Graphviz integration on Mac OS

The TAG Neuron® can integrate with GraphViz, permitting automatic generation of diagrams from GraphViz definitions in Markdown. The integration requires GraphViz to be installed by the operator of the Neuron®. Follow these steps to install GraphViz:

1. On Mac OS, GraphViz can be installed using MacPorts. It is an application that simplifies the installation of open source projects on your Mac via the terminal window. The MacPorts project provides multiple installers for different versions of Mac OS.

2. Once MacPort is installed, install GraphViz from the terminal window, using the following command-line (as described in the GraphViz MAC installation documentation).

   sudo port install graphviz
   

   If the terminal session cannot find port, use the full path of the MacPort application as follows:

   sudo /opt/local/bin/port install graphviz
   

3. Similarly, you can install a GUI tool for viewing GraphViz documents:

   sudo port install graphviz-gui
   

   Or:

   sudo /opt/local/bin/port install graphviz-gui
   

Once GraphViz has been installed on the Mac, you need to restart the Neuron®. Once restarted, you should see a log entry during startup confirming the Neuron® has found GraphViz, and that the integration is in effect:

GraphViz found. Integration with Markdown added.
  Timestamp=31-05-2024 8:17:17PM, Level=Minor, Installation Folder=/opt/local/bin, Binary Folder=/opt/local/bin, dot=True, neato=True, fdp=True, sfdp=True, twopi=True
  circo=True

From the Admin-menu, you can now open the GraphViz Lab:

Once open, you can edit your diagrams in the left pane, and view the corresponding output in the right pane:

Integration into existing Markdown pages will also show that the integration works.

#tutorial, #documentation, #neuron, #graphviz, #mac