Quick Diagram

With Quick Diagrams, you can quickly capture and organize your ideas without a lot of setup. Whether you need simple block structures or want to expand with connectors and detailed elements, the process is intuitive and straightforward.

Starting a Quick Diagram

You can create a Quick Diagram right from the Start Page:

• On the right side, in the menu, click on the New Quick Diagram button. This will open a blank diagram canvas ready for your first block.

Alternatively, if you’re working on an existing project:

• Switch to the Insert ribbon tab.
• Click on the New Quick Diagram button in the Project group. This method quickly adds a new diagram without opening any additional dialog.

Using Quick Diagram Tools

Quick Diagram comes with two core tools: Box and Connector.

Adding a Box:

• Drag the Box tool from the toolbox and drop it onto the diagram editor canvas.
• Once the box is in place, you can start typing to name it.
• You can add as many boxes as necessary to represent different elements of your idea.

Connecting Boxes:

• To connect boxes, select the Connector tool from the toolbox.
• Click and drag from one element to another to create a connection between them.

Faster Workflow with the Context Bar

• A quicker way to add new blocks is by using the first button with the Block icon in the Context Bar. This button allows you to add a new block connected to the currently selected block.
• You can also use the snap points — small circles around the border of each element. Drag one of these snap points to a new position to create a new box, automatically connected to the original box with a connector.

Quick Diagram Creation

Customizing Connectors

Once you’ve added a connector between boxes, you can further customize it by changing the caps or arrows at either end.

• Selecting a Connector:
• Click on the connector line between the elements to select it.
• Changing Caps:
• The Context Bar will display two drop-down buttons: Change Start Cap and Change End Cap.
• Clicking either of these buttons will reveal a variety of cap options, such as different kinds of arrows, dots, circles, and more.
• By default, connectors have no arrows, but you can easily change this to add an arrow, a bidirectional arrow, or other cap styles.

Connector - Change Cap using the Context Bar

Additional Features

• You can explore the Drawing group in the toolbox for additional shapes to enhance your diagram.
• The Convert Element button in the Context Bar offers flexibility. It allows you to convert a general box into specific diagram elements like classes, actors, or other element types. This makes it easy to refine your diagram later if you need to add more details.