Dia is a free, open source vector drawing program that can be used as a replacement for Microsoft Visio. Dia has many of the features that are popular in Visio, such as the ability to create diagrams and charts, but it also has some unique features that make it an excellent choice for specific tasks. One of the most important advantages of Dia is its wide range of supported file formats. This means that you can easily export your diagrams and charts to various formats, including PDF, SVG, and PNG. Additionally, Dia supports collaboration features so that you can work on diagrams with other people in real time. Overall, Dia is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a free alternative to Microsoft Visio. It has all the features that are popular in this program, but it also has some unique advantages that make it an ideal choice for specific tasks. ..
Dia is capable of creating electronic circuit diagrams, computer network diagrams and even simple flowcharts for business projects. You can export these diagrams with a number of image formats, or even in a format readable by Visio.
Using Dia
Dia may not be as graphically glamorous as MS Visio (hence saving a lot of system resources) but you can certainly get detailed diagrams created for your needs.
When you launch Dia you will get a view of the Toolbox. Here is where you choose objects and other tools to create the diagrams, graphs, and charts.
The other screen which opens is the Canvass. This is where you will create and edit your project.
Let’s go through and create a basic computer network diagram. These are sometimes used religiously by network administrators. This example is very simple, but keep in mind you can create diagrams as complex as you need. First you will want to go through and pick the appropriate object library for the project. There are several included by default in Dia.
After you have your toolbox set up the way you want go to the canvass and start creating the diagram. Creation is very simple once you have a basic idea of your diagram or chart. Select the objects you want to put in from the tool box then click an area in the Canvass to place them. You can resize and move them around however you see fit. Text labels and boxes are easily added.
You can also convert your diagram to several different formats by right clicking the saved file and selecting from the menu.
Here is an example of PNG format. This comes in handy so you can easily post the diagram in an email or on a web server for colleagues to view.
Download Dia For Windows or Linux
