Draw a line from one object to another, and it becomes a connector.
With the Line tool, drawing in an empty spot makes a plain line, and drawing from one object to another makes a connector that links the two. A connector follows the objects it links when you move them or they animate.
Draw a line and add arrowheads
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Draw a line
Choose Line in the toolbar, or press L. Drag in an empty spot to draw a straight line. Hold ⇧ while you drag to snap it horizontal, vertical, or to 45°. When you finish, you’re back on the Select tool.
Pressing L and dragging with ⇧ held draws a horizontal line. Video: Pressing L and dragging at a slant in an empty spot with Shift held snaps the line horizontal, and the line stays selected. -
Add arrowheads
With the line selected, go to the Path panel on the right. In the Strokes row, click the sliders button to the right of the width number. The Stroke window opens. Under Heads, in End, choose Triangle to put an arrowhead on the end of the line. For arrowheads on both ends, choose one in Start too. Make them bigger with Size.
In the Stroke window, under Heads › End, choosing Triangle puts an arrowhead on the end of the line. Video: With the line selected, clicking the sliders button in the Strokes row of the Path panel opens the Stroke window, and choosing Triangle in End under Heads puts an arrowhead on the end of the line.
Connect two objects
Draw two shapes a little apart, then follow along. Shapes and frames shows how to draw shapes.
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Draw a connector
Press L. Start dragging on one shape, and let go over the other. While you drag, a blue outline shows on the object the line will attach to. When you let go, a connector links the two shapes, and the line follows when you move a shape.
A line is drawn from a rectangle to a circle, and when the circle moves up, the line follows. Video: Pressing L and drawing a line from one object to another makes a connector. When an object moves, the line follows. -
Choose where it attaches
As you drag the end over an object, small circles show at the middle of its four sides. Let go near a circle, and the end stays fixed to that side. Let go farther inside the object, and the end attaches on its own at the spot that faces the other object. Hold ⌥ as you let go to fix the end exactly where you drop it. To change it after drawing, select the connector. Then, in the Path panel under Connector, choose a side in Start or End.
Dropping on the circle on the top side attaches the end to the middle of that side, and the line keeps leaving from that side when the object moves. Video: Dragging with the Line tool from the left rectangle over the right one shows a blue outline and circles at the middle of its four sides, and dropping on the top circle attaches the end to that side. -
Change the route
Click a connector to select it, and Connector appears lower in the Path panel. Change Route from Straight to Curve or Elbow. With Avoid Shapes on, curve and elbow connectors go around other objects in their way.
Setting Route to Elbow bends the line at right angles to link the two rectangles. Video: Clicking a connector to select it and choosing Elbow for Route under Connector, lower in the Path panel, changes the straight line into one bent at right angles. -
Move or detach an end
Select a connector to see a dot at each end. Drag an end point onto another object to attach it there. Drop it in an empty spot instead, and it detaches and stays where you drop it. Drop an end point of a plain line on an object, and it attaches too, turning the line into a connector.
Dragging an end point onto a third rectangle moves the connector over to it. Video: Selecting a connector and dragging its right end point onto the third rectangle below moves the connector over to that rectangle.
Connectors stay linked only to objects duplicated with them
Select objects and the connector between them and duplicate them together, and the copies link to each other. But if you duplicate the line with only one of its objects, the copied line’s other end looks attached but isn’t. It doesn’t follow when you move the original object. Select every object it should link and duplicate them together, or drag the copied line’s end point to attach it again.
What connectors attach to, and when they follow
Connectors attach to shapes, text, images, videos, and closed paths. Drop an end on an object inside a group or table, and it attaches to the whole group or table. Connectors don’t attach to frames, audio, or other lines. Start and end inside the same object, and you get a plain line that isn’t attached. With just one end on an object, it’s still a connector, and only that end follows the object.
The linked objects set a connector’s position and size. When the objects move in a transition or an animation, the line is redrawn to follow them. In exchange, you can’t drag the line itself or move it with the arrow keys, and the position, size, and rotation fields in the Object panel are locked. The same goes for a line with only one end attached, so hold ⌘ while you draw any line you want to move on its own.
Delete a linked object, and that end stays where it last was, with “Target deleted” in Start or End. Bring the object back with ⌘Z, and the end attaches again. To leave it deleted, choose None in that field. A line whose linked objects are all deleted follows nothing, but it’s still a connector, so you can’t move it. Detach both Start and End by setting them to None, and it becomes a plain line you can move.
Fine-tune connectors
To draw without attaching. Press ⌘ before you drag, and hold it until you let go. The line doesn’t attach, even if it starts or ends on an object.
To link cards into a diagram. Make each card a rectangle, or a group of a rectangle and text. A group attaches as a whole, and frames don’t take connectors. Ungrouping breaks the link and shows “Target deleted”, so drag the end point to attach it again to the shape inside.
To make the line dashed or thicker. In the Stroke window, change Dash and Width. Stroke styles has the details.
Shortcuts on this page
| Line tool | L |
|---|---|
| Draw horizontal, vertical, or at 45° | ⇧+drag out |
| Fix the end where you drop it | ⌥+drag out |
| Draw without attaching | ⌘+drag out |
Updated 10/12/2026 · The videos on this page were recorded in the current editor.