Learn! – Jump in and get started with draw.io
draw.io Tutorials
Learn draw.io with our collection of video tutorials. Whether you’re new to draw.io or diagramming, the materials are there to help you create professional looking diagrams, quickly and easily.
0:46 min
Open draw.io in Confluence
A draw.io diagram can be created within any Confluence page, provided you have permission to edit the page. If you don’t have the correct permissions for a specific page, you will not be able to find any diagram that is on that page, even when you search for it.
0:39 min
How to use the template manager
If you want to quickly create a similar diagram, using templates or existing diagrams can help. You can create a copy of a template by clicking the “Copy” button. The original template is not changed, instead a clone is generated. The new diagram is opened in the draw.io interface.
0:32 min
Save a diagram
When the draw.io editor is closed using the “Save and Exit” or “Exit” buttons, the Confluence page is displayed. The easiest way to save a diagram is using the “Save and Exit” button at the top right corner. draw.io automatically saves the state of a diagram. If you mistakenly click “Exit”, you can access and restore your changes when you insert a new diagram.
0:39 min
View mode
In view mode, you can display a larger version of the diagram by clicking on it (zoom in, zoom out). You can change the display of the diagram when editing the Confluence page (size, border, etc.). When you click on a diagram in edit mode, a toolbar is displayed either above or below the diagram.
0:35 min
Navigation in the diagram editor
In this video you will learn how to use the control panels and navigate within the draw.io editor. The drawing area is in the middle. Everything located here is visible in the diagram on the Confluence page after saving. The two most important navigation functions are moving the visible drawing area (panning or scrolling), and zooming in and out.
0:49 min
Control panels and tools
The control panels are divided into three sections.
First is a horizontal toolbar above the drawing area. The most important tools and the main menu are located in this top toolbar, as well as in the format panel on the right. Which tools are available depends on the context. For example, different tools are displayed when you are working with text compared to when you are working with objects.
0:49 min
Select and move multiple objects
To move a single object, click on the object, hold the mouse button down and move the object to its new position.
To move multiple objects, select them with a frame as described below (or with the “Shift” key), and then move them to their new position. It is important that the mouse cursor is over one of the selected objects when you move them.
0:51 min
Duplicate shapes
There are various ways to duplicate an object:
- Using the menu: Edit > Copy, then Edit > Paste
- Using the menu: Edit > Duplicate (you save a step)
- Keyboard shortcuts: “Ctrl” + “C” then “V” for copy + paste, or “Ctrl” + “D” for duplicate
0:32 min
Rotate shapes
To scale an object (make it smaller or larger), you can simply move any of the 8 blue points on the object. To proportionally resize an object, hold down the “Shift” key as you move the points.
0:51 min
Replace shapes
To replace an object, drag a shape from the symbol library onto the object you want to change, until the “Replace” symbol is displayed.
To replace multiple objects, select them, then hold down the “Alt” key and select the shape you want to use from the symbol library, or drag a shape onto one of the selected objects.
1:11 min
How to add, edit and style text
You can insert text directly in any object. Click on the object, then enter your text. The text and the object are always grouped together. For example, you don’t have to select both the object and text individually before moving the object.
1:11 min
How to use connectors
If you hover the mouse cursor over an unselected object (without clicking), you will see multiple small crosses (connection points), and four blue arrows (connection arrows).
2:35 min
Anchor links within a page
Catch the attention of your readers and make a long page more usable by creating a diagram for navigation and inserting anchor links. You can use these links to jump to the headings throughout the page.
0:41 min
Use the revision history to see changes
Changes to a draw.io diagram are directly saved in Confluence in the page history. This includes the date and time of the change, as well as the user who made the change. You can restore older versions of a diagram from the page history.
0:56 min
Import and export diagrams
You can see the import and export options using the “File” menu.
1:37 min
Gliffy Import
Importing all existing Gliffy diagrams within Confluence is easy using the mass import function.
3:30 min
How to use the draw.io Board editor
This video introduces you to the reduced editor of our Board macro in draw.io for Confluence. With the Board editor, you can use draw.io like a digital whiteboard. draw.io Boards is integrated into our draw.io Diagrams for Confluence app.