Collate Shape

The Collate shape represents a collating or organizing operation that brings together information from multiple sources or arranges data in a specific sequence.

What is a Collate Shape?

The Collate shape represents:

• Collating multiple sources
• Organizing data collections
• Assembling information
• Arranging in sequence
• Gathering scattered data

According to ISO 5807, this shape indicates a collating operation where items are arranged or gathered.

When to Use

Use the Collate shape for:

• Organizing: "Collate reports from departments", "Organize survey responses"
• Assembling: "Assemble document sections", "Gather customer feedback"
• Arranging: "Arrange pages in order", "Collate print jobs"
• Grouping: "Group related items", "Organize by category"
• Combining ordered items: "Collate sorted results"

Visual Appearance

In DiagramKit.AI, the Collate shape appears as:

• Dimensions: 120×120 pixels
• Color: Light green (#f0fdf4)
• Border: Green (#22c55e)
• Shape: Diamond with inverted orientation

Best Practices

✅ Good Usage

[Fetch user data]
   ↓
[Fetch order data]
   ↓
[Fetch payment data]
   ↓
[Collate into customer profile]
   ↓
[Display complete profile]

• Specify what is being collated
• Indicate sources when relevant
• Show result of collation
• Use for gathering operations

❌ Avoid

• ❌ Merging: "Combine data" (use Merge)
• ❌ Sorting: "Order items" (use Sort)
• ❌ Too vague: "Collate" (collate what?)
• ❌ Simple processing (use Process)

Common Examples

Example 1: Report Assembly

[Generate summary section]
   ↓
[Generate details section]
   ↓
[Generate charts section]
   ↓
[Collate sections into final report]
   ↓
[Export as PDF]

Example 2: Data Gathering

[Query from API 1]
   ↓
[Query from API 2]
   ↓
[Query from API 3]
   ↓
[Collate responses]
   ↓
[Normalize data]

Example 3: Document Compilation

[Scan page 1]
   ↓
[Scan page 2]
   ↓
[Scan page 3]
   ↓
[Collate scanned pages]
   ↓
[Create multi-page PDF]

AI Prompt Tips

add collate operation for multiple sources
insert collate step to organize data
create collate shape for gathering results

Related Shapes

• Merge - For merging data streams
• Sort - For sorting data
• Process - For processing
• Extract - For extracting data