Learn how to use shapes in draw.io

features shapes

Align and space shapes for neater diagrams in draw.io

Diagrams look neater and are easier to read when the shapes are aligned and evenly spaced. It can be time consuming to line everything up using the grid by hand - there is an easier way. In the Arrange tab of the format panel, the Align and Distribute tools let you align and space multiple shapes quickly and easily.
draw.io has alignment and distribute tools that let you neaten diagrams quickly and easily

04 Apr 2025

use cases shapes shape libraries

Timing diagrams for UML and embedded systems

Timing diagrams are important for activities that need to be completed within a specific time frame. Such as the ringing of a doorbell after pressing a button, or a ticket gate opening after a ticket has been validated.
An example timing diagram where the waypoint shapes have been made invisible to look neater

28 Feb 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 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 shapes text

Change the style of text in draw.io

While the dream of drawing technical diagrams is to be able to understand them with very little text, labels on shapes and connectors add essential descriptive elements. There are many ways to style text in draw.io - you can even use multiple styles in one label.
Select a different font to style text in draw.io

31 Jul 2024

features shapes use cases

How many shapes do you need to draw technical diagrams?

There are so many different notations used for technical diagramming that this is a hard question to answer. draw.io supports all your icon needs - there are shape libraries for a vast range of different technical diagrams, and you can extend the built-in libraries with your own shapes in a custom library if you need to.
Select the shape libraries you want to use while technical diagramming in draw.io

02 Jul 2024

features shapes

Vertical text for Japanese, Chinese and Korean

Japanese, Chinese, and Korean texts can be written vertically, and read from right to left. draw.io can now display labels and text shapes vertically without rotating the characters, to be read top down, from the right to the left. Use the Text tab of the format panel to change the Writing Direction.
Change the orientation of Chinese, Korean and Japanese text to vertical, right to left in a draw.io diagram

08 Mar 2024

features shapes

Customise shape shadows to add impact to your diagrams

You’ve long been able to add basic shadows to shapes in draw.io. But now, you can customise shape shadows - set their colour, offset, opacity and blur so your diagram makes the impact you want.
Set the colour, opacity, size and amount of blur on shape shadows in draw.io

01 Mar 2024

features templates shape libraries shapes

Create and share custom template libraries with draw.io

You can use custom shape libraries to store and share custom template diagrams, in addition to your favourite shapes, freehand sketches, and custom shapes. As you can also store icons, watermarks, images, parts of a diagram, and entire finished diagrams in custom shape libraries, they are an excellent way of sharing your custom templates with people outside your organisation.
An imported custom library will appear in the shapes panel on the left in draw.io

22 Jan 2024

features shapes

Three ways to add watermarks to draw.io diagrams

Watermarks are used widely in photography, illustrations and diagrams. You can add a watermark to a draw.io diagram in a number of ways - using a locked shape or image, a locked layer in the foreground or background that contains the watermark, or a watermark on a separate diagram page used as a background image.
You can even add links to watermarks in your draw.io diagrams if you export them to SVG

04 Oct 2023

features shapes

Swap shapes and connectors in draw.io

You can swap shapes on the drawing canvas in draw.io via the Arrange tab of the format panel, or by dropping a new shape from the shape libraries on top of an existing shape. You can also reverse the arrows on a connector easily via the Arrange tab.

06 Sep 2023

features shapes

Use grab handles to move table rows

The improved table shapes in draw.io are useful for many different types of diagrams. Now, using the grab handles on the sides of table rows in draw.io, you can select rows more easily, and move a row to a new position in a table, or move it to another table - even if that table is a different size.
Use the grab handle on the right edge of a row to drag it to a new position in the table in draw.io

18 Aug 2023

shortcuts shapes

New keyboard shortcuts in draw.io

As new features are added to draw.io and the menu is refined, new keyboard shortcuts are also built into the editor. Here are some of the new and useful shortcuts for diagramming in draw.io.

14 Jul 2023

features shapes

Gantt charts to plan and track anything

If you’ve worked on a project in a team, you’ve probably seen a Gantt chart. These diagrams are used in all industries to plan tasks, note dependencies and track progress. You can create Gantt charts easily in draw.io in a number of different ways.

20 Jun 2023

features shapes

Draw interface mockups and store them in Jira issues

Quick mockups of the user interfaces are invaluable for software developers and designers both for websites and software or mobile applications. Designers and software engineers can draw it together collaboratively with the mockups shape library in our draw.io apps or our online editor.

08 May 2023

features shapes

Use lists in diagrams to present text information clearly

The list shape in draw.io functions just like a table shape - use keyboard shortcuts, or the table tools in the Arrange tab of the format panel on the right, or the table tool in the toolbar above the drawing canvas to quickly add and delete list entries.
Use the Arrange tab of the format panel, the table tool in the toolbar or keyboard shortcuts to work with list shapes in diagram.net

26 Apr 2023

features shapes

Diagrams in tables with container cells

With draw.io, tables aren’t limited to holding text data. Because you can drop shapes and images into container table cells and drag connectors between them, you can get creative with diagrams inside tables.

10 Feb 2023

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 shapes

Draw Azure architecture diagrams with updated shapes

The Azure shape library in draw.io has been updated. You can draw Azure architecture diagrams for your cloud infrastructure from scratch, or import .vsdx files or exported diagrams from automated infrastructure documentation apps like Cloudockit.
Azure architecture diagrams are easy to draw with the hundreds of Azure shapes in draw.io

01 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 shapes

Use emoji in labels and tooltips

Emoji are being used in all communications at all levels of society - a single picture takes up less space and conveys more information than its matching text. You can use the Unicode emoji in shape and connector labels, and in tooltips in your diagrams.

04 Oct 2022

templates use cases shapes

Create infographics and slides using layered shapes

When you slice a 3D shape up and layer it in a diagram, you clearly visualise that a concept or process is broken up into smaller parts. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial to create your own infographic using shapes from the basic draw.io shape libraries.

27 Jun 2022

use cases shapes import

Biology and chemistry clipart libraries for draw.io with Bioicons

Bioicons is a collection of free custom shape libraries containing open source icons for life science applications. The website lets you select one or more shape libraries, and open them in the draw.io editor on the web.
Bioicons can be used to create a wide range of illustrations with draw.io

06 Jun 2022

features shapes

Edit shape properties in diagrams

The shape libraries in draw.io provide you with a wide variety of shapes and clipart to use in your diagrams. The Style tab lets you quickly style your shapes, but for finer control and complex shapes, you can modify the shape properties.

29 Apr 2022

use cases shapes

Updated shapes for GCP and AWS network diagrams

You can create network diagrams from scratch in draw.io using shapes that match the platform you are using - AWS, GCP, Veeam, Azure, Cisco, IBM and many more. Both the draw.io AWS19 and GCP Icon shape libraries for network and cloud architectures have been updated recently.

04 Mar 2022

use cases shapes templates

Draw timelines and roadmaps in draw.io

Timelines, roadmap and milestone diagrams feature in a range of documentation - project development documents, infographics and presentations being some of the most common. There are many shapes and templates in draw.io and our draw.io branded apps that you can use to quickly draw an attractive diagram that you can embed in your presentation or documentation.

14 Feb 2022

templates use cases shapes

Draw circular flowcharts

Flowcharts are one of the most used types of diagrams in all teams. But some process flows are circular or cyclical rather than a series of steps with a start and end. You can create circular flowcharts in the draw.io editor in a number of ways.
Create a circular flowchart using basic shapes in draw.io

31 Jan 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

What can you do with shape data in diagrams?

The shapes, connectors and text elements in your diagram are described in XML - their sizes, locations, groupings, shape styles, z-order on the drawing canvas, and how they are connected to each other. You can attach much more information than this to create richer diagrams and interactivity, including tags, tooltips, links, custom shape properties and more.
Custom properties are displayed by default in a tooltip when you hover over the shape

21 Sep 2021

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 shapes

Draw freehand shapes and annotate diagrams

When you draw a freehand shape in draw.io, it is saved as an image with a transparent background on the drawing canvas by default. You can change the freehand-drawn shape’s style like you would many other shapes: line colour, fill colour, opacity and more. You can also resize, flip and rotate your freehand drawing.

01 Jun 2021

features shapes

Rotate shapes, connectors and connector labels

Shapes are placed on the drawing canvas in draw.io using a default orientation. You can rotate shapes into another position as you need.

28 Oct 2020

features shapes

Automatic layout shapes for flow charts, tree diagrams and mind maps

The automatic layout shapes in the Advanced shape library in draw.io organise your flow charts, tree diagrams, org charts, and mind maps for you as you add and connect more shapes. The automated layout ensures that all shapes in your diagram are spaced evenly, either in a horizontal or vertical format, and will automatically increase or decrease the container shape’s size to match the contents.

22 Sep 2020

shortcuts shapes

Double click and select a shape to add it

The double click behaviour in draw.io has been updated in version 13.4.2 to be more convenient. Now, when you double click on the blank drawing canvas, you can quickly add a shape or text from the selector to your diagram.

13 Jul 2020

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 shapes

Improved table shapes

Tables have been overhauled in draw.io to be much more flexible and robust than the old HTML tables you previously used. With the new tables, you can choose from various layouts, drag to resize rows and columns, move rows by dragging them, and build cross-functional flowcharts within a table and its cells.

22 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 shapes

Work with placeholders in labels and tooltips

Each shape in a diagram can contain metadata or custom properties - extra information about those shapes.

17 Dec 2019

features shapes

Disable resize children to resize grouped shapes individually

Normally, when you resize a group of shapes, all of the shapes are resized proportionally, and maintain their positions in relation to each other.

29 Oct 2018

features shapes

Click to add shapes to the drawing canvas

Instead of dragging shapes from the shape library in to the drawing canvas, you can quickly add them by simply clicking on the shape. This makes it faster to add a lot of shapes to the canvas at once, and then place, style and connect them later.

24 Jul 2018

shortcuts shapes

Alt+shift+arrow keys to clone and connect shapes

You can quickly build flow charts, mind maps or tree diagrams using shortcut key combinations.

30 Jun 2018

shortcuts shapes

Alt+drop to overlay shapes on containers

When you work with container shapes, dropping a shape over that container inserts that shape into that container. While this is useful for adding steps to a flow chart inside a flow lane (e.g. using the flow layout shape), you may not necessarily want to add the shape for the person responsible into the flow lane container, but instead overlay it.

02 May 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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