PlantUML with Style -- How I do PlantUML

example-sequence.puml

# Sequence Diagram Example
@startuml
    'General Defaults
    !define BASEPATH ..
    !include BASEPATH/globals/stylesheet.iuml

    'Actor Definitions

    autonumber 1 "0:"
    title Sequence Diagram

    A -> B: Perform Action
    B --> A: (Response)

@enduml

How I Do PlantUML.md

I use PlantUML a lot. It's what I use for drawing all sorts of diagrams and it's handy because of its easy markup (once you get used to it) while making things easy to maintain as projects grow (thanks to version control)

This gist explains how I do my PlantUML workspace in a project.

• The idea is to keep a globals directory for all diagrams to follow (like the "stylesheet" below) to keep things consistent.
• I use a stylesheet.iuml file that keeps the use of colors consistent through use of basic FOREGROUND, BACKGROUND and ACCENT colors.
• The style-presets.iuml file defines these colors so you can make "presets" or "themes" out of them.
• As stated in the stylesheet.iuml, you'll need the Roboto Condensed and Inconsolata fonts for these to work properly.
• You can choose to either run the PlantUML jar over your file/s, or use an IDE like VSCode with the PlantUML extension. Here's a preview of example-sequence.puml for example: https://imgur.com/Klk3w2F

Assume the following directory structure:

$ tree
.
├── globals
│   ├── style-presets.iuml
│   └── stylesheet.iuml
└── diagrams
    ├── example-sequence.puml
    ├── etc...

Changelog

2020-01-27:

• Added a preview of how it looks like when it's exported / viewed with PlantUML: https://imgur.com/Klk3w2F
• Added a quick tip to use an IDE or the PlantUML jar to get this to work.
• Corrected the filename - example-sequence.puml. It was .iuml before. The extensions don't really matter from what I can tell though.
• Added this changelog.

style-presets.iuml

# Style Presets
@startuml

' Preset Styles by Jeriel Jan

' Preset: Monochrome
!define STYLE_DEFAULT_ACCENT #000
!define STYLE_DEFAULT_BGC #FFF
!define STYLE_DEFAULT_FGC #000

' Preset: Material Light Blue (200)
!define STYLE_LIGHT_ACCENT #81D4FA
!define STYLE_LIGHT_BGC #FFF
!define STYLE_LIGHT_FGC #000

' Preset: Material Light Blue (800)
!define STYLE_DARK_ACCENT #0277BD
!define STYLE_DARK_BGC #FFF
!define STYLE_DARK_FGC #000

' Preset: Material Light Blue (800)
!define STYLE_MIDNIGHT_ACCENT #0277BD
!define STYLE_MIDNIGHT_BGC #000
!define STYLE_MIDNIGHT_FGC #FFF

skinparam {
    ' This field left intentionally blank.
}

@enduml

stylesheet.iuml

# Project Stylesheet
@startuml

' Load preset styles.
!define STYLEPATH .
!include STYLEPATH/style-presets.iuml

' Color Definition
' Choose the style you want by applying them here.

!define STYLE_ACCENT STYLE_DEFAULT_FGC
!define STYLE_BGC STYLE_DEFAULT_BGC
!define STYLE_FGC STYLE_DEFAULT_FGC

' RECOMMENDED STYLE
' -=- DO NOT EDIT THIS SECTION. -=-
' See Custom Style section below to override items here.

skinparam {

    ' Global Options
    DPI 200
    Shadowing false
    DefaultFontName Roboto Condensed
    DefaultMonospacedFontName Inconsolata
    DefaultFontColor STYLE_FGC

    ' Styles - Borders

    ArrowColor STYLE_ACCENT
    ActivityBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    ActivityDiamondBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    ActorBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    AgentBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    ArtifactBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    BoundaryBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    ClassBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    CloudBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    CollectionsBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    ComponentBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    ControlBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    DatabaseBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    EntityBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    FileBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    FolderBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    FrameBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    InterfaceBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    LegendBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    NodeBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    NoteBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    ObjectBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    PackageBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    ParticipantBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    PartitionBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    QueueBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    RectangleBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    SequenceBoxBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    SequenceDividerBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    SequenceGroupBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    SequenceLifeLineBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    SequenceReferenceBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    StackBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    StateBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    StorageBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    SwimlaneBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
    UsecaseBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT

    ' Styles - Backgrounds

    ActivityBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    ActivityDiamondBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    ActorBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    AgentBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    ArtifactBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    BackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    BoundaryBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    ClassBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    ClassHeaderBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    CloudBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    CollectionsBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    ComponentBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    ControlBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    DatabaseBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    EntityBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    FileBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    FolderBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    FrameBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    IconPackageBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    IconPrivateBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    IconProtectedBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    IconPublicBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    InterfaceBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    LegendBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    NodeBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    NoteBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    ObjectBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    PackageBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    ParticipantBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    PartitionBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    QueueBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    RectangleBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    SequenceBoxBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    SequenceDividerBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    SequenceGroupBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    SequenceGroupBodyBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    SequenceLifeLineBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    SequenceReferenceBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    SequenceReferenceHeaderBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    StackBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    StateBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    StereotypeABackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    StereotypeCBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    StereotypeEBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    StereotypeIBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    StereotypeNBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    StorageBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    TitleBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC
    UsecaseBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC

    ' -=- END OF RECOMMENDED STYLE -=-

    ' Other Settings
    ' These settings are included in the language specs, but
    ' it's not recommended to be applied.

        'TitleBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT
        'DiagramBorderColor STYLE_ACCENT

    ' CUSTOM STYLE
    ' All items below can be safely commented out.
    ' This will override the options listed above.
    roundcorner 8
    'Monochrome true

    NoteFontName Roboto Condensed
    NoteFontStyle Italic
    'NoteBackgroundColor STYLE_BGC

}
@enduml