Gliffy Step by Step Instruction

Part 2: Gliffy step-by-step artifact

(2) The step-by-step process to complete a specific artifact,

The first step is to create a login username and password for basic edition since it is free.

After that you have the blank canvas template which you will work on, and be familiarizing with tools below. (http://www.teachertube.com/video/gliffy-tutorial-3905)

1.   Undo/Redo

2.   Group/Ungroup

3.   Bring to Front/Send to Back

4.   Hyperlink Tool

5.   Pop-up Notes Tool

6.   Copy Style Tool

7.   Free Text Tool

8.   Ellipse/Rectangle Tool

9.   Connector/Straight Line Tool

10.Pointer

11.Pan

12.Zoom Level

13.Zoom in/Zoom out

14.Drawing Guides

15.Show Grid

16.Snap to Grid

17.Diagram Themes 

18.Layers

Step 1: Login:  You can access the Start Screen by logging into http://www.gliffy.com. This screen will appear when you initially login. From here you can:

1. Open a Recent Diagram

2. Create a new Diagram

3. Import a Diagram (.vdx, .gliffy, .gon, or .gxml files only)

4. Create From a Template

Gliffy Tutorial links;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0UgI-FVIKo (an overview of Gliffy)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FKMu2vT_PU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zZhNn7HlGA (Gliffy Flowchart Maker Review)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2q4vnpkmac (Gliffy Color Themes & Templates)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcJF7U86sNU (Copy & Paste with Gliffy)

http://www.teachertube.com/video/gliffy-tutorial-3905 (How to Publish & Post)

Step 2: Opening Diagrams:

For this class you will create a new diagram which can be blank template or built-in template for the project.

Once a diagram has been created, it will appear in the Document Manager. You can access your Document Manager by clicking the "My Documents" button in the upper right of the Toolbar.

A new tab will open in your browser which will contain your diagrams. Double-click to open a diagram.

An alternative method of opening a diagram is to go to File à Open to access your diagram listings. Select a diagram and click Open or just double-click.

Step 3: Creating Diagrams

At the beginning of the start screen, you can Create a New Diagram and choose which type of diagram you'd like to start. Depending on what type of diagram you are going to create, it will load those appropriate shape libraries for you on the left side.

For instance, if you were going to start a blank Flow Chart diagram, you would click on "Flow Chart" and it will load a blank drawing stage or canvas with Flow Chart shapes already loaded for you on the left side.

If you chose a blank template then it should look like this BELOW where you build your diagrams. Use shapes pulled from the Library and elements you've drawn using the Toolbar to create flowcharts, or other diagrams, you desire.

 Moving and Manipulating Elements:

You can move or manipulate the elements on the drawing stage or canvas by clicking on the element, drag and drop it on the drawing stage.

Each shape will display its boundary box when selected. You can use the connection points (little squares in the boundary box’s corners and midpoints) to extend the dimensions of the shape. Just click and drag them. To rotate a shape, click and drag over the curled arrow that you’ll see above the shape.

Changing Document Properties:

You can also change the properties of the document under

File à Document Properties, located in the Menu Bar at the top left of Gliffy.

From here you can control the basic setup of your diagram. Define your page size in pixels and you’ll see thin lines that define your document boundaries (5000x5000 is the default and the max). You can also select your diagram's background color from here.   

Changing the background color:

You can change the background color of your diagram by setting under File à Document Properties à Background and choose the color you want or select it to “no fill” option; it will set background as transparent upon export.

Saving Documents

The most important task is save the document that you are working. You can do this by clicking on File à Save and each time you save a document, it gets logged as a new revision.

At any time you can use the “Revision History” in the File drop-down menu in the upper left corner of the Drawing Stage to revert back to any previously saved version. 

Through the File Menu, you’ll also have the option to “Save As”. Many customers use this to create template diagrams or another diagram very similar.

Step 4: The Text Tool

Selecting the A icon from the Toolbar allows you to draw a text box so you can immediately start typing in text. Text will automatically wrap at the end of a line to remain within the box you’ve drawn. If you enter more lines than will fit in the box, the text will extend above and below the borders of the text box.

In addition, you can edit the properties of selected text in the Properties Panel /A.  If you select a text box, an element with text typed over it, or any combination of the two, the text properties section will show up in the Properties Panel. There are 15 available fonts that you can choose for your text.

You also can change the font size and color, make text bold, italic and/or underlined, and change the alignment of the text.

Clicking on Text Position will give you 5 options to enhance your text:

• Text Inside

• Text Above

• Text Below

• Text Left

• Text Right

Vertical Alignment

Within the text tool, you can also use the Vertical Alignment tool to align the text. There are 3 types of alignment;

·        Vertical Align Top 

·        Vertical Align Middle

·        Vertical Align Bottom

Step 5: Working with Images

You can also have the option of inserting color images on your document through your computer library.

How to Upload Images

Click on “Select Image to Upload” à Choose File to Upload form Computer à Click Open.  And the image will be inserted on your drawing stage, and with the mouse cursor you can move and set the image on the document.

Image Search

You can also the internet for images through the Bing search engine. Enter a search term into the search field in the "My Images" tab and click the down arrow to select "Bing Images". This will then pull up any images of your search results in Bing. Gliffy will display images returned from your search, broken into pages of twenty.

Delete Image

You can remove an image from your Image Library by right-clicking* on the image, then selecting "Delete". 

Step 6: Sharing and Exporting Diagrams

Whether you plan to print your diagram, post it online as a live document, or invite other users to collaborate on it with you, sharing and exporting Gliffy documents is likely crucial to your work process.

Exporting Diagrams

In Gliffy, you have access to export and print options through the File menu in the Menu Bar.  In this menu, you can Export Gliffy documents in SVG, Gliffy, JPG and PNG format and save them for off-line access. To export your diagram, go to File à Export. 

Printing Diagrams

To Print your diagram from Gliffy, go to File à Print.

Step 7: Collaborating on Gliffy Diagrams

If you’re on a Gliffy Online free trial, Standard, or Pro account you can control who has the ability to edit your document using the Collaborate feature.

Collaboration is not available through Google Drive.

Collaboration steps;

Click on Share à Collaborate

This will open the Add Collaborators window. Simply add the emails of those you wish to collaborate with to the “Add Collaborators” field, each email address separated by a comma, and click the "Invite" button. Gliffy will send each new collaborator an email including a link to your document.

To remove a user from a diagram, click the "Remove" link to the right of their email. This will remove editing and viewing privileges for that particular diagram.