Frequently Asked Questions

General

How do I run a local PlantUML server with Pladitor?

If you do not have PlantUML installed locally, you need to download PlantUML first. For that, head over to the releases section at Github or use this download link directly.

To be able to run PlantUML on your local machine, a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) must be installed. If it is not already installed, you can download it from the Java website. Install it accordingly.

PlantUML comes with a PicoWeb server that you can run on your local machine easily. With an installed Java Runtime Environment, you can start the server with this command

java -jar plantuml.jar -picoweb:8080

Now we need to point Pladitor to that server: Within Pladitor, on the Preferences page, set Custom Server Address to http://127.0.0.1:8080/. Also, set Use custom server to Yes.

Also, you could put that command into a batch file and put it on your Desktop or execute that command during startup.

Where can I learn to write PlantUML?

The official documentation of PlantUML offers a lot of information. Therem you can find

Language Specification
Latest News and Information
Advanced Usage
Plugins

Also, you can often find information about the latest developments in the PlantUML forum.

About Pladitor

Which diagram types can be created with Pladitor?

Generally, you can create every kind of diagram that PlantUML supports. This might differ in details depending on the PlantUML server version. The following list gives an overview about all the diagram types that PlantUML supports and that can be created and edited with Pladitor:

Activity diagram
Class diagram
Component diagram
C4 architecture diagram
Deployment diagram
DITAA diagram
Gantt diagram
Graphviz diagram
Mindmap diagram
Netork diagram
Object diagram
Salt GUI diagram
Sequence diagram
State diagram
Timing diagram
Use Case diagram
Work Breakdown Structure diagram
JSON & YAML diagrams

Which languages for the user interface does Pladitor offer?

As of October 2022 Pladitor offers these languages for the user interface:

English
French
German
Spanish

If you are interested in another language, we would be glad to hear about it!

Privacy and why you need a PlantUML server

The Pladitor application (1) sends the encoded diagram code to the PlantUML server PlantUML server. The server then (2) compiles an image from those sources. If the compilation is successful, it returns (3) the image data to the Pladitor application. In case of any errors (4), for example, due to syntax errors, the server returns an error message to the application:

We know that diagrams can contain sensitive data and we take that seriously. Pladitor does not collect any personal data and we do not have access to any of the diagrams you save within it. Pladitor does not track its users and there are no ads anywhere within the app.

PlantUML generates the diagram images with a PlantUML server. Pladitor works out-of-the-box with the default PlantUML server. The default server in Pladitor is hosted by us specifically for Pladitor. Our server is hosted in Germany and it is only reachable via HTTPS. The server implements security and hardening best practices. Please see our Privacy Policy for more details and only use Pladitor if you are ok with it. Also, Pladitor lets you configure a server of your choice. If you are interested about how to set up a PlantUML server on your site, you can contact us about it.

Generally, we recommend that you do not send any proprietary or sensitive data to any third-party PlantUML server. Instead you should setup your own internal PlantUML server and configure it as ‘custom PlantUML server’ within Pladitor.

How to Reset the Configuration to Defaults

Resetting Pladitor configuration to defaults is possible for version >= 1.8.1.

Windows

For Windows users, resetting Pladitor to its default settings involves executing a specific command in the Command Prompt. This is particularly useful if you’ve made changes to the app’s configurations and wish to revert to the original settings.

To reset Pladitor to its default settings on Windows, follow these steps:

Open Command Prompt: Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog, type cmd, and press Enter. This will open the Command Prompt.
Execute the Reset Command: In the Command Prompt, execute the following command: pladitor --reset_to_defaults

This command will launch Pladitor with all configurations reset to their default values.

Mac

For macOS users, resetting Pladitor to its default settings involves executing a specific command in the Terminal. This is particularly useful if you’ve made changes to the app’s configurations and wish to revert to the original settings.

To reset Pladitor to its default settings on macOS, follow these steps:

Open Terminal: You can find Terminal in the Utilities folder within Applications, or you can search for it using Spotlight (Command + Space and type “Terminal”).
Execute the Reset Command: In the Terminal, execute the following command: open /Applications/Pladitor.app --args --reset_to_defaults