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Introduction

Welcome to the OmniGraffle 7 Public Test!
We are really excited to show you what we have been working on the past few months. As noted earlier, this is a preliminary set of documentation—Alpha Docs, if you will.

As you are reading through these docs to learn about the latest features we’ve added to OmniGraffle 7, please be advised that these docs are not final and are subject to change. Mostly because OmniGraffle 7 itself isn’t final. Also because, words are hard (sometimes).

We also ask that you please excuse any typos you find. The docs haven’t had an editing pass, and there are plenty of rewrites and additions planned.

We will continually refresh the documentation as time and schedules permit. If you find something that you would like to see documented further, please email us and let us know what you’re looking for.

Thanks for reading, we hope you enjoy the documentation.

Your pals,
The Omni Doc Wranglers

Working with Canvases, Layers, and Artboards

The area where you do all of your work in OmniGraffle is known as the Canvas. By default, each canvas has one layer, and each OmniGraffle project starts out with one canvas, but you can add as many canvases and layers as you’d like. And, if you have OmniGraffle Pro, your projects can include Shared Layers—layers which span across multiple canvases—or Artboard Layers—a new type of layer for OmniGraffle 7, used for wrangling objects, and for slicing and dicing and exporting the things you create.

Note
Artboards are both a layer and object type in OmniGraffle 7. Please see the section, Using Artboard Layers and Artboard Objects, later in this chapter.

Meet the (New) Sidebar

One of the big UI refinements you’ll discover in OmniGraffle 7 is the new unified sidebar. The sidebar is no longer split into two sections; everything you need to manage your work, is available in a single, unified Sidebar.

The Sidebar displays the canvases and layers in your project, and provides you with better visual queues as to which of your layers are Artboards, or Shared with other canvases. You can also view and manage the guides in the Guides view, enter or view the contents of your project in the Outline view, and use the Selection view to examine the differently-styled objects in your project.

Along the top of the sidebar, you’ll see four buttons for getting at every aspect of your project. By default, new projects expose the Layers view in the Sidebar.

The Sidebar, open to the Layers view after creating a new OmniGraffle project

To switch between the different views, you can either click the buttons along the top of the Sidebar, or you can use the following keyboard shortcuts:

  • Layers (Option-Command–2)
  • Guides (Option-Command–3)
  • Outline (Option-Command–4)
  • Selection (Option-Command–5)

You can hide and show the Sidebar by pressing Option-Command–1.

Tip
Similarly, you can hide and show the Inspector bar on the other side of the canvas by pressing Shift-Command-I. These two keyboard shortcuts come in handy when you want to hide everything while working on the canvas.

Use the Search field at the bottom of the Sidebar to isolate objects by a specific string of text. As you enter characters, OmniGraffle starts narrowing down the selection so you can find what you need, when you need it. Click the Search field’s magnifying glass to isolate the search criteria to text found in the object’s Name, Notes, Data, or Text, and to examine any recent searches you have conducted.

The Sidebars Search field, with the popup menu appearing above the field, showing the Name, Notes, Data, and Text options as selected.

The following sections provide you with an overview of the four Sidebar views.

Layers The Layers view button

The Layers view is likely where you will conduct most of your Sidebar-related work. The Layers view lists everything in your OmniGraffle project: canvases, layers, and everything you’ve drawn on those layers.

Differentiating Between Layer Types in the Sidebar

Depending on which version of OmniGraffle you have—Standard or Pro—there are three different types of layers that you can add to your project:

The Layers Sidebar, showing a Standard, Shared, and Artboard layer all assigned to Canvas 1.
  • Standard Layer — The most basic form of Layer; every canvas you create has at least one layer. As Oprah would say: “You get a layer! And you get a layer! And you get a layer! And every canvas gets a layer!”

    Standard layers are unique to each canvas in your project; meaning, their contents cannot be shared with other canvases in your OmniGraffle project. If you don’t have OmniGraffle Pro but want to share objects between canvases, your best bet is to duplicate that layer and then drag the copy to the other canvas.

  • Shared Layer (Pro) — Shared Layers are layers that you can share across all of the canvases in your project. Shared Layers, when empty, have an orangish-brown background color in the sidebar. Similarly, the objects on a Shared Layer take on the same orangish-brown color as a highlight color:

  • Artboard Layer (Pro) — Artboard Layers, new in OmniGraffle 7, have many different uses (as you’ll see in Using Artboard Layers and Objects later in this chapter), but the key thing to know is that they affect objects on layers above the Artboard Layer. Artboard Layers, when empty, have a red background color in the sidebar. Similarly, the objects on an Artboard Layer take on the same red color as a highlight color.

Deciphering the Layer Sidebar’s Iconography

When you look at the Layers view in the Sidebar, you’ll notice that there is a lot going on, so let’s take a closer look to help decipher what you see.

The Layers view, showing a Canvas with three layers; Layer 1 has four rectangle shapes on it.
  • Immediately to the left of the Canvas and Layer name is a square preview image. The Canvas Preview shows everything that’s on all of the layers in that canvas, and the Layer Preview shows just the objects on that particular layer.

  • Each layer has a three icons to the right of the layer name:

    • Visible or Hidden: The eyeball icon means that the layer is visible; a layer is hidden (not visible) when its icon is an eyeball icon with a slash through it.

    • Printable or Not-Printable: a printer means that the objects on this layer are printable; or, not printable if you see this icon a printer with a slash through it.

    • Unlocked or Locked: an open padlock indicates that the layer is unlocked and objects on that layer can be moved around. When the layer is locked a closed padlock, the objects on that layer cannot be moved and you cannot add anything else to that layer until the layer is unlocked.

  • When you are working on a layer, the layer will have a pencil to the left of its disclosure triangle. If the layer is locked and you select the layer, you’ll see a pencil with a slash through it, which indicates that you cannot add to or change anything on that layer until it is unlocked an open padlock.

  • If you have an object selected on an editable layer, the pencil gets a little object box around it a pencil inside a box.

Note
For more information about Shared and Artboard Layers, see Using Shared Layers or Using Artboard Layers later in this chapter.

Changing Canvas, Layer, and Object Names in the Sidebar

Yes, you heard it here first: In OmniGraffle 7, every named thing that shows up in the Layers sidebar can be changed. For example, new projects start with Canvas 1 as the Canvas Name, or Layer 1 as that canvas’s first layer. Create a new layer for that canvas, and it’s name is Layer 2 and so on. Add a new canvas to the project, and it gets named Canvas 2.

These names are just placeholders, and they await your thing-labeling skills to assign them names that make sense for the project in which you are working. For example, to change the name of Canvas 1 to something else, double-click on the Canvas Name to make the name editable, and then enter something logical, such as Project Workflow or My Diabolical Robot.

The same theory applies to Layer Names; you’ll want to change the names of individual layers so that each one denotes its purpose in the project. For example, to change the name of Layer 1, double-click on the Layer Name to make the name editable, and then enter something logical, such as Basic Shapes or Robot’s Left Foot.

And using a similar process, you can change the name of the shapes or objects on the layers of your project. No longer are you stuck with a project full of Rectangles; you can change those to Squares or Robot’s Big Toe, if you’d like.

Adding a New Layer to a Canvas

There are many options for adding a new layer to a Canvas:

  • Click the New Layer button in the toolbar
  • Choose Edit ▸ Layers ▸ New Layer from the menu bar
  • In the Layers sidebar, right-click on the Canvas and choose New Layer from the contextual menu that appears
  • Right-click on the Canvas and choose Layers ▸ New Layer from the contextual menu that appears
  • Click the Action menu at the bottom of the Sidebar and choose New Layer from the Action menu

Deleting a Layer

To delete a layer from a Canvas:

  • Select the layer in question and press the Delete key
  • Select the layer in question and choose Edit ▸ Layers ▸ Delete Layer
  • Control-/Right-click on the layer and choose Delete Layer from the contextual menu that appears
  • Control-/Right-click on the canvas and choose Layers ▸ Delete Layer from the contextual menu that appears
  • Click the Action menu at the bottom of the Sidebar and choose Delete Layer from the Action menu

And remember, if you delete a layer by accident, you can always hit Command-Z to restore the layer.

Note
A Canvas must have at least one layer, so you can never delete every single layer in a project.

Moving and Duplicating Layers

To move a layer from one canvas to another, simply click-and-drag the layer from one canvas to the next.

If what you want is a duplicate of the layer, do one of the following:

  • Select the layer in question and choose Edit ▸ Layers ▸ Duplicate Layer
  • Control-/Right-click on the layer and choose Duplicate Layer from the contextual menu that appears
  • Control-/Right-click on the canvas and choose Layers ▸ Duplicate Layer from the contextual menu that appears
  • Click the Action menu at the bottom of the Sidebar and choose Duplicate Layer from the Action menu

Merging Layers

If your project has multiple layers and you’d like to combine the shapes and objects on two layers onto a single layer, you can do that by selecting the layers and choosing Edit ▸ Layers ▸ Merge Layer Down.

As the menu option implies, OmniGraffle relies on the layer stacking order when merging layers. The layers must be on top of each other in the Layers sidebar; you cannot merge non-contiguous layers.

Examples of merging layers down

At left in the previous image, the objects on Layer 3 would merge down into Layer 2. However, if you were to choose Merge Layer Down with the selection shown on the right, Layer 5 would merge into Layer 4—and Layers 3 and 2 would remain unchanged.

Guides The Guides view button

OmniGraffle comes with a full complement of guides that you can use to perfectly align objects on the canvas. There are Ruler Guides, Smart Alignment Guides, and Smart Distance Guides; however, only the Ruler Guides—the guides which you can drag onto the canvas from the left and top ruler bars—can be managed from the Sidebar.

You can use a combination of Ruler Guides and OmniGraffle’s Smart Guides to position and perfectly align objects on the canvas. To add a Ruler Guide to your canvas, click and hold on either the top or left ruler bar and then drag a guide onto the canvas.

Dragging a Guide onto the Canvas.

You can also click the Action menu at the bottom of the Sidebar, and choose New horizontal guide or New vertical guide, depending on which one you need.

Using the Action menu at the bottom of the Sidebar to add a Guide.

The Ruler Guides are bright pink by default, but you can change the color by clicking the popup menu to the right of each guide in the Sidebar. When you do, the Colors window appears, allowing you to change the color to anything you’d like.

Changing the color of one of the Ruler Guides.

There’s no limit to the number of Ruler Guides you can drag onto the canvas, so don’t be shy.

Hiding Ruler Guides

Okay, so you took our advice and you weren’t shy about using Ruler Guides. You’ve used plenty of them…and that’s okay.

But now you need to see what your masterpiece looks like without all of the guides in the way. Easy-peasy! To hide the Ruler Guides, Control-/Right-click on one of the rulers and choose Hide Guides from the contextual menu that appears.

Hiding the Ruler Guides by right-clicking on a ruler and choosing Hide Guides

Creating a New Canvas Duplicates the Guides of the Selected Canvas

When you add a new canvas to a project, that canvas adopts the Ruler Guides of the previously selected canvas. For example, if you have Ruler Guides set up on Canvas 1 and you click New Canvas in the toolbar, Canvas 2 appears with the same Ruler Guides applied.

On the left, the Cape Cod canvas has three ruler guides applied to the canvas. On the right, after adding a second canvas, the new canvas is shown with the same ruler guides as set in the Cape Cod canvas.

However, Ruler Guides can be canvas-independent; meaning, you can have different Ruler Guides on each canvas.

Copying Ruler Guides from One Canvas to Another

Let’s say that you’ve been working no a project with multiple canvases, each with multiple Ruler Guides. You decide to copy a newly created shape to another canvas, and there’s a Ruler Guide that you’d like to go along with it. You could always drag out a new Ruler Guide on that canvas, but then you need to move it into position. Instead, you can select a Ruler Guide that exists on one canvas and drag it into the canvas that you’d like it on.

Dragging a Ruler Guide from one canvas to another in the Sidebar

Deleting a Ruler Guide

To delete a Ruler Guide, you can drag the guide back toward the ruler and it disappears. If you are using an Infinite Canvas, be sure to drag the guide to the ruler, since there are no bounds for the canvas itself. You can also delete Ruler Guides from the Guides view of the sidebar. Simply click to select the guide you want to delete from the canvas and press the Delete key.

Select a Ruler Guide to delete in the sidebar and press the Delete key to remove that guide from the canvas.

Outline The Outline view button

The Outline view, showing a hierarchical list of characters from Greek mythologyThe Outline view gives you a quick way to enter lots of data, and an alternate way to examine and organize hierarchical diagrams. The Outline shows any shapes you’ve created on the canvas, arranged hierarchically according to the lines that connect them.

Likewise, as you enter text into an Outline, shapes are automatically created and connected on the canvas with a corresponding text label. To help facilitate the flow of creating an outline, however, you should turn on Auto layout in the Diagram Layout inspector.

The Diagram Layout inspector with the Auto layout option selected

To create an entirely new outline, click the Action menu at the bottom of the Sidebar and choose New Topic.

The Action menu, displaying the New Topic option for starting a new outline in OmniGraffle.

While you work in the Outline view, the following keys can be used to create and arrange items:

  • Return — creates a “peer” of the currently selected item. Peers appear on the same indentation level in the outline, and, if they are beyond the top level, have connections from the same parent object in the diagram.
  • Tab — indents the currently selected item, making it a “child” of the item above it in the outline. A connection line is drawn in the diagram from the parent object to the child object.
  • Shift-Tab — outdents the currently selected item, making it a peer of what used to be its parent.
  • Escape (esc) — switches between selecting an item and editing the item’s text.

Note
Additional options and keyboard shortcuts for quickly building outlines can be found in Edit ▸ Outlining.

You can rearrange items in the Outline view by selecting and dragging the item to another location in the Outline. Dragging an item with children brings its children along for the ride. While you drag an item, a blue line shows the location and indentation level at which the item will be dropped when you let go of the mouse button.

This image contains three different views of the Sidebar, with a hierarchical outline of the towns on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In the one on the left, Lower Cape and its three towns are at the bottom of the outline, but it needs to come before the Outer Cape section. The middle image shows the Lower Cape section being dragged up above the Outer Cape. The right image shows the regions of Cape Cod in their proper locations.

A group, table, or subgraph on the canvas is shown as a single item in the Outline. To view the contents of the group, table, or subgraph in the Outline, you will need to ungroup those objects first.

While the Outline Editor is handy for quickly entering lots of information, an outline cannot always perfectly represent the relationships in a complicated diagram. Objects with more than one parent, lines connected to other lines, and circular ancestry are all examples of the kinds of things a simple outline can’t properly show. In these cases, the Outline view tries its best to be accurate. If your diagram is not strictly tree-like, you probably shouldn’t rely too much on the Outline if what you need is a quick representation of the objects’ relationships.

Selection The Selection view button

The Selection view gives you the ability to cloak or reveal the different elements in your project, making it easy for you to examine and apply styles to the objects in your project.

The Selection view of the Sidebar

Along the top of the Selection view, you will see a row of tiny Style Selection buttons that look oddly familiar. Each button corresponds to the styles you can set for the shapes on the Canvas.

The Style Selection buttons

All of these are on by default, and this gives you the finest level of granularity when evaluating your objects. But as you turn one—or all—of them off, you’ll notice that the previews in the Selection view become more compact.

With just the Stroke Style selected, you can see the varying lines and stroked objects in your project

Beneath that row of tiny buttons, you’ll also find a pop-up menu, which lets you select individual canvases in your project, or All Canvases for getting the full scope of your project.

Use the popup menu in the Selection view to select which canvas' objects to display

Defining the Canvas

When you create a new project in OmniGraffle, one of the first things you might consider doing is taking a pass through the Canvas Inspectors (Inspectors ▸ Canvas). These inspectors are fully defined in Using the Inspectors, but here’s a brief overview:

  • Canvas Size — Use the Canvas Size inspector to define the width and height of your canvas, convert to an Infinite Canvas, and define the orientation and 100% Zoom Level.

    The Canvas Size inspector
  • Canvas Fill — Use the Canvas Fill inspector to apply a fill color or pattern to the canvas.

    The Canvas Fill inspector
  • Background Image — Use the Background Image inspector to select and use an image as the background for the canvas.

    The Background Image inspector

    Note
    If you choose to use both a Canvas Fill and a Background Image on the canvas, note that the Background Image sits in the foreground, above the Canvas Fill.

  • Units — Use the Units inspector to define the units of measurement and the scale.

    The Units inspector
  • Grid — Use the Grid inspector to specify the distance between major (thicker) or minor (thinner) grid lines, their color, and whether shapes on the canvas will snap to the grid when moved into position.

    The Grid inspector
  • Diagram Layout — Use the Diagram Layout inspector to turn Auto Layout on or off, and to set how connected objects flow in a diagram.

    The Diagram Layout inspector
  • Canvas Data — Use the Canvas Data inspector to change the name of the current canvas, add a descriptive note, or to set key-value pairs of metadata to help further define your project.

    The Canvas Data inspector

Some examples of changes you might want to make to the Canvas prior to starting your work include:

  • If you are creating diagrams and flowcharts, you might want to turn on Auto layout in the Diagram Layout inspector.
  • If you are creating icons for use in an app you’re prototyping, you might want to use the Units inspector to set the Ruler Units to pixels, and then adjust the Scale according to the assets you need to export.
  • If you want pixel-perfect alignment, you could change the Minor Grid Steps to 72 px; each square in the grid is now 1 px × 1 px. (Take the Major Grid Spacing and divide that number by the number of Minor Grid Steps.)

Tip
The grid spacing just described isn’t just useful for drawing icons, it is perfect for creating pixel art.

But the most interesting change you can make to the canvas comes up in the next section: Infinite Canvas!

Using the Canvas Size Inspector to Create an Infinite Canvas

Designers need space. Lots of space. And while you can get that in an OmniGraffle project by creating different canvases for your project, there just never seemed to be enough room, even when you had your canvas set to auto-size. New in OmniGraffle 7, you can now alter the canvas properties to create an Infinite Canvas—one that expands in every direction, not just to the right or down.

To create an Infinite Canvas, open the Canvas Size inspector. In the center is a widget you can use to control the directions in which the Autosize Canvas expands.

The Canvas Size inspector

However, to create an Infinite Canvas, you can either click the square at the center of the Autosize Canvas widget, or click on the Up and Left arrows:

Use the Autosize Canvas control at the center of the Canvas Size inspector to alter the way OmniGraffles canvas expands when autosizing.

The benefit of having an Infinite Canvas is that you have more room—an infinite amount of space—to work with. You can move objects around without having to worry about running out of space.

You can even set it so that the canvas expands only in one direction:

The Canvas Size inspector, showing the Autosize Canvas widget set to an eight-hundred-pixel width and the autoresize direction restricted to flow downward.

Or not at all, relying on the Canvas Width and Canvas Height settings at the top of the Canvas Size inspector:

The Canvas Size inspector with the Canvas Width and Canvas Height fields set to five-hundred-and-twelve pixels each, and no arrows are selected in the Autosize Canvas widget.

And, if you’re a lefty, you could always set it so that your canvas resizes to the left rather than the right!

A left-handed designers delight: here the Canvas Size inspector shows that the canvas will resize to the left and down, instead of the standard right and down.

Rulers and Ruler Units

Bordering the Canvas—along the left and top edges—are the Rulers. You can also hide or show the rulers by choosing View ▸ Rulers (Command-R).

The point at which the rulers meet—the upper-left corner—is known as the Ruler Origin Point. This is the point from which all ruler measurements originate; its coordinates are 0,0.

The origin point can be dragged out to any other position on the canvas

To change the origin, click and drag the origin from the corner where the rulers meet. Alternatively, you can enter Origin values in the Units inspector. To reset the origin to the 0,0 position, click on the origin point between the two rulers. Click the origin point again and the origin point changes to its previous position.

Changing Ruler Units to Suit Your Design Needs

The rulers reflect the units of measure defined in the default template, but you can also change the Ruler Units in the Units inspector (choose Inspectors ▸ Canvas).

The Units inspector, with the Ruler Units popup menu open

The available units of measurement include:

  • Pixels (px)
  • Points (pt)*
  • Picas (p)
  • Millimeters (mm)
  • Centimeters (cm)*
  • Meters (m)
  • Kilometers (km)
  • Inches, fractional (" or in*)
  • Inches, decimal (in)
  • Feet (ft or ’)
  • Yards (yd)
  • Miles (mi)

Ruler units followed by an asterisk * in the previous list means that these measurement types will print true to size when selected.

Note
The Units inspector also offers the option for you to set a custom Scale. For example, you could specify that 1 inch on the canvas is the equivalent to 10 feet, or for really long distances, 100 pixels could represent 93 million miles.

You can also change the ruler units by Control- or Right-clicking on the ruler or the Canvas itself. For example, Control-/Right-clicking on the Rulers provides you with options for hiding and showing the Rulers and Guides, as well as changing the Ruler Units.

The contextual menu that appears when you Control- or Right-click on one of the rulers

While Control-/Right-clicking on the Canvas gives you quick access to other options, including the ability to add or duplicate Canvases and Layers, and for controlling the Grid and Guides.

The contextual menu that appears when you Control- or Right-click on the canvas

Note that in both cases, the context menu displays the current setting next to the Ruler Units menu item.

The unit type specified in the template you choose, or as set in the Units inspector, determines how other inspectors deal with units of measurement. For example, if Ruler Units are set to centimeters (cm), you will see this unit of measurement reflected in the following inspectors:

  • Geometry
  • Alignment
  • Size
  • Grid
  • Diagram Layout
  • Margins

The Stroke, Shadow, Shape, Line, and Font inspectors specify their units in points (pt) regardless of the Ruler Units setting.

Using the Canvas

The Canvas is where you create, edit, and move objects around in your project. By default, every OmniGraffle document contains at least one canvas with one layer, and you can add as many Canvases as you’d like.

Canvases give you the flexibility to separate your work into distinct areas within the same project file. Not sure if you like how an illustration you’ve been working on is coming together? Duplicate the canvas and apply a new set of styles so you can see which one you like best.

For those times when all you want is to work on the Canvas and not be distracted by the sidebars, remember that Option-Command–1 hides the Sidebar on the left, and Shift-Command-I hides the Inspectors sidebar on the right.

The Canvases sidebar is open by default, and lists all of the Canvases available in your document. You have many options for hiding and showing the sidebar:

  • Click the Hide/Show Sidebar button in the toolbar
  • Choose View ▸ Hide/Show Sidebar in the menu bar
  • Use the Option-Command–1 keyboard shortcut

To work on a Canvas, select the canvas by either clicking its name or the preview icon in the sidebar. When you do, the preview icon takes on a light blue highlight, and any objects appear on the working canvas in the middle of OmniGraffle’s window.

To delete a canvas, select the preview image in the sidebar and then use one of the following options:

  • Press the Delete key
  • Choose Edit ▸ Canvases ▸ Delete Canvas
  • Control-/Right-click on the preview icon and select Delete Canvas from the contextual menu
  • Choose Delete Canvas from the Action menu at the bottom of the sidebar next to the Search field

Note
OmniGraffle documents need at least one Canvas; you cannot delete the last one.

Canvases can be dragged around to rearrange their order, or to copy them between documents.

Sharing Layers with Multiple Canvases (Pro)

You can share a layer between multiple canvases. That way, whenever you change the layer, it affects every canvas that uses that layer.

To add a Shared Layer to your project, do one of the following:

  • Choose Edit ▸ Layers ▸ New Shared Layer
  • In the Layers sidebar, Control-/Right-click on the desired canvas and choose New Shared Layer from the contextual menu that appears
  • Control-/Right-click on the canvas and choose Layers ▸ New Shared Layer from the contextual menu that appears

Shared Layers have an orange tint added to the Layer Preview, and the objects on the Shared Layer also gain an orange highlight color when selected on the canvas.

After adding a new Shared Layer:

  • Add and edit objects on the layer normally.
  • Any further changes you make to any copy of the layer are also applied to all other copies of it.

To delete a Shared Layer, do one of the following:

  • Select the Shared Layer and press the Delete key
  • Choose Edit ▸ Delete from the menu Bar
  • Control-/Right-click on the Shared Layer and select Delete Shared Layer in the contextual menu
  • Click the and select Delete Shared Layer from the Action menu at the bottom of the sidebar

Artboard Layers and Artboard Objects (Pro)

Artboards are both a new layer and shape type in OmniGraffle Pro. On their own, Artboards don’t do much. For example, you can create a new OmniGraffle project, add an Artboard layer and some draw different shapes on it, and if you export the file to an image format, you end up with a blank image. The same principle applies to printing that Artboard layer.

The real power behind Artboards comes in managing objects in the layers above the Artboard. If you take a closely look at the New Artboard Layer button in the toolbar, you’ll notice that it has an arrow pointing upward.

The toolbars New Artboard Layer button

As you’ll soon discover, Artboard Layers and Artboard Objects are powerful tools in your bag of design tricks.

Getting to Know Artboards

Artboards are very unlike other layers in OmniGraffle. For example, if you create a new OmniGraffle project and add a New Layer, you’ll notice that Layer 2 appears above Layer 1 in the layer stack.

Adding a New Layer to the project places Layer 2 above Layer 1 in the Layers sidebar.

However, with the same new project, if you click New Artboard Layer in the toolbar, you’ll notice that the Artboard Layer 1 layer is added to the canvas underneath Layer 1.

Adding an Artboard Layer to the project places it underneath Layer 1

This subtle behavior is deliberate because Artboards are used to manage the behavior and output of the things you create on the layers above. In fact, whenever you add a new Artboard Layer, it pops into the stack underneath the selected layer.

And, like standard layers, your project can have as many Artboard Layers that you need; but unlike standard layers, there is no requirement for a project to have at least one Artboard Layer. If you don’t need one, don’t use one. (The same applies to Shared Layers, too.)

Understanding Artboard Objects

As shown earlier, the Layer Preview for an Artboard Layer has a red highlight to it. The same applies to the shapes—Artboard Objects—that you add to an Artboard Layer.

Artboard Objects appear on Artboard Layers with a red highlight.

The big difference between the shapes you add to a Standard or Shared Layer and those that you add to an Artboard Layer is that Artboard Objects cannot have a Fill or Shadow. This is because the shape itself is what has an effect on the things on the layers above.

Note
Artboard Objects have a 1 point stroke that cannot be changed; however, you can change their color from red to any color of your liking. To change the stroke color of an Artboard Object, select the object and then use the Stroke inspector to set the stroke color.

What’s more, if you have a shape on another layer that does have those properties and you drag it to an Artboard Layer, you’ll notice that all of its design elements are hidden:

Dragging an object from a Standard Layer to an Artboard Layer.
After the object is dragged to the Artboard Layer, its design properties are hidden.

This is intentional, because on an Artboard Layer, it’s the shape—the Artboard Object(s)—that counts, not its style elements.

And while you might think all of that hard work is lost, rest assured that OmniGraffle has just hidden the design properties you’ve set on that shape. If you drag it back to a Standard or Shared Layer, the shape regains it’s styling.

The Volcano shape, after being dragged back to a Standard Layer.

Now, let’s take another look at that volcano shape as it appears on the Artboard Layer. When you select the shape, you’ll notice that it has a red border around the rectangular bounding box. This is because two Artboard Objects are grouped together. Artboards can contain grouped Artboard Objects.

Grouped shapes on an artboard layer have a rectangular bounding box.

If you ungroup the Artboard Objects, you’ll see the two distinct shapes on the Artboard Layer:

After ungrouping the shape, the individual shapes of the object come to light.

If you select and drag the Artboard Objects onto the Standard Layer above, you’ll again see that they regain their design properties:

The Artboard Objects, after being dragged back to a Standard Layer, regain their design properties.

And, just like the objects on a Standard Layer, you can add text labels to Artboard Objects by double-clicking on the object and entering some text:

Assigning a label to an Artboard Object

Again, the key thing to remember here is that anything and everything on an Artboard Layer and its objects will not print. The reason why you might want to label Artboard Objects is so you can quickly identify the shape and its purpose.

Using Artboard Layers and Artboard Objects

So far, you have learned how to add an Artboard Layer to a project, how to drag a shape from a Standard Layer to an Artboard Layer (and back again), and you’ve seen that you can add a text label to Artboard Objects. And while that’s all fine and dandy, there’s way more to discover when it comes to putting Artboard Layers and Artboard Objects to work. If this is what you’ve been waiting for, you’ve come to the right section.

Let’s say that you’ve started up your own private rocket company, MasterBlasters, just like every other tech company on the planet. You’ve used OmniGraffle to draw this cool little rocketship, and you need to create a banner for your website, an app icon, and—perhaps—a much larger size of the banner to go on that billboard across the street from your competition. (Oh yeah, we’d totally do that.)

In the past, the process for doing this would be extremely tedious. You’d have different project files with different-sized assets, and when you split up everything in that way, there’s a greater chance for failure, and who wants that when you’re creating a rocket company, right?

This is where the power of Artboard Layers and Artboard Objects come into play!

When you set up your OmniGraffle project, you layer it just like you normally would, with a background, the rocketship, and the text blocks you need for the web banner. But to create the export regions for the graphics you need, you add two Artboard Layers underneath everything else:

Setting up the MasterBlasters image assets on different layers.

And this is how the project looks on the Canvas:

The fruit of your labors...as displayed on the Canvas.

Notice how the two Artboard Objects (which are on different layers) overlap each other. That’s okay, because what you’re aiming for here is to use those as export regions to create the graphics you need.

Warning: Public Beta Beta-ness

Hey, space fans!

Just a little heads-up that the new Export panel that you’re about to see in the coming text is still under construction. Some things might not work properly, such as exporting different-sized image assets or adding a suffix to image filenames, but those things are coming.

Please keep an eye out for further updates to the OmniGraffle 7 Public Beta, and be sure to read through the Release Notes (Help ▸ Release Notes) to see what’s new, fixed, or changed in each build.

To create the image files you need, choose File ▸ Export (Beta). Don’t choose the old Export panel (File ▸ Export…) because it doesn’t work with Artboards and will be replaced by the new one in later builds.

After choosing Export (Beta), you’ll catch your first glimpse of OmniGraffle 7’s new Export panel.

The new export panel in OmniGraffle.

If you look at the right side of the Export panel, you’ll see a Preview area, where you can flip through the images as determined by their Artboard Layers and Objects.

The Preview section of the Export panel, showing two different images as determined by the Artboard Layers and Objects.

Without going into too much detail about the new Export panel, when you click Export, the Save sheet flops down so you can choose a location on your Mac to save the files. When you export, the text you enter in the Save As field is used as the name for a folder to contain the images.

The Save As sheet, as seen after clicking Export.

And here’s the result of the two exported images, with help from Artboard Layers and Artboard Objects:

The website banner
The App Icon

Using Artboard Objects as Containers

Sometimes, you need the flexibility of a group, without actually creating a group. For example, when you’re trying to rapidly prototype something and you want the flexibility to move things around to see how they look when you move or add things to the design.

In this case, place the interchangeable design elements on different layers, with Artboard Layers in between:

Here, the three window control buttons are placed on a layer above an Artboard Layer so they can be moved off the background, but still kept together.

If, while iterating on your design, you decide that you want to see how the toolbar will look without the window. Since they are sitting atop an Artboard Object, you can just grab the Artboard Object and move it off to the side.

The contained objects are moved off to the side, but still visible on your canvas.

The objects are still visible on the canvas and can be dragged back into place at any time.

Look for ways you can use similar techniques in your own projects. Once you start using Artboard Layers and Artboard Objects, you’ll be amazed at the things you can do with them.

How Artboard Objects Interact with Objects on Other Layers

Now that you know what Artboard Layers and Artboard Objects look like, and how to tell them apart from objects on other layers, it’s important to take a look at how Artboard Objects interact with objects on other layers.

As noted earlier, Artboard Layers and the objects they contain, interact with the objects on layers higher up in the stack. This means that when you go to grab and move an Artboard Object to a different location on the canvas, every object that’s on a higher layer in the project—and within the bounds of the Artboard Object, partially or otherwise—goes along for the ride.

To help illustrate the point, let’s look at a game prototype that MasterBlasters decided to build. It’s a spaceship landing game, using the ship from their logo as the landing craft.

The OmniGraffle project is set up using three layers:

  • One that contains the spaceship.
  • A background layer that depicts an alien atmosphere.
  • A mountainous foreground with a few “designated” landing areas among the hazardous peaks.

The app is designed to fit an iPhone 6s screen (750 × 1334 pixels), both in landscape and portrait orientation. After drawing the first Artboard Object and getting it placed, a similar-sized Artboard Object is drawn on the Portrait Artboard Layer, as shown here:

The BlasterLander Game, as laid out for prototyping in OmniGraffle.

As you can see, the Portrait-shaped Artboard Object is off by a tad, and we want its top and bottom to align with the top and bottom of the background image. However, if you click to grab onto the Artboard Object and drag it upward to align it with the edges of the background, everything on the layers above also move with it.

When you try to drag the Portrait-sized Artboard Object into place, it grabs everything on the layers above.

Knowing that, you have a couple of options; you could:

  • Lock all of the layers on a higher level and then move the Artboard Object.
  • Drag the Artboard Layer to the top of the canvas’s layer stack so there are no layers (and objects) above it. Next, move the Artboard Object where you need it, and then move the Artboard Layer back down in the stack.

Both of those options take a bunch of extra steps, though. A simpler way to move the Artboard Object into place is to:

  1. Click-and-hold on the Artboard Object’s center handle. This grabs the Artboard Object so it can be moved.
  2. Press the Control key, and then grab onto the Artboard Object to move it into place.
  3. When the Artboard Object is in the correct location, let go of the mouse button and then let go of the Control key.
Dragging the Artboard Object into place.

And here are the Landscape and Portrait views of the game prototype after exporting the images:

Exports from the same canvas, using landscape- and portrait-sized artboards.

Text to Shapes (Pro)

An age-old problem for designers is the ability to do more with the text they’re working with. Whether it’s adding more style to the text by adding a different fill or making slight alterations to how a character appears, can sometimes be really, really hard.

With OmniGraffle 7, though, we’ve taken the pain out of this task, giving you the ability to convert any text object to shapes. Once converted, you can do way more with the text shapes than you could with a standard text element in previous versions of OmniGraffle.

Note
There is no Shapes to Text option for reverting text shapes to the original text element. Instead, you’ll need to use Edit ▸ Undo (Command-Z) to get back to the original text form.

It’s also worth noting that Undo-ing only works on the file while it is open. The Undo “stack” for that Graffle project is reset whenever the file is closed.

Converting Text to Shapes

To convert text to shapes, you’ll first need a text object on the Canvas. Use the Text tool in combination with the Font and Text Position inspectors to set the text properties prior to clicking on the Canvas. Then, with the text object selected, choose Edit ▸ Objects ▸ Convert Text to Shapes.

A selected text object
The text shapes, grouped together after conversion from a standard text object to shapes.

OmniGraffle automatically groups the shaped-letters together. If you want to work on the letters individually, you’ll need to select the group and choose Arrange ▸ Ungroup (Shift-Command-U).

After ungrouping the converted text shapes, you can individually select each letter in the original text object.

With the text shape selected, you can change the appearance of the characters by selecting one of the blue vector points. For example, you could:

  • delete a vector point by selecting the point and pressing the Delete key…

    This shows two Oh characters side by side. The Oh on the left has a vector point selected along the top-inside of the shape. The Oh on the right shows that same Oh character after the selected vector point has been deleted.
  • …change the Bézier curve by using the control handles…

    This shows two Oh characters side by side. The Oh on the left has a vector point selected along the top-inside of the shape. The Oh on the right shows that same Oh character after changing the positions of the Bezier curves control handles.
  • …or drag and move the vector points around.{>> Might want to mention the Point Editor tool here, could help people who are editing a lot of points. –Dan - 2016–08–08 13:11:28<<}

    This shows two Oh characters side by side. The Oh on the left has the top five vector points inside the shape selected. The Oh on the right shows that same Oh character after the selected vector points have been moved upward within the character.

Uses for Text to Shapes

With a standard text object, all you can do to that text—style-wise—is apply a single fill color, maybe change its opacity, and apply a drop shadow. Pretty boring stuff, actually. If you try to apply a fill color or pattern, or change the stroke of the text, the changes you make in the Fill and Stroke inspectors are applied to the shape of the text object, not the text.

Note
By default, the text objects you create with the Text tool have a rectangular shape applied. You can change the text object’s shape by first selecting the text object, and then use the Shape inspector to change the shape to something else, such as a circle or a star.

However, after converting text to shapes, you can use all of the available options in the Fill and Stroke inspectors to your delight! For example, you could apply a gradient fill with a beveled stroke:

The word Text with a gradient fill and a beveled stroke around the edges of each character.

Or you could select a Fill Blend Type and Distortion Effect in the Fill inspector, and apply that to text on a layer above an image or some other object:

A picture of a kitten sleeping on a blanket, with the words Sleepy Kitty blurred and pixelated on the layer above.

And, since each character is now a shape, you can use the Shape inspector to change any character into another shape!

In the word to on the left, the letter Oh is selected. On the right, the Oh is replaced with a heart shape.

So, go ahead, let your creative side run wild with OmniGraffle 7’s new Text to Shapes.

Customizing OmniGraffle’s Keyboard Shortcuts

The Keyboard Shortcuts windowKeyboard shortcuts make it easy for you to quickly access menu options without having to use a mouse. OmniGraffle has an extensive set of default keyboard shortcuts, which you can change by choosing OmniGraffle ▸ Keyboard Shortcuts from the menu bar.

The Keyboard Shortcuts window is divided into two sections: Tools and Menus:

  • Tools — lists the tools found in the center of the toolbar; things you use in OmniGraffle to create lines, shapes, and such.
  • Menus — lists menus found at the top of the screen, along with each menu option found in that menu or submenu.

You can hide and show by clicking to the right of those sections. You can also expand and collapse the menu sections by clicking the disclosure triangles (A closed disclosure triangle An open disclosure triangle) along the left.

Keyboard shortcuts for Tools can either be a single letter or number without the use of special key combinations, such as the Control, Option, Shift, or Command keys. This makes it really easy for you to access and use the Tool you need with just a single key press.

Tip
With keyboard access to OmniGraffle’s tools, a single press of the keyboard shortcut (for example, pressing the s key for the Shape tool) activates the tool. To continually use the tool, you can either press-and-hold the key, or press the key a second time to make the tool sticky.

Use the Search field to search for a Tool or Menu option. This makes it easy for you to see how the assigned keyboard shortcuts relate to each other, and to reassign or set keys, if desired.

Searching for a keyboard shortcut

Editing OmniGraffle’s Keyboard Shortcuts

To change a keyboard shortcut, click the field to the right of a Tool or Menu option name and enter a new shortcut. If you enter a shortcut that is used by another Tool or menu option, the Keyboard Shortcuts window displays a warning symbol within both shortcut fields. This makes it easy for you to identify, and correct, the conflict.

The Tools section of the Keyboard Shortcuts window, with the Divider option highlighted. Both the Divider and Diagramming Tools are set to use the D keyboard shortcut, and both Tools have a warning symbol in the shortcut field.

The moment you make a change to the Default keyboard set, the name of the current keyboard set in the drop-down menu changes to Custom. The changes are automatically available for use, without requiring you to quit and restart OmniGraffle.

You can change the name of the Custom set to something that’s more relevant, such as Design Set or Diagramming. To change the name of the Custom keyboard set, do the following:

  1. Click the Action menu next to the drop-down menu and choose Rename Custom Set from the menu:

    Choose Rename Custom Set from the Action menu, and then enter a new name for your custom keyboard set
  2. The name of the Custom keyboard set in the drop-down menu becomes editable. Enter a new name, and press Return to apply the new name.

    The top images shows that the Custom name in the drop-down menu is selected and editable. The bottom image shows a new set name entered in the field, prior to pressing Return.

Using Another Keyboard Set

Because we know designers have many tools in their toolbox for getting their work done, OmniGraffle 7 also ships with keyboard shortcut sets based on Adobe Illustrator® and Sketch. If you use one of those apps alongside OmniGraffle, you can use the drop-down menu at the top of the Keyboard Shortcuts window to choose the set you need.

Clicking the drop-down menu at the top of the window reveals your available keyboard shortcut sets

To revert the shortcuts back to OmniGraffle’s default set, choose OmniGraffle ▸ Keyboard Shortcuts and then select Default in the drop-down menu.

Sharing Keyboard Sets

After changing some keys and setting the name for your new keyboard set, you can export your keyboard set by clicking the Action menu and choosing Export Shortcuts. When you export a keyboard set, OmniGraffle uses the name of the set by default, paired with a .graffle-shortcuts file extension.

After choosing Export Shortcuts, a sheet opens on the Keyboard Shortcuts window so you can choose a location and name the file.

Warning
You can change the first part—the filename—but do not change the file extension. OmniGraffle expects the .graffle-shortcuts file extension on keyboard sets you import.

Similarly, you can import a keyboard set by clicking the Action menu and choosing Import Shortcuts. In the sheet that slides down, locate and select the .graffle-shortcuts file you’d like to import, and then click Open to add that keyboard set to the Keyboard Shortcuts drop-down menu.

Menu Items and Keyboard Shortcuts

Now, you could spend the next couple hours, kicked back in your comfy chair cruising through all of the menus in OmniGraffle to see what’s new or where your favorite command went to. Or, you could just read through this section and see everything in one convenient—and easy to search—place.

The OmniGraffle Menu

The OmniGraffle menu, otherwise known as the app menu, is where you go to find out more about OmniGraffle, set its preferences, enter a license (or find out details about your license), and more.

About OmniGraffle
Find out about the particular version of OmniGraffle you are using.
Check for Updates
Normally, OmniGraffle checks for updated versions of itself regularly based on the Update preferences. Use this command to check once right now. If there is an updated version of the software, you are prompted to download it.
Preferences (Command-,)
Open OmniGraffle’s preferences window; you can use it to customize the application’s behavior to your liking.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Opens a window that lets you change or reset OmniGraffle’s keyboard shortcuts. You can also export and share your custom keyboard setup, and import sets that other users create and share.
Licenses
Show the Licenses dialog, where you can review your OmniGraffle software licenses. For more information about how licenses work, check Licensing section.
Services
The Services menu is a collection of system-wide services offered by other apps on your Mac. OmniGraffle plays rather well with macOS, so you should be able to use your standard services from within the application.
Hide OmniGraffle (Command-H)
Leave OmniGraffle open, but temporarily put away its windows while you work in another application.
Hide Others (Option-Command-H)
Hide all windows of other applications you have open, so that you can concentrate on OmniGraffle.
Show All
Show all of the windows in all applications you’ve hidden using the Hide commands.
Quit OmniGraffle (Command-Q)
Choose this if you really must part with OmniGraffle for now. If you have unsaved documents open, you are prompted to save or discard your changes.

Note
The Check for Updates and Licenses menu options are not available on versions of OmniGraffle purchased through the Mac App Store. Those menu options only pertain to direct purchases of OmniGraffle from The Omni Group’s website.

The File Menu

New (Command-N)
If you have a default template, this creates a new document based on it. If you don’t have a default template, this opens the template chooser.
New Resource

Create a new OmniGraffle stencil, template, or diagram style, starting from the template of your choice.

New Stencil
This opens a new document that, when saved, becomes a stencil you can reuse in OmniGraffle or share with friends.
New Template
This opens a new document that, when saved, becomes a template you can reuse in OmniGraffle or share with friends.
Resource Browser (Shift-Command-N)
Open the new Resource Browser, where you can pick which template you’d like to use for a new document.
Open (Command-O)
Browse for a document to open. You can open any OmniGraffle document, or a file in one of the formats OmniGraffle knows how to import.
Open Recent
Open a document you’ve recently worked on. Choose Clear Menu to remove the list of recent documents, so no one knows you’ve been working on Surprise Party Invitation.graffle.
Close (Command-W)
Close the frontmost window you have open. If you have unsaved changes, you are prompted to save or discard them.
Close All (Option-Command-W)
Close all open OmniGraffle windows.
Save (Command-S)
Write all of your hard work in the frontmost document onto the disk for safekeeping. If you have already saved the document once, the new version replaces the old one. If it’s the first time you’re saving this document, you are prompted to browse to a location on the disk and enter a file name.
Save As (Option-Shift-Command-S)
Save the current OmniGraffle file as another filename and/or to another location.
Duplicate (Shift-Command-S)
Make a duplicate copy of the current document. The duplicated file uses the same filename as the file you’re working on, but tacks on copy to the filename so you know which one is the clone.
Rename
Change the filename of your current project.
Move To
Move the file to another location on your Mac’s hard drive.
Move to Trash
Be careful with this one; it moves the file you are currently working on into the Trash. This comes in particularly handy when you’re working on multiple duplicated files as you tweak and compare styles. With the dupes you don’t want, just choose File ▸ Move to Trash and then close the window (Command-W).
Revert To
When revisions don’t really work out like you had planned, choose this to go back to the version of the file that’s on the disk; it’s kind of like a mass-Undo. If you open a file that had some changes in an automatic backup, you can choose this command to go back to the last explicitly saved version.
Place Image
Browse for an image file; a shape containing the image is created on the canvas at the last place you clicked with the Selection tool.
Export (Option-Command-E)
This creates a new file, in a file type of your choice, from some portion of the data in your OmniGraffle document. Exported files are approximations of the OmniGraffle document in a different format, not perfect replicas. Check the exporting section for more information.
Submit to Stenciltown
Submit the current file as a stencil to Stenciltown, a place for OmniGraffle users to find, share, and download stencils.
Page Setup (Shift-Command-P)
Show the standard macOS Page Setup sheet. This sheet contains several panes of settings for how to represent your document on pages.
Print (Command-P)
Show the standard macOS Print sheet. In addition to the settings in Page Setup, you have a lot of printing-specific options you can set here.
Print this Canvas
Print the currently selected canvas. If you Command-Select multiple canvases, this menu option changes to Print Canvases, allowing you to print the selected canvases.

The Edit Menu

Undo (Command-Z)
OmniGraffle remembers a list of changes you make to a document. Choose this command to move one step backwards in the list, as if you hadn’t done the last thing in the list. Keep choosing it to keep stepping backwards in time.
Redo (Shift-Command-Z)
If the last thing you did was to Undo something, you can step forward and do it again, effectively Undoing the Undo.
Cut (Command-X)
Remove the current selection and put it on the clipboard, so you can paste it somewhere else.
Copy (Command-C)
Copy the current selection to the clipboard.
Copy As

Copy the selected Canvas items to the clipboard as one of the following file types:

PDF
Put a PDF copy of the current selection on the clipboard for pasting into any app that accepts PDF files for viewing, editing, or sending. If the app you paste into also supports LinkBack (this includes OmniGraffle itself), you can even go back and edit the pasted content in OmniGraffle.
PNG
Put a PNG copy of the current selection on the clipboard for pasting into any app that accepts PNG image files.
TIFF
Put a TIFF copy of the current selection on the clipboard for pasting into any app that accepts TIFF image files.
SVG
Description goes here...
AppleScript
Description goes here...
JavaScript
Description goes here...
Paste (Command-V)
Place the contents of the clipboard on the canvas, at the last place you clicked with the Selection tool. (Or insert text from the clipboard if you are editing an object’s text.) If there is an image or some text in the clipboard, a new shape object containing the image or text is created.
Paste in Place (Shift-Command-V)
If you copy an item on your canvas with Command-C and then use Paste in Place (Shift-Command-V), you will paste in the contents of the clipboard directly on top of the item you copied. This is particularly helpful when you want to copy an item on one layer and then paste in another copy on another layer that’s higher up in the stack.
Paste and Match Style (Option-Shift-Command-V)
When you are editing text, you can use this command to paste in some text without bringing along the style it had in the application you copied it from. Instead, it matches the style of the text you already have, as if you had typed it there yourself.
Duplicate Selection (Command-D)

Make a copy of the current selection and place it on the canvas, without using the clipboard. This command has a special feature:

  • Select something on the canvas and Duplicate it.
  • Use the Selection tool to move the copy; OmniGraffle learns the distance and direction of the copy in relation to the original.
  • Duplicate again as many times as you like; each new copy is the same distance and direction from the previous copy.
Delete
Obliterate the current selection, forever banishing it from this plane of existence (unless you Undo).
Select All (Command-A)
Select everything selectable on the canvas. Remember that objects on locked layers can’t be selected. If you are editing the text of an object, this instead selects all of the object’s text.
Select

This menu offers you different options for selecting objects, either based on their style, how they’re connected, and based on their relationships:

Similar Objects
Select all of the objects on the canvas that have the same style attributes as the currently selected objects.
Connected Objects
Select all shapes that are directly or indirectly connected by lines to the currently selected objects, and all of the lines between.
Ancestor
Select all of the ancestors of the currently selected objects, based on the hierarchy established by connection lines.
Descendants
Select all of the descendants of the currently selected objects, based on the hierarchy established by connection lines.
Outlining

These commands are only available when you are working in the Outline Editor (Option-Command–3):

  • Add Child (Command-})
  • Add Sibling (Option-Command-’)
  • Add Aunt (Command-{)
  • Add Parent (Option-Command-;)
  • Add Spouse (Option-Command-/)
  • Indent
  • Outdent
Navigation (Standard)

These commands are most useful when you invoke their keyboard shortcuts; you can do a whole lot without even touching the mouse:

  • Select Shape Left (Command-Left Arrow)
  • Select Shape Right (Command-Right Arrow)
  • Select Shape Above (Command-Up Arrow)
  • Select Shape Below (Command-Down Arrow)
Mouseless Editing (Pro)
These commands are most useful when you invoke their keyboard shortcuts; you can do a whole lot without even touching the mouse:
  • Select Shape Left (Command-Left Arrow)
  • Select Shape Right (Command-Right Arrow)
  • Select Shape Above (Command-Up Arrow)
  • Select Shape Below (Command-Down Arrow)
  • (Pro) Create Shape Left (Option-Command-Left Arrow)
  • (Pro) Create Shape Right (Option-Command-Right Arrow)
  • (Pro) Create Shape Above (Option-Command-Up Arrow)
  • (Pro) Create Shape Below (Option-Command-Down Arrow)
Canvases

Commands related to working with the Canvas:

New Canvas (Option-Command-N)
Add a new canvas to the document.
Duplicate Canvas
Add a new canvas, identical to the current canvas, to the document.
Delete Canvas
Get rid of the current canvas completely.
Layers

Commands related to working with Layers:

New Layer
Add a new layer to the current canvas.
New Shared Layer (Pro)
Add a new shared layer to the current canvas.
New Artboard Layer (Pro)
Add a new Artboard Layer to the current canvas.
Duplicate Layer
Add a new layer, identical to the selected layer, to the canvas.
Merge Layer Down
Move everything on the selected layer to the next layer down, then delete the selected layer.
Delete Layer
Get rid of the current layer completely. You can’t delete the last layer in a canvas.
Delete from All Canvases
This command is only available when you select a shared layer. It deletes all instances of the shared layer on any canvas throughout the document.
Layer Settings

Commands for controlling individual layers:

Visible
shows or hides objects on the layer
Printable
controls whether objects on the layer should be included when printing
Unlocked
controls whether objects on the layer can be selected or edited
Shared Layer (Pro)
specifies a layer that can be shared with other layers
Artboard Layer (Pro)
converts the current layer to an Artboard Layer
Select All in Layer
Select all of the objects on the selected layer.
Move Selection to Layer
Move all selected objects to the selected layer.
Tables (Pro)
Commands for working with Tables:
Insert Row (Command-Return)
When you have one cell of a table selected, choose this command to add a new row of cells to the table. The new row appears immediately before the row containing the selected cell.
Insert Column (Option-Command-Return)
When you have one cell of a table selected, choose this command to add a new column of cells to the table. The new row appears immediately before the row containing the selected cell.
Select Row
When you have one cell of a table selected, choose this command to select the entire row that contains the cell.
Select Column
When you have one cell of a table selected, choose this command to select the entire column that contains the cell.
Magnets

Commands for controlling the Magnets attached to objects:

Copy Magnets
Put the magnet arrangement of the selected object onto the clipboard, so that you can paste them to a different object.
Paste Magnets
If there is a magnet arrangement on the clipboard, apply it to the selected object. Any existing magnets are replaced by the new ones.
Delete Magnets
Get rid of all the magnets on the selected objects.
Positions
In addition to these options, magnet positions can also be set in the Connections properties inspector (Command–3) in the Other Connections tab:
  • No magnets — removes all Magnets from the selected shape
  • Cardinal Points:
    • 4 magnets: N, S, E, W
    • 2 magnets: N, S
    • 2 magnets: E, W
    • 4 magnets: NE, NW, SE, SW
    • 8 magnets
  • Per Segment:
    • on each vertex — makes it so each point on a shape’s path is also a Magnet
    • 1 magnet per side
    • 2 magnets per side
    • 3 magnets per side
    • 4 magnets per side
    • 5 magnets per side
Objects (Pro)
Commands for working with Shapes:
Unite Shapes
Combine two or more selected shapes, eliminating internal lines to make a single, solid shape.
Intersect Shapes
Create a shape from the overlapping areas of the selected shapes.
Subtract Shapes
Take the selected shapes and use the front shapes to punch a hole in the back-most shape. You can reorder shapes with the Bring/Send commands in the Arrange menu.
Uncombine Shapes
Separates combined shapes, restoring them to their original state.
Make Points Editable/Uneditable
Toggles whether a shape can or cannot be edited.
Convert Text to Shapes
Description goes here...
Convert Line to Shape
Description goes here...
Flip Horizontally
Description goes here...
Flip Vertically
Description goes here...
Mask Image/End Masking
Resize or rotate an image object on the canvas. Hold Shift to scale the image, and hold Command while hovering over one of the image handles to rotate an image. Holding Shift-Command lets you rotate the image in 15 degree increments. Press Return, or choose Edit ▸ End Masking when finished to accept any masking changes you’ve made to the image.
Insert Variable
While you are editing a shape object’s text, choose one of these commands to insert a special tag. When you finish editing the text, the tag changes to represent some aspect of the object itself, the canvas, the page, or the document. If the data that the tag refers to changes, the tag automatically updates itself. Some variables, such as Page Number, are useful for putting on a shared layer and then sharing that layer with every canvas.

If you are using one of the date variables, you can customize the format of the date using Cocoa’s date formatting tokens. For example, to get a date such as 2016–10–05 08:37, you could type this:

<%date %Y-%m-%d %H:%M %>

Canvas Name
the name of the canvas the object inhabits.
Layer Name
the name of the layer.
Document Name
the name of the document the object inhabits.
Current Date
just what it says; this option inserts the current date. This particularly handy when you want to “stamp” a document you’re printing with today’s date.
Document Creation Date
the date that the document was originally created, according to macOS’s filesystem.
Document Modification Date
the date that the document was last saved, according to macOS’s filesystem.
Creator
the name of the user who created the file, according to macOS’s filesystem.
Modifier
the name of the user who last saved the file, according to macOS’s filesystem.
Page Number
the number of the page that the object inhabits, based on settings in the Canvas Size inspector and the Page Setup panel.
Total Pages
the number of pages in the whole document. Use this with the Page Number tag to get results like “Page 2 of 5”.
Canvas Number
if you have multiple canvases in your project, you can reference them by number.
Total Canvases
prints the number of canvases in the document.
X Position
the object’s horizontal distance from the origin, just like in the Geometry inspector.
Y Position
the object’s vertical distance from the origin, just like in the Geometry inspector.
Width
the object’s horizontal size, just like in the Geometry inspector.
Height
the object’s vertical size, just like in the Geometry inspector.
Line Length
This tag is somewhat unique. If the shape containing the tag is a line label, it shows the line’s length. It’s not useful if the shape object is not attached to a line.
GraphicName
Places on the canvas a text object with the name of the currently selected shape.
Find

Commands for searching within OmniGraffle:

Find (Command-F)
This summons OmniGraffle’s Find panel. You can search for a specific string of text, or you can use a regular expression to match a whole class of strings. When searching for a specific string, select Ignore Case to match letters regardless of whether they are uppercase or lowercase; select Whole Word to avoid matching portions of a word. If you use groups in a regular expression, you might want to select (or replace) the whole expression, or just one of the groups; use the pop-up menu to indicate which.
Find Next (Command-G)
Choose this to find the next occurrence of the text you last entered in the Find panel, as if you had just clicked its Next button.
Find Previous (Shift-Command-D)
Choose this to find the previous occurrence of the string you last entered in the Find panel, as if you had just clicked its Previous button.

Note
For the purposes of Previous and Next, OmniGraffle considers objects in left-to-right, top-to-bottom order.

Enter Selection (Command-E)
Select some text in an object, then choose this command to put the selected text into the Find panel, replacing whatever was there before. Then you can use the Find Next and Find Previous commands to search for other occurrences of the text.
Scroll to Selection (Command-J)
Move the view so that the selected objects are visible.
Zoom to Fit Selection
Fits the currently selected object(s) so that they fit within the Canvas view.
Spelling and Grammar

Commands for checking the spelling and grammar within your project file:

Show Spelling and Grammar (Command-:)
Opens the Spelling and Grammar dialog. Since the colon (:) is on the upper part of semicolon (;) key, you will also need to use the Shift key to option this dialog (Shift-Command-;).
Check Document Now (Command-;)
Checks the spelling in your current document and stops at the first misspelled word it finds.
Check Spelling While Typing
This option is enabled by default, but can be turned off by selecting this option in the menu.
Check Grammar With Spelling
This option also checks your grammar as it checks spelling. This option comes in particularly handy when you’re entering a lot of text.

Note
For the purposes of Previous and Next, OmniGraffle considers objects in left-to-right, top-to-bottom order.

Edit LinkBack Item
If you have pasted LinkBack content from another app, select the object and use this command to open the content in the original app.
Start Dictation (fn-fn)
To use Dictation, place a text object on the canvas or double-click a shape to make its its label field active, and then press the fn key twice to start dictation. The words you speak are inserted as text. To stop Dictation, press fn twice.
Special Characters (Control-Command-Space)
Summon the standard macOS Character Palette.

The View Menu

The options in the View menu provide ways for you to zoom in or out, and control the way you look at the Canvas.

Start Presentation (Pro) (Option-Command-P)
Enter presentation mode with the frontmost document.
Zoom

These menu options let you zoom in and out on the canvas, and are helpful for when you need fine-grained control over where objects are placed:

Zoom In (Command->)
Move up to the next closest zoom level, making the canvas appear larger.
Zoom Out (Command-<)
Move down to the next farthest zoom level, making the canvas appear smaller.
Zoom to Actual Size (Option-Command–0)
Move to 100 percent zoom, so that the canvas appears as large as it actually is according to the canvas units.
Zoom to Selection (Option-Command-J)
Zoom to a level and position that fills the view with the currently selected objects.
Previous Zoom
Return to the previous zoom level you had before the current one.
Fit in Window
Zoom to a level and position that keep every object on the canvas visible as you work.
Extras

There are several things on the canvas (other than the objects themselves) that you might want to see; choose something from this list to show or hide it.

Actions
Any object with an action assigned to it in the Action inspector gets an action tag near its upper-right corner.
Grid Lines (Command-\)
This is the grid as defined in the Grid inspector. Note that you can snap to the grid whether it’s visible or not.
Guide Lines
These are the manual guides that you set up for aligning objects on the canvas.
Magnets
Choose this to see all objects’ magnets, all the time.
Notes (Pro)
Any object with a note in the Note inspector gets a note tag near its upper-right corner.
Origin
This is the crosshair that represents the canvas origin.
Page Breaks
These are the lines that represent borders between pages.
Rulers (Command-R)
The rulers help you size objects on the canvas, and include an inspector bar for common object editing.
Show/Hide Sidebar (Option-Command–1)
Toggle the visibility of the left sidebar which contains Canvases and their layers, and Contents.
Show Contents

Use these options to toggle the Sidebar’s view options:

List View (Option-Command–2)
This is the default view for the Sidebar, which shows you the canvases, layers, and all associated objects on those layers.
Guides View (Option-Command–3)
The Guides View allows you to set or change the positions or colors of the Guides.
Outline Editor (Option-Command–4)
The Outline Editor makes it easy for you to quickly enter—and edit—objects in a project. This provides you with a hierarchical view of the objects in your project so you can quickly assess their relationships.
Selection Matrix (Option-Command–5)
The Selection Matrix groups similarly-styled objects—blocks, labels, lines, images, together so you can quickly select objects based on their style.
Display Canvas

These options make it easy for you to switch between the different canvases in your project:

Next Canvas (Command-])
Switch to the canvas after the one you are currently editing.
Previous Canvas (Command-[)
Switch to the canvas before the one you are currently editing.
Customize Toolbar
Conjure up a sheet of controls that you can drag to your toolbar, as in other Mac apps.
Show/Hide Toolbar
Set the visibility of the document window’s toolbar.
Enter/Exit Full Screen (Control-Command-F)
Enter full screen mode.

The Format Menu

The options in the Format menu provide control over fonts, colors, and object and diagram styles.

Show Fonts (Command-T)
Opens the standard Font panel.
Show Colors (Shift-Command-C)
Opens the standard Color panel.
Font

Use this submenu to set a font and style to the selected text.

Bold (Command-B)
Make the selected text bold.
Italic (Command-I)
Make the selected text italic.
Underline (Command-U)
Underline the selected text.
Outline
Places an outline around the selected text.
Bigger (Command-+)
Make the selected text bigger.
Smaller (Command-–)
Make the selected text smaller.
Kern

Change the spacing between characters; options include:

  • Use Default
  • Use None
  • Tighten
  • Loosen
Ligature

Change the spacing between lines; options include:

  • Use Default
  • Use None
  • Use All
Baseline

Alter the text’s baseline; options include:

  • Use Default
  • Superscript
  • Subscript
  • Raise
  • Lower
Copy Style (Option-Command-C)
Copies the style attributes of the selected object.
Paste Style (Option-Command-V)
Pastes the style attributes to the selected object.
Text

These options give you control over the selected text’s properties, including:

  • Align Left (Control-Command-{)
  • Center (Control-Command-|)
  • Justify
  • Align Right (Control-Command-})
  • Align Top (Option-Command-{)
  • Center Vertically (Option-Command-|)
  • Align Bottom (Option-Command-{)
  • Center Horizontally & Vertically
  • Allow Hyphenation
Copy Object Style (Control-Command-C)
Put the styles of the selected object on the clipboard, where they can be pasted onto other objects.
Paste Object Style (Control-Command-V)
If there are object styles on the clipboard, apply them to the selected objects.
Choose Diagram Style
Opens the diagram style chooser for applying a consistent style to all objects on the canvas.
Reapply Diagram Style
Applies the current diagram style again, to catch any differently-styled objects that might have shown up since the last time it was applied.
Restyle Selected Objects
Reapplies the current diagram style to just the selected objects.

The Arrange Menu

Use these commands for working with objects on the Canvas or within Layers.

Bring to Front (Shift-Command-F)
Bring Forward (Option-Command-F)
Objects on the same layer have an order to them: newly created objects appear in front of objects that already existed. Choose Bring to Front to move the selected objects in front of all other objects on the layer. Hold Option to change this command to Bring Forward, which moves the selected objects forward one step in the ordering.
Send to Back (Shift-Command-B)
Send Backward (Option-Command-B)
Similar to Bring to Front, except it moves the selected objects behind all other objects on the layer. Hold Option to change this command to Send Backward, which moves the selected objects backward one step in the ordering.
Lock (Command-L)
Lock the selected objects. A locked object can’t be moved or edited. When you try to select a locked object, it shows X marks instead of selection handles. Basically, the only thing you can do with a locked object is unlock it; the exception is that you can change an object’s label and hierarchical position in the outline view. Locking is useful for making sure you don’t accidentally change something you have set up just right.
Unlock (Option-Command-L)
Unlock the selected objects so that they can be moved or edited.
Group (Shift-Command-G)
Use this command with at least two objects selected to turn them into a group, making them behave like a single object.
Ungroup (Shift-Command-U)
Use this command with a group selected to separate it back into its component objects.
Make Table (Pro) (Shift-Command-T)
Use this command with one object selected to turn the object into a 1 × 1 table, to which you can then add rows and columns.
Group as Subgraph (Pro)
Turn the selected objects into a self-contained subgraph that you can subsequently collapse to a single object.
Collapse Subgraph (Pro)
Change the selected subgraph into a single object, retaining all of the connection lines coming in or out of it.
Expand Subgraph (Pro)
Return a collapsed subgraph to its fully expanded majesty.
Guides
OmniGraffle offers Smart Guides and manual guides. Smart guides are little blue lines that appear as you move, resize, or rotate objects, to help you keep things aligned and spaced evenly.

Manual guides are canvas-spanning magenta lines that you place yourself; you can make as many as you like, use them to align objects, and show or hide them from the View menu.

Smart Alignment Guides
These are the Smart Guides that appear to help you line up objects’ edges or centers. They also help you match objects’ rotation when you Command-drag an object’s selection handles.
Smart Distance Guides
These are the Smart Guides that help you space out objects evenly.
Lock/Unlock Guides
As long as the manual guides are locked, you won’t be able to move them.
New Horizontal/Vertical Guide
This puts a guide across the canvas; if the guides are not locked you can use the Selection tool to drag it into position wherever you like. As you drag an object near a guide, its edges or center snap into place along the guide. You can also drag new guides out from the vertical and horizontal rulers.
Clear Manual Guides
Remove all of the manual guides from the canvas. If you just want to temporarily hide them, you can do so from the View menu.
Align

These commands replicate the functionality of buttons in the Alignment object inspector (Command–1), lining up objects’ edges and centers, or spacing objects out evenly. Options include:

  • Align Left Edges
  • Align Right Edges
  • Align Top Edges
  • Align Bottom Edges
  • Align Vertical Centers
  • Align Horizontal Centers
  • Make Centered Row
  • Make Centered Column
  • Align Edges to Grid
  • Align Centers to Grid
  • Align to Canvas Left Edge
  • Align to Canvas Right Edge
  • Align to Canvas Top Edge
  • Align to Canvas Bottom Edge
  • Align to Canvas Vertical Edge
  • Align to Canvas Horizontal Edge
  • Make Centered Row to Canvas
  • Make Centered Column to Canvas
Grid

Snap to Grid and Align Objects to Grid work just like they do on the Grid inspector; Size Objects to Grid resizes objects to make their edges follow the nearest grid lines. Options include:

  • Snap to Grid
  • Align Objects to Grid (Option-Command-[)
Diagram Layout

These commands lay out objects, either all objects on the canvas or the selected objects, according to the settings in the Diagram Layout inspector. Options include:

  • Lay Out Entire Canvas
  • Lay Out Selection
  • Object Rank
    • Default
    • Minimum
    • Maximum
    • Same
Size

If you have objects of different sizes on the canvas, but would like them to be the same size, first select the object that has the dimensions you’d like the others to emulate, choose Arrange ▸ Size, and then choose one of the resizing options:

  • Make Same Width
  • Make Same Height
  • Make Same Size
  • Make Natural Size
  • Size to Fit Image

Make Natural Size makes an object’s height and width equal. For objects with an image placed in the Image inspector, Size to Fit Image makes the object just big enough to show the whole image at its original size.

The Inspectors Menu

The Inspectors menu provides ways for you to interact with the Inspectors sidebar, the floating window, or individual palettes and other workspaces you create.

Show/Hide Inspectors (Shift-Command–I)
Toggles the Inspectors sidebar to the right of the Canvas.
Sidebar

Menu options for quick access to the Inspectors and the Stencils Library:

Object (Command–1)

Switches the Inspectors sidebar to reveal the following Object inspectors:

  • Fill
  • Stroke
  • Shadow
  • Shape
  • Line
  • Image
  • Font
  • Text Position
  • Geometry
  • Alignment
Properties (Pro) (Command–2)
Switches the Inspectors sidebar to reveal the following Properties inspectors:
  • Connections
  • Action
  • Note
Canvas (Command–3)

Switches the Inspectors sidebar to reveal the following Canvas inspectors:

  • Canvas Size
  • Canvas Fill
  • Background Image
  • Units
  • Grid
  • Diagram Layout
  • Canvas Data
Document (Command–4)

Switches the Inspectors sidebar to reveal the following Document inspectors:

  • Format
  • Margins
  • Document Data
Stencils (Command–5)
Switches the Inspectors sidebar to reveal the available Stencils, including the ability to search Stenciltown for new stencils.
Workspaces

Use Workspaces to set default states for the Inspectors. For example, you could create a new Workspace that opens the Canvas inspector with only the Background Image inspector open. In OmniGraffle 7.1 or higher, you can control the following Workspaces:

Sidebar Inspectors (F2)
This workspace returns the inspectors back to their original state as a sidebar attached to the right side of OmniGraffle’s window.
Floating Inspectors (F3)
This workspace detaches OmniGraffle’s inspectors from the main window, creating a floating palette that you can move around on your display—or to another display.
Inspector Palettes (F4)
When selected, this option creates six individual floating palettes; one for each inspector—Object, Type, Properties, Canvas, Document, and Stencils. When the windows are created, they appear in a stack on top of one another. Just move them apart, or close the ones you don’t need, if that’s the case.
Edit Workspaces
Open the Workspaces window, where you can save your favorite arrangements of inspectors. Each workspace you save appears at the bottom of this submenu and has a function key assigned to it.

The Scripts Menu

New in OmniGraffle 7 is support for scripting with JavaScript; more specifically, with our own JavaScript library, OmniJS.

REPL
This opens an interactive script editor for writing OmniJS Plug-ins for use with OmniGraffle.
Documentation
Want to learn more about how to use OmniJS? We have included the OmniJS Class Reference within OmniGraffle.
Plug-ins
The scripts you write with OmniJS are compiled as Plug-ins, which you can access from this menu option. You can also share Plug-ins with other OmniGraffle users, and soon, use them with our iOS apps, too.

The Window Menu

Commands for working with OmniGraffle’s windows.

Minimize (Command-M)
Shrink the frontmost window into the Dock.
Zoom
Size the window to fit its contents, or return to the previous window size.

Note
Since most of the function keys (for example, F1, F2, F3, and so on) are already assigned by the system to function with your Mac hardware, you will need to press the fn key and then press the applicable function key. For example, for the Default Workspace, you will need to press fn-F2.

Bring All to Front
Put all of OmniGraffle’s windows in front of all other app windows.

The Help Menu

When you’re in a pinch and can’t sort something out, we’re here to help.

OmniGraffle Help
This summons the onscreen help you’re reading right now. Howdy! Thanks for being the kind of person who reads the documentation.
Getting Started
This opens OmniGraffle 7’s Welcome document. This document—created in OmniGraffle 7!—highlights the new features of OmniGraffle 7.
Keyboard Shortcuts
See a document that lists all of the keyboard shortcuts available in OmniGraffle 7, so that you can eschew that mouse thingy.
What’s New in 7
This command opens the Help file, What’s New in OmniGraffle, which explains all of the new features in OmniGraffle 7 along with the life-affirming benefits of upgrading to OmniGraffle Professional.
Release Notes
This pops open a window that includes lots of information from our engineering team about the things they’ve fixed, updated, or have added to OmniGraffle. This document changes whenever we issue an update of OmniGraffle, so be sure to read this after updating to the latest and greatest build to see what’s changed.
Get More Stencils
Choosing this menu option takes you out of OmniGraffle and opens your favorite web browser to Stenciltown, our online repository for sharing and discovering new stencils for OmniGraffle.
Open Scripts Folder
This opens a Finder window, taking you to the Application Scripts folder, to reveal the OmniJS scripts/Plug-ins you have saved on your Mac.
Contact Omni
Choose this to start an email message to the OmniGraffle support folks. We also give you the option of attaching the OmniGraffle file you are working on, just in case there’s a bug or you have a particular question how to do something. This is the best way to get in touch with us; your version number and license information are automatically entered in the subject field.

Getting Help

When you’re in need of help—whether you’re trying to figure out how layers work, or if you’re having some other issue with OmniGraffle—it’s good to know that the Support Humans at The Omni Group are always available to lend you a hand.

The OmniGraffle Website

The OmniGraffle website is always a good place to find the latest information about OmniGraffle.

Forums

The Omni Group maintains online forums for all of our products, and you’re invited! Come share your questions and ideas with other users and Omni staff.

Email Support

If you’re stuck, if you have a good idea for the next version of OmniGraffle, or if you just want to let us know how we’re doing, go ahead and send us an email. Choose Help ▸ Send Feedback from the menu bar to conjure up a message addressed to us, or just support@omnigroup.com. We take support pretty seriously, so you can expect a prompt response actually typed by human hands.

Release Notes

For really meticulously detailed information about what has changed in each minor version of OmniGraffle, check out Help ▸ Release Notes from the menu bar.