Feature: cross-diagram drilldown navigation (drilldowns / parentHref) #280

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1. drewdog88 commented on Sep 4, 2026

   

   drewdog88

   on Sep 4, 2026

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   Proposal from a real sibling-architecture pair

   We hit this on two published architecture maps that live next to each other as static HTML (a platform map and a vendor-integrations map). Archify cannot currently drill from a collapsed Integrations box into the other SVG, so readers have to bounce through a hub page.

   Issue #280 and PR #281 already cover the right problem. This is a contract note from that use, not a competing design.

   What we needed

   One node on diagram A should open diagram B. Not architecture → dataflow → sequence. Two architecture artifacts in the same directory:

   { "id": "integrations", "type": "cloud", "label": "Integrations", "href": "integrations.html" }

   The child can point back with meta.parentHref: "platform.html" (your field) or an equivalent node href.

   What we would keep from #281

   • Additive fields only; existing v1 JSON stays valid.
   • Relative .html targets only. No javascript:, https://, or parent-path escapes.
   • Passport still lists targets.
   • Route Probe picking must not navigate.
   • meta.parentHref / ?from= Back control is the right reverse path.

   What we would change

   1. Architecture-to-architecture is a first-class case. The issue text centers overview → dataflow/sequence. Sibling architecture maps are the same contract.

   2. A single-target shorthand. For one child, drilldowns: [{ "href": "integrations.html", "label": "Integrations map" }] is heavier than authors (and agents) will write. Suggest:

   • href on a node is sugar for a one-entry drilldowns list (label defaults to the node label).
   • If both are present, drilldowns wins.
   • Same relative-HTML safety rule as relativeHtmlHref.

   3. Visible click-through for the one-child case. Ctrl+click / double-click is discoverable only after reading the docs. For a collapsed box whose whole job is “open the other map”:

   • Render a small authored mark on the node (survives canonical SVG export).
   • Wrap the node in a native SVG <a href> so the link works without Viewer JS and in exported SVG.
   • Click follows the only target. Alt-click (or a modifier you already use) keeps today’s focus + Passport behavior.
   • If drilldowns.length > 1, keep feat: cross-diagram drilldown navigation (href / drilldowns / parentHref) #281: click focuses, Passport lists children, Ctrl/double-click opens the first.

   That preserves Passport for multi-child nodes and still feels like a link when there is exactly one destination.

   4. Tighten same-directory targets. A pattern like ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]*\\.html(?:#[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9._~/=&?-]*)?$ is enough for sibling Pages/docs artifacts and rejects ../, schemes, and javascript:. #focus= / #relation= fragments are useful so a child can land on a node.

   Non-goals (agree)

   No hosted multi-diagram runtime, no rewriting topology, no change to reach/route/export meaning beyond the navigation hooks.

   Happy to align a local href prototype with #281 if maintainers want the shorthand in that PR rather than a follow-up.

   👍React with 👍1Reacted by DanRJ

   🚀React with 🚀1Reacted by Oleksandr Mekhovov
2. brick-banzhuan

   added a commit that references this issue on Sep 7, 2026

   feat: add href sugar and single-child SVG drilldown links

   ...

   bc3108e
3. tt-a1i commented on Sep 21, 2026

   

   tt-a1i

   on Sep 21, 2026

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   The sibling architecture-map example is helpful. An architecture diagram linking to another architecture diagram fits the optional drilldown direction we are already trying in #281, and relative local HTML links plus a visible return path are appropriate for that case. Your href shorthand and native SVG link ideas are useful follow-ups to evaluate against the current demo. Changing a single click from Focus to navigation would change an existing reader interaction, so I would keep that out of the current #281 acceptance until we can test it on several real diagrams and decide the interaction deliberately. If you have the sanitized platform/vendor pair, it would make a strong usability test for the current PR.
4. tt-a1i commented on Oct 25, 2026

   

   tt-a1i

   on Oct 25, 2026 – with ChatGPT Codex Connector

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   Completed on dev through #281, integrated by #1102 at commit 10b4dd5. Original contribution history is retained.

   The accepted optional sibling-HTML drilldown slice, direct-parent Back, reader context inheritance and canonical SVG link export are implemented. Combined navigation/explanation behavior was verified in real Chrome; broader Atlas/multi-diagram product work is outside this closure.

   The exact integrated candidate 98efbfc passed CI run 40177166414: 19 successful jobs, no failures, two deployment-only skips. Closing as completed in the development branch; this does not announce a release or a live installation.
5. tt-a1i

   closed this as completedon Oct 25, 2026