Add and style lines in Lucidchart

Add lines to a diagram

There are four ways to add a line:

• Manually click and drag from an object
• Quick-add a line and shape from an object
• Drag the line shape from the Shape menu
• Right-click and add directly to the canvas

Manually add a line from an object

1. Hover your cursor over a shape.
2. Click a node from the side of an object and drag your cursor away from the object.
   
    

You can connect the line back to the same object, to a different object, or add a new object by selecting one from the menu that appears when you release the mouse on the blank canvas.

If you do not want to add a new object to a line, click anywhere on the canvas to exit the shape auto-prompt window.

To disable the shape auto-prompt window:

1. Open your Account Settings by selecting your profile image or initials in the upper-right hand corner.
2. Click Document Settings from the menu to the left of your screen.
3. Select the Lucidchart tab.
4. Find the “After Drawing Lines” section.
5. Select “Do nothing.”

Quick-add a line and shape from an object

1. Hover your cursor over a node on a shape.
2. Review where the line and shape will be added in the preview that appears.

3. Click a node that appears on or around the shape to add the previewed line and shape.

   

Add a line from the toolbar

1. Click and drag the Line icon from the toolbar.
2. Move the line by dragging its body and lengthen it by dragging one of its ends.
   

Add a line directly to the canvas

• Right-click on the canvas.
• From the menu that appears, select Draw line.
  

Additional tips:

• If you move an object that is connected with a line to another object, the line will also move to maintain the connection.
• Hold the Shift key on your keyboard when drawing a line to make its path follow a straight line of 45˚ increments.
• Create a line that moves independently from a shape by toggling off "line connections" in document settings.
  • Turning off line connections allows you to move new lines independently, preventing them from automatically connecting to a shape. However, lines that were already connected to shapes before turning off line connections will remain connected and cannot be moved independently.

Format and modify lines

Lucidchart’s many line modification options give you control over how your lines look. To make a change to an individual line, select the line and navigate to the corresponding section of the Formatting toolbar above your canvas. To set a document’s default line settings, ensure you have no lines selected before setting default line settings from the Formatting toolbar.

Line shape

Lucidchart offers four connection types for line shape: 

• Straight
• Curved
• Elbow
• Two way connections

The default setting for line shape in a new document is Elbow, which means that your lines’ directions will correspond with the background grid of your canvas and only bend at 90˚ angles.

To change line shape, follow these steps:

1. Select a line.
2. Click the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
   • Alternatively, select a line and click the Line shape icon from the shape editing bar that appears
3. Select a line shape from the options.
    

For full instructions to change line shape in the classic Lucidchart editor, expand the dropdown below.

Line color

To change the color of a line, follow these steps:

1. Select a line.
2. Click right-panel-icon.png the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
3. Click the Line Color icon under “Stroke”.
   • Alternatively, select a line and click the Line Color icon from the shape editing bar that appears.
4. Select a color from the color swatch window that appears. 

For full instructions to change line color in the classic Lucidchart editor, expand the dropdown below.

Use a custom color by clicking the plus icon at the bottom of the color swatch window. From here, you can manually select a color by selecting a space in the color swatch or using the color slider. You can also select Hex, HSB, or RGB from the dropdown menu. Once selected, you can adjust the HSB or RGB values or type a Hex code.

Line width

To change the width of a line, follow these steps:

1. Select a line.
2. Click the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
3. Next to the Line width icon, toggle the up and down arrows under “Line”.
4. Alternatively, select a line and toggle the up and down arrows in the shape editing bar that appears.
    

For full instructions to change line width in the classic Lucidchart editor, expand the dropdown below.

Line style

To change the style of a line, follow these steps:

1. Select a line.
2. Click the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
3. Click the Line style icon in the shape editing bar that appears.
   • Alternatively, select a line and click the Line style icon in the shape editing bar that appears.
4. Select a line style from the options.

5. Hover your cursor over the different line styles to see how they will appear on your diagram. Click a line style to apply changes.

   

For full instructions to change the style of a line in the classic Lucidchart editor, expand the dropdown below.

To adjust line patterns, connection types, arrow labels, endpoint size, and corner radius, access the stroke setting menu. Here's how:

1. Select a line on the canvas.
2. Click the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
3. Under “Line”, click the three-dot icon next to the line width to open Stroke settings.
4. Edit your stroke settings.

Additional line style options:

• If you are modifying an individual line, you can select select the Double icon.
  
   
• If there is text on a line, you can select select  the Text pill icon to create a pill around the text.
  
• If a selected line crosses another line on the canvas, you can make it jump over the other line by selecting the Jump icon.
  
  
  
• To add a marker to a line, you can select select the Marker icon to add a circle in the middle of your line which can be labeled with text above it.
  

For full instructions to adjust line patterns, connection types, arrow labels, endpoint size, and corner radius, and access the stroke setting menu in the classic Lucidchart editor, expand the dropdown below.

Set a default line style

To change the default style applied to new shapes added to your canvas:

1. Click anywhere on the canvas.
2. Click the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
3. Under “Stroke”, adjust the line properties.

Any new shapes added to the document will display the updated style.
 

Style line endpoints

Change line endpoints

The default line endpoint setting in a new document includes a solid, one-sided arrow. To change endpoints, follow these steps:

1. Select a line.
2. Click the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
3. Under “Line”, click the left or right “Endpoint” drop-down to see available options.
   • Alternatively, select a line and click the left or right “Endpoint” drop-down in the shape editing bar that appears.

4. Select an endpoint style from the dropdown. 

   

   For full instructions to change line endpoints in the classic Lucidchart editor, expand the dropdown below.

   Click here for classic Lucidchart editor steps

   Style line endpoints

   The default line endpoint setting in a new document includes a solid, one-sided arrow. To change endpoints, following these steps:

   1. Select a line (or to set a default, click anywhere on the canvas).
   2. Click the left or right “Endpoint” drop-down in the formatting toolbar to see available options.
      
      
   3. Select a style.

   You can adjust the size of line endpoints using the Line style options from the formatting toolbar. 
   

   Learn more:For more information about how to format lines in an ERD or UML, see our Create an Entity Relationship Diagram in Lucidchart article.

Add an additional endpoint style

To add another endpoint style:

1. Select a line.
2. Click the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
3. Under “Line”, Click the left endpoint or  right endpoint dropdown and click More at the bottom of the dropdown.
4. Select the checkboxes next to the endpoint style you want.
5. Click Apply.
6. Click the left or right “Endpoint” dropdown in the formatting toolbar and select a style.

For full instructions to add another endpoint style in the classic Lucidchart editor, expand the dropdown below.

Swap endpoints

To swap the endpoints of a selected line, click the Swap line ending icon to the right of the endpoint dropdown menus in the right panel or in the shape editing bar.

Adjust endpoint size

To adjust the size of line endpoints, follow these steps:

1. Select a line.
2. Click the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
3. Under “Line,” click the three-dot icon to the right.
4. Next to “Endpoint size” toggle the up and down arrows.

Add and modify text on a line

Add text to a line

To add text to a line, follow these steps:

1. Double-click the middle of a line.

2. Once the cursor appears, type your text.

   

   Click and drag the text box to move the text to another place on the line, including directly above or below it.
   

For full instructions to add text to a line in the classic Lucidchart editor, expand the dropdown below.

Remove text from a line

To remove text from a line:

1. Double-click the text you want to delete.
2. Highlight or place your cursor at the end of the text.
3. Press the “Delete” (on Mac) or “Backspace” (on PC) key on your keyboard.

Modify line path

Modify the path of an elbow line:

1. Select a line.
   • A node will appear in the center of each section of the selected line.
   • If you hover your cursor over a section of a selected line, an additional node will appear at the quarter mark of that section.
2. Click and drag a node to change the path of the line.
   
3. The spot that you click and drag becomes an anchor point, which is represented by a fill color on the line.
   • This anchor point doesn't move. If you need to reset an individual anchor point you can right-click and select Remove joint.

Modify the path of a straight or curved line:

1. Select a line.
   • A node will appear in the center of the line.
2. Click and drag the node to create a joint in the line and change its path.
   • The line will be separated into two sections and both sections will now have a node in the center of the section
     

After modifying a line and adding a joint, you can remove the joint by right-clicking the joint and selecting Remove Joint.

Modify the location of a line endpoint:

1. Select a line endpoint.
2. A node will appear at the end of the line endpoint.

   • Click and drag the node to reposition it on the shape.

     

Create smart lines

A smart line will automatically adjust its connection points to form the most efficient path between two objects. Here’s how to create one:

1. Drag a line from one object to another.
2. When you reach the border of the second object, hold down your cursor until the object is highlighted.
3. Release your cursor before the highlight goes away. 
   

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