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Here are a few tips and tricks for using VisuaLinks. We hope these help you to use VisuaLinks more efficiently.
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Links can have multiple bends. Using the Bend Associations mode, click on a link in more than one place to add an additional bend.
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Holding down the Shift key when using the Isolate mode and clicking on an object
will force the object to become the Root of a new isolation chain. |
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When using the Query service to obtain a sample of values from the database,
the number of records sampled (default is 500) can be set by clicking on the "…" button. |
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The Max Returned Items setting at the top of each service menu (e.g., Network Miner, Summarize, etc)
has a default value of 5000 and sets how many unique objects/links are returned to the system. The default value can be changed in the
ClientResources.Properties file by adjusting the vl.max.item.count=5000 statement. |
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The following diagram shows a sample that was derived from the Bank Secrecy Act database
containing Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) as they were filed from their respective
financial institutions. The basic model represents transactional activities as depicted
by the SAR icons. In this case, two SUBJECTS have been identified as using the same SSN
(Social Security Number).
This data can be interpreted in two ways. The first is to consider that there was a typo
when the SSN was entered into the system and there is no "real" connection between these
individuals. Often we will see there are other common elements such as repeated
PHONES, ADDRESSES, and ACCOUNTS. Also, if the names are close in spelling or pronunciation
to each other then the pattern can be discounted.
The other interpretation is that there is collusion between these two SUBJECTS and they are
part of a larger money laundering ring. Since the ADDRESSES in this case are from different
cities (not shown in the diagram), there is suspicion that they are operating in a regional
network. Additionally, the SARs were filed by different banks, which indicates a separation
factor with respect to the filings.
It has been observed that money launderers will operate at different banks utilizing
a common SSN that is known to be "good" (e.g., won't raise any flags due to criminal
behavior as it a valid SSN and is not from a dead person). For this situation,
there were enough inconsistencies in this simple analysis to warrant a more detailed investigation.
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What's New?
Are you curious about VisuaLinks 2.0? You've come to the right place.
This issue includes a peek at two new features (below) and a few helpful hints (on the left). The 2.0 release will include documentation providing details about all of the new features.
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Features of the Month
Startup Tips
Starting with Version 2.0, the system will ship with the Startup Tips turned on by default.
Many of our clients were unaware of this feature. The Startup Tips window is designed to
convey information to VisuaLinks users. The default configuration of Startup Tips provides
links to the Online Help and the Support Site. The VisuaLinks Administrator can change the
Startup Tips using a standard HTML file.
To set up your Startup Tips, edit the ClientResources.Properties
file in the clientresources directory.
Scroll down to the area that contains the following entries and change them to meet your particular needs.
For more details, please refer to the Online Help.
vl.init.tips.window.file=./clientresources/tips.html
vl.init.tips.window.protocol=file
vl.init.tips.window.host=localhost
vl.init.tips.window.image=./clientresources/images/Tips.gif
vl.init.tips.window.startup=true
One of our clients has even created offline scripts that count the number of records in each data source used
in any of the VisuaLinks models. It updates the Startup Tips file every day with the latest number of records
for each source, including the earliest and latest dates for which there is data present. This is very helpful
to users of the application because they know when new data has been loaded.
Column Visible Setting
As part of the Version 2.0 release, users can define how columns appear in data tables. The default for any
data presentation is to order the attributes alphabetically. The system variables are defined with a "*" preceding
the name to force them to the front of the sort. However, many clients want to control what data is presented and
the order of the data in the panels. As shown below, it is sometimes hard to see data details because you must
scroll to the relevant attributes.
To open the Column Visible Settings, click the 
icon in the panel’s toolbar or select it from the Options menu. The Column Visible Settings window will
appear as shown below with all columns automatically selected (in the right side of the table).
Use the arrow icons to make your selections by de-selecting (left arrow) or sorting (up and down arrows) the columns.
In this example, we only want to show the LASTNAME, FIRSTNAME, DOB, and *SOURCE columns for the Tracker-All
data model for the SUBJECT objects that were selected.
The final results are shown in the data table (in this case, in the Details Panel) once the OK or APPLY
button is selected. This is an effective way to customize the displays and only show the fields of
interest. For administrators, the ClientResources.Properties entry can be set as:
vl.gui.tables.ordered.columns.Tracker-All=
LASTNAME,FIRSTNAME,DOB,*SOURCE
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