A new algorithm for removing node overlapping in graph visualisation

Abstract

Techniques for drawing graphs have proven successful in producing good layouts of undirected graphs. When nodes must be labeled however, the problem of overlapping nodes arises, particularly in dynamic graph visualization. Providing a formal description of this problem, this paper presents a new approach called the Force-Transfer algorithm that removes node overlaps. Compared to other methods, our algorithm is usually able to achieve a compact adjusted layout within a reasonable running time.