Several tuneable input parameters control optimization. For example, the user may select the number of edges, 𝑘, for the designs. The minimum 𝑘 is 𝑛 -1 to allow for a minimally connected design and the maximum number of edges is 𝑛(𝑛 -1)∕2, 𝑘 𝑓 𝑢𝑙𝑙 . If the requested edge number is outside the allowed range, HiMap sets 𝑘 to the nearest allowed number.