A distributed graphical presentation and manipulation application executes as a thin client application in a network. The networked graphical presentation and manipulation application can generally be used without requiring a user to install any specific software prior to using the application. In one embodiment, code may be received from a server via the network. A local environment may be generated based on the code, where the local environment may be configured to display a view of a graphical model. A request to manipulate the view may be received within the local environment. A request for a manipulated view may be transmitted to the server based on the received request. The manipulated view may be received from the server. The received manipulated view may be displayed within the local environment.