Technipatch and draw.io
draw.io, also known as diagrams.net, is a free and open-source diagramming tool that runs in the browser or as a desktop app, with no account. Technipatch shares the “open and draw” approach; the difference is what a line means.
What each tool is for
draw.io is the tool many technicians reach for when there is no budget: it opens at once, saves to your own storage, and draws anything. A cable in draw.io is a line with a label, which is enough for a sketch and not enough for a cable list.
Side by side
| Criterion | Technipatch | draw.io |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AV system diagram editor for live production and events | General-purpose diagramming, free and open source |
| Where it runs | Browser, nothing to install; a field viewer installs on a phone | Browser and desktop app |
| What you need to start | Nothing: drawing, checking, exporting and sharing need no account | None |
| A line is a cable, with direction, signal and connector | Yes: direction, signal type and connector on every socket | No |
| Cable list generated from the drawing | Yes, computed from the drawing, CSV and PDF pages | No |
| Patch sheet per device | Yes, one sheet per device, plus a DMX patch | No |
| Equipment list | Yes: devices, cables to prepare, adapters | No |
| Signal and connector compatibility checked when you connect | Yes, the moment you connect, with the reason and what to do | No |
| Device library | 557 entries reviewed against manufacturer documentation, plus your own devices | Generic shape libraries, network icons included |
| Sharing | A link, read-only, no account at the far end; field viewer offline | A link can embed the drawing; files stay in your own storage |
| Import of an equipment list | Yes: quantity, brand, model and description columns | A CSV import of nodes and links exists |
| Export formats | PDF from A5 to A0, SVG, PNG, one CSV per document, project file | PDF, PNG, SVG, XML |
| Price | Free to draw and export; Pro at €19 a month for server projects and a logo in the title block | Free |
The draw.io column describes the product as its publisher presents it, at the date of this page; check its documentation for the current state. A cell marked “not verified by us” is one we could not confirm.
What Technipatch does that a drawing tool does not
A line is a cable. It has a direction, a signal type and a connector at each end, read from the device’s library entry, and the engine refuses a link that cannot work, with the reason and what to do: Dante into an analogue input, a connector that does not mate, a second source on one input.
The cable list, the patch sheet per device and the equipment list are computed from the drawing, in a fixed order whatever the order you drew in, and exported as CSV and as pages of the PDF. There is no second document to keep in step.
Sharing is a link that opens read-only on a phone without an account, and installs as a field viewer that works without network. Drawing, checking, exporting and sharing cost nothing and ask for no account.
When draw.io is the better choice
When you need a quick sketch of anything, a diagram embedded in a wiki or a repository, or a file format you can keep for twenty years in your own storage.
Compared with other tools
The canvas is already open
Drop five devices, pull cables between their ports: the cable list, the patch sheet and the equipment list fill themselves in while you draw. No account, no card.