Play Diagrammer Help
Start here
If you can click and drag, you can use this.
1) What you are looking at
- Left panel = buttons and settings.
- The court (right side) = where you place players and draw actions.
- Active frame (top right of the court area) = the court you are editing right now.
2) The Bench: how to add players
- On the left, find the Bench buttons: 1 2 3 4 5 and X1 X2 X3 X4 X5.
- Click and hold a bench player.
- Drag them onto the court.
- Let go to drop them.
- To move a player later: click Select/Move, then click and drag the player.
Tip: Offense uses circles with numbers. Defense uses an X with a small number badge.
3) Select/Move (your home base)
- Most of the time, you will be in Select/Move.
- After you draw a line or place the ball, the app automatically returns to Select/Move.
- Click empty court space to deselect.
4) Draw actions (Cut, Pass, Dribble, Screen)
- Click the action you want: Cut, Pass, Dribble, or Screen.
- On the court: click once where the action starts.
- Move your mouse to where it ends.
- Click again to finish the action.
Smart snap: start or end an action on a player to attach it. When you move that player, attached endpoints follow.
5) Edit an action (curve it, move endpoints, change style)
- Click Select/Move.
- Click the line you want to edit.
- You will see small white handles:
- Middle handle = drag to curve the line.
- End handles = drag to move where the line starts/ends.
- To change the line style: click the same line again to cycle: Cut → Pass → Dribble → Screen.
6) Ball
- Click Ball, then click on the court to place it.
- If you click on a player, the ball will place slightly to the side so you can still see the number.
- To move the ball: click Select/Move, then drag the ball.
7) Notes (optional, but great for sharing)
- Under each frame, type your coaching notes.
- Notes export into your PDF.
8) Templates (fast starting points)
- Click a court first so you know which frame is active.
- Open Templates and choose one (Horns, Box, 2-3, etc.).
- The template will replace only the active frame.
- Save Template downloads your play as a JSON file.
- Load Own Template lets you re-open that JSON later.
9) Layout (1, 2, or 4 courts)
- Use Layout to switch between 1, 2, or 4 frames.
- Your existing frames stay when you expand (1→2, 2→4).
- When you shrink, the first frames are kept.
10) Undo, Clear, Export PDF
- Undo removes your most recent item.
- Clear wipes the active frame.
- Export PDF downloads a clean PDF of all frames + notes.
Keyboard (optional)
- Delete = delete selected item
- Ctrl/Cmd+Z = undo
- Esc = cancel / deselect
Full help guide available as PDF.