D3 Force Layout : How to force a group of node to stay in a given area

Question

In a D3 force layout graph, i try to force certain nodes to stay in a given area, based on their group.

There is a center node, which is fixed. I want nodes

Answer 1

You have to use forceX, which:

Creates a new positioning force along the x-axis towards the given position x. If x is not specified, it defaults to 0.

In this demo (based on this Bostock's code), the nodes array contains a group:

nodes:[
    {"id": "A", "group": 1},
    {"id": "B", "group": 2},
    {"id": "C", "group": 2},
    //etc...
]

Using this group value, we can position the nodes to the left or to the right. This is just an example, change it according to your code:

.force("x", d3.forceX(function(d){
    if(d.group === 2){
        return width/3
    } else if (d.group === 3){
        return 2*width/3
    } else {
        return width/2 
    }
}))

So, if the nodes belongs to group 2 (cyan nodes), we position it at 1/3 of the width, and if it belongs to group 3 (orange nodes) we position it at 2/3 of the width.

The positioning is not perfect, because other parameters can influence it, as the charge's strength and the link's distance.

This is a demo:

var graph = {
nodes:[
	{"id": "A", "group": 1},
	{"id": "B", "group": 2},
	{"id": "C", "group": 2},
	{"id": "D", "group": 2},
	{"id": "E", "group": 2},
	{"id": "F", "group": 3},
	{"id": "G", "group": 3},
	{"id": "H", "group": 3},
	{"id": "I", "group": 3}
],
links:[
{"source": "A", "target": "B", "value": 1},
{"source": "A", "target": "C", "value": 1},
{"source": "A", "target": "D", "value": 1},
{"source": "A", "target": "E", "value": 1},
{"source": "A", "target": "F", "value": 1},
{"source": "A", "target": "G", "value": 1},
{"source": "A", "target": "H", "value": 1},
{"source": "A", "target": "I", "value": 1},
]
};

var svg = d3.select("svg"),
    width = +svg.attr("width"),
    height = +svg.attr("height");

var color = d3.scaleOrdinal(d3.schemeCategory20);

var simulation = d3.forceSimulation()
    .force("link", d3.forceLink().id(function(d) { return d.id; }).distance(100))
    .force("charge", d3.forceManyBody())
		.force("x", d3.forceX(function(d){
			if(d.group === 2){
				return width/3
			} else if (d.group === 3){
				return 2*width/3
			} else {
				return width/2 
			}
		}))
    .force("y", d3.forceY(height/2))
    .force("center", d3.forceCenter(width / 2, height / 2));

  var link = svg.append("g")
      .attr("class", "links")
    .selectAll("line")
    .data(graph.links)
    .enter().append("line")
      .attr("stroke-width", function(d) { return Math.sqrt(d.value); });

  var node = svg.append("g")
      .attr("class", "nodes")
    .selectAll("circle")
    .data(graph.nodes)
    .enter().append("circle")
      .attr("r", 5)
      .attr("fill", function(d) { return color(d.group); })
      .call(d3.drag()
          .on("start", dragstarted)
          .on("drag", dragged)
          .on("end", dragended));

  node.append("title")
      .text(function(d) { return d.id; });

  simulation
      .nodes(graph.nodes)
      .on("tick", ticked);

  simulation.force("link")
      .links(graph.links);

  function ticked() {
    link
        .attr("x1", function(d) { return d.source.x; })
        .attr("y1", function(d) { return d.source.y; })
        .attr("x2", function(d) { return d.target.x; })
        .attr("y2", function(d) { return d.target.y; });

    node
        .attr("cx", function(d) { return d.x; })
        .attr("cy", function(d) { return d.y; });
  }

function dragstarted(d) {
  if (!d3.event.active) simulation.alphaTarget(0.3).restart();
  d.fx = d.x;
  d.fy = d.y;
}

function dragged(d) {
  d.fx = d3.event.x;
  d.fy = d3.event.y;
}

function dragended(d) {
  if (!d3.event.active) simulation.alphaTarget(0);
  d.fx = null;
  d.fy = null;
}

.links line {
  stroke: #999;
  stroke-opacity: 0.6;
}

.nodes circle {
  stroke: #fff;
  stroke-width: 1.5px;
}

<svg width="400" height="300"></svg>
<script src="https://d3js.org/d3.v4.min.js"></script>