
Using a stencil is very easy: Just find the right stencil from the Stencil library, select the shape you want to use-and then drag it onto the canvas. You will even learn to create your own stencil. In Chapter 2, you will go into great detail regarding stencils. These are very suitable for getting you going, and even the most seasoned OmniGraffle users, will often create their diagrams using only these basic stencils.Īs we will see later in the book, there is a huge library of ready-made stencils that you can import directly into OmniGraffle, making your diagramming even more efficient, and specific to your personal and work needs.
#Omnigraffle diagram styles install
When you install OmniGraffle, you will have a nice starter set of stencils available. OmniGraffle comes with a few of these themes like a stencil with ready-made furniture you can use for planning your living room-or if you need to create a really good looking organizational chart, there are stencils for this also. You'll love it so much that you're going to beg anyone to let you create their diagrams for.Ī stencil often has a name denoting its theme. If you indeed have created diagrams with a text processor, you'll soon realize that in comparison using OmniGraffle is a walk in the park on a hot summer day with a handsome person by your side. You have limited export options for your diagram It's very cumbersome to adjust shape settings like shadow, line stroke, filling, geometry, and so on, to more than one shape at a time You have only a limited number of shapes at your disposal You do not have automatic layout settings-every alignment, every adjustment must be done by hand (and measurement must be done by eye) You cannot connect shapes to each other-thus remodelling your diagram involves moving everything around by hand You are limited to the size of your page, and you need to carefully plan your diagram as changing it afterwards can become very work intensive It's cumbersome to lay out shapes-there's a lot of clicking involved There are a few important reasons why you should try to avoid creating diagrams with Microsoft Word, or to a lesser degree, OpenOffice Writer: Hopefully, you have other productivity tools on your computer such as iWorks Pages™ and Microsoft Word™ which are excellent for writing reports, books, and other texts, so you do not need to use OmniGraffle for writing your texts. Not only do the diagrams look good, they are easy to make, manipulate, and reuse. There is a good reason why you should let OmniGraffle do your diagramming (and consequently let your word processor do your reporting), and the simple reason is that OmniGraffle specializes in diagrams! OmniGraffle is exceptionally good when it comes to good-looking diagrams. You can use OmniGraffle to write a letter to your aunt, or a business report to your boss-as you could use Microsoft Word to create diagrams. As with a lot of productivity tools, the program can be used for more than its intended purposes. OmniGraffle is perhaps the easiest diagramming program available for the Macintosh. It also covers some handy time-saving techniques such as workspaces and keyboard shortcuts.īy the time you reach the end of this book, you will have mastered OmniGraffle to turn your ideas into diagrams.

As your understanding of OmniGraffle broadens, the book will go even deeper to explain the less understood features of the software. The earlier chapters will teach you to prepare dazzling diagrams from scratch with the many stencils, shapes, and fonts that are included in OmniGraffle. It begins with covering concepts that beef up your basics of using OmniGraffle. The book will teach you to make eye-popping visuals using a lot of useful, step-by-step examples. It will first teach you the basics of the program and then extend your knowledge to a higher level.

#Omnigraffle diagram styles how to
No matter if you have never used OmniGraffle, or if you are using it on a daily basis, this book will teach you how to get the most out of this splendid diagramming tool. This book will teach you how to make stunning diagrams without spending much time and energy. Although fun to use, it can get cumbersome to find out exactly how to get what you want. Use OmniGraffle's remarkably powerful and flexible features to get your diagrams right.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, why settle for anything less? Creating good visualizations to substantiate your ideas is essential in today's corporate environment.
