Labels, links and shape data

A shape can carry more than a label. It can hold arbitrary data as key-value pairs, a tooltip, and a link, which is what turns a diagram into a navigation surface.

Linking shapes to Confluence pages is the single highest-value thing most people never do.

#What this is for

Diagrams that should link to the pages documenting each part.
Adding metadata, such as an owner or a system id, to shapes.
Tooltips that explain a shape without cluttering the diagram.

#How it works

Action	How
Label a shape	Select it and start typing, or press F2.
Label an edge	Double-click the connector.
Position a label	The Text tab, or drag the label along the connector.
Add a link	Right-click, Edit Link. Confluence page URLs work, including relative ones.
Tooltip	Right-click, Edit Tooltip.
Shape data	Right-click, Edit Data, to add key-value pairs.

#A few things that catch people out

Links survive on the page and on published sites. They do not survive PDF or Word export.
Shape data is stored in the diagram, so it travels with it and is searchable.
Keep labels short. A shape containing a sentence is a note, not a shape.

Multi page diagrams

Several diagrams in one.

Edit the diagram XML

The escape hatch, and it is a good one.

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