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draw.io add-ons for Google Docs™, Google Sheets™ and Google Slides™

There are three free draw.io add-ons, one for each Google app:

  • draw.io for Documents: the add-on for Google Docs.
  • draw.io for Spreadsheets: the add-on for Google Sheets.
  • draw.io for Presentations: the add-on for Google Slides.

The add-ons insert draw.io diagrams from your Google Drive™ into your documents, spreadsheets and presentations as images. When you change a diagram, the add-on shows that its image is out of date, and updates it for you.

The add-ons are made by draw.io Ltd. See how they handle your data in the privacy policy for draw.io for Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.

What the add-on does​

  • Diagrams panel: See every draw.io diagram in your file, which ones have changed in draw.io, and update them with one click.
  • Insert diagrams: Select draw.io diagram files in your Google Drive and insert them as images. For a diagram with several pages, choose the page to insert.
  • Keep diagrams up to date: After you change a diagram in draw.io, update its image from the Diagrams panel or the add-on menu. The image keeps the size you gave it.
  • Edit a diagram: Open a diagram from your file in the draw.io editor, in a new browser tab.
  • Create a diagram: Open the draw.io editor, create a diagram and save it to your Google Drive.
A food chain diagram inserted next to a table in Google Sheets, with the Diagrams panel open on the right, listing three draw.io diagrams that are all up to date

The diagrams are ordinary images in your file. Everyone who can see your file can see them, without installing the add-on.

Install the add-on​

Install the add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace for each Google app you want to use it in:

You can also install it from inside the Google app: select Extensions > Add-ons > Get add-ons, then search for draw.io. When you install the add-on, Google asks you to allow the permissions listed below. Allow all of them: the add-on needs each one to work.

The add-on menu will be added to the Extensions menu, under the add-on's name: Extensions > draw.io for Documents in Google Docs, Extensions > draw.io for Spreadsheets in Google Sheets, and Extensions > draw.io for Presentations in Google Slides.

Google Workspace administrators can install the add-on for everyone in their organisation from the Google Workspace Marketplace.

Get started​

  1. Open a document in Google Docs, a spreadsheet in Google Sheets, or a presentation in Google Slides.
  2. Select Diagrams Panel from the add-on menu, for example Extensions > draw.io for Documents > Diagrams Panel. The Diagrams panel also opens after you install the add-on.
  3. Click Insert diagrams in the Diagrams panel, select one or more draw.io diagram files in the Google file picker, then click Select.

The diagrams will be inserted as images. When you change a diagram in draw.io, it will show as Changed in the Diagrams panel: click Update to update its image.

See Insert and update diagrams in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides for all the steps, including how to edit and create diagrams, and how to update diagrams that someone else inserted.

Permissions​

The add-on asks for these permissions. The first column is the text Google shows you when you allow them.

PermissionWhat draw.io uses it for
See, edit, create, and delete only the specific Google Drive files you use with this appRead the diagram files you select or upload in the Google file picker. draw.io can't see any other files in your Google Drive.
View and manage documents that this application has been installed in (Google Docs)Insert and update diagram images in the document you have open.
View and manage spreadsheets that this application has been installed in (Google Sheets)Insert and update diagram images in the spreadsheet you have open.
View and manage the Google Slides presentations that this application is installed in (Google Slides)Insert and update diagram images in the presentation you have open.
Display and run third-party web content in prompts and sidebars inside Google applicationsShow the Diagrams panel and the add-on dialogs: the file picker, page selection, progress and errors.
Connect to an external serviceRead the selected diagram files from Google Drive, and send them to the draw.io export service, which renders them as images.

draw.io doesn't ask for your name or email address, and doesn't store your diagrams or your files. See the privacy policy for details.

Troubleshooting​

  • Signed in to several Google accounts: The add-on dialog can fail with "Authorization is required to perform that action" or a PERMISSION_DENIED error. Use a browser window where only one Google account is signed in, for example a separate browser profile.
  • You didn't allow all the permissions: The add-on shows an error such as "You do not have permission to call Ui.showModalDialog". Go to myaccount.google.com/connections, select the add-on, and remove its access. Then use the add-on again, and allow all the permissions it asks for.
  • Third-party cookies blocked: The Google file picker doesn't load in browsers or Incognito windows that block third-party cookies. You may see "Allow Google access to your necessary cookies" or "Can't access your Google Account". Enable third-party cookies, or use a normal browser window.

See more solutions to common problems with the add-on.

Support​

Email [email protected]. Say whether you use Google Docs, Google Sheets or Google Slides, and describe what you did, what you expected to happen, and what happened instead.

For other draw.io products, see draw.io support.

Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Drive and Google Workspace are trademarks of Google LLC.