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Visio is the most conspicuous example of a program that I found useful on Windows for which I have not identified a Mac-compatible replacement.

Visio's primary function is as a flowchart diagramming tool. It allows the user to construct complex information flows with smart objects and interconnect graphics that snap and bend as the user moves things around on the page. It's morphed over the years to support other diagram and information flow views like IT diagrams and UI mockups.

What's out there that can replace Visio on the Mac?

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Can you explain what Visio does, and what a program would need to do for you to consider it a replacement? – Daniel Lawson♦ Apr 11 at 12:09
Why do you feel the need to clarify a 2.5-year-old question with an accepted answer? – bmargulies Apr 11 at 12:33
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Because it's at the top of the feed because someone just submitted an answer. If a question is buried in the archive, absolutely, leave it alone. But this was the top question on the page when I logged in this morning, and as such, I'm trying to improve its quality. – Daniel Lawson♦ Apr 11 at 12:43
Visio is / was a very commonly-used tool on Windows and in the relevant industry. I don't believe that anyone who didn't already know what it was would be able to offer an answer. Anyhow, isn't this now a 'shopping' question that should be closed? – bmargulies Apr 11 at 21:10
@bmargulies this isn't a shopping question. This is a functional equivalence question. We're not talking prices and software tends to outlast hardware so there's less temporal relevancy to the answers. – Ian C.♦ May 27 at 3:44
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10 Answers

up vote 34 down vote accepted

OmniGraffle or OmniGraffle Pro: http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnigraffle/feature_comparison/

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OmniGraffle Pro reads Visio's binary files, not just their XML ones. That was worth it by itself for me. Also, FWIW, I much prefer OmniGraffle to Visio in terms of ease of use. My coworkers often comment about how nice the diagrams are. – khedron Oct 4 '10 at 13:39
I have had similar experience with my coworkers. Omnigraffle is what Visio would like to be. – Kevin Feb 17 '11 at 15:36
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OmniGraffle isn't equivalent to Visio. It's a much higher quality software for its UI quality and for the quality of graphics produced. Pages may also be used to make high quality graphics and with much more graphical objects than OmniGraffle. – daniel Azuelos Jan 18 at 22:53
As much as i like OG, it still lacks the ability of fine tuning shapes in a more accessible manner like the fine tuning abilities present in visio and concept draw when it comes to mechanical processing diagrams. It still is a fine replacement for the purpose of drawing UI mockups. – ismail Jan 19 at 4:27

We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context. Don't just give a one-line answer: please explain why you're recommending it as a solution. Answers that don't explain anything will be deleted. See Good Subjective, Bad Subjective for more information.
up vote 3 down vote

OmniGraffle is awesome, but quite pricy. If you're looking for Visio replacement for specifically UI mockups or really simple diagrams, you can use Balsamiq Mockups

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up vote 3 down vote

Dia, it's not a native app, it uses x11 but it works ok. There is also ConceptDraw PRO but this is another of those cross-plantform apps and doesn't work as well as OmniGraffle.

I would probably still recommend OmniGraffle for Mac.

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up vote 3 down vote

As others have mentioned OmniGraffle is a great Visio replacement. But if you want something free, I'd also recommend yED:

http://www.yworks.com/en/products_yed_about.html

I use it on my linux-based systems, but since its java-based, it works well on Mac OSX, as well as Windows.

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up vote 3 down vote

Check out VSD Viewer for Mac. It enables viewing Visio Drawings of .vsd extension on Mac.

It supports basic features of Visio documents and is able to switch layers and display EMF / WMF images. This is crucial for those who use MS Visio for network diagrams and other professional issues.

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up vote 1 down vote

Surprised to see that Lucidchart isn't on here.

HTML5 based Supports all the IT libraries I want Import and export any Visio files

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I'm not surprised at Lucidchart's obscurity on the Mac platform. It's not native and for a software rental, the cost is high compared to options for iOS and Mac like OmniGraffle with a rich set of support in the Mac ecosystem. – bmike♦ Apr 29 at 22:15
up vote 0 down vote

We produce draw.io, it's not as complex as the likes of Visio, but it does the majority of basics tasks in this field.

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up vote 0 down vote

I have just come across another nice (open source) application for creating Diagrams and Mockups - http://pencil.evolus.vn/. It is not as professional and powerful as Omnigraffle, but for many situations it probably is enough, namely simple diagrams and mockups (which can be exported as HTML).

I also use some other solutions for diagrams (including UML diagrams), these are not for mockups:

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up vote -1 down vote

Check out Napkin. It's $39.99 on Mac App Store.

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We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context. Don't just give a one-line answer: please explain why you're recommending it as a solution. Answers that don't explain anything will be deleted. See Good Subjective, Bad Subjective for more information.
up vote -1 down vote

Best visio alternative is ConceptDraw 9

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We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context. Don't just give a one-line answer: please explain why you're recommending it as a solution. Answers that don't explain anything will be deleted. See Good Subjective, Bad Subjective for more information.

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