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What's new in 5.0

Version 5 is a complete rewrite. Version 4 was built on Adobe AIR, which Apple and the rest of the world have moved on from. Version 5 is a native Mac app written in Swift.

That's not a marketing line — it's why nearly everything below is possible.

The big change

SimpleDiagrams is now a proper Mac app. That means:

  • It launches fast and stays responsive with big diagrams.
  • Autosave and Versions work, so Cmd+S is mostly a formality and Revert To ▸ Browse All Versions… can rescue you.
  • It runs natively on Apple silicon and on Intel.
  • It's sandboxed with no network access at all — the capability isn't in the build. No account, no telemetry, nothing phoning home.
  • Standard Mac behaviour throughout: the Font panel, the colour panel, Full Screen, Open Recent, the print system. All of it just works.

New in version 5

Guides. Drag them out of the rulers, move them, delete them. Objects snap to them. Version 4's rulers couldn't do this and it bothered me for years.

Quick Styles that live in the document. Save a fill-and-stroke combination and apply it with one click. Up to 32, and they travel with the file rather than living in a dialog you forgot about.

Per-page output size. Each page can be A4, US Letter, or any custom size in millimetres, inches, points or pixels, with its own DPI and margins — or left on Automatic to size itself to the artwork.

SVG import with a choice. Keep it as artwork for the best visual match, or convert it to an editable native shape that takes your colours and textures.

Connection point editing. When you build your own library, you decide where connectors attach — including Add Center Point and a reset to the standard ring.

A proper library editor. Names, keywords, default fill and stroke, textures, text regions and connection points, all in one sheet.

Contact sheets. Right-click a library heading to get a printable overview of everything in it.

Multi-segment connectors that behave. Hold Alt to keep adding anchors, double-click to finish. Ten arrowhead styles at each end, independently.

An Overview navigator and Fit Selection (Cmd+2), so you can find your way around a large diagram.

Metadata stripping on import. Drop in a photo or a screenshot and its EXIF and GPS data are removed automatically.

One Library panel instead of four. Shapes, backgrounds, favourites and search were separate panels in version 4; now there's one panel with search built in, plus Alt+Space from anywhere.

Things that changed

Presentation is now read-only. Clean, full screen, arrow keys to move. The version 4 drawing pointer and fading pencil aren't here. The upside is you can't nudge a shape while you're mid-sentence.

Online Libraries are gone. The subscription shape-browsing service isn't part of version 5. You have the six built-in libraries and any libraries you make or import.

Linked templates are gone. Duplicate a page (Cmd+Shift+D) instead — it's simpler and it does what most people used templates for.

The canvas is infinite. There's no page rectangle to draw inside. Decide the output size when you export or print.

Your old work

.sdxml diagrams from versions 3 and 4 open, and .sdlp shape libraries and .sdcp palettes still import. Your original files are never modified.

Read Opening older diagrams before you convert anything important.

What's still on the list

Being honest about it:

  • Localisation. English only right now.
  • An in-app updater. The direct build has Check for Updates…, which opens the download page. Actual background updating is on the list.
  • Smart guides between objects. You get the grid and manual guides; automatic alignment hints aren't in yet.
  • An eraser. Still no eraser. Yes, I know.

If something you relied on is missing, tell me — daniel@mcquilleninteractive.com. That's how the list gets reordered.