Export and share draw.io diagrams as URL

We’ve told you time and again about the power of visualization and how draw.io helps harness that power to make your life easier and more productive. But what is that power worth if you can’t share it with everyone else who needs to be in the know?

There are many ways to share your draw.io diagrams. First and foremost, thanks to draw.io’s seamless integration with Confluence, no team members in your company ever need to be out of the loop when it comes time to share the diagrams you create to ensure crystal clear communication to all involved.

…and everyone else?

But not everyone who needs to see or contribute to your diagrams will always have access to Confluence. So today we’re focussing on a quick and dirty shortcut that allows you to share draw.io diagrams with those who may not be part of the Confluence pipeline: exporting your diagrams as URL.

With this important feature you can easily and quickly share and collaborate with every stakeholder in every project that you need to document, define, or brainstorm via draw.io diagrams.

How it’s done

The process is simple. Just select File > Export > Export as URL to create the link (and make some adjustments like a border color and more). You can then easily share that link like any other URL. When people click the link your diagram opens for them in the viewer window of the draw.io open-source editor.

The open source editor

But how do these external folks who may not have access to draw.io for Atlassian Confluence and Jira open the diagrams you’ve shared with them? draw.io is also an open-source online tool that allows anyone to experience diagramming. It’s also the tool that will automatically open any diagram URL you choose to share. Free of charge.

But why a URL, you might ask. Why not just a PDF? While it’s true that you could simply share your diagrams as a PDF, this method can only show what you’ve created. A URL, once opened, allows your external collaborators to not only view, but interact with and edit your shared diagram. After adding their input, they can export the diagram as an XML file and send it back to you so you can drag and drop it to your draw.io canvas, back in Confluence, to continue the collaboration process.

Check out this video for a quick and painless demonstration:

Visit our YouTube Channel, or book a free demo to learn more about the limitless ways in which draw.io can make life easier and more productive for you and everyone in (and outside) your company!