Learn how to diagram using diagrams.net features
Connectors are lines that connect your shapes together and may or may not have arrows at one or both ends. In a diagram, connectors provide context information, showing how the various shapes and entities in your diagram are related.
Entity relationship diagrams or ER models in software engineering show the structure of and relationships between database objects. They are used extensively in database modelling to plan new systems, and document existing systems for maintenance and updates.
Flowcharts are one of the most common diagram types, showing all of the steps that must be followed to complete a process. Not many processes are limited to just one person or one team, which is why swimlane diagrams and cross-functional flowcharts are used - these show the flow of data or control across different groups.
With most teachers and students now working virtually, as schools have been required to close due to the pandemic, the tools that support online teaching have been drastically improved. Many schools are now using Google Classroom to communicate with students, organise curriculum, and assign and submit assessment digitally.
The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a set of standard symbols and diagram types, commonly used in data modelling, workflow visualisation, and system modelling. UML notation is the defacto industry standard in the fields of software development, IT infrastructure, business systems and other fields. Many languages, such as SysML, SoaML, and a number of architecture frameworks use and extend UML.
Complex diagrams can be made a lot easier to read and understand when you split them up into logical smaller diagrams on multiple pages, or by using a number of layers.
Notion is a collaboration platform with web, desktop and mobile applications, providing individuals and teams with a range of features for collaboration, documentation and personal organisation: notes, databases, kanban boards, wikis, calendars, and reminders.
You can create a diagram automatically from a combination of formatting information and CSV data from a spreadsheet. This may be practical when working with spreadsheet models of various types of data (org charts, attack trees, process flows), or CSV files exported from other programs, for example, modeled network topologies or software dependencies.
There are two ways to display diagrams on Confluence Data Center and Server - either attach the diagram file to the page and use the draw.io diagram macro, or embed a diagram that is stored elsewhere using the Embed draw.io diagram macro. You can embed draw.io diagrams easily from the following locations:
You can change the alignment of text labels in shapes and on connectors in a number of different ways. The options below are available in the Text tab of the format panel on the right.
Shapes are placed on the drawing canvas in diagrams.net using a default orientation. You can rotate shapes into another position as you need.
You can use the built-in search features to look for draw.io diagrams in Confluence Cloud, as well as Confluence Server and Data Center. In the following examples, you can see a comparison of how Confluence finds draw.io and Gliffy diagrams.
With the draw.io app for Confluence Cloud, you can add diagrams to Confluence Cloud pages and collaboratively edit them. You can reuse one diagam on multiple pages, embed diagrams from cloud storage platforms, and cut down on the time spent maintaining multiple copies of the same diagram.
The automatic layout shapes in the Advanced shape library in diagrams.net organise your flow charts, tree diagrams, org charts, and mind maps for you as you add and connect more shapes. The automated layout ensures that all shapes in your diagram are spaced evenly, either in a horizontal or vertical format, and will automatically increase or decrease the container shape’s size to match the contents.
Confluence allows you to collaboratively edit the content of its pages: You and other Confluence users will see each others’ changes in real-time as you edit the page.
Draw your Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure with diagrams.net for free. You don’t need to register or sign-up, and you can store your diagrams in your favourite cloud storage platforms, like Google Drive, One Drive, and Dropbox.
You can use a versioned diagram in a Github README file in a number of different ways, and include links to edit the diagram or use it as a template for a new diagram.
You can add maths equations to your diagrams by enabling mathematical typesetting via the diagrams.net menu. When you enter an equation into a text shape or label, enabling mathematical typesetting will use MathJax to render your equation. MathJax renders equations neatly and works in all browsers.
A more relaxed and informal style for shapes, fills and lines is often used in infographics, teaching materials, maps and reports so that the diagrams are little less sterile and boring. The rough style adds a hand drawn shading options, rough outlines and connectors, and handwritten text labels.
Tables have been overhauled in diagrams.net to be much more flexible and robust than the old HTML tables you previously used. With the new tables, you can choose from various layouts, drag to resize rows and columns, move rows by dragging them, and build cross-functional flowcharts within a table and its cells.
Connectors show how the different shapes in the diagram are related. In complex diagrams, you are likely to have many overlapping connectors. While line jumps are useful when you have one or two connectors that cross but shouldn’t intersect, you can change the path that your connectors take to make your diagram clearer by adding extra waypoints.
You can now create a new diagram even faster by going to diagram.new or diagrams.new instead of having to remember the full app.diagrams.net address.
You can embed diagrams.net as an application within another app, where you store the diagram data in the host app. It takes around 15 minutes to get a basic example running.
The PNG image file format supports embedded metadata in a number of ways. diagrams.net can export a PNG image of your diagram and include the diagram itself in the image, by including the XML code in the zTxt section of the image file.
There are many reasons why you may want to print a diagram, or save it as a PDF file: floor plans with emergency routes or conference booth layouts, infographics, business plans and BPMN diagrams, or infrastructure and rack diagrams when you don’t have a tablet on hand for easy reference.
Mermaid is a syntax similar to Markdown where you can use text to describe and automatically generate diagrams. With Mermaid’s Markdown-inspired syntax, you can generate flow charts, UML diagrams, pie charts, Gantt charts, and more.
Custom shape libraries let you add the shapes, images, clipart, groups of shapes, custom shapes, and even entire diagrams to your own shape library to make diagramming faster and easier.
There are a large number of keyboard shortcuts that let you create diagrams faster and more easily with diagrams.net. One of the more common and time-consuming tasks when you create a diagram is styling shapes and connectors.
Versioning is built into Confluence, and diagrams attached to pages using the draw.io app for Confluence takes advantage of this. When you edit a diagram, the draw.io app creates a new page version so you can easily restore an older version of your diagram.
The free diagrams.net add-on for Google Docs lets you embed your diagrams into your documents. When the diagram files have been updated via your Google Drive, all you need to do is update them inside your document to show those changes.
Several features in our diagram editor let you create diagrams automatically from simple text statements.
Each shape in a diagram can contain metadata or custom properties - extra information about those shapes.
If you don’t want to use the fonts that are available by default in diagrams.net, you can use your own custom fonts or external fonts, such as Google’s fonts or web fonts stored on your own server. This is useful when you need to match the style guide of a publication, your company’s corporate image, or to add interest and emphasis in an infographic.
Some diagrams can get very large and complex, for example, business processes, UML diagrams, floor plans, or even large brainstorm mind maps and hierarchical tree diagrams. These diagrams are often more readable when they are broken into smaller component diagrams.
diagrams.net desktop is a downloadable security-first diagramming application that runs on Windows, MacOS and Linux. Creating diagrams in the desktop app doesn’t need an internet connection. This is useful when you are disconnected or when you must create diagrams in a highly secure environment, where data protection is of the utmost importance.
You can store your diagrams in GitLab after authorising access to your account and repositories - diagrams.net will never see your GitLab password.
diagrams.net supports Github using OAuth - diagrams.net will never see your Github password.
You can share and collaborate on diagrams with anyone, either inside or outside of your company, when they are stored as public files in your Google Drive account.
Entity relationship diagrams show how data is structured in relational databases. Each entity consists of rows of attributes. ER diagrams are used in software development and by IT workers to design and document database structure.
diagrams.net is a unique security-first diagramming tool in that we provide the application platform, but your diagram data only lives in your browser on your local device while you are working on it. Upon saving, your diagram data will be stored at the location you have chosen: in your cloud platform, on your local device, in GitHub, or to whichever integration you have selected. Your diagram data is never sent to the our servers when you save your diagram.
There are many different ways to connect shapes - some with the mouse, or a combination of mouse and keyboard shortcut, or even just with the keyboard.
You can define custom properties for the shapes and connectors in your diagrams. This shape metadata can help explain your diagram to viewers. For example, the tooltips that can appear when you hover over a shape are one such property.
As diagrams.net aims to become the de facto diagramming tool, used by everyone around the world, it’s important to be able to import from a variety of file formats and from a number of storage locations.
Normally, when you resize a group of shapes, all of the shapes are resized proportionally, and maintain their positions in relation to each other.
SVG images load quickly, especially when compared to loading diagram images in other formats. You can embed an SVG image exported from diagrams.net in a website, document or even a WordPress site if you have installed a plugin that support the upload of SVG files.
Floating connectors are easy to create - drag a connector from one shape, hover over another shape until the outline is blue, then release.
You can embed a diagram in a web page or in any online platform that can render HTML. While some third-party integrations can embed diagrams more efficiently (in WordPress, for example), embedding a diagram as HTML may be a good option. You can also share these HTML diagram files with others.
Publishing a diagram that you have saved on Google Drive as a link makes it easy to share them with people on forums, via chat apps or by email.
Instead of dragging shapes from the shape library in to the drawing canvas, you can quickly add them by simply clicking on the shape. This makes it faster to add a lot of shapes to the canvas at once, and then place, style and connect them later.
diagrams.net makes it easy to share your diagrams. You can even encode it in an URL if your diagram is smaller than a certain size. When someone clicks on the (very long) URL, they will open the diagram in the diagram viewer. From there, it’s easy to print or edit their own copy of the diagram - your original diagram will not be changed unless you specify otherwise.
You can share diagrams easily, open and edit them, no matter whether those diagrams are in .drawio, .vsdx, .vdx, .gliffy or .lucid file formats, by using diagrams.net as a free, online diagram viewer.
You can store and collaborate on diagrams using your company’s shared drives in G Suite, previously known as Google Team Drives, in the same way as you can use your personal Google Drive with diagrams.net.