Novus Convert
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DOT converter

A .dot file is a Graphviz DOT description: a small declarative language for graphs, in which nodes and edges are written as statements — a -> b — with optional attributes controlling labels, shapes and colours. It describes the graph's structure and leaves the layout to the renderer.

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Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.

Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.

Where DOT comes from

DOT was created at AT&T Bell Labs in the early 1990s as the input language for Graphviz, whose real contribution was the layout engines — dot for hierarchies, neato and fdp for spring models — that compute positions nobody wants to place by hand. It became the default way to draw a graph programmatically, and remains embedded in documentation toolchains, profilers and dependency analysers.

How DOT works

  • digraph declares a directed graph using -> edges; graph declares an undirected one using --.
  • Attributes attach to graphs, nodes and edges in square brackets, and defaults cascade by declaration order.
  • Subgraphs whose names begin with cluster_ are drawn as visually enclosed boxes.
  • Node positions are computed by the chosen layout engine, not specified in the file.
  • rankdir controls flow direction, which is the single attribute most often needed to make a diagram legible.

When to use DOT

  • Rendering dependency, call and state-machine diagrams from generated data
  • Documentation pipelines that draw diagrams from source rather than maintaining images
  • Visualising profiler and build-system output
  • Converting a graph into an interchange format for analysis tooling

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Automatic layout — the hard part of drawing a graph is done for you
  • Compact and readable, so diagrams can be generated and diffed as text
  • Long-established tooling embedded across many ecosystems

Limitations

  • Layout control is indirect; fighting the engine for a specific arrangement is frustrating
  • The attribute vocabulary is large and unevenly documented
  • Large graphs become illegible regardless of layout engine

Compatibility

Read by Graphviz and by many libraries and services that embed it, including documentation generators and profiling tools. Novus Convert parses the graph locally and converts to GraphML, GEXF, JSON and a rendered SVG.

Nodes, edges, direction and label attributes are preserved. Layout and styling attributes have no equivalent in the graph interchange targets and are not carried across.

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