Integrations
DataScope & Lucidchart

Flowcharts and diagrams take complex ideas, like workflows or design concepts, and make them easily digestible. Lucidchart is one of the best known flowchart and diagramming tools on the web right now, and it's not hard to see why. Founded in 2008, when the idea of running software in a browser was still novel, Lucidchart keeps growing in the market once dominated by Microsoft's Visio. This success is due to a quick-to-learn user interface, a web-based interface that works on any computer, and a free version that's generous enough for new users to get a feel for how everything works. Read MoreSign up for a free trial, and you can make your first flowchart or diagram right away. You'll get a wide range of templates for flowcharts, product roadmaps, email flows, and more, and there's also a wide variety of shapes available. If you're making a flowchart, you'll find all of the standard shapes, but browse and you'll also find shapes specific to things like mocking up an Android application or laying out an electrical project. You can even use data to create diagrams (e.g., org charts and smart containers) that you can then highlight with conditional formatting. By bringing in data from outside sources, you'll be sure your diagrams are always up to date.Lucidchart offers real-time online collaboration, which is unique among similar diagramming tools. This means that, similar to Google Docs, you can see edits your co-workers are making in real-time, whether they're across the room or the planet. Lucidchart's free version means any potential collaborators don't need to pay up before they can start pitching in. Lucidchart can also import diagrams made using all of its major competitors, including Microsoft Visio, OmniGraffle, Gliffy, and Draw.io. This means you can migrate to this tool even if you're already using something else. Lucidchart can also export to PDF, image files, and SVG vectors, which makes it easy to send your diagrams over to, say, a print shop. You can also export to a Microsoft Visio file, which gives you some ability to coordinate with Visio users. This all gives you a lot of flexibility, which is important when you're looking to add a new tool to your workflow. You can kind of twist word processors, image editors, or presentation software into a makeshift flowchart and diagramming app. You can also use a hammer to drive in screws—but the result won't be pretty. If you're looking to make flowcharts and diagrams on any device, with real-time collaboration and a user interface that's optimized for the task at hand, Lucidchart might be exactly the tool you're looking for.