How to Change Connector Styles in Visio (Right-Angle, Straight, Curved)
Visio draws right-angle connectors by default, but you can switch to straight or curved lines in two clicks. Learn how to change every connector on the page, change just one line, and set the style new connectors will use.
Step by step
Intro
- Connector styles. Visio draws right-angle connectors by default. Here's how to make them straight or curved, for the whole page or just one line.
Set up
- A small flowchart. First, a small flowchart to work with. A start. A step, off to the right. And an end, back on the left. Connect them.
- Right-angle (default). See how Visio bends every line at right angles? That's the default style.
Change every line
- Straight lines. To change every line at once, make sure nothing is selected. Go to the Design tab, open Connectors, and pick Straight Lines. Every connector is now a straight line, the shortest path from shape to shape.
- Curved lines. Same menu, Curved Lines. Softer, and handy for mind maps and context diagrams.
- Back to right-angle. And Right Angle takes you back to the classic flowchart look.
Change one line
- Just one line. To change only one line, select it first. I'll pick the line going back to the end. Now Connectors, Curved Lines changes only the selected line. The rest stay right-angled. Click away to see it.
Set the default
- The default style. Here's the part people miss. The style you pick with nothing selected is also the default for new lines on this page. So if I add one more step and connect it, the new line comes out straight, all by itself. Connect it.
Recap
- Recap. So, Design, Connectors. Nothing selected changes the whole page and the default. Something selected changes just that line.
