You can easily modify the thickness, color, and style of any single line or all the lines in your drawing using the Line Style options under the Home tab. Line Style also controls the border color and thickness around shapes.
First, select the line you want to modify by clicking on it.
You can also select all the lines in your diagram by clicking on Select in the SmartPanel to the left of your workspace and choosing Select All Lines.
Select Lines in a Chart
To select only lines in a specific diagram among multiple different diagrams in a workspace, right-click on any line in that diagram and choose Select lines in chart under Select Shapes. Note: that some line settings are document-wide even if only some lines are selected. This would include line hops and arrowheads. Setting those will set it for the entire document, not just the lines selected.
Once you have the line or lines you want selected, open the Line Style menu under the Home tab for a variety of options.
Setting Line Thickness
Under Home->Line Style->Line Thickness you can choose from a variety of Line thickness options. Choose one that best fits your needs.
If you click on More, you can set a completely custom line thickness using a hidden scale. The thickest line in the previous menu is 0.08 inches. If you want an even thicker version, make it 0.1 or more.
Here's a line with its thickness set to a super thick 1.0 inch setting.
Creating Dashed Lines
To create a dashed line, select the line and in Home->Line Style->Dashes choose a style of dashes.
Applying Color to Lines
To change the color of your selected lines, simply pick from one the options visible in the Line menu under the Home tab. Theme colors will coordinate with the current color scheme you have chosen.
You can also apply any color you want, just click on More Colors to bring up a color wheel or enter a specific RGB value.
Adding Arrows to Lines
To add arrows to a line or lines, select the line and in Home->Line Style->Arrowheads choose the direction of the arrow to apply.
If you click on Custom and you'll be able to:
- Set the size of your arrow
- Choose its displacement (whether it touches the shape or not)
- Make it so that the style of arrow on both sides of the line is different (useful for technical diagrams)
- Choose a unique arrow style
Adding Gradients to Lines
In addition to changing the color of a line, you can also apply a gradient. To do so, click on Home->Line Style->Gradient to bring up a dialog of gradient options.
In the Set Line Gradient dialog, you can select a preset gradient color scheme and choose its style.
You can also create a custom gradient by specifying the two colors of the gradient using a color picker. Just click on either of the two color squares at the top of the dialog and pick your color.
Here's the line with a linear blue gradient going from left to right:
Adding Textures to Lines
You can also choose a texture as a filler for your line. There are dozens of built-in textures to choose from.
To do so, click on Home->Line Style->Textures to bring up a dialog of texture options.
Select the texture you want and click Ok.
Here's a line with a fabric texture applied.
Changing Line Opacity
The opacity slider defines the opacity/transparency of the line. The more transparent the line, the more the underlying background or other shapes or lines will show through it. When opacity is at 100% the line is completely opaque or not transparent. When opacity is set to 0% the line is completely transparent and invisible.
Use the slide to create the look you want.