Your first nifdi diagram
Navigate to https://nifdi.app/diagram and sign-in using your email. If you don’t already have an account, you’ll automatically get a free account.
Add some shapes
Section titled “Add some shapes”Open the Palette by clicking on the shapes button on the left side. Choose one of the rectangles and drag it onto the Canvas.
Then repeat to add more shapes.
Push them around
Section titled “Push them around”Click and drag on one of your shapes to move it on the canvas.
Notice that blocks aren’t allowed to overlap - they push each other out of the way. It’s fun to play with!
Float and squeeze
Section titled “Float and squeeze”To place a shape inside or between other shapes, enter ‘float mode’ by briefly dragging diagonally, or by holding down the Shift key at the start of the drag.
The pushing and stretching behaviour means you don’t need to worry about making space in a diagram. If a container is too small, or there isn’t enough room, nifdi will make space for you.
Notice that when you place one shape inside another, they form a group automatically. There is no need for ‘Group’ and ‘Ungroup’ commands that you might use in other software.
Make connections
Section titled “Make connections”Hover with the mouse near a shape and a + button will appear. Click and drag to create a connection.
You do not need to drag all the way to the destination; drag towards it and let go.
If you drag to the middle of a shape and not its edge, the path with attach to the shape in general rather than to a specific edge. This means that when you move things around, the path will choose the closest edge.
Add text
Section titled “Add text”Type anywhere on the canvas to add text. There is no separate text tool. If something is selected, the text will attach or go inside the selection. Otherwise, the text appears at your mouse position.
Resize
Section titled “Resize”Select an object and drag the handles at its edges or corners.
If the selected object has things inside it, the contents move to maintain their relative position within the container. This means contents stay in a corner or in the middle of their parent, without any special settings.
The core model explains the four block types you have just been using. Canvas covers the rest of the gestures — pushing, squeezing, duplicating and grouping.