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TeeTree is ideal for creating organizational charts, employee hierarchies, and corporate structure diagrams with automatic layout management.

​
Basic Organizational Chart

Create a simple org chart structure: 
procedure CreateOrgChart;
var
  CEO, CFO, CTO, CIO: TTreeNodeShape;
begin
  Tree1.BeginUpdate;
  try
    // CEO at the top
    CEO := Tree1.AddRoot('John Smith');
    CEO.SubText.Text := 'Chief Executive Officer';
    CEO.Width := 150;
    CEO.Height := 60;
    CEO.Color := clSkyBlue;
    CEO.Border.Width := 2;
    CEO.Font.Style := [fsBold];

    // Executive team
    CFO := CEO.AddChild('Sarah Johnson');
    CFO.SubText.Text := 'Chief Financial Officer';
    CFO.Color := clMoneyGreen;

    CTO := CEO.AddChild('Mike Chen');
    CTO.SubText.Text := 'Chief Technology Officer';
    CTO.Color := clMoneyGreen;

    CIO := CEO.AddChild('Lisa Davis');
    CIO.SubText.Text := 'Chief Information Officer';
    CIO.Color := clMoneyGreen;

    // Expand all nodes
    CEO.Expanded := True;

  finally
    Tree1.EndUpdate;
  end;
end;

​
Top-to-Bottom Layout

Use the top-to-bottom alignment manager for org charts: 
uses TreeChildManagers;

type
  TForm1 = class(TForm)
  private
    SideAlign: TTreeSideAlignChild;
  end;

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
  // Create and replace the default child manager
  SideAlign := TTreeTopBottomAlignChild.Create;
  Tree1.ChangeManager(SideAlign);

  // Copy formatting from parent to children
  Tree1.AssignParent := True;

  // Build organizational hierarchy
  with Tree1.AddRoot('CEO') do
  begin
    Width := 120;
    Height := 60;
    X0 := (Tree1.Width div 2) - 60;
    Y0 := 20;
    Style := tssRectangle;
    Color := clSkyBlue;
    Border.Color := clNavy;
    Border.Width := 2;
    Font.Style := [fsBold];
    ImageIndex := tiNone;
    Expanded := True;

    // First level
    with AddChild('VP Sales') do
    begin
      Color := clMoneyGreen;
      AddChild('Sales Manager East');
      AddChild('Sales Manager West');
      AddChild('Sales Manager International');
    end;

    with AddChild('VP Engineering') do
    begin
      Color := clMoneyGreen;
      AddChild('Dev Team Lead');
      AddChild('QA Team Lead');
      AddChild('DevOps Lead');
    end;

    with AddChild('VP Operations') do
    begin
      Color := clMoneyGreen;
      AddChild('Operations Manager');
      AddChild('Facilities Manager');
    end;
  end;
end;

​
Left-to-Right Layout

Alternative horizontal layout: 
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
  // Create horizontal layout manager
  SideAlign := TTreeLeftRightAlignChild.Create;
  Tree1.ChangeManager(SideAlign);

  Tree1.AssignParent := True;

  with Tree1.AddRoot('President') do
  begin
    Width := 100;
    Height := 50;
    X0 := 20;
    Y0 := (Tree1.Height div 2) - 25;
    Style := tssRoundRectangle;
    Color := clSkyBlue;
    Border.Width := 2;
    Font.Style := [fsBold];
    Expanded := True;

    AddChild('Division A').AddChild('Department 1');
    AddChild('Division B').AddChild('Department 2');
    AddChild('Division C').AddChild('Department 3');
  end;
end;

​
Adjusting Spacing

Control the spacing between nodes: 
procedure AdjustHorizontalSpacing(Sender: TObject);
begin
  SideAlign.HorizMargin := TrackBar1.Position;
  Tree1.Invalidate;
end;

procedure AdjustVerticalSpacing(Sender: TObject);
begin
  SideAlign.VertMargin := TrackBar2.Position;
  Tree1.Invalidate;
end;

​
Multi-Column Nodes

Display detailed information in columns: 
uses MultiColumn;

procedure CreateDetailedOrgChart;
var
  Employee: TTreeNodeShape;
begin
  // Enable multi-column support
  Tree1.Columns.Add('Name');
  Tree1.Columns.Add('Title');
  Tree1.Columns.Add('Department');
  Tree1.Columns.Add('Email');

  Employee := Tree1.AddRoot('');
  Employee.Columns[0] := 'John Smith';
  Employee.Columns[1] := 'CEO';
  Employee.Columns[2] := 'Executive';
  Employee.Columns[3] := '[email protected]';
end;

​
Database-Driven Org Charts

Load organizational data from a database: 
uses TeeDBTre;

type
  TForm1 = class(TForm)
    DBTree1: TDBTree;
    EmployeeTable: TTable;
  end;

procedure TForm1.LoadOrgChart;
begin
  // Configure database connection
  with DBTree1.Layout[0] do
  begin
    DataSet := EmployeeTable;
    TextField := 'EmployeeName';
    ParentField := 'ManagerID';
    IDField := 'EmployeeID';
    
    // Format nodes
    Format.Width := 140;
    Format.Height := 70;
    Format.Style := tssRoundRectangle;
    Format.Color := clWhite;
    Format.Border.Width := 2;
  end;

  // Open database and display
  EmployeeTable.Open;
  DBTree1.Refresh;
end;

​
Employee Photos

Add photos to organizational chart nodes: 
procedure AddEmployeePhoto(Node: TTreeNodeShape; const PhotoPath: string);
begin
  Node.Image.LoadFromFile(PhotoPath);
  Node.Image.Visible := True;
  Node.ImageAlignment := iaTop;
  Node.ImageSize := isPercentWidth;
  Node.ImageWidth := 40; // 40% of node width
end;

​
Styling Org Charts

Apply professional styling: 
procedure ApplyOrgChartStyle;
begin
  with Tree1 do
  begin
    // Tree background
    Color := clWhite;
    
    // Connection style
    GlobalFormat.Connection.Border.Color := clGray;
    GlobalFormat.Connection.Border.Width := 2;
    GlobalFormat.Connection.Style := csAuto;
    
    // Node shadows
    GlobalFormat.Shadow.Visible := True;
    GlobalFormat.Shadow.Size := 4;
    GlobalFormat.Shadow.Transparency := 20;
    
    // Hot tracking
    with HotTrack do
    begin
      Active := True;
      UseFont := True;
      Font.Size := 11;
      Border.Width := 3;
      Border.Color := clHighlight;
      UseBorder := True;
    end;
  end;
end;

​
Interactive Features

​
Click to Expand/Collapse

procedure Tree1Click(Sender: TTreeNodeShape; Button: TMouseButton;
  Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
  // Toggle expansion on click
  if Sender.HasChildren then
    Sender.Expanded := not Sender.Expanded;
end;

​
Show Employee Details

procedure Tree1DblClick(Sender: TTreeNodeShape);
begin
  // Show detailed employee information
  ShowEmployeeDetails(Sender.Text.Text);
end;

​
Highlight Reporting Chain

procedure HighlightReportingChain(Employee: TTreeNodeShape);
var
  Current: TTreeNodeShape;
begin
  // Highlight path to root
  Current := Employee;
  while Assigned(Current) do
  begin
    Current.Border.Color := clRed;
    Current.Border.Width := 3;
    Current := Current.Parent;
  end;
end;

​
Different Node Styles by Level

procedure StyleByLevel;
var
  i: Integer;
  Node: TTreeNodeShape;
begin
  for i := 0 to Tree1.Shapes.Count - 1 do
  begin
    Node := Tree1.Shapes[i];
    case Node.Level of
      0: // C-Level
      begin
        Node.Color := clNavy;
        Node.Font.Color := clWhite;
        Node.Font.Size := 12;
        Node.Height := 80;
      end;
      1: // VPs
      begin
        Node.Color := clSkyBlue;
        Node.Font.Size := 10;
        Node.Height := 70;
      end;
      2: // Directors
      begin
        Node.Color := clMoneyGreen;
        Node.Font.Size := 9;
        Node.Height := 60;
      end;
      else // Staff
      begin
        Node.Color := clWhite;
        Node.Font.Size := 8;
        Node.Height := 50;
      end;
    end;
  end;
end;

​
Export Org Chart

uses Exporting;

procedure ExportOrgChart;
begin
  // Export to image
  Tree1.Export.Image.PNG.SaveToFile('orgchart.png');
  
  // Export to PDF
  Tree1.Export.PDF.SaveToFile('orgchart.pdf');
  
  // Export to SVG
  Tree1.Export.SVG.SaveToFile('orgchart.svg');
end;

​
Printing

Print large organizational charts: 
procedure PrintOrgChart;
begin
  with Tree1 do
  begin
    // Configure print options
    PrintProportional := True;
    PrintMargins.Left := 50;
    PrintMargins.Top := 50;
    
    // Print preview
    PrintPreview;
    
    // Or print directly
    // Print;
  end;
end;

​
Best Practices

  • Keep hierarchy levels to 4-5 maximum for readability
  • Use consistent node sizes within levels
  • Provide adequate spacing between nodes and levels
  • Consider horizontal layout for wide, shallow hierarchies
  • Use size and color to indicate importance/level
  • Make top-level executives more prominent
  • Use consistent color coding by department or function
  • Add photos for more engaging, personal charts
  • Enable expand/collapse for large organizations
  • Add tooltips with additional employee information
  • Implement search/filter functionality
  • Provide zoom controls for navigation
  • Use database binding for large organizations (1000+ employees)
  • Implement lazy loading for deep hierarchies
  • Consider showing only top levels by default
  • Use BeginUpdate/EndUpdate when building charts

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