Learn how to use connectors in draw.io

features use cases connectors

Crow's foot notation for ER diagrams

Crow’s foot notation is used in entity relationship (ER) diagrams to show how data in different database tables relate to each other.
An ER model using crow's foot notation for a library

24 Oct 2025

features shapes text connectors

Using adaptive colours to diagram in light and dark modes

When you change from light to dark mode in draw.io, the colours automatically switch intensity so that your diagram and its labels are easy to read. You can set now specific colours for shapes, connectors, text and the diagram page background for both light and dark modes via the updated colour palette.
An additional custom colour scheme has been added to the style palette in draw.io

07 Feb 2025

features connectors

Disable distracting animations in diagrams

Flow animations on connectors can make diagrams much easier to understand - they can clearly show in which direction a process flows or how control/data moves through a system. But such animations can distract you while you edit a diagram. You can now disable the visual animation via the draw.io menu, but keep the flow animation style on the connector.
You can disable the animation visual without disabling the flow animation style setting on connectors in draw.io

22 Nov 2024

features shapes connectors

Align connectors easily with a waypoint shape

In any diagram with branches - trees and org charts, Ishikawa diagrams, wiring diagrams, and even some flow charts - you will have multiple overlapping connectors attached to the parent shape. Using a waypoint shape between connectors will prevent manual alignment frustration when you move the parent or child shapes.
A waypoint shape will make your tree connectors neater

09 Oct 2024

features connectors

More flow animation styles for connectors

draw.io has added more styles for connector flow animations. You can use animated connectors in draw.io to illustrate workflow, supply chains, electrical circuits, PERT charts - any diagram with connectors that indicate a direction.
There are several animation style settings for connectors in draw.io

15 Mar 2024

features shapes connectors

Work with default styles

When you set a default style for shapes and connectors in draw.io, all subsequent shapes that you add from the shape library will use that default style. This includes shape outline or connector line colour, thickness and style, shape fill colour and effects, opacity and more.
Set a default shape or connector style in draw.io

27 Jan 2023

features connectors

Change connector arrows in draw.io

There are many different styles of connectors - the lines that join shapes in a diagram. Some are plain, some have arrows, and some have particular symbols to show a type of connection. Change the connector arrows and their styles in the Style tab of the format panel.
There are a wide range of arrow heads you can use at either end of connectors in draw.io

13 Dec 2022

shapes connectors

Add labels to any type of diagram

With draw.io, you aren’t just limited to flows, org charts, network or UML diagrams. You can use braces, brackets, connectors and partial rectangles to add neat labels to any type of diagram.

17 Nov 2022

features connectors

Straighten connectors in diagrams

When working with connectors in diagrams, sometimes you may find a floating connector is not straight between two shapes. You can straighten such connectors quickly and automatically by changing the path style. Depending on where the connected shape is, the connector will straighten automatically.
Choose a different path style (Waypoints) in the Style tab in the format panel on the right in draw.io to straighten a connector

20 Sep 2022

features shapes connectors

Edit the connection points on a shape

You can now edit a shape’s connection points visually with the new connection point editor. Drag the connection points around the shape, add new connection points, and delete those you don’t need.

27 Jan 2022

features shapes connectors text

Move shapes forwards and backwards on the drawing canvas

In addition to sending shapes to the back or bringing them to the front, you can now step shapes backwards and forwards when the overlap each other.

01 Jul 2021

features connectors

Join connectors with the waypoint shape

The waypoint shape allows you to join two or more connectors together. In electrical circuit diagrams or logic gate diagrams, it is essential to show contact points where wires are connected, as opposed to passing each other without connecting. Waypoint shapes help you organise and route connectors neatly in tree diagrams, org charts, gitflow diagrams, hold connector lines together in a fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram, and more.

05 May 2021

features connectors

Draw and style connectors in draw.io

Connectors are lines that connect your shapes together and may or may not have arrows at one or both ends. In a diagram, connectors provide context information, showing how the various shapes and entities in your diagram are related.

30 Mar 2021

features shapes connectors

Support for hand-drawn diagrams with rough.js

A more relaxed and informal style for shapes, fills and lines is often used in infographics, teaching materials, maps and reports so that the diagrams are little less sterile and boring. The rough style adds a hand drawn shading options, rough outlines and connectors, and handwritten text labels.

23 Jun 2020

features connectors

Work with waypoints on connectors

Connectors show how the different shapes in the diagram are related. In complex diagrams, you are likely to have many overlapping connectors. While line jumps are useful when you have one or two connectors that cross but shouldn’t intersect, you can change the path that your connectors take to make your diagram clearer by adding extra waypoints.

08 Jun 2020

features shapes connectors

Use keyboard shortcuts to work faster with styles

There are a large number of keyboard shortcuts that let you create diagrams faster and more easily with draw.io. One of the more common and time-consuming tasks when you create a diagram is styling shapes and connectors.

23 Mar 2020

features connectors

Snap connectors to an anchor point

Floating connectors are easy to create - drag a connector from one shape, hover over another shape until the outline is blue, then release.

16 Sep 2018

shortcuts shapes connectors

Shift+toolbar delete to delete shapes and their connections

If you want to delete a shape and all of the connections to and from that shape, you can do that with a keyboard + toolbar shortcut.

07 Mar 2018

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