Frequently asked questions
How to do the things people ask about most in the editor.
Ports and devices
How do I mark some ports as SFP (fibre) and the others as Ethernet?
Select the device, then in the properties panel on the right tick Split RJ45 / SFP, under the port count, and type how many ports are SFP. The SFP ports are the last ones on the device and turn orange. A cable between two SFP ports is drawn as fibre, and the legend says so.
For a switch with 8 Ethernet and 8 SFP ports: set Ports to 16, tick the box, and type 8 under SFP. Switches in the catalogue that have SFP ports come split already.
Can a switch show its ports on one row instead of two?
Yes. Select the device and, under Ports in the properties panel, set Rows to 1 row or 2 rows. Auto keeps the device's usual layout. The same place sets the number on the first port — 0 for Juniper faceplates — and whether it sits on the top row.
Can I name a port, or note its IP address or VLAN?
Yes. Select the device: the Ports section of the properties panel has a line per port for its name, role, description, IP and power. The details show when the port is hovered or its cable is selected. A VLAN belongs to the cable: select the cable and type it there, and View can colour every cable by VLAN.
A device is in the wrong category in the legend. Can I change it?
Yes. Select it and pick another Legend Category at the top of the properties panel. It changes that device only.
How do I keep a text label next to its device when the device moves?
Click the label, then in the properties panel choose the device under Moves with — the nearest ones are listed first. From then on the label follows that device wherever it goes, and a dotted line shows which device it is tied to while the label is selected.
Drag the label to change where it sits beside the device; it keeps that new place. Choose Nothing to untie it. To move a few things together just once, hold Ctrl and drag on an empty part of the canvas to frame them, then drag any one of them.
Cables
How do I change the path of a cable by hand?
Click the cable: its points appear in blue. Drag a point to move the path, double-click the line to add a point, right-click a point to remove it. Tidy Links in the toolbar reroutes every cable at once instead.
How do I connect two devices?
Click a port on the first device, then a port on the second. A port already in use shows where its cable goes when clicked; Shift+click starts a second cable from it.
Saving, importing and exporting
Where are my diagrams saved?
In your browser, automatically, as you draw — nothing is sent to our server except what you ask the AI or Tidy Links to work on. To keep a copy or move it to another computer, use File → Save JSON, and File → Load JSON to open it again. Clearing the browser's site data clears the automatic copy, so save the file for anything you would miss.
Can I import my devices and cables from a spreadsheet or NetBox?
Yes: File → Import CSV reads a spreadsheet saved as CSV, matching its columns by name, and File → Import from NetBox… reads a NetBox export. Generate with AI can also draw a network from a plain description, or add to the one on screen.
Which formats can I export to?
From the Export menu: PNG, PDF (on one page or split across A4 pages), SVG, Visio (.vsdx) and a full PDF report. On the Racks and Room views, the same menu exports the racks or the room plan. File → Export to NetBox… writes what NetBox imports.
Racks, room and power
Can I draw racks, a room plan and power cabling?
Yes, with the Diagram · Power · Racks · Room tabs above the drawing. They are views of the same devices, so a device placed in a rack keeps its cables. To see them all filled in, open the sample data centre from Templates (📐 in the toolbar). More on the data centre page.
Everything else
Is it free? Do I need an account?
Free for personal use, with no account and nothing locked. Paid work for an employer or a client needs a licence — see Pricing, which answers the questions about it.
My question is not here.
Use the 🐛💡 Bug or Idea button in the editor, or write to contact@drawnet.ai. The report form asks for no contact details, so if you want an answer, leave an address in the message — otherwise the answer may end up on this page.