The shape of a link is determined by five properties - source, target, vertices, connector and router.

Source and Target

The source and target properties have to be provided when creating a Link. Either an Element can be provided (either directly or via an id property) or a Point (with x and y properties).

link.source(rect);
link.source({ id: rect.id });

link.source(new g.Point(100, 100));
link.source({ x: 100, y: 100 });

If the end is specified as an Element, a specific subelement on that element may be identified for use as the link end. The selector property allows specifying the subelement with a selector string, while the magnet property uses magnet id, and the port property uses the port id.

For the purposes of link geometry, however, the most important are the anchor and connectionPoint properties of link end elements. The connectionStrategy paper option is also relevant to mention in this context.

Anchor

If the link end (source/target) is specified as an Element (whether or not one of the subelement specifications is in effect), the precise position of the link end's anchor may be specified by the anchor property. (If the link end is specified as a Point, its coordinates are used as its anchor directly.) Every link has two anchors; one at the source end and one at the target end.

A link end anchor is a point inside a given (sub)element that the link path wants to connect to at that source/target end - if it were not obstructed by the body of the element itself (it is the role of connectionPoints to take the end element into account). Alongside link vertices, source and target anchors determine the basic link path. Then, it is the job of connectionPoints, routers, and connectors to modify that path to make it look good.

The anchor functions reference the end element to find the anchor point - e.g. the center of the end element, or its top-right corner. Notably, anchor functions also allow you to offset found anchor points by a custom distance in both dimensions from the standard position (e.g. 10 pixels to the right and 20 pixels below the center of an end element). Several pre-made anchors are provided inside the JointJS library in the joint.anchors namespace.

link.source(rect, {
    anchor: {
        name: 'bottomLeft',
        args: {
            dx: 20,
            dy: -10
        }
    }
});

If an anchor function is not provided, the defaultAnchor paper option is used instead. The joint.anchors.center function is used by default.

Connection Point

The link end's connection point may be specified by the connectionPoint property. Every link has two connection points; one at the source end and one at the target end.

A link connection point is the point the the link path actually ends at, taking the end element into account. This point will always lie on the link path (the line connecting link anchors and vertices together, in order).

The connectionPoints are found by considering intersections between the link path and a desired feature of the end element (e.g. bounding box, shape boundary, anchor). Although connectionPoints are not capable of being offset off the link path (anchors should be used to modify the link path if this is required), they can be offset along the path - e.g. to form a gap between the element and the actual link. Several pre-made connectionPoints are provided in the JointJS library in the joint.connectionPoints namespace.

link.source(rect, {
    connectionPoint: {
        name: 'boundary',
        args: {
            offset: 5
        }
    }
});

If a connection point function is not provided, the defaultConnectionPoint paper option is used instead. The joint.connectionPoints.bbox function is used by default.

Connection Strategy

Related to anchors and connectionPoints is the connectionStrategy paper option. It allows you to specify which anchor and connectionPoint properties should be assigned to end elements in response to user interaction (e.g. in response to dragging a link arrowhead onto a new element). This setting is necessary because assigned anchor and connectionPoint are not preserved when the end element is reassigned by the user - and the paper's defaultAnchor and defaultConnectionPoint are used instead.

Several pre-made connectionStrategies are provided inside the JointJS library in the joint.connectionStrategies namespace, but you may find it necessary to create your own custom connection strategies. This is a paper-level setting; connectionStrategies not assigned on a link-by-link basis.

paper.options.connectionStrategy = joint.connectionStrategies.pinAbsolute;

If a connection strategy is not provided, the joint.connectionStrategies.useDefaults function is used by default.

Vertices

The vertices array is an array of user-defined points for the link to pass through. Alongside the source and target anchors, the link vertices determine the basic link path. This skeleton path is then used for determining the link route. The vertices can be accessed with the link.vertices() function and related functions.

link.vertices();
link.vertices([{ x: 100, y: 120 }, { x: 150, y: 60 }]);

Router

Routers take an array of link vertices and transform them into an array of route points that the link should go through. This route is then used for generating the connection SVG path commands. The router property of a link can be accessed with the link.router() function.

A collection of pre-made routers is provided inside the JointJS library in the joint.routers namespace. This includes smart routers that are able to automatically avoid obstacles (elements) in their way.

link.router('manhattan', {
    excludeEnds: ['source'],
    excludeTypes: ['myNamespace.MyCommentElement'],
    startDirections: ['top'],
    endDirections: ['bottom']
});

If a router is not provided, the defaultRouter paper option is used instead. The joint.routers.normal function is used by default.

Connector

Connectors take an array of link route points and generate SVG path commands so that the link can be rendered. The connector property of a link can be accessed with the link.connector() function.

A collection of pre-made connectors is provided inside the JointJS library in the joint.connectors namespace.

link.connector('rounded', {
    raw: true,
    radius: 20
});

If a connector is not provided, the defaultConnector paper option is used instead. The joint.connectors.normal function is used by default.

Note that the modular architecture of JointJS allows mixing-and-matching connectors with routers as desired; for example, a link may be specified to use the jumpover connector on top of the manhattan router:

var link = new joint.shapes.standard.Link();
link.source(rect);
link.target(rect2);
link.router('manhattan');
link.connector('jumpover');

Styling

Styling of the link is contained in the attrs property which has exactly the same structure as the attrs property of elements. Please refer to the joint.dia.Element and joint.dia.Link sections of this page for more information.

Links also have the z property which specifies the z-level of the link. It has exactly the same meaning as the z property of elements.