Installing Draw.io Software and Creating Flowcharts in Draw.io

Installing Draw.io Software and Creating Flowcharts in Draw.io

Draw.io is a software or application used for creating diagrams online. This software is also available in a desktop version, although with some limitations. The online version supports HTML5, Internet Explorer versions 6 through 8, iOS, and Android. Naturally, an internet connection is required to use its online features. Files or documents can be saved either online or offline. There are two options for online storage: Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox.

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A. How to Get Draw.io Software

Draw.io is freely and openly available. It can be used both online and offline. The official website is https://www.draw.io. By accessing this site, you can immediately begin creating diagrams or flowcharts.

To download the desktop version, go to https://about.draw.io/integrations/.

The draw.io site provides versions for multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux AppImage, Linux rpm, and Chrome OS. For this module, we will download the Windows version, and all practices will be performed on a Windows Operating System.

To download the Windows version of draw.io, follow these steps:

1. On the page https://about.draw.io/integration/, scroll down until you clearly see the “draw.io Desktop” section.

2. To download the Windows version, click on the "Download .exe" link.

3. In the “Save As” window, you may rename the file or leave the default name draw.io-26.2.15-windows-installer.

4. Click the “Save” button to start the download process.

5. Observe the bottom left corner of your browser window to see when the download is complete.

6. Check the designated download folder to find the downloaded file.

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B. Installing Draw.io

To begin installation, follow these steps:

1. Make sure the draw.io file with the name draw.io-26.2.15-windows-installer is ready to be executed.

2. Right-click on the draw.io-26.2.15-windows-installer file and select “Run as administrator”.
   

   

   3. In the User Account window, click the Yes button, and the installation process will begin.
   

   

   4. Wait until the process is complete and the draw.io application window appears, as shown in the image below:
   

   5. To create a new flowchart document, click the "Create New Diagram" button. To open an existing document, you can use the "Open Existing Diagram" button.
   

   

   6. To select the language used in the draw.io application, click the Language menu.

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C. Getting Started with Draw.io

In the previous section, the installation guide was explained and it was ensured that the application was successfully installed. Now, we will begin using draw.io.

To get started with draw.io, follow these steps:

1. Double-click the draw.io shortcut on the desktop.
   

2. When the feature selection window appears (Create New Diagram and Open Existing Diagram), choose the "Create New Diagram" option to create a new file.
   

3. In the next window, there is a facility to provide a name for the file. Name the file as "flowchart.xml" and then click the "Create" button.
   

4. In the next window, a new document is presented with the standard format from draw.io.
   

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D. Recognizing the Menus in Draw.io

For the main menu categories, draw.io has 6 main menus: File, Edit, View, Extras, and Help, each with its respective function.

1. File Menu
   The File menu is related to document file management, such as New, Save, Save As, and others.

2. Edit Menu
   The Edit menu is used for editing, such as making changes by adding, deleting, copying, pasting, arranging object visibility, and more.

3. View Menu
   The View menu is used to adjust the display of draw.io, such as Page View to manage the page layout, Grid to show a grid on the workspace, and Zoom In and Zoom Out for enlarging or reducing the view. Some features in the View menu have hotkeys that can be used to speed up tasks, such as the Grid submenu, which can be accessed with the hotkey combination CTRL + Shift + G.

4. Arrange Menu
   Some submenus in the Arrange menu include toFront to bring an object to the front of others, toBack, which is the opposite of toFront, Layout, Autosize, and more.

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E. Creating a New File, Saving a File, Exiting the Application, Opening, and Editing a File

Now, we will practice some operations to make file management easier, such as creating a new file, saving a file, exiting the application, opening a file, and editing it.

1. Opening a New File
   To create a new file in draw.io, follow these steps:

   •  Click the File menu → New (or you can press the shortcut Ctrl + N).
     

   • After the option window appears, click the "Create New Diagram" button.
     

   •  In the Filename window, fill in and select the following options:

     • Filename: flowchart2.xml

     • Diagram (option): Basic (11)

     • Flowchart option: Blank Diagram

     • Then click the "Create" button.
       

   • The file flowchart2.xml is now ready to use.
     

2. Saving a File
   A file that has been edited or filled with diagram objects can be saved in the following way:

   a) Click File

   b) Highlight the Save menu or use the shortcut CTRL+S

   If you want to save the file under a different name, follow these steps:
   

   a) Click the File menu

   b) Highlight the Save As... option or use the shortcut CTRL+Shift+S

   c) In the Save As window, fill in the File name field with flowchart3.xml (you can choose the folder location as you wish).

   d) Finally, click the Save button.

3. Exiting the draw.io Application
   

   a) Click the File menu

   b) Then highlight and click the Close menu 

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F. Adding Objects to the draw.io Canvas

In the next practice, we will create a new file and then try to add flowchart objects to the draw.io workspace.

Let’s practice by following these steps:

1. Open the draw.io application.

2. Create a new file named Flowchart4.xml (refer back to Section E on how to create a file).

3. Make sure the draw.io canvas is open.

4. Ensure the Flowchart Palette is also open, as shown in the image below:
   

5. For example, if we want to add a terminator object, hover over the terminator section.
   

6. The same procedure applies when adding other objects to the draw.io canvas.

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G. Connecting Objects to Other Objects and Adding Text to Objects

To connect one object to another, follow these steps:

1. Reopen the file Flowchart4.xml.

2. Ensure that there are two objects on the draw.io canvas, such as a terminator object and a process object.
   

3. Activate the terminator object by clicking directly on the terminator object on the draw.io canvas.
   

4. To connect the terminator object to the process object, click the arrow on the bottom part of the object:
   

5. To add text to an object, double-click on the object. For example, to add the text "Start" to the terminator object.
   

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H. Resizing Objects

What if you want to resize an object? Here are the steps:

1. Select the object you want to resize, for example, select the terminator.

2. After selecting the object, eight small blue circles will appear around the object. See the image below:
   

3. When the mouse pointer is hovered over one of the small blue circles, the pointer will change to (⤢) if you hover over the top-right circle, indicating that the object is ready to be resized diagonally.
   

4. The rest, please practice on your own.

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I. Working with the Online Version of draw.io (WEB)

The draw.io software also provides the facility to create flowcharts directly without installation. The only requirement is an internet connection. The website to work with draw.io online is https://www.draw.io/, then press enter. 

1. Open the web browser of your choice.

2. In the address bar, type the URL https://www.draw.io/ and press enter.

3. Click the "Create New Diagram" button.

4. In the "File Name" field, enter "drawio practice."
   

5. For the ListBox on the left, select Flowchart (9), and for the ListBox on the right, select the one that is already marked.
   

6. Click the "Create" button, and the other commands are the same as the desktop version.

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That’s all for this article. Apologies if there are any errors. Please feel free to leave your feedback or comments in the comment section below.

References:

• KANA, ALGORIMTA and PEMRGORAMAN, 2024