18.2 Node Labels

A label node, which uses a simple black “zigzag” as its symbol, acts like a placeholder. Label nodes have no impact on calculations, and cannot have more than one branch. A label node (or a series of them) can be inserted between event nodes to more clearly identify additional steps in a particular path.

To add a label node before an event node:

• Right-click on the event node and choose Insert Node > To Left from the context menu.

• Right-click on the new node and choose Change Type > Label from the context menu.

You could also change an existing end node to a label node, and then use the Add Branch or Insert Node command to add the one allowed branch to the label node. A node with more than one branch cannot be changed to a label node.

For calculation purposes, a label node behaves like a chance node with one branch having a probability of 1.0. The value of the label node is simply the value of the node immediately to its right.

You can use a label node to separate dependent calculations. For example, you might have a tracker variable that is used in an expression, but the tracker needs to be assigned a new value before it is used in the expression. In such a case, you could insert a label node to the left of the node with the expression. Then you could assign the new value to the tracker in the label node. The tracker will then have the new calculated value when you reach the node with the expression the references that tracker.