3

I need to make a flowchart for a project, and some of the nodes have to be animated GIFs. Support for any video file format works just as well since I can just convert the GIFs into videos, but I imagine that GIF support is going to be easier to find. Is there a free app that can be used to accomplish this?

Here are some of the options that I've tried so far and why they don't work:

  • Draw.io: inserted GIFs play exactly once, then only play again if the diagram is reloaded. I need the GIFs to either keep playing or play on command (e.g. on click). Creating a second page in draw.io, switching to it, and switching back has a seemingly random chance of replaying all GIFs once. If it were consistent, I would accept this as "play on command" (though it would be a less-than-ideal solution). Further, the maximum image size is uncomfortably small – I think it's around 600 KB – and the "image is too large" error appears even when using the app's "resize" option when inserting the GIF.

  • PowerPoint (SmartArt): the "hierarchy" SmartArt can be used to make flowcharts, but it does not support cycles (and the "cycles" SmartArt does not support hierarchies). Also, SmartArt nodes only support text.

  • PowerPoint (draw the flowchart manually): since PowerPoint is not a flowcharting app, it does not have an "auto arrange" function. Having such a function is a necessity since the project's flowchart may become very large.

  • Lucidchart: not possible according to this similar question on the Lucidchart help center.

  • Code2flow: no support for adding images of any kind – at least, not that I could find.

  • yEd (desktop app), and eDraw Max: inserted GIFs are converted to static images.

  • yEd (web app): GIFs play once when inserted, and I could not find a way to make them play again at all. The app does not support multiple pages, so I can't use previously-mentioned trick that I had been using on draw.io.

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

Have u tried https://www.flowyBoard.com. It's really easy to create animated flowcharts with easy steps. not sure about gif support though.

Improve this answer
2
  • Screenshots or features please Commented Apr 28 at 11:08
  • Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please edit to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. Commented Apr 30 at 8:27

Start asking to get answers

Find the answer to your question by asking.

Ask question

Explore related questions

See similar questions with these tags.