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Tidy lines and lay out a diagram

Use Tidy to reroute and straighten lines, and Layout to set a diagram out as a hierarchy, tree, mind map, radial, organic or grid layout.

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Two buttons in the PlexiiDiagrams toolbar clean a diagram up for you. Tidy fixes the lines and leaves the shapes where you put them. Layout moves the shapes into a new arrangement.

Both work on the shapes you have selected, or on the whole page when nothing is selected. If you do not like the result, press ⌘ Z on a Mac or Ctrl Z on Windows.

Before you start

Tidy the lines

  1. To tidy only part of the diagram, select those shapes. Otherwise leave everything deselected.
  2. Click Tidy in the toolbar.

Tidy:

  • reroutes lines around shapes;
  • spreads out lines that share the same connection point;
  • straightens links that are nearly in line;
  • fixes overlaps.

The bottom bar then says what it changed, for example how many lines were rerouted and how many overlaps were fixed.

You can also choose Arrange > Tidy connections, right-click empty canvas and choose Tidy connections, or right-click selected shapes and choose Tidy these connections.

Lay out a diagram

  1. To lay out only part of the diagram, select those shapes. Otherwise leave everything deselected.
  2. Click Layout in the toolbar and choose a layout.
Layout What it does Good for
Hierarchy, top to bottom Places shapes in rows that follow the direction of the lines. Flowcharts and processes
Hierarchy, left to right The same, in columns from left to right. Wide processes and timelines of steps
Hierarchy, bottom to top The same, from the bottom up.
Hierarchy, right to left The same, from right to left.
Tree (org chart) A tree from the top down. Org charts and reporting lines
Mind map Branches out to both sides of a central idea. Mind maps and brainstorms
Radial Places shapes in rings around a centre. Hub and spoke diagrams
Organic Spreads connected shapes out naturally. Networks and relationship maps
Grid Places shapes in even rows and columns. Cards and collections with few lines

Locked shapes stay where they are, and shapes inside a swimlane or container move with it rather than on their own.

Arrange > Auto layout has a shorter list: Hierarchy, top to bottom, Hierarchy, left to right, Tree, Mind map, Radial, Organic and Grid.

Common questions

Layout moved shapes I had placed by hand. Layout rearranges every unlocked shape it works on. To keep a shape in place, lock it first with Shift ⌘ L on a Mac or Ctrl Shift L on Windows. To undo a layout, press ⌘ Z on a Mac or Ctrl Z on Windows, then select only the shapes you want laid out and try again.

Tidy is greyed out. Tidy works on lines, so it is available once the page has at least one line.

Tidy did nothing. If the bottom bar reports nothing rerouted or fixed, the lines were already tidy.

Do curved lines get rerouted? Curved lines do not route around shapes. Switch them to right-angle lines first if you want Tidy to steer them around shapes. See Connect shapes and route lines.

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].