looking for a good free software to draw timing diagrams

[Grassh0pper]

You know that moment when you've got a buddy who's trying to solve a problem and you just want to help? Well, my buddy is stuck and I figured this community would have some ideas.

He's looking for a simple, free tool to draw timing diagrams. Nothing fancy, just something to visually map out some waveforms and show delays with those vertical lines. The big catch is he wants to actually draw the signals, not write code or text for them. He needs to be able to move stuff around easily without re-drawing the whole thing.

Any thoughts on what to tell him to use?

 

[tig3rtrap]

Has he tried Draw.io (now called diagrams.net)?. It's free, runs in your browser, and you can drag shapes to make timing diagrams. It's not made for waveforms, but with a little setup, it's easy to move things around without starting over. Could be just what your friend needs.

 

[thekellmans-05]

Has he tried Draw.io (now called diagrams.net)?. It's free, runs in your browser, and you can drag shapes to make timing diagrams. It's not made for waveforms, but with a little setup, it's easy to move things around without starting over. Could be just what your friend needs.

Do you think diagrams.net could handle that kind of layout too? Like zones and sensor data? We've mostly been sketching by hand, but something digital would be a big help.

 

[Maria_Balthasar]

If your friend just wants something free and visual, I’d skip the fancy pro tools. You can actually hack it together in LibreOffice Draw or even Google Slides with shapes and lines... it’s not elegant, but it costs nothing and you can drag signals around without redrawing everything. I’ve done that for quick timing sketches when I didn’t want to mess with HDL simulators.

 

[Circuitsmith]

WaveDrom is quite popular, but it’s text-based. If you’re looking for actual drawing capabilities, I recommend checking out the Wavedrom Editor online or Digikey's WaveForms tool. And yes, for a more straightforward drag-and-drop experience, LibreOffice Draw or even Google Drawings are great options for creating simple timing diagrams.