The draw.io Glossary

By Emily Williams

July 4, 2024

Categories: customization, draw.io, feature, learning, productivity

Have you ever come across a term in draw.io, and thought, “What on earth is that?” Well – you’re in the right place!

We believe draw.io is a highly intuitive tool. However, we also know that many of our users come from a wide range of backgrounds and technical knowledge. We have users in software and automotive industries, users in education and healthcare, and many more.

We want each and every user to feel confident and equipped with the knowledge they need to get the most out of draw.io – whatever their use case is.

In this blogpost, we’re providing you with the essential draw.io Glossary. This contains all the key draw.io terms with corresponding visuals. Each key term is hyperlinked, taking you to further information on that specific feature. This will help anyone getting started with draw.io, or those looking to further deepen their knowledge of the tool.

Tip: To zoom in on a screenshot or gif below, right-click on the image and select “Open Image in New Tab.”

Glossary contents

Term Description Screenshot/gif
board/ whiteboard editor
 The board editor is your blank canvas with which to explore, let your creative ideas flow, and collaborate with your teammates.

The board editor has a simplified theme, (fewer side panel options, no guidelines), giving it a clean, “whiteboard” feel, compared to the diagram editor.

The board editor
diagram editor, or (drawing) canvas
 The original draw.io editor, best for creating and collaborating on technical diagrams, flowcharts, and more.

The diagram editor displays the full menu options, and left and right side panels by default.

The diagram editor
connectors
 Connectors are the arrows or lines that run between your diagram shapes. They serve to represent the relationships between elements.

The connector lines and endpoints are fully customizable, along with the spacing between the connectors and shapes.

Different connector types and customization options
connection arrows
 A connection arrow is a specific type of connector that typically features an arrowhead at one or both ends. They are commonly used to indicate directional relationships or flows between elements in a diagram.

Different connector endpoints
connection points
 A connection point is a given point on a shape that a connector will attach to.

You can use the default connection points, or right-click on a shape and select Edit Connection Points to customize the connection points on a shape.

Customize connection points
container shapes
 A container shape is an overarching shape that contains a subset of individual shapes.

These shapes can either be moved and modified within the container, or the container itself can be moved and adjusted as a whole.

The container shape: Vertical Tree Layout
custom shape libraries
 You can quickly and easily create your own individual shape library by adding existing shapes you have already created, or from imported images. We support .png, .jpg, .svg file formats, and more!

Locate your custom libraries by heading to +More Shapes at the bottom of the left side menu, then scrolling down to the category Custom Libraries.

Add custom shapes to your own libraries
custom templates
 Create custom templates for all your regular visualization tasks, for example holding Agile team retrospectives, or building sales funnels.

Custom templates are stored in your company’s Confluence instance for you and your teams to access and use as and when needed.

When you create a new draw.io diagram, your custom templates will be shown at the top of the template menu (see associated screenshot).

Custom templates
edges
 The boundaries or borders of your connectors. Customize the width, border pattern, color, etc.

Shortcut: use Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+E to select all edges in your diagram.

Customize the edges of your diagram shapes
embed draw.io Diagram
 In a Confluence page in edit mode, start typing “/draw” and select “Embed draw.io Diagram” to embed an existing draw.io diagram.

This embedded diagram is identical to the original, and only the original can be edited. When the original diagram is updated, all Confluence pages containing this embedded diagram will automatically reflect the changes.

Embed an existing draw.io diagram
fixed connectors
 When the connector joining one shape to another is fixed, and you move one of the shapes around the canvas, the point it is connected to on the other shape does not move.

Fixed connectors are denoted by green connection dots or a green frame surrounding your shape.

Fixed connector
floating connectors
 This is the default connection type in draw.io. With a floating connector, the connection point moves along the perimeter of the shape as you move the shape. The connector always takes the shortest possible path.

Floating connectors are denoted by blue connection dots or a blue frame surrounding your shape.

Floating connector
flow animation (animate connectors)
 Animating your connectors is ideal for demonstrating directional flowcharts, electrical circuits, and more.

To animate your connectors:

  • Select the connector(s) you wish to animate. Use Ctrl/Cmd to select multiple connectors;
  • In the right side menu, from the Style tab, check the box Flow Animation;
  • Expand the Properties dropdown to see more settings and change the flow duration, timing, or direction.

Animate connectors
insert draw.io Board
 In a Confluence page in edit mode, start typing “/draw” and select “Insert draw.io Board” to create a new draw.io board.

Insert a new board
insert draw.io Diagram
 In a Confluence page in edit mode, start typing “/draw” and select “Insert draw.io Diagram” to create a new draw.io diagram.

Insert a new diagram
labels
 The text inside a shape or on a connector.

Double-click on a shape or connector, then start typing to add your text.

Adding a label to a connector
layers
 Layers are an advanced way to build up your complex diagrams in multiple stages. Layers add levels of complexity to your diagram that viewers can choose to display or hide, depending on the level of detail they need to see.

Use layers to show or hide levels of complexity
Lightbox
 The draw.io Lightbox is selected by default. When you click on a diagram in Confluence page view mode, the diagram opens in the draw.io Lightbox, showing all the pages and layers of the diagram.

You can enable or disable Lightbox view by:

  1. Clicking on the settings cog on a diagram embedded in a Confluence page;
  2. Check or uncheck the Lightbox option.

The Lightbox option in a draw.io diagram (embedded on a Confluence page)
(diagram) page; multipage diagrams
 Create multipage diagrams with draw.io for your processes and subprocesses, all stored centrally in one central diagram embedded on a Confluence page.

Example of a multipage diagram
placeholder
 Placeholders are metadata that add additional information to your shapes that act like variables.

There are a number of predefined placeholders in draw.io, e.g. %pagenumber% will display the number of the current page.

To add a placeholder:

  1. Right-click on the shape, check the box Placeholder, and hit Apply;
  2. Double-click on the shape and type in the placeholder you wish to use.

The “Page number” predefined placeholder
Scratchpad
 The Scratchpad is your personal space to store frequently used shapes, groups of shapes, and even diagrams for easy access, to use again and again.

Add shapes to your Scratchpad to use again and again
shape library
 The draw.io standard libraries come with a variety of shapes for all your diagramming needs.

To locate these:

  • In the diagram editor: in the left side menu, scroll to the bottom and click on +More Shapes.
  • In the board editor: in the left side menu, click on the plus (+) icon at the bottom, select Shapes from the dropdown menu, and then click on +More Shapes.

We have up-to-date shape​ libraries for AWS, Azure, Kubernetes, Cisco, BPMN, ERD, UML, and more.

draw.io shape libraries
shapes
 Shapes are the building blocks of your diagram. Common symbols include process steps or activities, represented by a rectangular box, and decision steps, represented by a diamond.

Rectangle and diamond shapes
Sketch mode
 draw.io’s Sketch Mode, or Sketch editor theme, gives your shapes, connectors that hand-drawn feeling and makes your board drawings e.g. mind maps stand out.

Sketch mode
Smart Templates
 Smart Templates allow you to instantly create AI-generated diagrams to your specific requirements at the click of a button.

To access the Smart Template feature from the draw.io canvas:

  1. Click on the plus (+) icon in the top menu;
  2. From the dropdown menu, select Template;
  3. Click on Smart Template.
 A sequence diagram of a content creation process generated by Smart Templates (AI) in draw.io Use Smart Templates to create AI-generated diagrams
template manager
 The template manager is the first thing you see when you create a draw.io diagram. It’s the place to access standard draw.io templates for any use case: business, engineering, HR, technology, and more.

It is also where custom templates you and your teams have created are stored, and the place to generate AI-driven Smart Templates.

To access the template manager from the draw.io the canvas:

  1. Click on the plus (+) icon in the top menu;
  2. From the dropdown menu, select Template.

The draw.io template manager
tooltip
 Tooltips provide additional information and context for users, without cluttering up your diagram.

To add a tooltip:

  1. Click on a shape;
  2. Head to Edit in the top menu and select Edit Tooltip. Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut: Alt/Option+T

Simply hover over a shape to display the tooltip.

Hover over a shape to display the tooltip
vertices
 Vertices are the corner points of a polygonal shape. In draw.io, vertices are key points on a shape or line that define its form and can be used to change its structure.

Shortcut: use Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+I to select all vertices in your diagram.

A sequence diagram with all vertices selected
waypoint shape
 Signified by a large black dot, this shape is a visible point on your connector that shows where two connectors meet at a junction. This is particularly useful for displaying nodes in an electrical circuit diagram, for example.

You can choose to display or hide the waypoint shapes in your diagram. Simply click on the waypoint shape, and uncheck the Line option in the Style settings.

The waypoint shape in draw.io which you can choose to show or hide
waypoints
 Waypoints are the blue dots running along a connector that determine how the connector moves as you drag it around the canvas. These can be customized to ensure connectors cross over at the specific points you define, and do not overlap.

Add waypoints to customize the route between shapes by right-clicking on a connector and selecting, Add Waypoint. To remove waypoints on a connector so it returns to its default path, right-click on the connector and select Clear Waypoints.

Adding a waypoint on a connector

Want to dive deeper into the world of draw.io? Access our linktr.ee page to follow us on social media and learn how others use draw.io, as well as pick up some helpful tips and tricks.

Not using draw.io yet? Convince yourself and start your free 30-day trial today. Or book a free no-obligation demo with our customer success team to learn more about how draw.io can make life easier and more productive for you and everyone in (and outside of) your company!

Happy diagramming!

Last Updated on December 12, 2024 by Admin

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Last Updated on December 12, 2024 by Admin