Quodsi for draw.io
Quodsi for draw.io is available now and free to try. It runs in your web browser at drawio.quodsi.com, so there's nothing to install.
Who it suits
Start here if your process maps are already draw.io files, or if you don't have a diagramming tool yet. It's also the only place you can open Quodsi's published example models.
Getting started
Open drawio.quodsi.com. A blank diagram opens, with the Welcome to Quodsi screen on top. Choose one of these:
- Sign in and start the tour, a guided walk through a small airport security checkpoint. Once you're signed in, the button reads Start the tour.
- New diagram, to draw your own.
- Open from this device, to open a draw.io file you already have.
- Open from browser storage, to open a diagram you saved in this browser.
- Open an example, to pick a published model.
Tick Don't show this on startup if you don't want to see the screen again. You can always reopen it from Quodsi > Welcome.
Signing in
You can draw a diagram and convert it to a model without an account. You need a free account to take the guided tour and to run simulations.
Use the Sign In button in the strip at the top of the Quodsi panel. Sign-in opens in a separate window, so allow pop-ups for this site if your browser blocks it.
Drawing and converting
Draw your process with ordinary draw.io shapes and arrows. You don't need special shapes. When you're ready, choose Quodsi > Convert Diagram to Model, or use the button on the Get started card in the panel.
Quodsi reads how your shapes connect:
| On your diagram | Becomes |
|---|---|
| An arrow attached to a shape at both ends | A Connector |
| A shape with arrows going out and none coming in | A Generator, where work enters the process |
| A shape with at least one arrow coming in | An Activity, a step in the process |
| A shape with no arrows | Skipped |
Quodsi tells you what it converted. Press Ctrl+Z straight away if you want to undo it.
To change what a shape is, select it and use the type dropdown in the panel. A shape can be None, Activity, Generator or Resource, and a line can be None or Connector. Resource only appears in the Intermediate and Advanced complexity views.
Is the page empty? The card offers Build it with the Advisor, so you can describe your process instead of drawing it. See Using the AI Advisor.
The Quodsi menu
| Menu item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Convert Diagram to Model | Turns the page into a model. |
| Remove Quodsi Model | Turns the page back into a plain diagram. See the warning under Saving your work. |
| Make this a new Quodsi model… | Gives this file its own new, empty model. The model it was linked to, and that model's runs, stay as they are. See Copying a model file. |
| Show/Hide Quodsi Panel | Shows or hides the side panel. |
| Diagram Mapping | Opens the screen that shows how your shapes map to the model. |
| Reload Model from Diagram | Rebuilds the model in memory from the page. Use it if the panel looks out of step with your diagram. |
| Open Example Model… | Opens the example picker. |
| Take the Tour | Starts the guided tour. It stays greyed out until you sign in. |
| Welcome | Reopens the welcome screen. |
| Status | Shows whether Quodsi's services are running. |
| Feedback & Support… | Opens Settings at its Help section. |
| About Quodsi | Opens the About page on quodsi.com. |
Saving your work
Your model is stored inside the diagram, so saving the diagram saves the model. Use draw.io's File menu. You can save to your device or to browser storage.
This version of draw.io doesn't connect to Google Drive, OneDrive, Microsoft 365, GitHub, GitLab, Dropbox or Trello.
An example opens as an unsaved copy. You can change it freely, and save it if you want to keep it.
Copying a model file
A file is linked to its Quodsi model by an id stored inside the file. When you copy a file, the copy carries the same id, so at first it points at the original's model, with the original's scenarios, studies and results.
That's usually not what you want. Say you copy clinic.drawio to clinic-two-rooms.drawio to try a different layout, a change too big for a scenario. The copy should have its own model, or its changes will overwrite the original's.
Quodsi remembers each file's name when it saves the model. If the name has changed the next time you open What-if Analysis, use the Advisor, or choose Remove Quodsi Model, Quodsi asks Is this a copy? before it changes anything:
- Make it a new model: the file gets its own new model, with no scenarios, studies or results yet. The original keeps everything.
- Same model, I renamed it: Quodsi carries on with the same model and remembers the new name, so it won't ask again.
- Cancel: nothing happens.
When the question comes from Remove Quodsi Model, the first choice reads It's a copy, just clear this file. It turns this file back into a plain diagram and leaves the original's model alone.
Quodsi can't tell a copy apart when it has the same name as the original, for example in another folder. For that case, or anytime, choose Make this a new Quodsi model… from the Quodsi menu.
Where the Quodsi panels are
The Quodsi side panel sits on the right of the drawing area. To hide it, click › in its header.
- Account strip: the top row, with your email address, the Settings gear and the sign-in button.
- Header: the Advisor button and, once the page is a model, the orange What-if Analysis button.
- Editor: shows the Model when nothing is selected. Select a shape to edit that shape instead.
What-if Analysis opens the large window where you create scenarios and studies, run them and read results. It's greyed out until you're signed in and the model has no validation errors. See Troubleshooting if it stays greyed out.