Inside OmniGraffle

Check for updates to get the latest version of OmniGraffle for Mac!

This is the first release of OmniGraffle with Omni Automation: use JavaScript within the app to automate object layout, set canvas data, create an animated solar system (because why not!), or whatever else you can come up with. In Pro, you can bundle scripts and assets into Plug-Ins for common tasks like changing metadata and colors, or exporting all of your document’s deliverables with a click. Check out Omni-Automation.com—a Sal Soghoian joint—for more.

We’ve also added and clarified our canvas types. OmniGraffle 7.4 now has three canvas sizing modes: Fixed, Flexible, and Infinite. We think these three specific types make it a lot easier to pick exactly what you need, especially for new folks.

• Fixed should be used when you have very specific constraints to satisfy.
• Flexible expands into whichever direction you can go, by adding more “canvas” whenever the edge is reached. (You can choose those directions in the Canvas Size inspector, too.)
• Infinite doesn’t even care about an edge — you’ll never see the canvas break.

Also included are bug fixes and improvements. Check the release notes for everything!

OmniGraffle comes with a set of data variables that have various levels of dynamicity. (That word works, right? Good.) They change based on each page or canvas number, what you’ve titled the canvas, a line’s length — things like that. And! Couple these variables with a shared layer to pull off headers and footers for each canvas, page, or layer.

1. Create a new shared layer—each object or bit of text you’d like shared with other canvases should be here.
2. Add text to your layer or add text to an object in the layer; select Edit->Insert Variable->Page Number (or whatever!).
3. If you’re just starting your Graffle, use Duplicate to add more canvases that include the Shared Layer. If you’ve already finished and found this searching for a fast way to create headers(!), drag the Shared Layer to each canvas you’d like to add it to.

That’s it! Easy, flexible, and ready to save you some time.

Removing sensitive information from screenshots, images, or documents is easy—and sharing the result is even easier with Copy as PNG.

Let’s say your image is already on the canvas in OmniGraffle. (Though if it isn’t, just drag the file right on top.)

First, draw a regular old object as close to your final size as you can manage. You can always resize.

Next, using the Fill inspector, set a Distortion Effect—typically using Pixelate with a value of 20 gives off the right impression for a censored image! (Though increase it if the goal is to not give off any impression of the subject.)

Finally, select everything you’d like to share and select Copy As PNG from the shortcut menu. Boom, paste, done.

Included in the latest version of OmniGraffle, v7.3, is the ability to create and present your objects, charts, and canvases using Artboard Layers. Previously, Presentation Mode was limited to Canvases; with Artboards, OmniGraffle will zoom in on to the exact border of your Artboard which means a lot more flexibility.

And because Artboards can be used to slice and dice your Canvas however you want, they can be used to present the same object a billion different ways. Check this out:

Also included: panning, zooming, and a sidebar that lists both canvases and artboards.