The Network Lens

A complex network graphics may be composed of hundreds and thousands of objects, such as nodes and edges. Each object may hold a large number of attributes that might be difficult to explore in the network visualization. Therefore, many visualization tools and approaches have been developed to gain more information from the network graphics. In this paper, we introduce the concept of the Network Lens, a new widget that assists the users to deal with a complex network. The Network Lens is an interactive tool that combines data visualization to a magic lens. With the help of the Network Lens, users can display hidden information of the elements in the network graphics based on their interest. Moreover, the Network Lens supports a series of interactive functions that give the users flexible options to define their own lenses.