allow long flowchart expressed in S shape

[DoubleLT]

Description

when we have a multiple steps in a flowchart. usually we got a very wide or very long graph in on line or one column.

I was wondering that maybe mermaid was designed for web browser, however, we use mermaid often in vs code, typora, which could export the file of markdown or pdf.

if it is available to adopt the width or heigh (just an example like S shape), it would be much better for viewer.

Steps to reproduce

1. Mermaid Live Editor
2. input the below code
3. you'll find the flowchart is very wide or long, which is more convenient to use like s shape for better view.

Screenshots

No response

Code Sample

flowchart TD
a[Market Research] --> b[Car Styling] --> c[Planning] --> d[structure design] --> e[manufacturing] --> f[assembling] --> g[testing] --> h[to the market]

Setup

• Mermaid version:
• Browser and Version: [Chrome, Edge, Firefox]

Suggested Solutions

No response

Additional Context

No response

[nour0205]

@DoubleLT, Thanks for the suggestion and the clear example.

Currently Mermaid cannot automatically wrap long linear flows into an S-shaped / serpentine layout. The diagram layout is handled by the underlying engine (Dagre / ELK), which generally places nodes according to the global direction (TD, LR, etc.), so a chain like a --> b --> c --> ... will usually render as a single straight line.

There are also a few related limitations that make workarounds difficult:

• Subgraphs often inherit the parent diagram direction, even if a different direction is declared inside them.
• Because the layout engine optimizes the graph automatically, it can ignore attempts to force rows or zig-zag layouts.
• This makes it hard to manually construct multi-row or serpentine flows for long processes.
• Issues related to the limitation: Combination of direction directives in flowgraph doesn't work as expected #4159 , direction inside subgraphs is ignored #6438

Given these constraints, supporting wrapped or serpentine layouts would likely require improvements in layout control or engine capabilities.

We'll leave this issue open as an enhancement request since better layout control could be useful, especially for diagrams exported to documents (Markdown/PDF).