Reusable Elements

A reusable element is a composition you build once — a card, a callout, a labelled badge, a process step — and then place again and again. Every text in the element becomes a text slot, so each copy can carry its own content while keeping the same design.

Saving an Element

  1. Build the element on the canvas from shapes, text, and images
  2. Select all of its parts (or a single group that contains them)
  3. Right-click the selection and choose Save as Reusable Element...
  4. In the dialog:
    • Enter a Name for the element
    • Choose the custom template pack to store it in — or New Pack… to create a pack called "My Elements"
  5. Click Save

The element now appears in the Elements section of the shape palette.

How Text Slots Are Created

Every part of the element that contains text becomes a fill-in slot, numbered in reading order (top to bottom, then left to right). The text you typed becomes a faint placeholder that is shown whenever a slot is empty, so new copies show the layout at a glance.

Slot labels keep a fixed width, so the element's layout doesn't shift as you type different content.

Placing an Element

Drag the element's thumbnail from the Elements section of the palette onto the canvas. Each placed copy is an independent, fully editable group — changing the saved element later doesn't affect copies already in your diagrams.

Filling In Text Slots

  • On the canvas — double-click a slot to type into it
  • In the Inspector — select the placed element; the Style tab shows an Element section listing the element's name and every slot. Click a slot row to start editing that slot

Format slot text with the normal Text controls.

Managing Elements

  • Rename or delete — right-click an element's thumbnail in the palette and choose Rename... or Delete
  • Overview — View → Manage Custom Templates... lists all elements in each pack, with their slots, alongside your custom shapes and arrowheads

Elements are stored in custom template packs, so they can be exported and shared together with the rest of the pack.

Tips

  • Group the parts before saving — the group is linked to the element definition
  • Keep placeholder text short and descriptive ("Title", "Owner", "Due date") so it reads as a form
  • Combine elements with Repeat… to lay out rows of cards quickly
  • Custom Templates — packs that store elements, shapes, and arrowheads
  • Groups — grouping parts before saving
  • Text — formatting slot text