Publicly publish a diagram as a link

You can encode a diagram created in draw.io within a URL. When someone clicks on that URL, they will see a static copy of your diagram, at the time you published it, in the draw.io viewer.

As different browsers have varying URL size limitations, very large diagrams may not be able to be loaded from a overly long URL. To get around this, use Google Drive to store your diagram - when you publish a diagram publicly from Google Drive, the URL will be shorter and neater.

  1. Select File > Publish > Link.
    Select File > Publish > Link to publicly publish your diagram as a link
  2. Select the link options you want to use, then click Create.
    Set the options you want to encode along with the diagram in the URL
  3. Copy the link that is generated (press Ctrl+C on Windows or Cmd+C on macOS). Click Close to return to your diagram.
    Copy the generated link and share it with your intended diagram viewers

Note: The diagram data is embedded in the URL you just created - your diagram is not hosted anywhere. This link is therefore always valid, and you can’t revoke access to your diagram.

  • Links - Decides whether links are opened in the same browser window or a new one. Automatic opens anchor and relative links, as well as links within your domain in the same browser window, whereas absolute links will open in a new browser tab by default.
  • Border Color - Sets the colour to highlight links when you hover over them with the mouse.
  • Lightbox - Shows the diagram in a lightbox (read-only) or in the diagram editor (uses the diagram as template).
    • Edit - Enables an Edit button in the lightbox which opens the diagram in draw.io.
    • Layers - Selects which layers are displayed in the lightbox.