Apply. Now the important nodes in the network (nodes with high betweenness centrality) are annotated with the icon.

  • CustomGraphicsNodes2.png


Advanced Topics

Discrete Mappings

Several utility functions are available for Discrete Mappings. You can use those functions by right-clicking on any property (shown below.)

MappingValueGenerators.png

Automatic Value Generators

  • Mapping Value Generators - Functions in this menu category are value generators for discrete mappings. Users can set values for discrete mappings automatically by these functions.

    • Rainbow and Rainbow OSC - These functions try to assign as diverse a set of colors as possible for each data value.

      • RainbowMapper.png

    • Random Numbers and Random Colors - Randomized numbers and colors.

    • Number Series - Set a series of numbers to the specified mapping. Requires a starting number and increment.

      • NumberSeriesNodeSize.png

    • Fit label width - This function is only for node width and height. When the node size is unlocked AND Node Width/Height discrete mappings are available, you can fit the size of each node to its label automatically by selecting this function. See the example below:

      • NodeLabelFit.png

Edit Selected Values at Once

You can set multiple values at once. First, you need to select rows in which you want to change values then right-click and select Edit → Edit Selected Discrete Mapping Values. A dialog pops up and you can enter the new value for the selected rows.

Property Dependencies

A Property Dependency can be established between different properties. Currently there are two dependencies: Lock node width and height (available in the Node tab) and Edge color to arrows (available in the Edge tab).

  • Lock Node with and height - If this menu item is checked, Node Width and Node Height mappings are ignored and Node Size overrides them. If you want to use the Fit label width function, you need to unlock this.

  • Edge color to arrows - If this menu item is checked then Source Arrow Color and Target Arrow Color for edges are overridden and Edge Color is used in both cases.

Working with Continuous Mapping Editors

There are three kinds of Continuous Mapping Editors. Each of them are associated with a specific properties:

Editor Type

Supported Data Type

Properties

Color Gradient Editor

Color

node/edge/border/label colors

Continuous-Continuous Editor

Numbers

size/width/opacity

Continuous-Discrete Editor

All others

font/shape/text

Range Setting Panel

RangeSetting26.png

Each editor has a common section named Range Setting.

  1. Handle Value Box - This box displays the current value for the selected slider handle. You can also directly type the value in this box to move the slider to an exact location.

  2. Min/Max Button - Set the overall range of this editor. The first time you open the editor, the Min and Max values are set by the range of the data column you selected, i.e., minimum and maximum value of the column will be set to the range of this editor. You can change this range anytime you want by pressing this button.

  3. Add Handle Button - Add a new handle to the editor.

  4. Delete Handle Button - Delete the selected handle from the slider widget.

  5. Handle Value Editor Button - Edit value assigned to the selected handle.

Gradient Editor

GradientEditorSample26.png

The Gradient Editor is an editor for creating continuous mappings for colors. To change the color of each region, just double-click the handles (small triangles on the top). A Color gradient will be created only when the editor has two or more handles (see the example below).

1 handle (no gradient)

2 handles

OneSlider.png

TwoSliders.png

Continuous-Continuous Editor

C2CEditor26.png

The Continuous-Continuous Editor is for creating mappings between numerical data and numerical properties (size/opacity). To change the value assigned on the Y-axis (the property shown in the example above is node size), drag the red squares or double-click on the squares to directly type an exact value.

Continuous-Discrete Editor

C2DEditor26.png

The Continuous-Discrete Editor is used to create mappings from numerical column values to discrete properties, such as font, shape, or line style. To edit a value for a specific region, double click on the icon on the track.

Managing Styles

All Cytoscape Style settings are initially loaded from a default file that cannot be altered by users. When users make changes to the properties, a session_syle.xml file is saved in the session file. This means that if you save your session, you will not lose your properties. No other style files are saved during normal operation.

Saving Styles

Styles are automatically saved with the session they were created in. Before Cytoscape exits, you will be prompted to make sure you save the session before quitting. It is also possible to save your styles in a file separate from the session file. To do this, navigate to the File → Export → Style... menu option and save the properties as a file. This feature can be used to share styles with other users.

Style File Formats

The Cytoscape-native Style format is Style XML. If you want to share Style files with other Cytoscape users, you need to export them to this format.

From version 3.1.0, Cytoscape can export Cytoscape.js compatible JSON file. Since Cytoscape.js is an independent JavaScript library, and there are some differences between Cytoscape and Cytoscape.js, not all properties are mapped to JSON. The following properties are not supported by the exporter:

  • Custom Graphics and their locations
  • Edge Bends
  • Nested Networks
  • Network Background (Note: This can be set manually as standard CSS in Cytoscape.js)

The Continuous-Discrete Editor is used to create mappings from numerical data values to discrete properties, such as font, shape, or line style. To edit a value for a specific region, double-click on the icon on the track.

Importing Styles

To import existing styles, navigate to the File → Import → Style... menu option and select a styles.xml (Cytoscape 3 format) file. Imported properties will supplement existing properties or override existing properties if the properties have the same name. You can also specify a style file using the -V command line option. Properties loaded from the command line will override any default properties. Note that legacy .props files can only be loaded via the File → Import → Style... menu option, but not by command line.

Cytoscape_3/UserManual/Styles (last edited 2016-04-26 22:17:54 by server2)

Funding for Cytoscape is provided by a federal grant from the U.S. National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the Na tional Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number GM070743-01. Corporate funding is provided through a contract from Unilever PLC.

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