Set global default shapes and styles in draw.io

Consistency is key

As an Admin, you might be getting the same questions from teams again and again – things like: “Where’s our most up-to-date logo?”, “Which font do we use for our website?”, and, “What are the hex codes for our company colors?”

For your teams’ diagramming needs, fear not – the answers to the above questions are readily available, summed up in two beautiful words: “JSON configuration”. This is the place to configure aspects like your corporate logo, fonts, color palettes, and other custom shapes.

By configuring the draw.io editor in Confluence Cloud for your teams, you’re equipping them with the shapes and styles they need to hit the ground running. It’ll save you and your teams time and effort in the long run, and will ensure diagrams are consistent, adhering to your in-house corporate style.

Set global default styles for shapes, color schemes, and fonts

To configure the draw.io editor and implement global settings for your teams:

• Click on the Settings cog in the upper-right corner;
• Under the draw.io dropdown menu, click on Configuration;*
• From here you can add JSON code to:
  • Set custom default styles for shapes and connectors
  • Set custom colours
  • Use custom fonts
  • Customize the draw.io interface (set a custom menu color and default theme).

*Note: if you haven’t done so already, you will first need to set up the configuration space. If this is the case, the draw.io Configuration tab will ask you to click to Create Config Space. Once this step is complete, you will be able to store JSON code for customized draw.io editor configurations.

For the full list of configuration options available and how to set these, see, Configure the draw.io editor.

Create custom shape libraries

In the global configuration settings, custom libraries allow you to add images like icons, logos, employee headshots, etc. that are accessible by teams.

To create a custom library and add shapes to this, follow the instructions outlined here: Use custom libraries in Confluence Cloud. Once this is done, you can upload the custom library for your teams to use. To do this:

• Click on the Settings cog in the upper-right corner;
• Under the draw.io dropdown menu, click on Configuration;
• Click on the Custom Libraries tab.

From here, simply upload the library of shapes as an XML file.

When you load the editor, the custom library will be available under +More Shapes at the bottom of the left side menu.

Head to +More Shapes and scroll down to locate shared Custom Libraries

For step-by-step instructions, see our tutorial, Create your own custom library.

Build custom templates

Custom templates are useful for providing standardized diagram templates and whiteboards for your teams. These can be for visualizations like:

• Agile retrospectives that teams can run regularly with their colleagues;
• Onboarding flows that can be used and adapted for each individual team’s needs;
• RACI and DACI for teams to use to establish individual roles and tasks.

To create global custom templates:

• Click on the Settings cog in the upper-right corner;
• Under the draw.io dropdown menu, click on Configuration;
• Click on the Custom Templates tab;
• Click on the link to the Templates page.

Diagrams created and saved as child pages of the parent Templates page will be available for other teams to use. When a user creates a diagram from the template, a new version will be created in the page they are working on, and the original template will remain unchanged.

For more information, see, Leverage your draw.io user experience with custom templates.

Once you have created your diagram templates, you may wish to add these diagrams to global Confluence templates, so that teams have access to a Confluence page template containing a diagram, which they can adapt and customize.

For more information, see, Add draw.io diagrams into Confluence page templates.

Customization on a silver platter

We’ve seen there’s plenty of bespoke configuration Admins can do to set up their teams for success: set global default shapes and styles for your teams in draw.io, provide custom diagram templates, and even build Confluence page templates containing diagrams.

You’re handing your teams everything they need for consistent diagramming on a silver platter. If, after all this, your teams are still asking where your company logo is, I’m not sure there’s much more we can do here!

Want to dive deeper into the world of draw.io? Access our linktr.ee page to follow us on social media and learn how others use draw.io, as well as pick up some helpful tips and tricks.