Welcome to Lucidchart, a visual workspace for diagramming, data visualization, and collaboration!

This article will provide some basic resources that will help you get started. It will guide you through the workspace, teach you how to create and customize a simple diagram, and acquaint you with the wide range of features that Lucidchart offers.

For more detailed articles on specific topics, check out our Lucidchart Help center. To post questions you may have or learn from other Lucid users, check out the Community.

The home page

When you sign in to your Lucid account, you will be navigated to your home page. Here you can view and organize documents, create and manage folders, access templates, and import files. This page also serves as a portal to the account settings page, the admin panel, the integrations marketplace, and the Lucidchart workspace.

For an in depth overview, check out our Lucid Home Page article.

Create a document

You can start diagramming from scratch with a new blank document, build from a Lucidchart template, or import a file from another supported platform.

To create a document from the home page, follow these steps:

Click + New in the upper-left corner.
Hover over Lucidchart.
Select one of the following options:

Blank Document to start a document from scratch.
Create from Template to open the Template Gallery and then select a template to get started with.
Import and then choose from Visio, Gliffy, Draw.io, or Omnigraffle to import a file. To learn more, check out our Import files into Lucidchart article.

Note: You can also create a new document directly from the workspace by navigating to the File menu, clicking New, and selecting Lucidchart.

The parts of the workspace

The Lucidchart workspace is where all of the diagramming magic takes place. Before you start creating, it is useful to become familiar with the different parts of the workspace.

The header

From the header you can click:

The Lucidchart icon to return to the Documents page.
Title of the document to rename it.
The Star icon to add the document to your Starred Items.
The Comments icon to comment on the document and discuss ideas with collaborators. For more information, refer to our Collaborate in Lucid article.
The Present icon to enter presentation mode. To add or edit slides, select the drop down to the right of the present icon. Check out our Create a presentation in Lucid article for more information.
The Video icon to open the Loom integration and record a video. To learn more, refer to our Record video in Lucidchart article.
The Share icon to open the share dialog, through which you can invite collaborators or create a shareable link. To learn more, check out our Share with collaborators in Lucid article.
The Profile image or initials in the upper right hand corner to update your profile photo, navigate to the Account Settings page, or log out.

The menu bar

Select a menu to open a drop-down of options:

The File menu contains important features like page settings, comparing documents, Revision History, managing document status, exporting/downloading your document, and publishing.
The Edit menu provides options to copy and paste objects, set default style, turn on spell check and set the spell check language, and use find & replace.
The Select menu allows you to select different groupings of objects on your document — for example, all lines, all shapes, lines with a specific color, etc. This allows you to easily style multiple shapes or lines at once.
The View menu provides zoom options and the option to turn off webGL. From this menu you also have the ability to show or hide guides, rulers, and margins.
The Insert menu allows you to insert images, gifs, templates, and document specific information — for example, creator name, created date and time, last modified date, or page number.
The Arrange menu contains arrangement options like bringing shapes to the front or sending them to the back, matching shape sizes, aligning and distributing shapes, and grouping shapes.
The Share Menu allows you to publish or embed your document.
The Help menu provides access to onboarding tutorials, a link out to the Lucidchart Help center, hotkey shortcuts, and to see new product updates.

Note: Some options might be grayed out depending on what is selected on the canvas. For instance, many of the options under the "Arrange" menu apply to groups of objects, so you will only be able to implement them after selecting multiple objects on the canvas.

To the right of these menus, you will see a few additional icons. These are:

The binocular icon to access Feature Find, which can help you locate Lucidchart features within the workspace. The feature find tool will search the workspace and the Help center for your query.
The clock icon to access Revision History. From here, you can see and restore old versions of your document.
The Saving/Saved icon will indicate the save status of your document. Lucidchart automatically saves all of the changes you make to your document and stores them in the cloud, so this word should automatically switch from “Saving” to “Saved” each time you edit your diagram if you are connected to a secure network.

The formatting bar

From the formatting bar you can style your text, lines, and shapes. You can also use advanced formatting tools like conditional formatting, actions, locking, and magnetizing.

The formatting options from left to right include:

The back arrow to undo the last change you made to your document.
The forward arrow to reverse this action.
The Paint Format icon to copy and paste shape style. To learn more, check out our Add and customize shapes in Lucidchart article.
The following text editing options can be found on the formatting bar. See Add and style text in Lucidchart for more information.
The following shape and line styling options can be found on the formatting bar. Refer to Add and customize shapes in Lucidchart and Add and style lines in Lucidchart for details.
The Styles icon to use preset Lucid styles to format your document.
These are the icon sets icon and Conditional Formatting rules icon . Please refer to Add conditional formatting in Lucidchart for more information on how to use these features.
The action icon to add actions to an object. You can learn more in our Add an Action or link to a shape in Lucidchart article.
The magnet icon to magnetize shapes to a container, including swim lanes in Lucidchart.
The lock icon to lock a selected shape's size and position, style, or content.
The contextual panel icon on the far right-hand side to access advanced shape options.

The Shape menu

The Shape menu can be found on the far left-hand side of the workspace.

On the left-hand side of the Shape menu, you may see the following options:

The shape icon to expand or close the shape menu.
The container icon to view shape libraries that host containers.
The images panel icon provides options to import image, SVG, or gifs from your computer. You can also search for shapes, images, or icons by clicking the search bar and entering a keyword. See Shape libraries in Lucidchart for more information.
The data linking icon to add or view your linked data. To learn more, check out our Link data to a Lucidchart document.
The Visual Activities icon to create interactive activities for your team. For more information, check out Get started with Visual Activities.

When the Shape menu is open, you will by default see the Standard, Flowchart, and Basic shape libraries. You can add more Lucidchart libraries or create custom ones through the shape library manager, which you can access by clicking More shapes at the bottom of the shape menu.

Rearrange your shape libraries by dragging and dropping them, minimize or expand them by clicking on the triangle to the left of their names, and remove them by clicking the “X” to the right of the shape library title. Click the star icon to the left of the "X" to favorite a shape library. Starred shape libraries will open automatically on all new documents.

Select Import Data on the shape menu to import data for a variety of diagram types.

Note: Some one-time data imports are available to Individual and Team accounts, such as org charts, Entity Relationship Diagrams, and mind maps. Data refresh, however, is an Enterprise only feature.

The footer

Beneath the workspace you will find the footer.

Manage the pages on your document with the icons on the left side of the footer, including:

The page list icon to view a list of all pages on your document.
The page thumbnail icon to see a pop-up menu with a thumbnail of each page on your document.
The dropdown arrow icon to the right of a page title to access the following page options: rename, duplicate, delete, or convert to master page.
The add page icon to add an additional page onto your document.

You will find document options on the right side of the footer, including:

The Page Insights menu icon to access and create formulas.
The layers icon to access and edit your layers.
The minimap icon to view and change your location on the canvas.
The subtraction and addition icons to adjust your document’s zoom level. The dropdown next to the current percentage also provides options to zoom to content, zoom to width, zoom to page, and reset zoom.
The fullscreen icon to expand your canvas to take up the entire workspace.

Diagramming basics

With Lucidchart’s drag and drop interface, diagram-making is simple and intuitive. Follow along with the instructions below using a blank document.

Add objects to your diagram by dragging them from the shape menu and dropping them on the canvas. Edit an object’s size by clicking on it and dragging one of the blue boxes that appear on its corners.

You can also create new shapes by drawing out a line and adding a shape.

add_line_from_shape_to_create_new_shape_on_Lucidchart_canvas.gif

Select an object and start typing to edit the text it contains.

select_object_and_type_to_add_text_to_Lucidchart_shape.gif

Use our text styling options and shape styling options to personalize your diagram to fit your needs.

FAQ

Is Freehand Drawing available in Lucidchart?

No. Freehand drawing is supported in another Lucid product - Lucidspark! For more information, please view this Freehand drawing in Lucidspark article.

How can I move around the canvas?

Right-click and drag the canvas to adjust your view. When you hold down the right-click, your cursor becomes a hand grabbing the canvas as you move the document to see other content.

Resources

To learn more about Lucidchart, explore the additional resources below. These resources are available in English only.

Course

Diagramming Foundations

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