LibreOffice Draw
| Company type | Free software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founder | The Document Foundation |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Vector graphics editor |
| Owner | The Document Foundation |
| Parent | LibreOffice suite |
| Website | www |
LibreOffice Draw is a cost-free, open-source vector graphics editor that forms part of the LibreOffice suite, created by The Document Foundation. It allows users to design intricate illustrations using tools for shapes, straight and curved lines, as well as polygons.
This application is compatible with Linux, macOS, and Microsoft Windows, while community-supported versions exist for additional operating systems. The ecosystem partner Collabora adapts LibreOffice's codebase to develop applications for Android, iOS, iPadOS, and ChromeOS. Furthermore, LibreOffice Online delivers a web-based suite featuring Writer, Calc, Impress, and Draw, which also serves as the foundation for commercial offerings such as Collabora Online.
Draw utilizes the Open Document Format for Office Applications (ODF), saving files natively with the .odg extension. This format is an internationally recognized standard governed by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS).
Features
Users can employ Draw to produce flowcharts, technical diagrams, brochures, posters, personalized images, and photo galleries. The program provides tools including spell checking, autocorrect functionality, a thesaurus, hyphenation options, and color replacement features. It also offers a collection of pre-made shapes and drawings, supports macros through Java extensions, and allows customization via XML filter configurations.
Import and export capabilities
- Edit, import, and export PDF documents
- Support for importing files from Microsoft Visio (.vsd) and Microsoft Publisher (.pub)
- Compatibility with OTT, STW, OTH, OTS, STC, OTP, STI, OTG, STD, and VOR file formats
- Export options include BMP, EPS, GIF, JPEG, PNG, PSD, SVG, and WMF formats; also capable of generating HTML, XHTML, PDF, and SWF files
Reception
Elena Opris’s 2014 review on Softpedia emphasized Draw’s broad range of graphic design features and customizable interface elements. She noted that its styles and formatting templates facilitate easier layout creation but pointed out occasional performance lags when pasting images and freezing issues with unsupported file types.
In 2017, Ankush Das from It's FOSS recognized LibreOffice Draw as one of the top open-source substitutes for Microsoft Visio. He highlighted its suitability for both simple sketches and detailed professional designs such as flowcharts, organizational charts, network diagrams, brochures, and posters—all available free of cost.
A 2018 evaluation by PAT Research described Draw as a robust tool for office tasks and flowchart creation featuring an intuitive interface that fosters creativity and efficiency.
GoFree praised it as a remarkable free vector graphics editor capable of producing professional-grade results.