7 ms·

ASCIIFlow Diagram Tool

214 points by bshanks 5y ago

rychco 5y ago
This is quite nice. I can see myself using this to communicate a concept in internal documentation or even as inline comments.
- olodus 5y ago
  Yeah I've used it to do some inline comments a few times and am really happy with how it turned out. Even though it still is a bit clunky I like how you can import back your diagram if you needed to change something small. I would probably use something else when modelling a solution but sometimes it really is best to keep the documentation as close as possible to the source.
ape4 5y ago
I'd like grahviz (dot language) ascii output. Seems some hope for that https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3211801/graphviz-and-ascii-output https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3211801/graphviz-and-asc...
- gregsadetsky 5y ago
  The answer at the very bottom does include a browser-based link to do this: https://dot-to-ascii.ggerganov.com/ https://dot-to-ascii.ggerganov.com/ Seems to work well..!
howmayiannoyyou 5y ago
Prior version was better. So much so that I had to stop using the current version. That said, for what they charge I shouldn't complain and appreciate their help over the years.
_joel 5y ago
Not feeling this new version, much preferred the original one
- jiveturkey 5y ago
  huh. I only know the new one. I like it fine. Now I have to see what I'm missing!
- chx 5y ago
  There's a return to old version link https://asciiflow.com/legacy/ https://asciiflow.com/legacy/
uDontKnowMe 5y ago
I appreciate the ability to select and move already drawn components, I believe this was missing in the original version which kept me from using it. Thanks team!
peterhil 5y ago
Is there a bug when one line segment is between two letters? This can also happen if you draw two lines with one row between them and then a third line in between them. I get that ┼ is a single point, and the logic would be more complicated if it were · or *. However, I think in these cases the line segments should consist of - and |. ─── x┼x ┌── │ ┼x┼ x ┼
- peterhil 5y ago
  However, this is an amazing ascii drawing tool!
canada_dry 5y ago
It could be useful for quickly designing an IoT lcd display layout... but, maybe I'm missing a config option, why doesn't it display the x,y size of the object you're drawing/modifying (i.e. as a tooltip or a properties box)?? Seems like such a basic feature.
dankle 5y ago
It’s not very mobile friendly…
- Jenk 5y ago
  Double tap and drag. As in tap-and-release, then tap-and-hold.
enriquetejeda 5y ago
Nice tool, is easily to understand and very intuitive
cratermoon 5y ago
The problem with visual diagramming tools as far back as Visio, is how much of a time suck they are even for simple diagrams. If you're one of those folks who manages to stick with one long enough to create a stable of templates for common diagrams, you can become somewhat more efficient, but it's always going to be fiddly. I've embraced the diagrams-as-code world, with graphviz, plantuml, Structurizr DSL, AsciiDoctor Diagram, Mermaid, and WebSequenceDiagrams all having a place. It's even possible to generate SVG using ruby or any language with a decent SVG library. Yes, I had to give up making my diagrams "just so", but the time I've saved not dragging around elements, trying to connect lines and arrows makes it worth it. Being able to commit them to source control as text rather than binary files that don't diff is a bonus
- atombender 5y ago
  I've used most of these, and for the times when aesthetics don't matter, they're fine, though I find that automated layouts never really work well, and become too messy to make practical diagrams for most purposes. (Maybe this an area where machine learning could improve the algorithms.) A new tool that has impressed me, though, is FigJam [1], which is a new type of document in Figma that's currently in beta. It's basically Visio, but with a fantastically intuitive UI and beautiful rendering style; super easy to draw boxes and lines and so on. Best of all, it's got real-time, web-based collaboration built in, and it's as solid as Figma (which is also fantastic). [1] https://www.figma.com/figjam/ https://www.figma.com/figjam/
  - cratermoon 5y ago
    If you're really into shaving yaks, all the tools I mentioned allow for fine-grained modification of the aesthetics and layout. Two questions about FigJam then: 1. What format does it store the saved files? Is it plain text, does it compress well, can it be diff'd? 2. Can I store the saved files locally and put them in the version control/CRM system of my choice, or are they all stored on Figma's servers?
    - atombender 5y ago
constantinum 5y ago
Shall i recommend(heartily) Monodraw(mac only) for ASCII diagrams. I use it all the time for code comments, documentation, spec docs and even some times quick and dirty UX mockups https://monodraw.helftone.com/ https://monodraw.helftone.com/
- tomerbd 5y ago
  I wish they would continue support monodraw :/ how do you use it for us mockups?
Miiko 5y ago
Nice tool, but new version is technically not an "ASCII flow" anymore, as it now uses Unicode Box Drawing characters (in 0x2500+ block), unlike previous version that used ASCII for lines and boxes.
- bshanks 5y ago
  When you export the drawing (click the button in the upper left then click the download icon to the right of File), there is an option to us "ASCII Basic".
dang 5y ago
Some past related threads: Asciiflow in VS Code - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22840295 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22840295 - April 2020 (23 comments) ASCIIFlow Infinity - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16051428 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16051428 - Jan 2018 (56 comments) ASCIIFlow Infinity – ASCII diagrams with export - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9130756 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9130756 - March 2015 (10 comments) AsciiFlow Infinity: Powerful In-Browser ASCII Art Editor - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7560599 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7560599 - April 2014 (7 comments) Asciiflow - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7085133 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7085133 - Jan 2014 (69 comments) Asciiflow - ASCII Flow Diagram Tool - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6365612 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6365612 - Sept 2013 (1 comment) Asciiflow - ASCII Flow Diagram Tool - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3598177 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3598177 - Feb 2012 (9 comments) AsciiFlow - diagram & wireframe tool - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2847177 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2847177 - Aug 2011 (20 comments) ASCII diagram creator - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651745 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651745 - June 2011 (39 comments)
GeorgeTirebiter 5y ago
M-x artist-mode <ret> in Emacs is pretty cool. Also picture-mode. http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/emacs_ascii_diagram.html http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/emacs_ascii_diagram.html
Animats 5y ago
┌───┐ │ │ │ │ │ I │ │ N │ │ │ │ │ └─┬─┘ │ ┌───────────┐ │ │ │ └───────────► OUT │ │ │ └───────────┘ OK. Works.
theshadowknows 5y ago
I spend so much time drawing diagrams that I’ve stopped trying to make them pretty and now I just try to make them meaningful and accurate. So for in-code docs ASCIIFlow is great. I still struggle trying to find an architectural diagram tool that’s not junk. We use Rational and it’s fine. But I’d like something nicer and with a more 3D view.
junon 5y ago
I'm one of the maintainers for ASCIIFlow (though not the original creator). I can try to answer any questions you have. Weird to see it on the front page :D
xixixao 5y ago
In case you haven't heard of it yet, check out https://excalidraw.com/ https://excalidraw.com/ for an alternative non-ASCII diagramming tool.
zmix 5y ago
These things are great for illustration purposes, when one uses something like Markdown or the like. This, paired with a tool, that draws trees (filesystem, etc.). But I'd prefer this part of my text-editor than online.
smusamashah 5y ago
Is it based on perl based tool Asciio https://metacpan.org/pod/App::Asciio https://metacpan.org/pod/App::Asciio I couldn't get it working on windows but it looks interesting and it's very old.
ChrisArchitect 5y ago
so old and often posted Good discussion here 10 years ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651745 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651745

214 points by bshanks 5y ago

This is quite nice. I can see myself using this to communicate a concept in internal documentation or even as inline comments.

olodus 5y ago
Yeah I've used it to do some inline comments a few times and am really happy with how it turned out. Even though it still is a bit clunky I like how you can import back your diagram if you needed to change something small. I would probably use something else when modelling a solution but sometimes it really is best to keep the documentation as close as possible to the source.

ape4 5y ago

I'd like grahviz (dot language) ascii output. Seems some hope for that https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3211801/graphviz-and-ascii-output https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3211801/graphviz-and-asc...

gregsadetsky 5y ago
The answer at the very bottom does include a browser-based link to do this: https://dot-to-ascii.ggerganov.com/ https://dot-to-ascii.ggerganov.com/ Seems to work well..!

howmayiannoyyou 5y ago

Prior version was better. So much so that I had to stop using the current version. That said, for what they charge I shouldn't complain and appreciate their help over the years.

_joel 5y ago

Not feeling this new version, much preferred the original one

jiveturkey 5y ago
huh. I only know the new one. I like it fine. Now I have to see what I'm missing!
chx 5y ago
There's a return to old version link https://asciiflow.com/legacy/ https://asciiflow.com/legacy/

uDontKnowMe 5y ago

I appreciate the ability to select and move already drawn components, I believe this was missing in the original version which kept me from using it. Thanks team!

peterhil 5y ago

Is there a bug when one line segment is between two letters? This can also happen if you draw two lines with one row between them and then a third line in between them. I get that ┼ is a single point, and the logic would be more complicated if it were · or *. However, I think in these cases the line segments should consist of - and |. ─── x┼x ┌── │ ┼x┼ x ┼

peterhil 5y ago
However, this is an amazing ascii drawing tool!

canada_dry 5y ago

It could be useful for quickly designing an IoT lcd display layout... but, maybe I'm missing a config option, why doesn't it display the x,y size of the object you're drawing/modifying (i.e. as a tooltip or a properties box)?? Seems like such a basic feature.

dankle 5y ago

It’s not very mobile friendly…

Jenk 5y ago
Double tap and drag. As in tap-and-release, then tap-and-hold.

enriquetejeda 5y ago

Nice tool, is easily to understand and very intuitive

cratermoon 5y ago

The problem with visual diagramming tools as far back as Visio, is how much of a time suck they are even for simple diagrams. If you're one of those folks who manages to stick with one long enough to create a stable of templates for common diagrams, you can become somewhat more efficient, but it's always going to be fiddly. I've embraced the diagrams-as-code world, with graphviz, plantuml, Structurizr DSL, AsciiDoctor Diagram, Mermaid, and WebSequenceDiagrams all having a place. It's even possible to generate SVG using ruby or any language with a decent SVG library. Yes, I had to give up making my diagrams "just so", but the time I've saved not dragging around elements, trying to connect lines and arrows makes it worth it. Being able to commit them to source control as text rather than binary files that don't diff is a bonus

atombender 5y ago
I've used most of these, and for the times when aesthetics don't matter, they're fine, though I find that automated layouts never really work well, and become too messy to make practical diagrams for most purposes. (Maybe this an area where machine learning could improve the algorithms.) A new tool that has impressed me, though, is FigJam [1], which is a new type of document in Figma that's currently in beta. It's basically Visio, but with a fantastically intuitive UI and beautiful rendering style; super easy to draw boxes and lines and so on. Best of all, it's got real-time, web-based collaboration built in, and it's as solid as Figma (which is also fantastic). [1] https://www.figma.com/figjam/ https://www.figma.com/figjam/
- cratermoon 5y ago
  If you're really into shaving yaks, all the tools I mentioned allow for fine-grained modification of the aesthetics and layout. Two questions about FigJam then: 1. What format does it store the saved files? Is it plain text, does it compress well, can it be diff'd? 2. Can I store the saved files locally and put them in the version control/CRM system of my choice, or are they all stored on Figma's servers?
  - atombender 5y ago

constantinum 5y ago

Shall i recommend(heartily) Monodraw(mac only) for ASCII diagrams. I use it all the time for code comments, documentation, spec docs and even some times quick and dirty UX mockups https://monodraw.helftone.com/ https://monodraw.helftone.com/

tomerbd 5y ago
I wish they would continue support monodraw :/ how do you use it for us mockups?

Miiko 5y ago

Nice tool, but new version is technically not an "ASCII flow" anymore, as it now uses Unicode Box Drawing characters (in 0x2500+ block), unlike previous version that used ASCII for lines and boxes.

bshanks 5y ago
When you export the drawing (click the button in the upper left then click the download icon to the right of File), there is an option to us "ASCII Basic".

dang 5y ago

Some past related threads: Asciiflow in VS Code - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22840295 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22840295 - April 2020 (23 comments) ASCIIFlow Infinity - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16051428 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16051428 - Jan 2018 (56 comments) ASCIIFlow Infinity – ASCII diagrams with export - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9130756 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9130756 - March 2015 (10 comments) AsciiFlow Infinity: Powerful In-Browser ASCII Art Editor - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7560599 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7560599 - April 2014 (7 comments) Asciiflow - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7085133 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7085133 - Jan 2014 (69 comments) Asciiflow - ASCII Flow Diagram Tool - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6365612 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6365612 - Sept 2013 (1 comment) Asciiflow - ASCII Flow Diagram Tool - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3598177 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3598177 - Feb 2012 (9 comments) AsciiFlow - diagram & wireframe tool - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2847177 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2847177 - Aug 2011 (20 comments) ASCII diagram creator - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651745 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651745 - June 2011 (39 comments)

GeorgeTirebiter 5y ago

M-x artist-mode <ret> in Emacs is pretty cool. Also picture-mode. http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/emacs_ascii_diagram.html http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/emacs_ascii_diagram.html

Animats 5y ago

┌───┐ │ │ │ │ │ I │ │ N │ │ │ │ │ └─┬─┘ │ ┌───────────┐ │ │ │ └───────────► OUT │ │ │ └───────────┘ OK. Works.

theshadowknows 5y ago

I spend so much time drawing diagrams that I’ve stopped trying to make them pretty and now I just try to make them meaningful and accurate. So for in-code docs ASCIIFlow is great. I still struggle trying to find an architectural diagram tool that’s not junk. We use Rational and it’s fine. But I’d like something nicer and with a more 3D view.

junon 5y ago

I'm one of the maintainers for ASCIIFlow (though not the original creator). I can try to answer any questions you have. Weird to see it on the front page :D

xixixao 5y ago

In case you haven't heard of it yet, check out https://excalidraw.com/ https://excalidraw.com/ for an alternative non-ASCII diagramming tool.

zmix 5y ago

These things are great for illustration purposes, when one uses something like Markdown or the like. This, paired with a tool, that draws trees (filesystem, etc.). But I'd prefer this part of my text-editor than online.

smusamashah 5y ago

Is it based on perl based tool Asciio https://metacpan.org/pod/App::Asciio https://metacpan.org/pod/App::Asciio I couldn't get it working on windows but it looks interesting and it's very old.

ChrisArchitect 5y ago

so old and often posted Good discussion here 10 years ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651745 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651745