Export, print and share a diagram: all options
A diagram in the library reaches other people in three ways: inserted in a document or another text field, exported as a picture from the drawing editor, or printed from the drawing editor. This page lists every way, what each one gives, and the options in the drawing editor’s export and print dialogs. The export and print dialogs are draw.io’s own. Antenor has changed one thing in them: the print dialog always opens with Fit to sheets selected, 1 sheet wide and 1 sheet tall.
Ways to get a diagram out of the library
Section titled “Ways to get a diagram out of the library”| Way | What you get | Where it is described |
|---|---|---|
| Insert Diagram in a text field | A copy of the diagram as it looks at that moment, shown to everyone who can open the document. | Insert a diagram in a document |
| File > Export as in the drawing editor | A PNG, JPEG or SVG picture file saved on your own device. | “Export dialog” below |
| File > Print… in the drawing editor | A printout of the drawing. | “Print dialog” below |
| Printing a document, or saving it as PDF | The diagrams inserted in the document, as images with clickable links. | The print dialog and the PDF |
What the diagram library itself does not offer:
- No export or download in the library. The library page offers preview, edit, copy and delete only. To get a picture file, open the diagram and use File > Export as.
- No share link. The diagram library has no link to send to someone. Insert the diagram in a document instead.
- No e-mails. The diagram library sends no e-mails, not when a diagram is created, changed, copied or deleted.
A diagram inserted in a text field
Section titled “A diagram inserted in a text field”| What | How it works |
|---|---|
| The list in the Insert Diagram dialog | Every diagram in the library, newest first, 10 at a time; more load as you scroll down. Until you click a diagram, the preview says “Select a diagram to preview”. |
| Where it is placed | In its own paragraph, where the cursor is in the text. |
| Size | The size of the drawing plus a small margin. If the size of the drawing cannot be read, the diagram is inserted at 500 × 400 pixels. |
| Links in the drawing | Open in a new tab when a reader clicks them. |
| If inserting fails | The message “Failed to prepare diagram for insertion”; nothing is inserted. |
| Later changes | An inserted diagram is a copy and does not follow later changes or deletion in the library; see Insert a diagram in a document. |
Export dialog
Section titled “Export dialog”File > Export as has three formats: PNG…, JPEG… and SVG…. Each opens a dialog before the file is made. These are draw.io’s standard options:
| Format | Options |
|---|---|
| PNG and JPEG | The zoom, whether to export only the selected shapes, and the size. Under the advanced settings: width, height, DPI (resolution), border width, appearance (light or dark), shadow, and whether to include the grid. |
| PNG only | A transparent background. |
| PNG and SVG | Whether to include a copy of the drawing in the file, so draw.io can open the file again as an editable drawing. A JPEG file holds only the picture. |
| SVG | A transparent background, whether to embed images and fonts in the file, how links in the drawing open, and whether to turn off formatted text and word wrap for places that cannot show them. |
You can save the settings of a format as a preset and use them again later. Export as in this drawing editor offers no other file formats, such as PDF, XML or HTML. To get the diagram in a PDF, insert it in a document and save the document as PDF; see The print dialog and the PDF.
Print dialog
Section titled “Print dialog”File > Print… (Ctrl+P) opens draw.io’s print dialog.
| Setting | What it does | Default in Antenor BMS |
|---|---|---|
| Fit to sheets | Fits the drawing on the number of sheets you give, wide and tall. | Selected, 1 sheet wide and 1 sheet tall, each time the print dialog opens (set by Antenor) |
| Scale | Prints at the scale you give instead of fitting to sheets. | Not selected (set by Antenor); when you choose it, the scale starts at 100 % |
| Crop | A third size choice in the print dialog, beside fitting to sheets and scale. | Not selected (set by Antenor) |
| Only the selection | Prints only the selected shapes. | Not stated |
| Border width, zoom | The margin around the drawing, and the zoom of the printout. | Not stated |
| Grid, shadow | Prints the grid, or a shadow. | Shadow off; grid not stated |
Paper size
Section titled “Paper size”The page size and orientation are set under Paper Size on the Diagram tab of the format panel, with nothing selected. A new diagram uses A4 portrait.