Arrows and lines

Arrows and lines show how things relate. Use them for flows, dependencies, callouts, before-and-after paths, handoffs, cause-and-effect chains, and lightweight diagrams. They help people read the canvas in the right order instead of guessing which objects belong together.

In ALLO, arrows and lines live with the Shapes tool family. The desktop toolbar may show the entry point as Shapes and Arrow rather than as a separate permanent arrow button. Use shapes for the objects in a diagram and use arrows or lines to connect them.

Availability and permissions

Arrows and lines are not supported as mobile creation or editing tools. Use desktop when you need to build or tune diagrams.

When to use arrows and lines

Use an arrow when direction matters. A customer flow step leading to another step, a cause leading to an effect, or a decision leading to an outcome should use an arrowhead. Use a plain line when the connection is neutral, such as grouping related screenshots, linking a label to a region, or showing that two items are part of the same system.

Use pen drawings for temporary emphasis such as circling an item during a review. Use arrows and lines for relationships that should remain readable after the meeting.

Do not use arrows as the only source of meaning. If an arrow means "blocked by legal review", label it. If a line means "same customer segment", add nearby text. A diagram should survive being read by someone who was not in the live session.

On a freeform whiteboard, arrows can do more than draw a visible relationship. Smart arrows can attach to canvas objects and help AI Studio or Object Chat understand previous context when one object leads to another.

Add arrows and lines

Press A when the canvas has keyboard focus to select the arrow-style line family. You can also open the Shapes picker and choose a line or arrow option. The S shortcut opens the broader Shapes tool.

Place the line on the canvas, then adjust its position and size from the selected handles. When drawing a relationship between two objects, start with rough placement and refine after the connected objects are in their final positions. Moving the boxes first and tuning arrows second avoids extra cleanup.

The source controls distinguish plain lines from arrow-style lines. A plain line has no marker by default. An arrow-style line supports marker choices, including classic arrowheads and other marker shapes shown in the picker.

Format line style and markers

Use the inline toolbar for the line controls shown on the selected object. Arrow and line selections can expose stroke color, opacity, shadow, line style, curve or smoothing controls where available, marker controls, comments, and delete actions.

The toolbar is fastest when you are refining an existing diagram. Select the arrow, adjust the endpoints or style, then use the same visual language across nearby arrows so collaborators can read the canvas without asking what each line means.

Line style choices include solid, dashed, and dotted treatments. Use solid lines for primary flow. Use dashed or dotted lines for optional paths, assumptions, future-state connections, or lower-confidence relationships. Make that convention visible with a text legend if the diagram is important.

Marker options depend on the line family. Arrow-style lines can show marker shapes such as a classic arrowhead, circle, rectangle, diamond, or other available marker treatments. Use one marker convention per diagram. Mixed markers are useful only when they carry clear meaning.

Arrange and layer diagrams

Arrows should sit visually between the objects they connect, not above every piece of content on the canvas. Use bring forward and send backward from the element menu when a line disappears behind a large shape or floats above content it should not cover.

Group arrows with related objects only when the whole set should move together. For example, a small callout arrow and its label can be grouped. Leave a full workflow diagram ungrouped while it is still being edited, then group or lock it after review.

If a canvas uses background shapes as lanes, place arrows above the lane shape but below the most important labels where possible. After moving connected objects, scan the arrowheads and endpoints. Treat arrows as visible diagram elements that need a final pass after layout changes.

Collaboration and comments

Comments on arrows are useful when the relationship is disputed: "Does this handoff really happen here?", "Is this dependency still true?", or "Should this be optional?" If the comment is about one endpoint, comment on the endpoint object instead. That keeps the discussion attached to the thing being changed. For the full thread workflow, see Comments and mentions.

During live workshops, arrows can make a messy canvas feel more resolved than it really is. Add arrows after the group agrees on relationships, not while people are still generating raw ideas. For ideation, start with sticky notes, then connect the important patterns later.

Examples

In a customer flow, use arrows to show the path from discovery to purchase to support. Use dashed arrows for paths that only some customers take.

In a system diagram, use rectangles for services, cylinders for data stores, and arrows for data or handoffs. Add short text objects near the arrows when the meaning is not obvious.

In a critique canvas, use a short arrow from a label to a specific detail in an image or mockup. If the mark is temporary, a pen circle may be enough; if it should remain part of the canvas, use an arrow.

What can go wrong

If A does nothing, check keyboard focus. Shortcuts are ignored while typing inside text, comments, or browser inputs. Click empty canvas space, then try again.

If an arrow looks connected but the diagram was rearranged, inspect both endpoints before sharing the canvas. The safe habit is to move objects first, then clean up arrows and labels.

If the line style carries meaning, document the convention. Dotted and dashed lines are not self-explanatory for every reader.