MAPUCCINO Haifa Research Lab

 

 


Table of Contents

1.0 About Mapuccino
2.0 A Mapuccino Map: how to read it
2.1 Mouse Actions
2.2 Notations
2.3 The Toolbar
2.4 Minimap
2.5 The Menu
3.0 Printing Multiple Documents
4.0 Saving the Mapuccino Map for Future Use
5.0 Feedback


1.0 About Mapuccino

Mapuccino is a tool for constructing visual maps of Web sites, or more generally of any neighborhood of a given URL. Using the map, users can see the overall organization of a site and its relationship with other sites, navigate through the map, and perform various operations on (sub)maps.

Mapuccino is given as a free service for site mapping at Mapuccino's site on IBM's Java Page. Read about Mapuccino and use it for mapping Internet sites, there.

2.0 A Mapuccino Map: how to read it

Here is an example of a map cut out from http://www.software.ibm.com. What you have below is only a screen dump (GIF) click on the real map applet to have it downloaded so that you can operate it.

 

The initial page specified as a URL (called the root) is marked with a "home" icon. It's descendants in the tree control view are the pages it refers to via HTML links. The pages are by default labeled with the TITLE of the document (as defined in the HTML contents of it). This can be changed to the actual link name (see Show Link as Name in the View menu)

Mapuccino lets you see the map in several ways. Here is an example of a different view: the "Tree as Circle" view, viewed through a fisheye lens. Here, the references from one page to another are shown as arrows, and the pages themselves as labeled rectangles. Sometimes, pages point back to some nodes that have already been discovered, creating backlinks represented as blue edges. These backlinks are shown by default (see BackLinks in the View menu)

 

2.1 Mouse actions

Mouse click on node
When you click on a node, it is selected (indicated by a red frame), expanded to show its full title, its URL is displayed at the bottom of the window, and blue backlinks originating from it are displayed. It recovers its original appearance, when you release the mouse button.
Mouse click on edge
Clicking on the yellow spot that decorates black edges displays the link text (aka HREF label), that is the text on which you click in the parent document, to reach the descendant document. Note that this text is often different from the document title.
Mouse double click on node
When you double click on it, the contents of the page referred to by the URL is displayed in the browser. Once a node has been thus visited, its label is written in a paler shade.
Shift & Mouse click on node(s)
Select multiple nodes by pressing the shift key while clicking on a node.
Drag Mouse on background
Dragging the mouse from a point on the background will move the whole map.
Mouse double-click on background
When you double-click the mouse on a point in the background, the map will return to its original position.
Drag Mouse on selected URL
Dragging the mouse will move selected URLs. To move a single node, just click on it and drag it. Note that this features is disabled both in the tree control view, and in the fish-eye layout.
Click/drag Mouse on fisheye overview
Clicking or dragging the mouse on the fisheye overview window will change the focus of the fisheye lens.

2.2 Notations

Notation Meaning Description
node (Web page) A node on the map represents a URL on the Web. By default, the label that appears on the node consists of the first few words of the page title (see View menu).
Clicked node When you click on a node, it expands and shows its full title, as well as backlinks if any.
Selected node Nodes can be selected (see Mouse Actions for further operations.
Visited node A node whose contents has been displayed in the browser via invocation of "Show" operations (See Operations menu).
Directed edge An arrow between nodes A and B indicates that document A refers to document B via a link
Clicked spot on edge The actual hotlink text (as underlined) is displayed
Backlink A link that points back to a previously mapped node. Shown by default (see View menu)

Nodes are marked with different icons; here's an explanation of these icons' meanings:

Icon Meaning Description
Root The URL initially specified to Mapuccino, where it started its search.
Document node A regular document
Unreachable node A node which cannot be reached. Check the "Show Information" in the Operations menu for the reason.
"Out of site" node A node whose URL is out of the original site of mapping. Displayed upon request (see View menu).
Timed-out node A node that Mapuccino could not reach in the given time limit. Displayed upon request (see View menu)
GIF A GIF (picture). Displayed upon request (see View menu)

2.3 The Toolbar

Some of Mapuccino's actions can be invoked not only via its Menu but via its toolbar, on the left of the window. They are described below.

Icon Action
Lay out the tree vertically
Lay out the tree horizontally
Lay out the tree as a "star", with root at center
Lay out the tree in a tree control view
Lay out the tree in a fish-eye view (toggle mode)
Magnify/Demagnify map (toggle button)

2.4 Minimap

The minimap panel is visible only in fisheye view. It represents a reduced view of the map and enables navigation. By dragging the mouse in the minimap the perspective is changed, and the view point of the map is changed. By moving the scrollbar at the top of the minimap, the, the distortion factor is changed.

2.5 The Menu

File
Exit
Exit the Mapuccino application
Layout
Horizontal Tree
Lay out the tree horizontally (available in toolbar)
Vertical Tree
Lay out the tree vertically
Tree as Circle
Lay out the tree as a "circle" or as "star", with root at center (available in toolbar)
Table of Contents
Layout the tree as a tree control view (available in toolbar) "a la" Windows Explorer. A hierarchy of folders is provided that can opened (by clicking on +) or closed (by clicking on -). Note that in the case of tailored maps, the title of the page is highlighted in blue when relevant. When closed, a folder containing a relevant node has its + sign only highlighted in blue.
Fisheye view
Enable to view the horizontal tree, vertical tree and as cirlce layouts in a fisheye view. When selected, the associated toolbar icon is displayed in reverse video, and the fisheye control panel is displayed at the bottom. Note that the fisheye view is disabled for the tree control view as it looses its meaning. (Available in toolbar)
Fit to Page
Either fit map into page, or magnify it by 2.
View
Relevant documents (Blue)
When checked, view nodes that are relevant to the user-given topic of interests (the darker the blue, the more relevant the node). Checked by default in case of tailored maps. Disabled for general maps.
Regular Documents (White)
When checked, view nodes that are not relevant to the user-given topics of interests. Checked by default.
Timed-Out Documents
When checked, view nodes that could not be reached within the given time limit, but whose link has been identified. Not checked by default.
Broken Links
When checked, view nodes that could not be reached for various reasons: broken link, site unknown to DNS, etc. Not checked by default.
Documents Outside Site
When checked, view nodes that are outside the site limit. Not checked by default
Backlinks
When checked, view links that point back to a previously mapped nodes. Represented in blue. Checked by default
Full title
When checked, expand the label of each node to its full length. Not checked by default.
Show link as Name
When checked, use the link name as label of each node instead of the document title. Not checked by default.
Operations
Select All
Select all visible nodes
Inverse Selection
Inverse the current selection indicated by red frame.
Show Selected Document
Show the selected document in a browser window.
Show Information
Show information about the selected document.

3.0 Printing Multiple Documents

You may use the map for printing several documents at once. Simply select the documents you want, (left-mouse+shift, or Select all), then apply the "Show selected document(s)" option.

The documents you selected will be concatenated into one document, which will be returned to your browser. You may then use the browser's "Print..." or "Save as..." options to print the file or save it locally.

4.0 Saving the Mapuccino Map for Future Use

Once you fill Mapuccino's form, your browser screen is split into two frames. The bottom frame has some text, and the top frame is dedicated for the Mapuccino Crawler results - an HTML file that contains the data for the Mapuccino Applet.

Use your browser to save the contents of the top frame to a file (see detailed instructions on the top frame itself), so that you can view the map again and again. By default, any time you view the saved file with your favorite (Java enabled) browser, the Mapuccino Applet will be automatically downloaded from Mapuccino's site on IBM's Java page, and your map will be launched.

If you want to view your map off-line, it is possible to download and store the Mapuccino Applet locally. In order to do that, consult the Mapuccino form that you fill for creating the map. Follow the link for downloading and installing the applet, and check the box for using local applet, before creating the map. If you save this map, any time you view the saved file, the local Mapuccino Applet will be used.

5.0 Feedback

Please don't hesitate to turn to us at helpmap@haifa.vnet.ibm.com.