rawgraphs-app

RAWGraphs is an open web application for turning tabular data into custom vector-based visualizations. It is built on top of the d3.js library and was developed by the DensityDesign Research Lab (Politecnico di Milano), Calibro and INMAGIK. The project positions itself as a bridge between spreadsheet applications (LibreOffice Calc, Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, Google Docs) and vector graphics editors (Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator). Users can load tabular data such as spreadsheets and comma-separated values, or paste text copied from other applications, then produce charts rendered in SVG. Because the output is SVG, the resulting graphics can be refined in vector editing software or embedded directly into web pages. A notable characteristic is its privacy-oriented processing model: data entered into RAWGraphs is handled only by the web browser, with no server-side operations or storage. The README states that no one else can see, touch or copy the user's data. The tool is described as highly customizable and extensible, accepting new custom layouts defined by users. A Developer Guide is referenced for adding or editing layouts. Usage options include the hosted app at app.rawgraphs.io, or running an instance locally. Local installation requires Git, Node.js (latest tested 23.6.1) and Yarn (latest tested 1.22). The documented workflow is to clone the repository, install dependencies with yarn install, run in development mode with yarn start (with a note about using legacy OpenSSL providers via NODE_OPTIONS), or produce a build with yarn build for deployment on a server. Contributions are welcomed through forking, issues and pull requests; contributors are asked to sign a Contributor License Agreement before submitting, which the project adopted to help keep it open source. The project is released under the Apache License 2.0, with copyright attributed to DensityDesign Lab, Calibro and INMAGIK (2013-2021). The README also provides citation details for the CHItaly 2017 paper describing the platform.