User Guide - Visualizer

Last updated November 8, 2023

Visualizer

Visualizer graphically presents associative query results among people, places, and things that exist in both CrimeTracer and Thomson Reuters CLEAR. These associations might not be obvious when viewed textually. Visualizer is useful in complex investigations that involve multiple suspects. The more linkages among objects, the closer they appear to entities of interest. Queries can also be refined to allow you to focus on specific entities within a specific time period that you define.

Starting Visualizer

Run an Associations search.
Click Visualize. If matches are found, the Visualizer is displayed.

Navigating Tips

Use the Pan Tool in the upper-left corner to move around the image
Click the button in the middle to recenter back to the original location
Use the Selection Tool in the upper-left corner to focus on different areas
Use the Zoom Slider on the left or mouse wheel to zoom in and out of the image
In the upper-left corner click the arrow and move the box to quickly navigate large result sets
Clicking on any entity icon and dragging will reposition the icon
Double clicking an entity icon will open the associated reference
Right clicking on an entity icon will give the option to view an entity's details or expand out the associations from that entity

Document Quick View

When you visualize an entity you will see an orange note icon near the document as shown below:

Click on that orange note to be presented with a quick summary of that document. To close the summary, use the 'X' in the top right.

Time Bar

Displayed at the bottom of the visualizer you will find the timeline as shown below:

From here you can:

Double click a specific bar to filter to just that date
Slide the sides to only show a date range
Click on Play to show how entities appear on the chart over time

The Time Bar is currently off by default. To turn it on, check the checkbox in the slide out panel on the right of the visualizer. Note that not all entities may be associated to dates and there is an option here to show items with no date.

Showing and Hiding Entities

On the slide out panel located to the right of the visualizer, select and de-select what items appear on the visualizer. Note that the items unchecked will still be visible, but dimmed to allow the user to follow links if desired.

The size option at the bottom will change the size of entities:

Same - All the entities are the same
Degrees - The more links from an entity the larger it will display
Centrality - This takes into account the number of links each node has and the number of links their connections have

Indication of starting entity or entities

A visual indication is given on your starting entity or entities. A red circle will appear around them.

Changing the layout will keep this entity highlighted as well.

Select all entities in Visualizer

A quick way to select all the entities or turn off all the entities, allowing you to add them back one at a time

Right click an entity in Visualizer

When you right click on an entity, you have the option to view the Details Page for the entity, expand associations to the entity, or open a new tab and display a new visualizer chart based on the selected entity.

Example Tutorial

This example explores links between people, locations, and vehicles that exist in both CrimeTracer and Thomson Reuters CLEAR. We can see how a user can start with a simple motor vehicle record search and easily discover criminal activity involving that vehicle.

Perform a CLEAR search and "Visualize" a CLEAR record.

Right Click on a person, vehicle, or location to show the "Search CLX" option. This option is available when there is enough information to conduct a meaningful search that may reveal a possible connection.

CrimeTracer will display all possible matches to that entity. Possible Matches are visually distinguished from document co-occurrence matches by a dotted line.

Printing and Exporting Visualizer

Scroll down in the options on the right and you will see Export options. You can choose to export the visualizer as an image or a PDF. You can also choose whether you would like to export a section of the visualizer or the whole chart. Once you have chosen the options, press the Export button and you will be able to print or save the file as needed.