Introduction to OmniGraffle 4 - University of Texas at Austin School

Introduction to OmniGraffle 4
By Ellie Collier
Based on Introduction to Visio 2003 by Kristin Davis
Information Technology Lab
School of Information
The University of Texas at Austin
Summer 2005
Introduction
This tutorial is designed for people who are new to OmniGraffle. OmniGraffle is a drawing and
diagramming program that helps transform concepts into a visual diagram. OmniGraffle helps
you draw out anything that can be represented by symbols and lines: flow charts, org charts,
network diagrams, family trees, project processes, office layouts, and much more. OmniGraffle
provides you with pre-defined shapes, symbols, backgrounds, and borders. Just drag and drop
elements into your diagram to create a professional communication tool.
For the purposes of this tutorial, we are going to focus on how to create a flowchart diagram, but
OmniGraffle also provides the tools to create many other types of diagrams. Be sure to browse
the OmniGraffle sample gallery link at the end of this document.
Currently, OmniGraffle is available on all of the Macs in the iSchool Lab. (OmniGraffle is a Mac
only program.) The program can also be purchased at the Campus Computer Store for about $70.
You can also download a free 30 day trial from
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/4/.
An alternative program is Visio, available on all of the PCs in the iSchool Lab. (Visio is for PCs
only.) Another alternative is Dia, an open source diagramming program currently available on all
of the PCs in the lab, and available for download (see Resources at the end of this tutorial).
Objectives
After completing this tutorial, you will have learned how to:
•
Open a new OmniGraffle document
•
Create a flowchart diagram using shapes and connectors; move or add shapes
•
Add text to a diagram and format the text
•
Modify the color palette
•
Print a diagram or insert it into a PowerPoint or Word document
Getting Started
First, let's open OmniGraffle. Go to the Finder. Select "Applications." Double click on
"OmniGraffle." This opens a blank document along with a tool palette, a stencil palette and 3
inspector windows.
Introduction to OmniGraffle 4. Page 1.
Navigating in OmniGraffle
Let’s take a few moments to get familiar with the OmniGraffle interface. (Figure 1)
Figure 1
A: At the very top of the screen is your menu.
B: Below the menu, but above your document you'll see the tool palette. If you hover your cursor
over each of the tools you will get a description of what that tool does.
C: Below the tool palette is your document. The default document fits on an 8 ½ by 11 sheet of
paper. If you know you will be printing on a different size of paper you should change your
settings now (Select “File,” “Page Set Up,” then “Paper Size”) since OmniGraffle does not
provide automatic resizing and the guesswork can be frustrating and is not covered in this tutorial.
D: At the top of the screen and to the right of the document you'll see the stencil palette. The
default stencils are called “basic.” To explore the other available stencils select the arrows to the
right of the word "basic" and scroll up and down.
Introduction to OmniGraffle 4. Page 2.
Note: If the stencil palette doesn’t open automatically, or if you close it, you can open it by
selecting “Stencils” from the menu at the top of the screen and then selecting the stencil palette
you would like to open.
E: Below the stencil palette you'll see the inspector palettes: Style, Properties, and Canvas. They
are locked together, but you'll see each has a grey arrow allowing you to collapse or expand it.
They can also be separated.
Note: If the inspector palettes don’t open automatically, or if you close them, you can open them
by selecting “Inspectors” from the menu at the top of your screen, then selecting “Show
Inspectors.”
Creating a new diagram
Step 1:
Select a stencil from the Stencils palette, and drag it to your document.
Step 2:
Select a second stencil from the Stencils palette, and drag it to your document.
Step 3:
To connect your stencils, select the line tool. Note that the default line is curved,
you will probably want to right click on the line tool and select a straight line or
arrow (Figure 2).
Figure 2
Once you’ve selected your line style, click (and continue to hold down the mouse
button) on your first stencil (notice that it glows blue), drag your cursor to the
second stencil until the second stencil glows blue, then release the mouse button.
When you select one stencil and drag your cursor to another glowing stencil you
link these two stencils together. You can move them around and the line will
move as necessary to maintain the connection.
Congratulations, you've connected your stencils.
Introduction to OmniGraffle 4. Page 3.
Bonus:
You may have noticed that you have choices on your type of connector. Select
“lines and shapes” in the style inspector (Figure 3) and you will see tools for
changing the style of your connector. Feel free to change the look of your
connectors.
Figure 3
Step 4:
Continue adding stencils and connecting them until you have enough to include
all of the steps in the business process being outlined. The example below
illustrates a ten-step process (Figure 4).
Step 5:
Stencils can be resized or moved, and the connectors will remain intact. At this
point, your diagram should look something like the following example (Figure
4).
Figure 4
Introduction to OmniGraffle 4. Page 4.
Adding text to a diagram and formatting the text
Step 1:
Double click on a stencil to enter text. There is no need to create a text box, since
OmniGraffle does this automatically for you (Figure 5).
Figure 5
Step 2:
The default format for text in OmniGraffle is Helvetica 12-point font. The most
efficient way to format is to enter the text on all the stencils, then format all at
once.
To do this, click on one of the shapes to select it. Hold down the Shift key, and
click on the other shapes you wish to format.
Step 3:
With the text selected (as indicated by highlighted stencils - Figure 6B), choose
the font, style, and size you would like to use from the tool bar (Figure 6A).
Figure 6
Introduction to OmniGraffle 4. Page 5.
Changing the background color
Step 1:
From the menu at the top of the screen, click on “View,” then “Show Utility
Drawer.” The utility drawer will open to the left of your document. (Figure 7A).
You can hide the utility drawer by going back to “View” and selecting “Hide
Utility Drawer.”
Step 2:
Select “Layers” at the top of the Utility Drawer (Figure 7B).
Step 3:
Click on the box next to the word “Background” (Figure 7C). This will open a
new window (Figure 7D).
Step 4:
Select a color. Note that if you click the icons along the top of the Colors palette
you will have different ways to select colors, including a color wheel, color
sliders, color palettes, image palettes and crayons.
Figure 7
Introduction to OmniGraffle 4. Page 6.
Changing stencil colors
Step 1:
Select the stencil(s) you’d like to
change. (Remember to select
multiple stencils, hold down the shift
key and click on each of the stencils
you’d like to select.)
Step 2:
On the Style inspector, select the
“Fill” icon (Figure 8). This gives you
all your fill options.
Step 3:
Click the “fill color” box (Figure 8)
to open the color palette. This is the
same palette you used to change the
background.
Step 4:
Select a color.
Bonus:
If a solid color is too boring for you, the “Fill style” area will allow you to create
different effects, such as linear blend, radial blend, double linear blend and
double radial blend.
Figure 8
Adding a hyperlink
Step 1:
Select the Stencil you would like to have linked.
Step 2:
Select the “Actions” icon on the Properties inspector (Figure 9A).
Step 3:
Choose “opens a URL” from the dropdown menu (Figure 9B).
Figure 9
Introduction to OmniGraffle 4. Page 7.
Step 4:
Type in the URL (Figure 10A) you would like to link to and you’re done. Your
linked Stencil now has a lightning bolt on it (Figure 10B).
Figure 10
Using your OmniGraffle diagram
Print it:
To print your OmniGraffle drawing select “File” from the menu at the top of
your screen, then select “Print.”
Paste it:
OmniGraffle drawings can also be inserted into other documents such as
PowerPoint or Word. (If you’ve added a hyperlink, the link will NOT transfer to
the new document.)
Step 1:
From the menu at the top of your screen, select “Edit,” then “Select All.”
Step 2:
Again from the menu, select “Edit,” then “Copy as.” Select the format you would
like to use (Figure 11).
Figure 11
Step 3:
Open your PowerPoint presentation (or Word document), and position your
cursor where you would like to insert the OmniGraffle drawing.
Step 4:
Select “Edit,” then “Paste.”
Introduction to OmniGraffle 4. Page 8.
Export it:
You can also save your OmniGraffle drawing as an image for later use.
Step 1:
From the menu, select “File,” then “Export.” This will give you all your options
on what to name the document, where to save it and what format to save it as
(Figure 12). Note that from the Export Area dropdown menu you can choose to
export “All Objects” or select just a part of your drawing. You can also include a
border.
Step 2:
Make your selections and hit “Save.”
Figure 12
Other Types of OmniGraffle Documents
Organization Chart
Introduction to OmniGraffle 4. Page 9.
Wireframe
Additional Resources
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/ - OmniGraffle homepage
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/extras/ - Free add ons, mostly additional
stencils
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/samples/ - Samples of what else you can do
with OmniGraffle
http://www.gnome.org/projects/dia/ - Dia
Introduction to OmniGraffle 4. Page 10.