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What is Gliffy?
A robust and versatile charting tool that doesn't have a steep learning curve but has enough features to meet the needs of most users.
In 2005, two software engineers based in San Francisco founded Gliffy, a charting tool online.
intended for developers who want to share visualizations of the software they are working on.
Gliffy offers its users numerous features, including an easy-to-use editor, sharing and collaboration features, Atlassian integration, and version control. Today, Gliffy is used by businesses of all sizes, including Harvard, Netflix, Nike, Pixar, and Twilio.
Features
When working with Gliffy, you can expect some features and functionality, including drag-and-drop editing capabilities, templates to help you create designs, and collaboration tools.
1. Visualization
Gliffy provides users with a variety of vivid and intuitive diagram templates. In addition to the templates available on the application, it also allows you to design a new diagram with the shape and structure of your choice.
This flowchart tool helps you turn ideas and creativity into infographics that are easy to see and remember. It's also a way to help you stimulate the brain to read and select information. All the boxes or links in the chart are customizable in size and color.
Gliffy flowchart maker has a simple interface.
2. Simple interface
In order to facilitate use, especially for beginners, the provider has implemented a simple and no-frills interface.
When you open the app, it shows a list of the organization chart groups that you want to select. Once selected, the category disappears to make way for the design screen with all the features clear and visible on the toolbars.
3. Customer segmentation
The Gliffy charting tool divides customers into three main industry groups: businesses, software engineering, and design projects. In this way, the diagram templates that each customer group chooses will have more functionalities adapted to the needs of their sector.
4. Collaboration
You can share your flowcharts with friends and colleagues via the URL or the embed function. Additionally, before sharing data, you can select the option for people to view, edit, or comment on your document.
Thus, the functionalities of the collaboration tool allow all members of the same group to use a single general diagram. When they encounter details that need to be changed, they can directly correct them.
5. Drag-and-drop editor
The drag-and-drop editor allows you to start with a blank slate. To create your diagrams, you drag and drop various elements (ranging from basic shapes to complex icons like those that represent different parts of the Amazon Web Services ecosystem, such as API Gateway) onto the page, connecting the icons to the connectors of your choice. You can also start working on your diagram with a theme or model and build from there.
6. Add-ons for Atlassian products
Atlassian product users can purchase add-ons that allow Gliffy to integrate seamlessly into Jira or Confluence. The Jira add-on allows you to add diagrams to your tickets to visually document bugs and other code issues.
The Confluence add-on allows you to connect directly to diagrams, use diagrams previously created as templates, and work on content without leaving the Atlassian ecosystem.
7. Share and collaborate on diagrams
To share your diagram, you can create a custom URL that links to your creation, or you can embed your image elsewhere (for example, a Confluence document or an internal web page). You can also import and export charts on demand. Gliffy also includes collaboration features that allow reviewers to comment on or edit your diagram.
8. Revision history
Gliffy has basic version control features, so you can keep changes and go back to an earlier version if you don't like the recent changes you've made.
Customer Support
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact the Gliffy Support Team Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET (excluding major U.S. holidays).
Gliffy asks you to email them or fill out the support request form provided.
In terms of self-help resources, Gliffy provides FAQ pages and an online user manual. Gliffy also maintains a community forum where you can ask questions and get answers from team members and other Gliffy users (this is also where you can ask for new features to be added to the product).
Pricing
To start using Gliffy, you need to choose and buy a subscription that's right for you. In addition to a simplified personal plan, Gliffy offers Team, a package tailored to small teams that includes things like sharing and private feedback. Everyone else will need to reach out to the Gliffy team to design and price a package that best fits their needs.
If you want to integrate Gliffy with Jira or Atlassian's Confluence, you'll need to purchase this feature in addition to individual or team plans (Gliffy considers these applications to be subscriptions to server applications). Smaller teams can purchase a license for 10 users per month, while larger teams can pay per user (prices start at $3.80 per person per month).
Alternatives to Gliffy
When it comes to charting tools, there are two main competitors to Gliffy.
Lucidchart is a professional-quality online chart and flowchart creation tool similar to Gliffy.
However, it offers a lot more features than Gliffy, including built-in data and analysis tools and support for more model file types. This is surprising since Lucidchart is slightly cheaper than Gliffy.
Draw.io, on the other hand, is a free online diagram creation tool that does not require prior login. All you have to do is tell the application where you want to save your files (you can choose your local device, Microsoft Visio or Google Drive). However, Draw.io does not offer as many features as Gliffy. If you want to do a quick and easy drawing, Gliffy is the quickest and easiest option to use.
FAQs
What is Gliffy for?
Gliffy is a chart creation software.
Gliffy offers the following features:
- Chart templates
- Organization chart
- Mind map
- Organization chart
- Importing and Exporting Data
- For developers
- Drag and drop
- Multi-user collaboration
Learn more about Gliffy's features.
What are the best alternatives to Gliffy?
Here is a list of best alternatives to Gliffy :
Does Gliffy provide an API?
Yes, Gliffy does provide an API.
Final Verdict
For most users looking to create diagrams and flowcharts in a software engineering environment, Gliffy is a solid choice. It's packed with lots of useful features, but it's not so feature-rich that it's hard to learn and use.
The add-ons offered to Atlassian users mean that those using Confluence and Jira will get the most out of Gliffy, but if that's not your case, we still think the app will be useful for you.
