OmniGraffle 3 4+

Good to create diagrams with detail, shame the unstable app that keeps crashing

OmniGraffle has been one of the best software for drawing diagrams on the Mac, I wanted to try the mobile version on the iPad pro, I must admit even the mobile version is a powerful tool, and you can pretty much do everything that the desktop version offers, Shame it keeps crashing it has a few technical bugs that makes the app to close and re-open, well polished software with powerful tools but the crashing is quite annoying, on the positive, when it crash and restarts it doesn't lose much progress, which is a relief, I have submitted the logs for every crash which has been over 10 during the trial period, I am keen to use it beyond the trial but with the crashing issue it doesn’t makes sense spending £99, it could do better if the developers can also integrate the apple pencil.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for sending those crash reports, we look at them daily (including details about what you were doing at the time of the crash is especially helpful). Our support team may also be able to provide more details about the problem, we’re available via email at omnigraffle@omnigroup.com and we welcome your Apple Pencil requests too. We have shape recognition support which is useful when using an Apple Pencil, you can can learn more by searching for Apple Pencil on our support site: support.omnigroup.com

Losing the Faith

I normally use OmniGraffle an iMac, but when travelling I need to access it on iPad. When I recently bought a new iPad I thought I would be able to continue using my copy of OmniGraffle 2 for iOS. It did not work and I had to buy version 3 for my limited use on iOS. I downgraded from Pro to standard because of the increased price. Initially, I found Version 3 far more difficult to use than V2. With V2 I could easily and quickly create complex flow diagrams, but on V3 I could not create a smiley face without unintentionally resizing components. It is becoming easier with practice, but I find it less intuitive. My biggest disappointment is Omni’s rapidly increasing prices. I have used all of Omni’s apps for many years and they are a major part of my computing life. I have now retired and I will not be able to justify future upgrades for non-commercial use, even though I use them extensively for home and community projects.

Update November 2021.
I still use OmniGraffle on the Mac but I have given up on the iPad. V3 is frustrating and I have switched to a simple and perfectly adequate alternative for quick diagrams at a fraction of the price. OmniGraffle V3 has been a complete disappointment after years of satisfaction with earlier versions.

Very disappointed

I have been an avid user of the Omni suit of products for several years. They delivered great products that were well thought out and performed well. Somewhere along the line they became greedy and stopped caring about their clients.

When they launched OmniGraffle for iPad I was over the moon and used it almost daily. Version 2 was my go to for all my planning needs. Version 3 however is a disappointment in every sense. When I first installed it under the demo it kept crashing and freezing. I stopped using it and switched to Grafio instead.

This week I got sent a doc created by my client in version 6 on the Mac. Since I only had my iPad Mini with me I thought I’d open it in version 2. No luck it wouldn’t open which meant I got forced to pay £59 for an upgrade to version 3 which I didn’t want.

Fine I paid it and tried to open the clients file, it wouldn’t open. Contacted support and after an hour gave up waiting for an reply. (They got back to me two days later) I finally thought to restart the iPad and all of a sudden I could open the file. I spent four hours making changes and adjustments to the clients plan. Closed the app when done. Got home later and opened the file, all my changes were gone! Four hours of work lost! Since I charge £115 per hour that equals £460 loss on my side. Will they compensate me? No. Can I get a refund for an useless app. No.

My advice use Adobe XD for wireframes and Grafio for flow charts and planning.

Developer Response ,

This sounds like an extremely frustrating experience! We are aware of some 3rd party file storage apps losing changes and we're very sorry if that's what happened to you. We do offer a 30 day money back guarantee; please email sales@omnigroup.com to ask us about it.