Circuit Diagram Visio Alternative For Mac
If you're a big-time open source fanatic like me, you probably get questions about open source alternatives to proprietary tools rather frequently. From the 'Alternatives to Microsoft® Visio®' department, here are three tips that should help designers who use Visio in an open source environment.
If you need an open source option for opening Visio files, a revived open source application for creating diagrams, or a lesser-known open source tool for converting Visio® stencils, these tips are for you. Opening Visio files Open source tools haven't been able to open Visio (.VSD format) diagrams for a pretty long time. The format is commonly used for infrastructure and architecture documentation and planning—and less commonly, for user interface design and planning.
Thankfully, Summer of Code students Eilidh McAdam and Fridrich Strba implemented support for opening.VSD format files in LibreOffice Draw last summer. This support is now available in Fedora's version of LibreOffice and has been since Fedora 17.
(Screenshot of LibreOffice Draw opening up a Visio VSD diagram.) You can install LibreOffice Draw with the following command: yum install libreoffice-draw If you prefer to use Inkscape or any other open source SVG editor (such as Karbon14 or Xara,) Eilidh McAdam produced libvisio which works with the libwpd tools for converting.VSD files to.SVG—making it possible to open them in any SVG editor in Fedora. For Fedora 20, you'll need the libvisio and libvisio-tools packages that are now available, which you can install via the following command: yum install libvisio libvisio-tools These two projects are covered in detail in Libre Graphics World, including full instructions on. Note:There isn't a solution yet for writing out to.VSD format, but you can write out to.PDF, of course, which may serve your needs in sharing your modified and originally.VSD-format diagrams. Creating diagrams in a Visio-like environment Dia (A screenshot of Fedora 20′s Dia. We’ve highlighted how to turn on anti-aliasing, which might help your diagrams come out looking better.) Traditionally, has been the best game in town for open source diagramming, but it hasn't changed much over the years and requires a lot of tweaking and extra work to produce beautiful diagrams. For example, diagram graphics are not anti-aliased by default in Dia 0.97.2. We've highlighted how to enable this in the preferences dialog shown in the screenshot above.
You can install Dia with the following command: yum install dia Inkscape (Screenshot of an Inkscape development version, showing some diagramming capabilities including the symbols library and enhanced diagram connector tool.) is another option—my preferred one—but as a general vector graphics editing tool, it doesn't have the specialized niceities and workflow of a tool specifically focused on diagramming and takes a bit of experience to use it effectively for creating diagrams. We show the pre-release/development version of Inkscape,. While the diagram connector tool has been available in Inkscape for quite some time, the tool has been enhanced in the pre-release—check out the tool options bar above the canvas that corresponds to the tool. There are more options you can choose from in how the connector tool connects different objects in your drawing—you can fine-tune them a lot more fluidly now.
The Inkscape pre-release also features the relatively new symbols library feature not available in the version of Inkscape provided in the main repos. The, but there aren't any tutorials or anything around it yet. It basically provides you with a docked palette that lets you peruse different libraries of symbols or graphics—some of which are diagram/flow chart symbols—and drag them onto the canvas.
Check out to learn how to get these new features. Calligra Flow (Calligra Flow diagramming tool in Fedora 20.), which is part of the Calligra suite of productivity applications, is perhaps the best option tailored for someone looking to produce attractive diagrams using open source software.
The lineage of this application can be traced back to the diagramming tool, which according to Wikipedia was initially released in October 2000. In mid 2010, of the KOffice project; not long after, Flow maintainer Yue Liu improving the stencil system and included stencils.
Calligra Flow looks to be a pretty promising diagramming tool, so give it a shot! You can install Calligra Flow with the following command: yum install calligra-flow Converting Visio stencils (.VXD) to.SVG. Converting Visio-format stencils to.SVG involves a pretty kludgy workflow that doesn't always work. Depending on how complex the stencils are, though, it's possible to extract the shapes from a.VXD stencil file and use them as.SVGs. It involves using an old and seemingly abandoned project, so not much is new here, but now that you know how to open.VSD files, it may be of more interest to know how to also. Remember, this process can be really buggy and may need some love.
For example, you have to move the included 'chunksparsecmds.tbl' file to the directory you run the command from, in order for it to work. Even then it fails sometimes, but, it's a start! The format for Calligra Flow stencils is open and it is ODG-based, so with some effort it is possible to manually, and the project has an open call for help on that front. If you'd like to get involved, it seems like a great place to start.
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The same goes for the toolset which has more than 34,000 symbols compared to around 4,800 in Visio 2016. They look better too because they’re in high quality crisp SVG vector format. One of the biggest advantages SmartDraw has over Visio is the Smart Formatting and auto-diagramming features. SmartDraw automatically re-balances diagrams and layouts so when you change connectors and move things around, it adjusts things for you to keep things tidy. This makes a big difference compared to Visio where you have to do a lot more painstaking and tedious manual adjustment of swimlanes, text wrapping, shapes and other diagram elements.
SmartDraw also recognizes that there’s a lot of Project Managers and Business Analysts out there making the switch from Visio need both a visual communication tool and project management tool on their Mac. You can instantly turn SmartDraw Mind Maps into Gantt Charts and even send tasks to Trello where they are dynamically updated as task are completed. This is a really slick touch to SmartDraw 2018 and we like the way changes made in one view, are instantly reflected in the other. We also like the fact that SmartDraw doesn’t try and lock you into its own ecosystem. If you want to share diagrams, you can easily can export files to Microsoft Office, PDF, SVG or PNG format. Or if you just want to send someone a diagram online, you can send a URL of the diagram with customized permissions which allows anyone to view or edit it. The same goes for Jira and Confluence.
SmartDraw has plugins for both that allow you to create diagrams within Confluence for example without even opening SmartDraw. This is another big plus over Visio which offers no official way of even viewing Visio diagrams in Confluence, never mind actually create diagrams in it. Although there are other rivals to Visio that offer Confluence integration, SmartDraw has the best by some distance. Overall, SmartDraw is a powerful alternative for anyone looking for Visio on a Mac.
It can produce results easily on a par with Visio but with considerably less effort and time. You can to judge for yourself. You can also check out our. Pricing: $5.95/month for 5 users+, Single Plans $9.95/month.
If online apps are not your thing, is the closest thing to a native Mac desktop alternative to MS Visio. OmniGraffle is designed specifically for Mac although it’s a more artistic design tool than Visio and it’s not as easy to use at SmartDraw. However, once mastered OmniGraffle produces attractive, professional diagrams, user interfaces and wireframes that look better than anything possible in Visio. It’s important to note from the start that although OmniGraffle can import Visio files, it can’t export files to the latest Visio VSDX format like SmartDraw can.
If you’re going to working alongside with PC based Visio colleagues, that will rule it out straight from the off. OmniGraffle Pro can import all Visio formats (VSDX, VSD, VDX) fand Visio stencil files (VST, VTX, VSX and VSS). Note that Visio import support is not available in the Standard Version of OmniGraffle ($99).
Although there’s aren’t so many stencils and templates included in OmniGraffle, it has a dedicated following of users that have created repositories of. Diagrams created in OmniGraffle look better than those in Visio because it uses high quality vector graphics. There are more tools for illustrating diagrams in OmniGraffle meaning you can create some really eye-catching flowcharts. OmniGraffle is also the only diagramming software on Mac that allows you to use the Touch Bar on new MacBook Pros. This helps streamline your workflow and improve productivity without having to use the TouchPad or mouse all the time.
It also has a very good native iPad app ($49) that supports the Apple Pencil and syncs with Mac via iCloud. Finally, for Project Managers, OmniGraffle is fully integrated with project management tool from the same developer. OmniPlan is a powerful project management tool which makes a great. Overall, we really like OmniGraffle because it’s designed specifically for Mac with the needs of Mac users in mind. It’s not as fast and easy to use as SmartDraw and it’s more expensive but if you want something desktop based rather than Cloud based, OmniGraffle is one of the best alternatives to Visio out there. You can by downloading it from the Mac App Store. If you decide not to upgrade to the Pro version, you can still keep OmniGraffle as a free desktop.
Pricing: OmniGraffle Standard ($99.99) / Professional ($199.99 – includes Visio import support) is a powerful online diagramming software with strong team collaboration features and excellent integration with Microsoft Office. While it’s not as slick as similar Cloud based solutions like SmartDraw and doesn’t come close to it in terms of templates, objects or graphics quality, it’s still one of the leading diagramming tools out there. Here are some of the things we like about Lucidchart.
It can import Visio files (although it can’t export to the latest Visio VSDX format). You can import Visio stencils in VSS or VSX format (although Visio templates in VST or VTX format are not supported). Lucidchart tailors the interface and toolset according to your industry and needs such as engineering, flowcharting, UML diagramming etc. It really excels at multi user collaboration and allows you to chat with others inside the app, see revision changes, leave comments etc.
There are free plugins for JIRA, Confluence and Jive integration. Lucidchart is very well-integrated with Microsoft Office 2016 so you can draw diagrams directly in Word, PowerPoint and Excel. There’s a handy that allows you to draw diagrams offline. Overall Lucidchart is an easy to use online diagramming tool ideal for team collaboration and those that need good integration with Microsoft Office. For a more in-depth look at Lucidchart, check-out our full. You can also try a of Lucidchart.
Pricing: $8.95+/month per user. Is the only professional diagramming cross platform desktop alternative to Visio that works on both Mac and Windows PCs. ConceptDraw Pro can even export to Visio VSDX format although we found the results are not as accurate as with SmartDraw. Here’s some highlights of ConceptDraw Pro for Mac:. It can import Visio files including VSD and VDX (Visio 2007-2010 format) and Microsoft’s newer open XML file format VSDX used in Visio 2013 and above.
It can export diagrams to Microsoft Office and Evernote among other formats. There are hundreds of templates to get you going divided into different areas such as, engineering, management, science, flowcharts etc. There’s also a rich collection of high quality vector objects, audiovisual clips, additional templates and tutorials in.
ConceptDraw Pro allows you to create presentations and slideshows of your diagrams. For Project Managers, it can be used alongside.
ConceptDraw Pro is a solid choice if you want something similar to Visio that works on both Mac and PC. You can try a by signing up for a ConceptDraw account. Pricing: $199. Minor updates are free but not major updates. Is an extremely easy to use team focused Cloud diagramming software that’s ideal for collaborating on, network diagrams and org charts. Gliffy can import Visio files although it can’t export them although it does export to SVG format which can be opened in Visio (although you’ll have to do a lot of manual adjustment).
Here’s what makes Gliffy a great team diagramming solution. Gliffy has a so although it’s Cloud based, you can create diagrams offline. It syncs with online storage solutions such as Google Drive and Dropbox directly from your desktop. Gliffy’s WYSIWYG interface is based on HTML5 which means it’s fast and responsive. It uses a drag-and-drop interface which makes it easy to add objects and connectors to your diagrams.
Gliffy is an excellent choice for teams as it has full revision histories for diagrams, private sharing and all users can leave comments on diagrams. Sharing diagrams is easy. If you want to share diagrams with a non Gliffy user, it generates a simple URL which can be shared on social media and other channels so anyone can view the diagram. There are Gliffy plugins for Confluence and Jira. Gliffy also allows you to export diagrams to Google Docs, presentations, web pages and most major image formats including JPG, PNG, PNG with transparent background and SVG. There’s a good choice of real objects to illustrate diagrams with although there aren’t many templates to choose from.
If you just want a basic but easy online diagramming solution that imports Visio files, allows you to diagram offline and is suitable for teams, Gliffy is definitely worth checking out. You can and test drive it for yourself.
Pricing: Starts at $7.99/user per month. Is a lightweight, fast and cost-effective alternative to Visio. Creately is a lot simpler than Visio but you can create some pretty impressive diagrams, Venn diagrams, flowcharts and process flows with it. Here’s a few things that stand out.
Creately can import Visio files (although it can’t export to Visio). There are some neat touches like shared project libraries, a useful Google Image search tool and auto snapping of objects connectors. Creately also integrates with Confluence, Jira and the G Suite Marketplace. Creately has a Mac desktop client which allows you to draw offline and sync any changes when you go online again.
There are thousands of templates to choose from to get things done quickly. You can also before deciding whether it’s for you. Pricing: $5 a month or $49 per year for individual users. If you mainly use Visio for creating flowcharts then is a data input based alternative with a clean, minimalist interface. Textografo claims that by automating diagrams, it’s the fastest diagramming software on the market although it takes some getting used to first.
Textografo doesn’t cater for all diagram formats but consists of a Flowchart Maker, Mindmap Maker, Decision Tree Maker, Organizational Chart Maker and a Sitemap Maker. Here’s what we like about Textografo compared to Visio:. Textografo takes a data input approach to diagramming by automating diagrams based on the data you feed it. Instead of drawing diagrams, you describe it using hashtags and instructions in the left hand margin and Textografo draws it. So for example, if you type “#decision” a decision box will appear in the diagram. This removes the need to constantly align, resize and connect elements and objects in flowcharts by automating much of the process for you via syntax. You can also drag and drop elements although Textografo is not really designed for that.
Textografo is designed particularly with business processes in mind especially those in Process Analysis, Business Operations, Software Development, Sales & Marketing and Customer Service roles.In terms of pricing plans, Textografo Essentials is the basic version of Textografo and costs $4 per month but is limited to 5 private diagrams and 50 shapes per diagram. You can use Textografo before you have to purchase a plan. Pricing: Textografo Premium costs $8 per month. (formerly known as Nevron Draw) is a budget desktop alternative to MS Visio. If the interface of MyDraw looks familiar, that’s because it’s heavily inspired by Microsoft Office’s Ribbon UI used in all MS Office products. Some of the reasons MyDraw makes a good replacement for MS Visio on macOS include:.
Visio file format support is excellent in MyDraw including support for importing older VDX format and VSSX stencils too. MyDraw can also import, edit and export Visio VSDX files (although the results aren’t always great). MyDraw can also import family tree diagrams in GEDCOM format used in. Other export formats supported include PDF, AutoCAD’s DXF format and as high-resolution images. MyDraw has a very large number of shapes and objects to choose from and uses a powerful formula based engine similar to Visio. It also has automatic layout algorithms to speed things up when creating diagrams.
Best Alternative To Visio
There are plenty of free templates for simple mind maps, network diagrams, floor plans, fish bone diagrams, work flows, UML diagrams and electrical diagrams. If you like to draw diagrams on your iPad, MyDraw also supports the Apple Pencil and other. MyDraw isn’t quite on the same level as Visio but if you’re on a really tight budget and want a Mac desktop solution, it’s definitely worth downloading the Pricing: $69.99 is a cheaper desktop alternative to Visio but with a strikingly similar interface. There are a lot of similarities between Edraw and MyDraw, most notably that they’re both desktop apps plus they can both import and export Visio files.
Here’s what we like about Edraw Max:. Edraw supports high quality vector graphics allowing you to create eye-catching diagrams. Edraw supports VDX as well as VSDX files although the exported results aren’t always great and may involve some manual adjustment depending on the complexity of the diagram. The Edraw Max UI is very closely modeled on Microsoft Visio’s ribbon interface – so close in fact that it’s actually hard to distinguish the difference at first glance. Although there are only around 200 templates in Edraw Max, there’s enough there for basic flowcharts, org charts and brainstorming. You can snap and connect shapes or objects easily and there’s enough to create basic Visio diagrams. Overall, Edraw Max is an interesting option if you want something that looks like Visio, works on your Mac desktop but is considerably cheaper.
There’s a fully functional Pricing: Perpetual License costs $179 with no upgrade costs for 3 years. Lifetime License costs $245 with no upgrade costs. Subscription costs $99 per year. Finally, is an Enterprise level, data input driven replacement for Visio which like Textografo, takes information you throw at it and then automatically generates Visio like flowcharts and diagrams.
It’s aimed particularly at Product or Project Managers as it calculates dependencies and can provide estimates of project timelines and completion dates. Here are some of the benefits of Ardoq:. It gives a good overview of complex workflows and systems so that they can get a better overview of knock-on effects and the interconnections between process flows. It automatically translates complex data that you give it into useful flowcharts and diagrams. This means less time sketching flowcharts and process flows manually. Diagrams dynamically update and change as you update the data that powers them such as via an Excel sheet or any other tool that has an API.
Although Ardoq doesn’t allow much manual adjustment of diagrams, there are templates that you can customize manually and a plugin editor to configure how Ardoq visualizes data. The main drawback to Ardoq is the price. At $999 per month, it’s not exactly cheap but if you’re a Project Manager in a large enterprise, Ardoq is a powerful data driven, project management focused Visio like tool.
You can request a to see if it’s right for your organization. Pricing: $899/month Which Is The Best Visio Alternative For Mac? Is hard to beat as a powerful but far easier to use alternative to Visio. Its been around longer than almost any other diagramming software and all that experience, features and user interface know-how has clearly gone into SmartDraw Cloud for Mac users.
Crucially, it’s the best alternative to Visio when it comes to importing and exporting VSDX files and if you’re going to be working with Visio based clients or colleagues, you should definitely look no further. Is Visio Part Of Office 365 For Mac?
Microsoft Visio is not included in the Standard version of Office 365. However, is available in Office 365 to both Mac and PC users but it only allows basic editing and viewing of Visio files and there are many limitations. For example Visio Online lacks things such as shape data, you can’t edit hyperlinks in diagrams and there are annoying glitches like session timeouts if you leave the browser tab idle for more than a few minutes. It also only works if you have saved the files in SharePoint Online or One Drive for Business – you can’t open Visio files that are saved locally on your Mac’s hard drive or sent to you via email. Mac users can however leave comments for other users in diagrams and Visio Online is also integrated with so that stakeholders can discuss diagrams with others.
For iPhone and iPad users, there is also. Is There A Google Visio Alternative? There is no software made by Google that can compare with Microsoft Visio. The closest thing available is which is free and allows you to do very basic diagramming in your browser. There’s also but it’s a 3D modelling software mainly designed for doing. Are There Any Free Alternatives To Visio On A Mac?
The simple answer is you won’t get anything for free that can compete with a complex enterprise product like Microsoft Visio. However, there are some that allow a certain amount of diagramming for free. You will find however that there are stict limitations on them such as the number of diagrams, tools and files you can save. They all use the free versions as gateways to encourage you to upgrade to the paid versions. Is It Possible To Run Visio On A Mac?
Yes it is possible to run Visio on a Mac although we don’t recommend it as a solution as you can. You can watch Visio running on a Mac below.
Why Is There No Mac Version Of Visio? The main reason is the relatively small market share of Macs compared to PC. The cost of dedicating a team of developers and engineers to creating and maintaining a macOS version of Visio is not considered economically viable by Microsoft. Naturally, Microsoft also wants to keep its business users within the Windows ecosystem as far as possible. We hope this article has helped you find a replacement for Visio on your Mac but if you have any suggestions, comments or experiences with the software featured here, let us know in the comments below. You May Also Like:.
Circuit Diagram Visio Alternative For Mac Free
PowerUser ConceptDraw PRO v10 can import and export Visio 2013 files in native format (VSDX), and it can import and export Visio 2010 files in Visio’s XML format (VDX). The native save format for Visio 2013 is VDS. To open a VDS file one can send their file ConceptDraw’s file converter, or ask the originator of the file to save it in VDX. Both Visio 2013 and ConceptDraw PRO 10 now save the graphic files in a compressed format that makes files much easier to handle. ConceptDraw PRO v10 can save drawings for users of either Visio 2010 or Visio 2013. I’ve searched an information in the web regarding Visio alternatives. Since we do migrate on Macs in my company (which are good news), I must to accept the fact of using a new tool (which is not very easy for some people).
But looks like there are several good analogues. I’ve already tried Omnigraffle and Concept draw PRO and second looks ideal for me and my team, because there still will be several Windows users and Conceptdraw supports both Mac&PC, also because of very professional templates and free Visio convertor service in PRO. Thanks a lot to author.