Formatting Shapes - Edraw

In Edraw, a line can be an open straight line, a freeform line or arc, or a border around a closed shape, such as a rectangle.

Color Schemes

Fills, Shadows and Patterns

Lines and Line Ends



Line Formatting

You can format lines by clicking Line on the Shape menu and selecting the options you want, also can use Line Color on Format toolbar to set lines' color and fills.

Ways to format lines and arcs:

  1. Add a pattern or color.
  2. Add a fill mode.
  3. Change the line weight.
  4. Change the line cap.
  5. Add or remove line ends to turn any line or other open shape into an arrow.
  6. Add a shadow.
  7. Change the transparency of the line or of its shadow.
  8. Format the shape's text.

About shape formatting

You can format shapes in your Edraw drawing by changing any or all of their attributes, such as line weight and pattern, fill color and pattern, and text formatting. For example, you might use fill color to make a drawing for a slide presentation more effective, or you might use line patterns to represent specific types of connections between shapes.

The type of formatting you can apply to a shape depends on whether the shape is open (open shape: A shape such as a line, arc, or zigzag. You can format an open shape with line patterns and ends, such as by changing a solid line to a dashed line and adding an arrow to one end.) or closed (closed shape: A shape that is surrounded by a continuous outline, such as a rectangle or circle. You can fill a closed shape with a color or a pattern.). For example:

  1. You can add fill to closed shapes, such as circles or rectangles, but not to open shapes.
  2. You can add line ends to open shapes, such as arcs or zigzag lines, but not to closed shapes.

Open Shape Formatting

Closed Shape Formatting

Shape Formatting for Multiple Shapes

About Style

In Edraw, shape formatting is also called shape style, shape style include follow settings:

  1. Line fill, pattern, cap, weight, color, and transparency.
  2. Fill color, pattern, and transparency.
  3. Shadow fill, color, pattern, and transparency.

Note: Style does not include Text formatting.

Style is the best way to format shapes. By just one click, a couple of new format settings will be applied on the shapes selected. You can modify the style to change the shapes' formatting or the default formatting. You can also create your own styles or keep the style you like permanently. Styles are listed in two tables:

  1. Styles in use: The list of the different styles used in the page including the default style for the new shapes.
  2. Predefined Style: Edraw provides many beautiful and applied styles, which help you format shapes quickly. Also you can modify the predefined style or create your own style.


  1. One style may be used by more than one shapes. A style will be deleted automatically if no shape use it.
  2. One shape may used more than one style.
  3. Some shapes in library have default styles applied. When you drag them to the page, the styles will be added to Styles in use, you can modify them.

Format Shapes

  1. Select the shape or shapes you want to format.

    If the shapes are part of a group, select one or more shapes in the group.

  2. On the Shape menu, click Text, Line, Fill & Shadow.
  3. Select the formatting options you want.

Copy Formatting From One Shape to Another

  1. Select the shape whose formatting you want to copy.
  2. Click Format Painter .
  3. Do one of followings:
    1. To format a single shape, click the shape which you want to format.
    2. To format multiple shapes, select all the shapes you want to format at the same time.

    Note: You can also use Style in use to copy formatting from one shape to another.

    1. Select the shape which you want to format.
    2. Find the style which you want to copy to the shape in the Style in use, click it.

Change the default formatting for shapes you draw

  1. Make sure that no shapes are selected.
  3. Select the formatting options you want.

    Note You can also use Style in use to change the default formatting.

    1. Click the down arrow next to the first style in Style in use.
    2. Click Modify the style.
    3. Select the formatting options you want.

When you drag one shape from library or draw a new shape by using one of the following drawing or text tools, the new default formatting is applied to the shape.

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