Named Views and Subsets

Named Views and Subsets are two complementary ways to work with a subset of your schema's entities. Views are editor-side bookmarks; Subsets are schema-level LinkML constructs. Both are managed from the Project Panel.

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Named Views

A Named View records a set of classes and enums, an optional render mode, and a canvas layout snapshot. Activating a view filters the canvas, Outline, and Table so only those entities are visible.

Views are stored in the editor manifest file (.linkml-editor.yaml) alongside your project. They are not part of the LinkML schema YAML.

Creating a view

From a selection:

1. Select one or more nodes on the canvas (or use the Selection Operations in the Display Panel to build the desired set).
2. Click save as view in the Display Panel, or click the + button in the Views section of the Project Panel.
3. The view is created with an auto-generated name (e.g. View 1). Rename it immediately — see below.

The + button in the Project Panel is disabled when nothing is selected.

Activating a view

Click the view's row in the Views section of the Project Panel to activate it. Click again to deactivate. Only one view can be active at a time.

When a view is active:

• The canvas, Outline, and Table show only the view's member entities.
• The view's render mode (if set) overrides the global default.
• The view's range-edge mode (if set) overrides the global setting.
• The canvas restores the view's saved layout and viewport.

Renaming a view

Double-click the view name, or click the ✎ (edit) button on the view row. Press Enter to commit or Esc to cancel.

Duplicating a view

Click ⧉ on the view row. A copy is created with the name <original name> (copy). The copy has a new ID and no saved layout.

Deleting a view

Click × (shown in red) on the view row. The view is removed from the manifest. This does not affect the schema or any Subsets.

Promoting a view to a Subset

Click ⬆ on the view row to convert the view into a LinkML Subset.

Constraint: All view members must belong to the same writable schema. If members span multiple schemas, the promote button is disabled and an alert explains the restriction.

The promotion:

1. Creates a new LinkML subset in the active schema with the view's name.
2. Tags each member class/enum with that subset (adds it to their subset_of list).
3. Does not delete the view — both the view and the subset continue to exist independently.

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Subsets

A Subset is a LinkML schema construct (subsets: dict entry) that groups classes and enums by tagging them with subset_of: [<name>]. Subsets are part of the schema YAML and travel with it.

Creating a subset

1. Open the Project Panel and expand the Subsets section.
2. Click +. A text input appears.
3. Type the subset name and press Enter (or click away). The subset is created in the active writable schema.

The + button is only shown when a writable (non-imported) schema is active.

Assigning entities to a subset

From the Properties Panel:

1. Select a class or enum on the canvas.
2. In the Properties Panel, scroll to the In Subsets section.
3. Check or uncheck subsets to add or remove the entity.

From the canvas context menu:

Right-click a class or enum node and use:

• ⊂ Add to subset ▸ — lists subsets the entity is not already in.
• ⊄ Remove from subset ▸ — lists subsets the entity currently belongs to.

Activating a subset (focus mode)

Click a subset row in the Project Panel to enter subset focus mode. Non-member entities are dimmed on the canvas.

The Focus Mode Toolbar (above the canvas) also provides a Subset: dropdown for switching between subsets or exiting focus mode by choosing (none).

Click the active subset row again, or choose (none) in the dropdown, to exit focus mode.

Renaming a subset

Double-click the subset name or click ✎ on the subset row. The rename cascades automatically to all entities' subset_of arrays — no manual update required.

Deleting a subset

Click × on the subset row. The subset definition is removed from the schema, and the subset name is removed from all entities' subset_of arrays.

Demoting a subset to a view

Click ⬇ on the subset row to create a Named View from the current subset membership.

• A new view named <subset name> (view) is created with all current subset members.
• The view is activated immediately.
• The original subset is not deleted — both continue to exist.

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View ↔ Subset round-trips

Operation	Source	Result
Promote	Named View → Subset	Subset created; view members tagged; view preserved
Demote	Subset → Named View	View created from members; subset preserved

Promoting and demoting are non-destructive — the original always remains after the conversion.

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Persistence

Artefact	Stored in
Named Views	.linkml-editor.yaml editor manifest
Subsets	Schema YAML (subsets: dict + entity subset_of:)

Views are personal to the editor installation; Subsets are part of the portable schema and visible to any tool that reads LinkML.