Ordering Elements in the Model Navigator

Sort each section of the Model Navigator alphabetically or by auto ID, or arrange elements by hand with drag and drop.

The Model Navigator groups your model into sections — Node Types, Nodes, Relationships, Diagrams, Folders and so on. Each section has its own sort order, and you can also position elements by hand.

Choose a sort order for a section

1. Find the section header in the Model Navigator.
2. Click the sort icon (the stacked bars) and pick a mode:
   • Manual order — your own order, arranged by dragging. This is the default.
   • Name A–Z / Name Z–A — alphabetical by the label you see. In a multilingual model this follows the language you're viewing.
   • Auto ID ascending / Auto ID descending — numeric, so REQ-9 comes before REQ-10. Elements without an auto ID sort to the bottom in both directions.

The icon turns cyan while a sort is active, so you can always tell a derived order from your own. The Auto ID options are greyed out where they can't apply — in sections whose elements never carry an auto ID, and in models where no type has auto IDs switched on.

The sort order is saved with the model, so it survives a reload and everyone working on the model sees the same tree.

Give one folder a different order

1. Right-click the folder in the Model Navigator.
2. Under Sort order, pick a mode — or Same as section to go back to inheriting.

A folder that overrides its section carries a small cyan sort icon in its row; hover it to see which mode is in force. Subfolders inherit the override.

Arrange elements by hand

While a section or folder is in Manual order:

1. Drag an element onto the top or bottom edge of one of its siblings.
2. A cyan insertion line shows where it will land — release to drop it there.

Dropping onto the middle of a folder still moves the element into that folder, as before.

Good to know:

• Reordering works within one container. To move an element to a different folder, drop it onto the folder (it's added at the end), then drag it into position there.
• You can only reorder while the container is in Manual order. In a sorted section there's nowhere to keep an authored position, so the drop is refused and no insertion line appears.
• Folders can be reordered among their siblings the same way.
• Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z undoes a reorder, and collaborators see the new order immediately.
• Dragging a multi-selection still moves everything into a folder rather than to one insertion point.