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Canvas basics

Shapes, text, and styling

Rectangles, diamonds, circles, text, and connectors are the foundation of expression on the canvas. Start with the shape that conveys the right meaning, then build visual hierarchy with color, borders, and fonts.

Choosing common elements

Rectangles suit ordinary steps and content blocks, diamonds suit decisions, circles suit start points, end points, or states, arrows suit direction, and plain lines suit weaker relationships.

Steps

  1. 1
    Choose a shape or text tool

    Select the element you want from the toolbar and click or drag on the canvas to create it.

  2. 2
    Enter and edit text

    Double-click a shape or use the text tool to type content, and keep node wording short and clear.

  3. 3
    Adjust the style

    With an element selected, change the fill color, border color, line weight, font, font size, and alignment.

  4. 4
    Adjust layering and alignment

    Use bring to front, send to back, align, and distribute to tidy multiple elements and avoid overlaps and uneven spacing.

FAQ

Does text inside a shape move with it?

Text bound to a shape moves and resizes with its container, which makes it good for process nodes and information cards.

How do I make several elements evenly spaced?

Select multiple elements and use the align and distribute features; it is more reliable than dragging by hand.

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