Block diagram / schematic software

Thread Starter

JohanEricson

Joined Aug 30, 2017
36
I'm on the hunt for a tool to create interactive block diagrams.
In my mind i see a software where i can create block diagrams to view different levels of a system... I don't know how to express my thoughts but I'll try!

Imagine you present an idea to a bunch of different people, based on their knowledge of what you present the different people want different information. So lets say i want to present my idea for a arduino based robot control and steering system, if my mom asks how it works i show her a very simple block diagram like:
"USER INPUT -----> ARDUINO -----> ROBOT REACTION"
And if i show it to my friends who have basic knowledge of electronics i want a more detailed diagram.
And here comes the point of this thread: I would like to be able to click on "USER INPUT" in my simple diagram and "zoom in" if you like, to a diagram of how the user input is "collected".
And you could add how many levels you want, not just block diagrams but eventually you get a electronic schematic.

Do anyone know of a similar software, or is anybody interested in just making one?
I would do it my self if i had the time to learn software programming! Haha

Or is it just me who see the purpose of such a software?

Thank you! / Johan
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
Been years since I used it but Microsoft Visio would do what you want. However Visio can be costly. Using Google I found some free open source software alternatives. Several can be found here. I can't attest to any of them but they look promising. I also see offers of Microsoft Visio Free but can't say what those are all about. Anyway I see this stuff as what you want.

Ron
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
You could do something similar in Excel using collapsible sections but it wouldn't be as cool as what you're describing.

If I had to do this, I'd do it in a web-content-creation app and use a browser as the viewer.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,845
OpenOffice Draw or the LibreOffice equivalent will work and they're free. They're not as good as Visio, but I wouldn't pay for Visio.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,845
It turns out that Microsoft Word has flow charting shapes; I tried Office 2007 and 2010.

It's not nearly as productive as Visio and the lack of a tear-off menu makes adding shapes tedious. But there seems to be sufficient snapping options to make a decent looking flow chart or block diagram.
 
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