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.

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Add a shape to your document

There are several ways to add a shape to your diagram. You can:

Drag a shape from the Shape menu to the left of the workspace 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.
Hover over or select a shape on the canvas and click one of the round red nodes that appear on or around the shape.
- When there is available space, a new shape will be added in the direction of the round node you click. When a shape is already present in that direction, a new branch will be created.
Hold Command-Shift (Mac) or Ctrl-Shift (PC), then click and drag an existing shape on the canvas to duplicate it.

Repeat the options above to add more shapes branching off of a single shape.

add-shapes-to-lucidchart-diagram-using-different-options.gif

Learn more: For instructions to change a shape on the canvas, check out the Change shape section in this article. 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 at the top of the workspace. 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 to set specific dimensions. Use the lock icon to specify dimensions proportionally.

When you specify width and height, the units align with your document settings. To change the units your document uses, see our Adjust document and board settings article.

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 from the Formatting bar at the top of the workspace.
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.

Tip: At the top of the Fill Color menu, there is a dropdown menu with 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.

Opacity

To adjust the opacity of a shape:

Select a shape on the canvas.
Click the Fill Color icon from the Formatting bar at the top of the workspace.
Select the shape's current color.
Slide the blue dot along the opacity bar in the panel that appears.
- You can also manually adjust the value using the dropdown on the right.

Border
To modify a shape's border color:

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

Tip: Use themes in Lucidchart to apply preset styles to your shapes or customize them to make your own presets. Check out our Apply preset themes to style shapes in Lucidchart article for more information.

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.

Note: If you have selected a preset theme, you need to select Reset to default at the bottom of the Themes panel before using these steps to set a default style for all shapes.

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 to the left of the workspace, 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

Lucid’s search and import tools make it easy for you to find the shapes and images you need. We integrate with third party-websites, services, or resources to give you access to third-party content, including GIFs (powered by Giphy), Images (Bing Image Search, powered by Microsoft), and Icons (powered by Iconfinder) (collectively, “Non-Lucid Applications”). Please review the terms of service and privacy policy of any third party site or service applicable to your use of Non-Lucid Applications.

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

Click the Images Panel icon from the Primary Toolbar to the far-left of the workspace.
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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