What You'll Learn

What is OmniGraffle?

OmniGraffle is probably the world’s easiest diagramming application available today. Its core purpose is to design easily flowing diagrams and flow charts, but it isn’t the only job you can do with OmniGraffle. The software can be put to use in different verticals and for various purposes based on your requirement. Use OmniGraffle to write a simple letter or to compose a business letter to your client. It gives you an experience of working on a tool lieMS Word which has more features embedded as diagramming.

One of the convincing reasons behind why you should use OmniGraffle for your diagramming projects is it an exclusive tool designed to serve the purpose. It caters each and every important tool that helps you build a fantastic diagram. Besides the having a synchronised structure in your diagram, the software also allows you to enhance the aesthetics of your projects with tools that are exceptionally easy to use. Editing, manipulating and using diagrams is just a few clicks away with OmniGraffle.

If you don’t have any productivity based tools as iWorks orMicrosoft Word, the job can be easily done in OmniGraffle as well. However, the experience of writing a letter in OmniGraffle may not be as fascinating as designing a diagram or spreadsheet.

Some of the major attributes which OmniGraffle muscles and you cannot find in Microsoft Word for creating diagrams and spreadsheets are

OmniGraffle does the designing with a free flow where not many efforts are required. Whereas in MS Word the process is cumbersome and there are a lot of clicks and drags and alignments you should take care of to create a diagram.

A dire limitation that you will come across in MS Word is the dimension constraint. You cannot change the page dimensions in MS Word as per your requirement and when your spreadsheets usually flow to the lower pages, you start panicking which may affect your diagram and aesthetics of the whole body. This problem has been clearly solved in OmniGraffle, where dimensions are never a problem for your project. This allows you to easily work and create a diagram of all lengths and sizes.

Once you are done with the diagram in MS Word and there are too many last minute changes in the shapes and reconnections! Your entire day is wasted as it is not possible to connect the shapes to each other and you are left with no other option than remodelling the whole diagram. OmniGraffle passes this hurdle simply by bringing you the option to remodel the diagram quickly by connecting the shapes.

In MS Word, there are not layout presets that you can use immediately. Due to this fallback, every time you want to draw a new diagram, you should start from the scratch. In OmniGraffle, you have readymade layouts that can help you conclude the work quickly.

OmniGraffle has a number of shapes and frames than what you can access in MS Word. It helps you work in complex diagrams and make them comprehensive and look aesthetically beautiful.

The control you have in adjusting or editing settings as shadows, strokes and fills with a geometry is cumbersome. And you have to adjust the settings for one shape at a time in MS Word. In OmniGraffle editing or adjusting the settings is just a few clicks away.

OmniGraffle provides a number of options to export your diagram into various formats than MS Word offers.

In case you have experience in creating diagrams in text processor software applications, you will find a great difference between OmniGraffle and your previous experience. Once you finish this course, we are sure you will never use text processors to create your diagrams.

Requirements of the Course

• Basic computer knowledge for how to open a file, save a file and access through a Windows or Mac OS are mandatory.
• Basic understanding of any text processing software as MS Word or iWork will help you comprehend and learn the subject quickly.
• If you planning to practice the software before purchasing a copy, download the trial version from the website.
• A copy of Mac or iOS Operating System
• Passions to learn, experiment and being creative

OmniGraffle Pro Training

Section 1: Introduction

In this introduction lecture of the course, we will take you through the in and out of the OmniGraffle software and give you detailed information about the software. You will know what are the major differences and advantages you will find by learn OmniGraffle and leaving old MS Word or iWork behind. Alongside with that, you will come to know where the tool is extensively applied and what can be other verticals that you can venture with this software application.

Section 2: Using it practically

At this point of the tutorial, we will explore the interface of the OmniGraffle. We introduce you the software and take you through the navigation explaining about the menus, workspace, windows inside the software. We will talk about the tools that will come to use while creating shapes and adjusting the as per your requirement. You will come to know the very basics about how to create a document to draw a diagram and how to save it.

Section 3: Basics

Here, we will explore the basics of the OmniGraffle software. We will start teaching the fundamentals that will help you create your first diagram from scratch. Other important parts that you will learn in the basics lecture is to learn the terminology of the software, various tips, and tricks that will help you to carry out your work quickly, managing the workspace and working with the windows and palettes on the interface. You will also explore the shapes that are available in the tools and learn more about stencils and numerous ways of managing and creating stencils.

Section 4: Menus

In this session of the course, you will dig deep into the subject matters of the OmniGraffle software. You will start with exploring the tool box and the number of shapes and various tools that are by available by default in the software. Later you will know how to edit and manipulate the dimensions of the shapes and control their appearance through adjusting the settings. You will also learn about the preset frames and Canvas tools during this lecture. We will take you through the step by step journey into the Menus and explain the technical parts of the Menu components in detail.

Drawing tools are the topics emphasised during this lecture, and a great deal of focus is given towards explaining the options of the tools in detail. It is during this lecture, you will come to know the techniques of quickly styling your diagrams. Finally, you will learn the changes and facilities shipped with the latest version of OmniGraffle.

Who can take this course?

The course is intended for both beginners and people who work in an environment where drawing diagrams and spreadsheets is an everyday job.

Students can learn this course and use OmniGraffle for presenting their projects in more clear and comprehensive way.

This course can help professionals from various verticals to design aesthetically beautiful and sophisticated presentations you can create in OmniGraffle.

What can you learn from this course?

This course can help you learn to create attractive visual diagrams through OmniGraffle. We will take you through a lot of useful and step by step exercises throughout the course, so you can easily understand the methods of creating diagrams.

Once you complete the software you will be able to create complex diagrams easily than ever before. The intricate set of tools and techniques will sure make you understand the difference between drawing diagrams in OmniGraffle and other software applications.

You will save more time in creating spreadsheets and be able to edit and manipulate them easier than ever before.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• How long will it take for me to complete this course?

OmniGraffle is not a complicated software with a confusing interface and Menu items. It is relatively much easier to understand the workflow of the software and takes not much than a week days to learn the software. However, if you have prior experience of designing spreadsheets and diagrams in text processors as iWorks and MS Word, you may take the even lesser time to learn this software.

Having said that, it is entirely subjective dependent to answer such a question, being aware of your own capabilities you are the only right person to judge your potentially in learning a new software. Based on your interest you may finish the course in two days or two weeks.

• I am happy working on diagrams with MS Word, why should I learn this course?

If you are already happy working with MS Word for creating your diagrams, We are sure that you will love to work on OmniGraffle hereafter and it is sure you will be more than happy to learn it.

Having adjusted to the cumbersome workflow of MS Word, you may be believing that it is the Industry standard tool intended to create the diagrams. But there are more avenues which you haven’t explored. With a diagram taking one hour time to finish in MS Word, you may finish the same diagram within half an hour. Adding to that, the output you create in MS Word will be no match to the diagram created in OmniGraffle.