How to make Actors appear on the left AND Right of a Use Case diagram?

Question

In the following example code, the Actors "Right 1" and "Right 2" will appear on the Left. How do I make them appear on the right, and adjacent to (horizontal to) their Use cases?

PlantUML does not seem to allow it. Only "Right 3" is positioned on the right.

---

@startuml

' ======= the actors =========

actor :Left 1: as Left1 << Human >> #f8fdff
actor :Right 1: as Right1 << Stereotype >>
actor :Left 2: as Left2 << Human >> #eaf0f9

actor :Left 3: as Left3 << Human >> #eaf0f9
actor :Left 4: as Left4 << Human >> #eaf0f9

actor :Left 5: as Left5  #eaf0f9
actor :Right 3: as Right3  #eaf0f9
actor :Right 2: as Right2  #eaf0f9

rectangle "My Rectangle" #C0C0C0 {
    left to right direction

    ' ====== the use cases =========

    (Use case A) as (UseCaseA) #83d3f6
    (Use case B) as (UseCaseB) #83d3f6
    (Use case C) as (UseCaseC) #83d3f6
    (Use case D) as (UseCaseD) #83d3f6
    (Use case E) as (UseCaseE) #83d3f6

    (Use case F) as (UseCaseF) #7a97ca
    (Use case G) as (UseCaseG) #7a97ca
    (Use case H) as (UseCaseH) #7a97ca

    (Use case I) as (UseCaseI) #ffcb0c
    (Use case J) as (UseCaseJ) #ffcb0c
    (Use case K) as (UseCaseK) #ffcb0c
    (Use case L) as (UseCaseL) #ffcb0c

    (Use case M) as (UseCaseM) #a4e148
    (Use case N) as (UseCaseN) #a4e148
    (Use case O) as (UseCaseO) #a4e148

    ' ====== the use case links =========

    Left1 -- (UseCaseA)
    Left1 -- (UseCaseB)
    Left1 -- (UseCaseC)
    Left1 -- (UseCaseD)
    Left1 -- (UseCaseE)

    Left2 -- (UseCaseF)
    Left2 -- (UseCaseG)
    (UseCaseF) .> (UseCaseA) : << extends >>
    (UseCaseG) .> (UseCaseA) : << extends >>

    Left3 -- (UseCaseG)
    Left3 -- (UseCaseH)
    (UseCaseH) .> (UseCaseD) : << extends >>

    Left4 -- (UseCaseI)
    Left4 -- (UseCaseJ)
    Left4 -- (UseCaseK)
    Left4 -- (UseCaseL)

    Left5 -- (UseCaseM)
    (UseCaseM) -- (UseCaseN)
    (UseCaseM) -- (UseCaseO)
    Right3 -up- (UseCaseN)

    'TODO: These last 2 should be positioned on the right hand side. How to do it?
    Right1 -- (UseCaseA)
    Right2 -- (UseCaseD)

    'These do not work. PlantUML will put the Actors far away at the bottom
    '(UseCaseA) -- Right1
    '(UseCaseD) -- Right2
}

@enduml

---

Preview of diagram:

http://www.plantuml.com/plantuml/uml/XTLVRzem403mztoAKtdeU2Y215QAEjP2A2b_OEhQ3s0IfqGDCOeTCJJjko-E8Sv5kAKl-ExdEwSvcGSkI2goNMnPr_13VK1iAH1Vi9JBaFfOLX61mOA60Ze381parmxStuENxKW2mo4qmduOXE7PlaJlspEMtvN-BMXAcJZkQRu5bRNBiZOkIqdO3k_m6PmIEvSmijtIThykt2jn3qg1diZHJ-GOYAs9hOcLKb-Gv3scSBKymijvTGMDSLl-mLyB022Mvn0Cqg9M4Cbj4Kki8daDbVUKSGe-uHIzAgc-lPqoyDW4melrE5_cgqRV2PpmUusD41kPs1YniOcvYBacDa5iebdDFI6NhngtvExM9pKsHMngOXvYdcOrzunSlcg4eRzf-pKsGsncOdF4vYQsG6oXMSqjaLlcZdHffzkliHLYAnDR8xRMp3no44V9HttkJfV2pKrbu2x7HuRus11t3V59KpUsgucdvkNuLCKrWzQmSbeOo2k2_X4q2JWCXmXFly9bImUtl1pty54yLDtzf7gtMkMvUJa-CyJdXlYYyf_iLHDBjK4lgydLPycrIfwkofjiZ_QfsNfTk-i1l6wf72d21TZ0jooB0zXGs3CUoQkF1i2IOlpKdRWbIG0y2cWBF7O0mI1W48cVkbrj27N2HbDLdaBsbqKI9k30qeyM_8f98jwM2pX4SGpxJ1Jz7zKlOqXI80To1AB26oO4swbQkgjifKw3CwxEsDO_otgWIP3july0

Answer 1

I have figured out a workaround. It's based on the following things:

• Use "together { }", to force the last 3 Use-Cases to be grouped togther
• For the last 3 Use-Cases, convert the hard lines to short dotted lines, using ".>" to create the links. It seems that the normal plain lines will ruin the positioning.

This should now work to positon some Actors on the right, as in the example below:

@startuml

' ======= the actors =========

actor :Left 1: as Left1 << Human >> #f8fdff
actor :Right 1: as Right1 << Stereotype >>
actor :Left 2: as Left2 << Human >> #eaf0f9

actor :Left 3: as Left3 << Human >> #eaf0f9
actor :Left 4: as Left4 << Human >> #eaf0f9

actor :Left 5: as Left5  #eaf0f9
actor :Right 3: as Right3  #eaf0f9
actor :Right 2: as Right2  #eaf0f9

rectangle "My Rectangle" #C0C0C0 {
    left to right direction

    ' ====== the use cases =========

    (Use case A) as (UseCaseA) #83d3f6
    (Use case B) as (UseCaseB) #83d3f6
    (Use case C) as (UseCaseC) #83d3f6
    (Use case D) as (UseCaseD) #83d3f6
    (Use case E) as (UseCaseE) #83d3f6

    (Use case F) as (UseCaseF) #7a97ca
    (Use case G) as (UseCaseG) #7a97ca
    (Use case H) as (UseCaseH) #7a97ca

    (Use case I) as (UseCaseI) #ffcb0c
    (Use case J) as (UseCaseJ) #ffcb0c
    (Use case K) as (UseCaseK) #ffcb0c
    (Use case L) as (UseCaseL) #ffcb0c

    ' Prevent PlantUML from re-ordering these items
    together {
        (Use case M) as (UseCaseM) #a4e148
        (Use case N) as (UseCaseN) #a4e148
        (Use case O) as (UseCaseO) #a4e148
    }

    ' ==== the use case links. Note '---' means longer line ======

    ' These Actors are positioned on the left hand side.
    ' Note the Actor is referenced first, and the Use-Case second.
    Left1 --- (UseCaseA)
    Left1 -- (UseCaseB)
    Left1 -- (UseCaseC)
    Left1 -- (UseCaseD)
    Left1 -- (UseCaseE)

    Left2 -- (UseCaseF)
    Left2 -- (UseCaseG)
    (UseCaseF) .> (UseCaseA) : << extends >>
    (UseCaseG) .> (UseCaseA) : << extends >>

    Left3 -- (UseCaseG)
    Left3 -- (UseCaseH)
    (UseCaseH) .> (UseCaseD) : << extends >>

    Left4 -- (UseCaseI)
    Left4 -- (UseCaseJ)
    Left4 -- (UseCaseK)
    Left4 -- (UseCaseL)

    Left5 -- (UseCaseM)

    ' These dotted lines will cause a better placement of the
    ' Use-Cases, compared to using the normal non-dotted lines.
    (UseCaseM) <. (UseCaseN)
    (UseCaseO) .> (UseCaseM)

    ' These Actors are positioned on the right hand side.
    ' Note the Use-Case is referenced first, and the Actor second.
    (UseCaseN) --- Right3
    (UseCaseA) --- Right1
    (UseCaseD) --- Right2
}

@enduml

---

Preview of diagram:

http://www.plantuml.com/plantuml/uml/ZPLlK-8-4CUVzrNio0D-p0WZ57_-6OzHGK45TRpp1SHcWvrh4oO9T-VSt7k_9fOsor0zUDBTxsTtasOtFJUMQRlEioXgmvVt7zXN19POfOrt-LyKUG-Spb5Ow9y2C-0U-t1s1hDrpYICHj0Inu8BiM6VqkNh1lRFdlvgKQEoRoiiGaZQGPLsGDCY4mVYXAuXhk1u5qpOOSKEFqzyMC67K15aHt6zexW16TJ8e4OYZObbSfaXx2tUu6bZxK5hVE3-y3i20CZSEgm2xNFnr8MbIaPUR4DmJck3a323vAWSzTzpgS151vZnzhWm2wjr7FDO_B-5NHBiiWaR4spSX4q8Dcd2hWXsLMDRt3NX2gjrn4wE4hQ5JGasRS9c19lLs1PtGxZ2QWcHl1maMzWjmMwRi3k2tJLXSuBDQwmy_4UDFr1QUCoOjC-BEGYjSj3OLPgZJkNIzOL1I2tcniTOjSJ2fylcekKMf5nXjTWG-yFZ7UWzGUy_GXy8-a3HFs4Vaow6B9NVJG_kbKLeTxlTDkJ8f85CoILg9oE4NTw6Rtwp5-_N5TC8AsLIDop8GKcVtK_JAvCSJCgnLmQw6bxsiP0Qq2XGeqoGWqYriVlWOXnIxAFhDW864oMvJr5UVyKYWzaYGZrC3VvnWt_IuB_gH9Km28Nhpcx_rFi337gZy2OuTRSX_h8ekO7HYC3Jp-2gP4nBxlRFw59c9FlaW-p3CCjDPxV_ji5_r-2V1s_oC1GM7TfON5cBt3UUWPzfba72NBSoUC52qR3AM8Av6qWbNA-KqPkECVkGg7p5D7Am2jQc752GIkSi0wbaDwpXMoiSnxDUC754VF2li4R_VIByTwLX94Y_VpmLlWGPYNgbRYxABoHHBWAbJvH9e0oYueuuHydNUVON

Comments

Hey, it's possible to lay this out a bit differently, using the longer lines you've highlighted and avoiding the need to use the together:

http://www.plantuml.com/plantuml/uml/XPNFRk8m4CRlUOfHS-XoA2e9R2dgiWL2IVa3gsxx02QnIzGGeyGHYrRxxXl7W3CHRiCbytq_ZoVsQ7ZC14b5lesjQ_YX7X0R2YGGFCsaf1xBAXNepIaJqEe1oK2-jk3X0VnyInBezy5cNHOoTc9VelVD2PRlYlujQ4gvEEneiGIbTSvf7PoM4dRBxd4DxXbsBy68RP_PzjU9EsUu0sS2VP6hlyWr88v678rOAGq4ITvZ2bUB0xoSeYkmHxVo1tyj081OrY4uf6MkC9BB8fvOfNaDbNlACme1oIYwAabzUpiwC6Z8KcGyAi8YihjkwBBlDMo8iA496o5iPC8yX7acR8omiSPgt1FYYiY-8_Tt0QbX4uHDJ9YFC5zZDUuPSKLaCnQiRuCQDaNOr8JD43OpONE4pJLMunQ8AoARj6chtQrXIuGjJTWAOIkDcLiEuYZvgFVTSIZSt5GQxh8-DEWZW-uPz753R-nKZQV6PNsYT8r1izclb0izEIFe7q6JC8D-7z6JhsXTZ8itlQpxk1WVf_S-IT-kfdbkNDQd1drcqEULm-nKZOLQeCEgkVpCN2dpE2rlyXrQfzhhTUMjUl2weRAhI2R0WMp3ypY4DOKTpo8v_MW8F2axK8t53Kb2oAAGDi7dUn0SGWwH-AbIbllL6r4xJgsrbAKg23aaNC2UfnzD-1MJHBmjvh2FuXXskIWh6AY_HqPI87jo0ABaDHU2Rz5X3Ch3KDKWmzE6O_sp7caIvjluFm00

This layout is slightly 'nicer' subjectively speaking but a bit wider - it's a very small change to your original post.

---

This is great! Thank you for your help. I like this because it doesn't need to use the dotted "extends" lines on the bottom-left group of Use-Cases. The wider rectangle is also better asthetically.

Answer 2

This is the best I manage to get :

Answer 3

Here is another way, with the following changes:

• Use long lines. Most of them are "---"
• Position Left1 on the Right
• Use "together" for 2 groups of Use-Cases at the top

@startuml
' ======= the actors =========

actor :Left 1: as Left1 << Human >> #f8fdff
actor :Right 1: as Right1 << Stereotype >>
actor :Left 2: as Left2 << Human >> #eaf0f9

actor :Left 3: as Left3 << Human >> #eaf0f9
actor :Left 4: as Left4 << Human >> #eaf0f9

actor :Left 5: as Left5  #eaf0f9
actor :Right 3: as Right3  #eaf0f9
actor :Right 2: as Right2  #eaf0f9

rectangle "My Rectangle" #C0C0C0 {
    left to right direction

    ' ====== the use cases =========

    'Don't let PlantUML re-order these items. So use "together"
    together {
        (Use case A) as (UseCaseA) #83d3f6
        (Use case B) as (UseCaseB) #83d3f6
        (Use case C) as (UseCaseC) #83d3f6
        (Use case D) as (UseCaseD) #83d3f6
        (Use case E) as (UseCaseE) #83d3f6
    }

    together {
        (Use case F) as (UseCaseF) #7a97ca
        (Use case G) as (UseCaseG) #7a97ca
        (Use case H) as (UseCaseH) #7a97ca
    }

    (Use case I) as (UseCaseI) #ffcb0c
    (Use case J) as (UseCaseJ) #ffcb0c
    (Use case K) as (UseCaseK) #ffcb0c
    (Use case L) as (UseCaseL) #ffcb0c

    (Use case M) as (UseCaseM) #a4e148
    (Use case N) as (UseCaseN) #a4e148
    (Use case O) as (UseCaseO) #a4e148

    ' ====== the use case links (use long lines) =========

    ' Left1 Actor is now positioned on the Right, for better layout
    (UseCaseA) --- Left1
    (UseCaseB) --- Left1
    (UseCaseC) --- Left1
    (UseCaseD) --- Left1
    (UseCaseE) --- Left1

    Left2 --- (UseCaseF)
    Left2 --- (UseCaseG)
    (UseCaseF) ..> (UseCaseA) : << extends >>
    (UseCaseG) .> (UseCaseA) : << extends >>

    Left3 --- (UseCaseG)
    Left3 --- (UseCaseH)
    (UseCaseH) .> (UseCaseD) : << extends >>

    Left4 --- (UseCaseI)
    Left4 --- (UseCaseJ)
    Left4 --- (UseCaseK)
    Left4 --- (UseCaseL)

    Left5 --- (UseCaseM)
    (UseCaseM) -- (UseCaseN)
    (UseCaseM) -- (UseCaseO)
    Right3 -up-- (UseCaseN)

    (UseCaseA) --- Right1
    (UseCaseD) --- Right2
}
@enduml

Preview of diagram:

http://www.plantuml.com/plantuml/uml/XPNTRjf048Nl_HGZV94YbGWmD0IbAE6d47wWIfG7sDXZOjLuaRrMYwgyUzT3Z3sKTPOR7vzlpixAkyjzeaIiqbreNS7tum3rXY1S9UE4Nj6mB7e3_INw2bfz40baZosukuDPkXCH30PW-ptVy_sSVGgsRpbCpqG_AunHgiCUTGcBRPzYspmMXT_qRtaFpWbsBi6CxPpOpkV1tHFSXPpWAtAA5Ja6f5qWxGAnOdILYBOXGcrrWATSrS0UDRCV_BL0Zp3hGqc8ASiBih90HXQPLr3wJcc2u8e4sQSYQYoZAwMJ5FmCHQHULak8iI5Z3-EiKjS52dV9DJnBIgafkKLjn3MgpzMn8nfVNZucWuSwY8JqI4kjx9xZEVwt2-YGeSCgTCJGKHKwPkYu2fqmTCBHT-lpnVvW0LhPD-BsnXKNq2b3frNeZA4pXb9RZ7vaj5QsxxklJVSCcpDiRi8M35kOi2N3bWLsngqOfvKjEjZgzCwmDSFM9cp3i4s1cJS_X47qIzTaEfJHDjEOrFyx4XytrWCTr221IFw6lKo2x6oX1pAYL3gqNy7Np2igXJ64uY1JHHcbFTzeD8w1p1YQZ97969kCITaWXwv6UbbiHuCn9QF4mVNreDn-Fxi9yO_2o4jWC2XeAePAkEZ6EPlKOCp8A2JB7rVaTrZCOzrWp4t6mcGiwyKaNUQigAGaeMIkgymDcVaVGoFTyy9B6uZOY_k1dBRrRjrZvAMxy1y0