Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) 2.5 arrives with annotations, a brand new function for all CML license ranges. When studying and designing, annotations allow you to get probably the most out of your labs. Annotations assist you to embody all of the documentation on how elements of the community work, particulars about your studying aims and subsequent steps, or methods the community components match collectively. In brief, the annotations function in CML 2.5 permits you to make your community yours. Here’s the way it works.
Add context with annotations in CML
Annotations assist you to present extra context to your lab topology and set up the weather in a useful, significant approach. For instance, you need to use annotations to point out routing, IP addressing, and VLAN info, as proven beneath: 
Annotations in CML are persistent. This means annotations will probably be included within the lab definition if exported, permitting you to share your annotated labs with others.
A grid background and node/annotation grid snapping are enabled by default. Snapping will mechanically snap nodes and annotations to make sure they’re correctly aligned when drawing or transferring them. You can flip off snapping for a lab by unchecking the snap to grid choice within the toolbar settings. You can even quickly disable snapping by holding the Alt key if you add or transfer a node/annotation.
Additionally, annotations assist transparency and layering, permitting you to stack annotations.
How so as to add annotations to labs in CML 2.5
You can add annotations to labs within the workbench through one of many 4 annotation instruments within the toolbar.
There is one instrument for every sort of annotation:
- Rectangle
- Ellipsis
- Text
- Line
For all annotation varieties besides textual content, you possibly can add the annotations by first deciding on the instrument. Then click on and maintain the mouse the place you need the annotation to begin, and drag it to the place you need it to finish. Releasing the mouse will create the annotation, and you will note a sidebar with different properties you possibly can change for the annotation.
The strategy of including a textual content annotation is analogous, beginning with deciding on the instrument. Next, click on and launch the place you need the textual content. Finally, the sidebar will open, permitting you to enter the textual content you want to use.
New choices in toolbar settings
Click the gear icon within the toolbar to open the canvas settings menu, which supplies these new choices for CML 2.5:
- Toggles the grid on/off
- Turns node/annotation snapping on/off
- Turns annotations off, hiding the drawn annotations and annotation instruments
NOTE: You can quickly disable the snap-to-grid choice by holding the Alt key (or Option key on a Mac) when transferring or resizing an annotation/node. This permits you to hold snapping enabled whereas exactly inserting an annotation/node.
Edit annotations
Selecting an annotation will toggle the visibility of the resize handles for the at present chosen annotation. Additionally, a sidebar will probably be opened, permitting you to edit the annotation properties additional
- Resize Handles
- Sidebar
Future annotations in CML
The CML growth crew is at present exploring including a picture annotation sort in a future launch to permit the addition of photos inside a topology.
What do you consider annotations? How can we enhance?
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Read subsequent: Cisco Modeling Labs 2.5 provides useful resource limiting for Enterprise and Higher Education licenses. Learn extra.
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