Lucidchart's drag and drop interface and simple styling tools make it easy to use shapes to build professional diagrams from scratch. Whether you are looking for shape styling basics or more advanced tips and tricks, this article will teach you how to work with shapes in the Lucidchart editor so that you can build visuals to match your needs.

Add a shape to your document

There are two ways to add a shape to your diagram.

Drag a shape from a shape library and drop it onto the canvas.
Drag a line from a shape that is already on the canvas and select a new shape from the auto-prompt menu.

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Learn more: For information about how to access different shapes from the Shape menu, check out our Shape libraries in Lucidchart article.

Format and modify shapes

Shape options

You can move, resize and rotate a shape directly on the canvas or in shape the Shape Options menu of the Formatting bar. This menu also gives you the option to add a shadow or round the corners of a shape.

Move a shape
To move a shape, drag it with your cursor or select it and move it using the arrow keys on your keyboard. Hold down "Shift" on your keyboard while using your arrow keys to move your shape in smaller increments. You can also use the “X position” and “Y position” arrows in the Shape Options menu.

Resize a shape
To resize a shape, select it and drag one of the blue squares along its border. Hold down "Shift" on your keyboard to maintain the shape's dimensions while resizing. You can also use the “Width” and “Height” arrows in the Shape Options menu.

Rotate a shape
To rotate a shape, select it and drag it clockwise or counter-clockwise using the handle in the top-left corner of its border. You can also use the “Rotation” arrows in the Shape Options menu.

Add a shadow to a shape
Click Shadow at the bottom of the Shape Options menu and toggle on the shadow option. You can then adjust shadow distance, blur, color, and angle.

Round the corners of a shape
To round the corners of a shape, select the shape and click the arrows or type a pixel value in the "rounded" box at the bottom of the Shape Options menu.

Style a shape

Fill Color
To add a fill color to a shape:

Select the shape you want to fill with color.
Click the Fill Color icon.
Select a color.
- Create a custom color by clicking the plus icon at the bottom of the color swatch window.
- Match your shape's color to an existing color on your canvas by selecting the color dropper icon and clicking the object you want to match.
- Adjust the opacity of the shape fill by sliding the blue dot along the opacity bar or adjusting the value to its right.

Tip: At the top of the Fill Color menu, there are options to fill your shape with a linear or radial gradient or an image. Use the image option to crop images to a specific shape.

Border
To modify a shape's border color:

Select the shape you want to modify.
Click the Line Color icon in the Formatting bar.
Select a color.
- Use the Line Style and Line Width menus to modify the border style and thickness.

Set default style

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

Click anywhere on the canvas to un-select any selected objects.
Update the style settings, such as fill color, line color, line style and font.

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

Use preset styles
Lucidchart has styles you can apply to customize the look of your entire document. To apply one of these styles, follow the steps below:

Click the Styles icon from the Formatting bar.
Select a style from the panel that appears on the right-hand side.

Copy shape style

To copy a shape’s style to other shapes on the canvas:

Select the shape with the style you want to copy.
Click the Paint Format icon from the Formatting bar at the top-left of the workspace.
Select the objects you want the style applied to.
- A single click will activate paint format for one selection change. A double-click will activate paint format until the button is clicked again or ESC is pressed on the keyboard.

Manage object layout

Arrange
To arrange the order of the objects on the canvas:

Right-click the object you want to move.
Hover your cursor over “Arrange”, and choose from the following options:
- Bring to Front: Bring an object to the front of all overlapping objects.
- Send to Back: Send an object to the back of all overlapping objects.
- Bring Item Forward: Bring an object one level forward in the order of all overlapping objects.
- Send Item Backward: Send an object one level backward in the order of all overlapping objects.

Align
To align objects on the canvas:

Select the objects you want to align by clicking and dragging a box around them.
Right-click the selection.
Hover your cursor over “Align”.
Choose an alignment option from the list.

Distribute
To distribute objects evenly on the canvas:

Select the objects you want to distribute by clicking and dragging a box around them.
Right-click the selection.
Hover your cursor over “Distribute,” and choose to distribute the objects horizontally or vertically.

Group
To combine two or more shapes into one group:

Select the objects you want to group by clicking and dragging a box around them.
Right-click the selection.
Click Group.

Lock
To lock a shape's position, size, and/or style:

Select the shape you want to lock.
Click the lock icon at the top-right of the Formatting bar.
Check the boxes for each property you want to lock.

Tip: An individual locked object within an unlocked parent object (such as a container or group) will move if the parent object is moved. To prevent this, lock the parent object as well.

Change shape

To change an existing shape on the canvas to another shape in the same shape library:

Select a shape on the canvas.
Click the Change Shape icon on the top-right corner of the shape.
Select a new shape option.

Note: The option to change an existing shape on the canvas is only available for basic shapes and flowchart shapes.

Create custom shapes

In Lucidchart, you have three ways to create custom shapes: by using the flex polygon shape, by grouping multiple shapes into one, or by uploading your own image to use as a shape.

Use the flex polygon shape

From the Shape menu, find the “Shapes” library.
Drag the flex polygon onto the canvas.
Adjust the shape of the flex polygon by dragging the purple squares along the edge of the shape.

Group multiple shapes into one

Select the objects you want to group into one by clicking and dragging a box around them.
Right-click the selection.
From the menu, click Group.
Right-click the grouped shape.
From the menu, click Add to Custom Shape Library.
Select a shape library.
Rename the custom shape.
Click Done.

Upload an image

Select Insert from the menu bar.
Click Image.
Select and upload an image from your device.
Right-click the image.
From the menu, click Add to Custom Shape Library.
Select a shape library.
Rename the custom shape.
Click Done.

Learn more: If you experience issues uploading an image, check out our Troubleshooting: Images article for troubleshooting steps.

Delete a shape

To delete a shape:

Select the shape you want to delete.
Press "Backspace" or "Delete" on your keyboard.

Add an image, icon, or GIF

To add an image, icon, or GIF, follow these steps:

Click the Images Panel icon from the left-hand navigation menu.
Select Images, Streamline, Icons, or GIFs.
Type a keyword into the search bar.
Click the magnifying glass icon next to the search bar.
Drag the image, icon, or GIF onto your canvas.

Tip: Click the Import Image icon to the right of the search bar to upload images and GIFs from your device.

Resources

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

Videos

Custom data in Lucidchart

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