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Netdraw VNA

The VNA format (used by Netdraw) is similar to Pajek but uses section headers prefixed with *. It defines nodes and ties (edges) and supports attributes. Each section contains a header row that lists column names.

Basic example​

*node data
ID name gender age
j101 joe male 56
w067 wendy female 23
b303 bill male 48
*tie data
from to strength
j101 w067 1
w067 j101 2
j101 b303 1
w067 b303 5

With node properties​

Netdraw VNA files can include node properties such as position and visual attributes. Gephi supports common properties including X, Y, SIZE, COLOR (0-255, red component), and SHORTLABEL.

*Node data
ID x y color shape size shortlabel
HOLLY 1160 271 255 1 10 HOLLY
BRAZEY 1214 577 255 1 10 BRAZEY
CAROL 671 612 255 1 10 CAROL
# ... more nodes ...
*Tie data
from to friends strength
HOLLY PAM 1 1
PAT HOLLY 1 2
PAULINE PAT 1 2
# ... more ties ...

Notes​

  • Sections are separated by an asterisk-prefixed header (e.g. *Node data, *Tie data).
  • Column headers are required in each section and define the fields that follow.
  • File comments and extra metadata may be present in VNA files; Gephi will import commonly supported columns but may ignore unknown or complex properties.