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Idea

Update diagrams via code export & re-import

Related products:Lucidchart
  • June 9, 2026
  • 5 replies
  • 181 views

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Hello,

I have a lucid diagram that represents the application landscape of a company.  There are 900+ shapes; applications represented by rectangles that are interconnected using lines that represent interfaces. 

It is a very large diagram, so when you come to add additional applications and integration you spend a lot of time reordering and reworking the layout.  Which is a pain and very time consuming.

I did consider exporting the landscape, updating the code that defined the diagram and then re-importing.  I can do this in other applications, and it is often quicker and less prone to errors.  The issue with Lucid is that the file types for both import and export are not the same.

If I export JSON there is no information on how things are connected or the coordinates of the shapes.  SVG does provide this.

Importing files has a very different file type selection - the closest being the Draw.io XML format.

It might take me minutes to export a diagram change the underlying shape code and reimport to show additional shapes and connectors.  The same “in app” would take me hours.

Has anyone else tried this approach and did they find a solution to help reduce the hours of moving shapes around a page?

Thanks for your help in advance.

June 19, 2026

Hi ​@MarkTerrington, thank you for your patience as I looked into this. Unfortunately, this isn’t currently supported in Lucid, but we’re very interested in your feedback and committed to continually improving our products. If you’re willing to share, we’d love to hear more details about your use case or what you’d like to see in this experience within this thread.

Our engineers also recommended trying the following workarounds. To avoid unexpected changes, please duplicate your document before trying these options.

  • Leverage Assisted Layout: We recommend using the assisted layout feature. While it may require some initial fine-tuning to organize a large canvas exactly how you want it, it will significantly reduce manual effort and make future edits much easier to manage.

  • Explore Lucid AI or the MCP Server: You can try using Lucid AI to assist with moving shapes, or experiment with updates via the MCP server if you have access. Please note that because AI tools are optimized for standard diagrams, performance and accuracy can vary on large documents.

I’ve also converted this post to an idea so that it’s visible to others within the Product Feedback section of the community - from here, they can upvote it and add details of their own.

Finally, for more information on how Lucid manages feedback via this community, take a look at this post:

 

Comments

Leianne C
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  • Lucid support team
  • June 12, 2026

Hi ​@MarkTerrington, thank you for posting in the community! We do have the option to Diagram as code with Mermaid in Lucidchart, which allows you to use diagram as code to generate a Lucidchart diagram using Mermaid. Once you’ve written out the Mermaid code, you can automatically generate a diagram onto your Lucid document.

Alternatively, you may find our Developer Extension API helpful with your use-case as well. If you choose to use this, I would also recommend the Lucid for Developers Community where Technical Support staff and our API Development team are available to help you with any questions! 

I hope this helps! Please feel free to let us know if you have any questions. Cheers! 


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HI ​@Leianne C thanks for your reply.

I have seen others use mermaid before.  But I have an existing application landscape with over 900 shapes and interconnecting lines.  I also have about 150 hover texts (conditional formatting). 

I do not see a way of generating mermaid code from that.  I do not think starting from scratch with code would be an answer.  Plus looking at the link you sent me it has given examples of the types of diagrams.  Most are basic, so I think a very detailed application landscape may not be a suitable diagram type.

Thanks,

Mark


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Dear Lucid,

Stop marking replies as answers...


Leianne C
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  • Lucid support team
  • June 18, 2026

Hi ​@MarkTerrington, thank you for the response and I completely understand that that would be complicated for your existing diagram. I’m checking internally with our development team for some additional insight. 

I will update this thread as soon as I have more details or recommendations. Please let me know if you have any additional questions in the meantime! 


Leianne C
Forum|alt.badge.img+15
  • Lucid support team
  • June 19, 2026

Hi ​@MarkTerrington, thank you for your patience as I looked into this. Unfortunately, this isn’t currently supported in Lucid, but we’re very interested in your feedback and committed to continually improving our products. If you’re willing to share, we’d love to hear more details about your use case or what you’d like to see in this experience within this thread.

Our engineers also recommended trying the following workarounds. To avoid unexpected changes, please duplicate your document before trying these options.

  • Leverage Assisted Layout: We recommend using the assisted layout feature. While it may require some initial fine-tuning to organize a large canvas exactly how you want it, it will significantly reduce manual effort and make future edits much easier to manage.

  • Explore Lucid AI or the MCP Server: You can try using Lucid AI to assist with moving shapes, or experiment with updates via the MCP server if you have access. Please note that because AI tools are optimized for standard diagrams, performance and accuracy can vary on large documents.

I’ve also converted this post to an idea so that it’s visible to others within the Product Feedback section of the community - from here, they can upvote it and add details of their own.

Finally, for more information on how Lucid manages feedback via this community, take a look at this post: