Source Destination Mesh

Purpose

This calculator draws a network diagram connecting a set of sources to a set of destinations, showing which source-destination pairs are linked. It is useful for visualizing any two-sided relationship — such as plants and customers, warehouses and stores, or suppliers and buyers — and, optionally, for labeling each connection with a value (for example, a shipped quantity or a cost) to review alongside the network.

Background

How the mesh is built

Every possible pair formed by taking one source and one destination is a candidate connection. The Links input selects which of those candidate connections are actually drawn. Leaving Links blank draws every possible source-destination pair. Custom Labels can attach a value to each candidate connection, whether or not it is drawn — see below for how they are matched.

Inputs

Sources

A comma-separated list of source names (for example, S1, S2).

Destinations

A comma-separated list of destination names (for example, D1,D2,D3).

Links

A comma-separated list of Source-Destination pairs to draw as edges (for example, S1-D1,S1-D2). Leave this blank to draw every possible combination of a source and a destination.

Edge Label

When checked, each edge on the diagram is labeled — with its Custom Labels value if one was supplied for that pair, or otherwise with its position number (see Custom Labels below). When unchecked, edges are drawn without a visible label.

Circular

When checked, sources and destinations are arranged along curved arcs. When unchecked, they are arranged in straight vertical lines. This only affects the layout, not which connections are drawn.

Custom Labels

An optional comma-separated list of values used to label the edges. Values are matched to source-destination pairs by position across every possible combination, taken source by source and, within each source, destination by destination — including pairs not selected in Links. For example, with sources S1, S2 and destinations D1, D2, D3, the positions are S1-D1, S1-D2, S1-D3, S2-D1, S2-D2, S2-D3 in that order, and the first value in Custom Labels applies to S1-D1, the second to S1-D2, and so on — even if some of those pairs are excluded by Links. If fewer labels are supplied than there are combinations, the remaining pairs are left unlabeled.

Results

Chart

The network diagram, showing every drawn source-destination connection as a line between the two nodes, arranged according to Circular, and labeled according to Edge Label and Custom Labels.

Nodes

A table with one row per source and destination, giving its name and the X, Y position used to place it on the chart.

Edges

A table with one row per drawn connection, giving its From source, its To destination, and its Edge label (a position number by default, or the matched Custom Labels value).

Example

With the default inputs — sources S1, S2, destinations D1,D2,D3, and links S1-D1,S1-D2,S1-D3,S2-D1,S2-D3 (note that S2-D2 is not listed) — the chart draws 5 connections: S1 to each of D1, D2, D3, and S2 to D1 and D3, but not S2 to D2. Without Custom Labels, the drawn edges are numbered by their position in the full 6-combination list (S1-D1=0, S1-D2=1, S1-D3=2, S2-D1=3, S2-D3=5) — position 4 (S2-D2) is skipped because that pair is not drawn, so the visible numbering has a gap. If custom_labels='100,200,300,400,500' is supplied instead, S1-D1 through S2-D1 are labeled 100, 200, 300, 400, and S2-D3 is left unlabeled, because its position (5) falls beyond the 5 supplied values.

Important Assumptions and Interpretation

• Custom Labels are matched purely by position in the full source-by-destination combination list, not by the order connections appear in Links or on the chart — supply enough values, in the right order, to label every intended connection.
• This calculator only draws the network and reports label/position values; it does not calculate flows, costs, or optimal routes. Use the supply-chain optimization calculators (for example, transport_opt) when you need the connections and quantities calculated for you.