Layer by Time

Constellation Action	Keyboard Shortcut	User Action	Menu Icon
Run Layer by Time		Arrange -> Layer by Time

Layer by Time is an analytic using the Z-axis or 3D capability of Constellation. It uses a transaction attribute of type datetime to split the data in the graph into a series of time bins. Select a range using the First Datetime and Last Datetime selection boxes, or use the default values of the earliest and latest timestamps in the current graph data.

WARNING: Using the "Layer by Time" feature will add information (duplicate nodes and transactions) to your graph. To preserve your original data, make a copy of your graph before running the plugin.

There are two options for defining the layers: "Nodes as Layers" and "Transactions as Layers". The default option of "Nodes as Layers" (i.e. "Transactions as Layers" unticked) creates layers containing both nodes and transactions, with each layer representing a different time bin. It also adds guidelines to your graph to help with tracking the same node across multiple time layers. The "Transactions as Layers" option bins the data in the same way, but puts transactions on a separate layer (between their source and destination nodes). Experiment with both options to see which one works best for you.

Example: