Quick links to procedures on this page:

Drawing connector lines

You can draw connector lines, also known as "flow lines," in flowcharts and wiring diagrams to link shapes and demonstrate how different elements in the drawing are connected. After you attach a connector line to an object, it remains attached to the object even when you move it. You can also leave an end of a connector line unattached to any object, and you can add arrowheads to connector lines to demonstrate the flow direction. For information about drawing flowchart shapes, see Drawing predefined shapes.

There are several types of connector lines that you can draw. In addition to drawing straight lines, you can draw right-angle connector lines and automatically create right angles as you draw. You can choose between the Right-angle connector tool, which draws a right angle with a sharp corner, and the Rounded right-angle connector tool, which draws a rounded corner. You can also draw curved connector lines by using either the B-spline connector tool or the Bézier curve connector tool.

Examples of connector lines

Connector lines are attached to objects by anchor points. By default, each object has four anchor points, located on the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the object. Each anchor point appears as a small red diamond on the object. You can move an anchor point along the edge of an object, or you can move an anchor point to any area inside or outside the object. You can also add an anchor point to an object.

Anchor points appear as small red diamonds.

When you move an object in a drawing, the connector line will snap to the nearest available anchor point. When you add an anchor point to an object, it is not available as a snapping point for connector lines. However, you can set a property on the anchor point to make it available as a snapping point.

You can set an object to repel right-angle, round right-angle, and B-spline connector lines. If the object is in a connector line route, the connector line flows around it. If there is no route for the connector line to follow without intersecting the object, it flows through the object. Straight-line and Bézier-curve connector lines cannot flow around objects.

You can add halos to connector lines. A halo is a mask behind the connector line that makes the line easier to see when it is on top of another object. Usually, the halo is the same color as the page, although you can choose any color you like.

You can also convert connector lines to curves. When you convert a connector line to a curve, any attached text label changes to an artistic text object.

To draw a straight connector line Back to Top

 

Click the Right-angle connector tool or the Right-angle round connector tool . Click where you want to start the line and drag to where you want to end the line.
Click the B-spline connector tool or the Bézier curve connector tool . Click where you want to start the line and drag to where you want to end the line. To change the shape of the line, reposition the control points as needed.

*

After you snap a connector line to an anchor point on an object, the connector line always snaps to that anchor point, even if you move the object around in the drawing. To ensure that the line connects to the closest available anchor point when you move the object, release the mouse button to end the connector line inside the object when drawing the line.

To change the direction of a connector line Back to Top

*

You can change the direction only of right-angle and Bézier-curve connector lines.

To add an anchor point to an object Back to Top

*

By default, anchor points that you add to an object are not available as snap points for a connector line when the object is moved around in the drawing. To make an anchor point available as a snap point, select it with the Edit anchor tool, and click the Auto anchor button on the property bar.

By default, the position of the anchor point is calculated relative to the page. You can set the anchor point position relative to the object that it is attached to, which is useful if you want to set anchor points in the same relative position in multiple objects. To set the anchor point position relative to the object, select the anchor point with the Edit anchor tool . On the property bar, click the Relative to object button , and type the coordinates in the Anchor position box.

To move or delete an anchor point Back to Top

 

On the property bar, click the Delete anchor button .
To set a connector line to flow around objects Back to Top
To convert a connector line to a curve Back to Top

*

You can also convert a curve or a shape, such as a rectangle or an ellipse, to a connector line by clicking Object Convert to connector.

To add a text label to a connector line Back to Top

*

As you move the connector line, the text label remains attached to it.

To add a halo to a connector line Back to Top

*

To remove a halo from a line, select the line, click the Halo properties button , and disable the Halo options check box.


Feedback
Was this page helpful? Send feedback. (Internet connection required.)

Copyright 2017 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved.