Add and style text in Lucidchart

Add text to a diagram

You can add text to:

• shapes
• lines
• images
• directly to the canvas using a text box

Add a text box to the canvas

• Double-click anywhere on the canvas.
• Drag and drop the Text shape from Standard shape library under Document tools in the left panel
• Drag and drop the Text icon from the Toolbar to the immediate right of the left panel

Add a text block to the canvas

Drag and drop the Block shape from the Standard shape library. The Block shape is similar to a text box, but allows you to add a border and background color.

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

Add text to a shape

Drag and drop a shape from the Standard shape library or double-click an existing shape and start typing.

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

Add text to a line

Double-click a line to create a text box and start typing.

You can move the text along the line, or directly above, below, or to the side of the line by clicking and dragging the text into position.

Add text to an image

Add a text box to the canvas and drag it over the image. If the image covers up the text, right-click the image, hover your cursor over Arrange and select Send to Back.

You can also group a text box to an image by selecting both objects, right-clicking, and selecting Group.

Edit and format text

Select text

• Click once on a text box or shape containing text to select it.
• Double-click an object containing text to select all of the text within the object and enter text editing mode.
• Click once on the object to un-select the text and remain in text editing mode.

Set style and format

Customize the appearance of text in a diagram from the right panel. To access all text style and format options, click the right panel icon in the upper right corner of the workspace. From here you can:

• Change font
• Increase and decrease font size
• Bold and italicize text
• Change text color
  • From the bottom of the text color menu, you can select a preset theme style that affects text color, line color, and shape fill color.
• Adjust text alignment
• Create a bulleted, numbered, or checkbox list
• Access Text options menu

For full instructions to access the text options menu in the classic Lucidchart editor, expand the dropdown below.

From the Text options menu, you can:

• Add an underline to text
• Add Strike through text 
• Change the text format
• Change the text case
• Convert text to Subscript 
• Convert text to Superscript 
• Rotate text 90˚ counter-clockwise.
• Adjust the amount of space between each line of text 
• Adjust text padding 
• Adjust left, right, before, and after indent

You can also surround your text with the following symbols to use formatting shortcuts:

• *bold*
• _italics_
• ~strikethrough~
• `monospace font`
  
   

Add shadow to text

1. Select text on the canvas.
2. Click the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
3. Under “Object”, click the three-dot icon.
4. Toggle on “Shadow”.

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

Add color to a text block

1. Select a text block on the canvas.
2. Click the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
3. Under “Text” click the Text color icon.
4. Select a color.

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

Add text as a code block

There are two ways to add text as a code block:

• Paste text that is already structured as code, and it will automatically paste onto the canvas as a code block.
• Search for and select Code block icon in the search panel and drag the code block onto the canvas.

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

Add more lines of text

Create new lines of text using these keyboard shortcuts.

• Add line breaks: Press “Enter” to add a break between lines of text within a text box or Command/Ctrl + Enter to add a break between lines of text within a shape.
• Add a new bullet: Press Command/Ctrl + Enter to add a new bulleted line.
• End a bulleted list: Press Shift + Enter to start a new line of text without a bullet.

Add and upload fonts

Lucidchart offers many additional fonts to the ones that initially appear in the drop-down menu in the right panel. 

Add fonts

1. Select an object containing text.
2. Click the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
3. Under “Text”, click the fonts dropdown.
4. Select Manage fonts at the bottom of the menu to open the font manager.
5. Toggle on fonts you want to add.
6. Click Done to add the selected fonts to the font drop-down menu.

For full instructions to add fonts in the classic Lucidchart editor, expand the dropdown below.

Upload fonts

You can upload your own fonts as TTC, TTF, or OTF files by following these steps:

1. Click the right panel icon in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
2. Under “Text”, click the fonts dropdown.
3. Select Manage fonts at the bottom of the menu to open the font manager.
4. Click Install fonts in the top-left.
5. Select a font file from your computer.
   • You can also drag and drop one or more font files onto the font list.
6. Click Upload to add the fonts to the font drop-down menu.

For full instructions to upload fonts in the classic Lucidchart editor, expand the dropdown below.

Use brand fonts

If you are a Team or Enterprise account admin, upload brand fonts that are available to your entire account. For instructions, check out our Lucid admin panel: Security settings article.

Use spell check

Lucidchart’s text editing options can help you maintain accuracy and consistency with your diagram’s written content. To access text editing options, follow these steps:

1. Click the file menu from the top-left of the canvas.
2. Hover your cursor over “Edit”.
3. Hover your cursor over Spell check settings.

From here you can:

• Enable or disable spell check.
• Change the spell check language.

Find and replace text

You can also quickly locate and replace strings of text in your diagram using Find. Here’s how:

1. Click the File menu from the top-left of the canvas.
2. Hover your cursor over “Edit”.
3. Select Find.
4. From the Find window that appears, you can:
   • Type a text string in the search bar.
   • Select Advanced to find and replace text.
   • Click Semantic to find and replace text with Lucid AI.

Troubleshoot text issues

If you're experiencing issues with text, check out our Troubleshooting: Text article.

Still need help

Resources

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

Community post 
How to add accent marks in Lucid

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