Simple free drawing program for block diagrams?

Bill in Co wrote:
Can somebody recommend a simple and free block diagram drawing program
that
easily allows one to draw block diagrams (with labels) and to interconnect
those blocks with line segments? Preferably a small size and simple
program?

Paint is a bit of a pain to use for this specific type of application.
The
desired app should have simple blocks and block placement and
interconnecting lines, with movements done on a snap grid to help position
them, and that's about all. (No electrical symbols or libraries or other
fancy stuff needed).

I've searched for some, and only came up with Dia and Diagram Designer. I
am just wondering if someone has tried any others. The emphasis here being
on a very simple (intutive) and very basic program, without any extra
stuff
to get in the way. Thanks!

Update for anyone else who might be interested in the same:

Diagram Designer and ClickChart seem to be the simplest (IMHO). (Dia and
most others were a bit overkill for what I needed). Both are tiny and allow
for simple drawings. I think Diagram Designer is best, but NCH's ClickChart
isn't bad, either (once you remove the extra shortcuts created by all NCH
programs :-) Both are free and tiny in filesize.

Diagram Designer:
http://logicnet.dk/DiagramDesigner/

ClickChart
http://www.nchsoftware.com/chart/

In message , GS writes:
It happens that J. P. Gilliver (John) formulated :
In message , GS writes:
After serious thinking J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote :
So maybe I'm _not_ seeing what you're doing.

True!
The smaller the 'grid' the easier it will be to size/resize boxes,
and create more precise connector lines.

As for sizing boxes.., this is a simple matter of being able to work
effectly with cell formatting, merge/unmerge/shift of selections, and
some keyboard combos for working with cell contents. All of this
comes with practice! Note that all is done with gridlines turned off.

So you then turn _on_ the gridlines, just where you want a box to be?
Sounds like hard work to me!

No! Gridlines stay turned off so all that displays is background, text,
any drawing objects used, and/or borders.

So - you want a plain rectangle, say. You just draw it as a drawing
object? So what are you using the underlying Excel grid _for_ - just
location?
[]
Wow! I find tables so much more versatile in Word. (IMO, if I want a
table, I do it in Word; I only use Excel if I need to do calculations
on the contents.) But each to his own ...

I agree! If you're more comfortable using Word for this then by all
means!! I just haven't found anything Word can do that I haven't been

Well, I wouldn't use Word for drawing anything with circles/ellipses in,
or drawing in general; I've just learnt how to use its table facilities
for doing tables. (I've also learnt how to use Excel for doing tables
too, because I often have to take something someone's started in Excel.
Though I've been known to recast it into Word, if I think there's any
chance _I_ will have control of its development.)

able to replicate in Excel. I'll admit, though, that most people find

I won't say the other way round, because I don't know enough about
Excel; I'm aware that it has some very powerful number-crunching and
-presenting abilities. In general, if I wanted to do _sums_ on data, I
_would_ use Excel; if I want to do things with _text_, including
arranging it in boxes, I'd do it in Word. If I want to draw something
like a flow chart, I'd use PowerPoint, though with a heavy heart as I
feel it's far from the best tool (especially more recent incarnations -
not so much the UI [ribbon etc.], but that it seems more aimed at
presentations than drawing). Actually I think Visio's not bad, but
that's not part of the standard office.

Excel very intimidating beyond using it for simple calcs/graphs.

I don't find it intimidating; I am very aware it can do a lot more than
I know how to though. (Perhaps fortunately perhaps not, I don't have
_need_ to do the more powerful things it can do.)

duplicate in Excel what those apps can do and so it just made sense
to me when M$ introduced the Office Ribbon to just not bother doing the

I recommend the ribbon-killing alternatives - I use a Swiss one, IIRR.
[]
And so I moved to LibreOffice for the express purpose of not
re-learning all the new interfaces except Excel's which, initially I
used the old menubar/toolbars on the Addins tab until I got used to
where things got relocated!g

I'm guessing you are (or were) using a similar add-in to the one I found
(-:

Anyway, John, please do play around with this if your interested in
doing this kind of stuff in Excel. If you need help you'll be better
off posting in either/both of the following NGs!

microsoft.public.excel
microsoft.public.excel.misc

Thanks; I won't bother. (Not to in any way put down what you're
doing; it's just another thing _I_ don't want to have to learn.)

Precisely my point!g

I thought it was! So you're happy in Excel (or Libre alternative), I in
Word.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Advertising is legalized lying. - H.G. Wells

On 28/10/2014 05:31, Paul in Houston TX wrote:

Would I have to be online to use Excel/Word?

Microsoft is promoting its cloud computing model and the packages are
all online. People these days aren't interested to install anything on
their machines. In fact they don't even have "machines" like you guys
knew because everything is mobile and you can't install anything on any
smart phones that I know of but I can still use word, excel and email
like most people and still have access to my documents and email. I am
pretty mobile these days.

There are some people on these newsgroups still enjoy spending an hour
or more installing their favourite package only to find that they could
have used the online version for free and saved valuable time trying to
configure the package. Time is pretty valuable in the 21st century.

HTML encoding removed.

"Good Guy" wrote in message
...
On 28/10/2014 05:31, Paul in Houston TX wrote:

Would I have to be online to use Excel/Word?

Microsoft is promoting its cloud computing model and the packages are all
online. People these days aren't interested to install anything on their
machines. In fact they don't even have "machines" like you guys knew
because everything is mobile and you can't install anything on any smart
phones that I know of but I can still use word, excel and email like most
people and still have access to my documents and email. I am pretty
mobile these days.

There are some people on these newsgroups still enjoy spending an hour or
more installing their favourite package only to find that they could
have
used the online version for free and saved valuable time trying to
configure
the package. Time is pretty valuable in the 21st century.

====

Well, I guess that explains why there is this ever pervasive shift to the
"cloud". So it's for all those people who are inextricably attached to
their smart phones, and can't live without them. Such progress. Anyway,
thanks for clarifying that! (I want my programs and data local, and
completely in my control, and don't want to depend on any nebulous "cloud
services", which may change with the wind direction).

But as for the so-called value of time, and how much real "progress" we've
actually made (sociologically speaking), I think the jury is still out.
(well, actually it's come in, but I won't tell, since it would likely fall
on deaf ears with these generations) :-)

In message , Good Guy
writes:
[]
There are some people on these newsgroups still enjoy spending an hour
or more installing their favourite package* only to find that they
could have used the online version for free and saved valuable time
trying to configure the package.* Time is pretty valuable in the 21st
century.

Last time I installed Office, for example, it sure took less than an
hour; OK, to get it working how I like it probably many hours, but
that'd be the same whether local or cloud (even assuming the cloud
version _could_ be so tweaked).

And how much time would I waste trying to find a net connection when
out? Unless I signed up to a mobile data connection, which I don't have
at the moment. (Time may be valuable, but so is money!)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

A closed mouth gathers no foot.

J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote on 10/28/2014 :
So - you want a plain rectangle, say. You just draw it as a drawing object?
So what are you using the underlying Excel grid _for_ - just location?

Basically, yes! I use the grid for layouts because it enables me 'drag'
stuff around *without disturbing other stuff*!

I won't say the other way round, because I don't know enough about
Excel;

I'm an Excel developer and so knowing as much as possible about it is
mandatory!

I'm guessing you are (or were) using a similar add-in to the one I
found (-:

No! I made my own procedure in Personal.xls so I could toggle the old
menubar/toolbars on demand. My addins lock down Excel so much that
users might not even know they're using Excel, per se. (I use automated
instances for my apps)

--
Garry

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