Arrows

Arrows come in two kinds, drawn with the same family of tools. Arrow type in the Arrow Style section sets the route, and some routes suit each kind better:

• Connection arrows join two points, and usually two shapes. Their ends bind to shapes, so when a bound shape moves, the arrow follows it. The routes made for them:
  • free
  • elbow
  • bezier
  • custom
• Measuring arrows show a measure in their label, updated whenever the ends move. The routes made for them:
  • vertical: the distance between its ends.
  • horizontal: the distance between its ends.
  • diagonal: the distance between its ends.
  • circular: the angle it sweeps.

Both kinds can carry a label. Label source in the Arrow Style section decides whether it shows your text or the measure; it is offered on the four measuring routes and on free arrows.

Creating a connection arrow

All three connection tools, Arrow, Elbow arrow, and Bezier arrow, sit in the arrows multi-button of the Tools panel and work the same way. They give a free, an elbow, or a bezier arrow with an arrowhead at its end. The tool stays active after each arrow, so you can draw the next one right away.

Drawing a connection arrow by dragging

Creates an arrow attached to precise points: each end binds to the exact spot where you pressed or released on a shape.

• Operation:
  1. Pick the tool.
  2. Press on the start point. Pressing on a shape binds the start to it.
  3. Drag to the end point. A shape under the pointer highlights, and releasing over it binds the end to that spot.
• Result: an arrow between two specific points of the two shapes. Each end keeps pointing at its spot as the shape moves.
• Tip: while dragging, hold Shift to snap the arrow's angle in steps of 15 degrees, or hold Ctrl to keep the end unbound even over a shape. Dragging an end later works the same way: it binds to the exact spot where you release it.

Drawing a connection arrow by clicking

Creates an arrow between shapes without caring where on them you click: each end binds to the shape's center, so the arrow aims at the middle of the shape and ends at its edge.

• Operation:
  1. Pick the tool.
  2. Click the start point. Clicking on a shape binds the start to it.
  3. Move the pointer. The arrow follows it, and a shape under the pointer highlights.
  4. Click the end point. Clicking on a shape binds the end to it.
• Result: an arrow between the two shapes. Each end aims at its shape's center and ends at the shape's edge, from whichever side the arrow comes, and it stays that way as the shape moves.
• Tip: an unfinished arrow is discarded with a right-click. To make an arrow drawn by dragging aim at a center later, use Bind selected terminal to shape center.

Creating a measuring arrow

Both measuring tools sit in the arrows multi-button of the Tools panel, and both stay active after each measure. An end that lands on a shape binds to that exact spot, so the measure keeps following the shape.

Measuring a distance by dragging

A straight measure between two points, drawn right on top of them.

• Operation:
  1. Pick Measure distance.
  2. Press on the first point, drag to the second, and release.
• Result: a diagonal arrow between the two points, with the distance between them as its label, and no offset.

Measuring a distance by clicking

A measure between two points with a third click that pulls the dimension line away from them, as in a technical drawing.

• Operation:
  1. Pick Measure distance.
  2. Click the first point, then the second. The label shows the distance as you move.
  3. Move the pointer to place the dimension line, then click:
     • beside the two points, and the line becomes vertical, offset sideways to the pointer;
     • above or below them, and the line becomes horizontal, offset up or down to the pointer;
     • between them, and the line stays diagonal, shifted parallel to itself out to the pointer.
• Result: a dimension line at that distance from the points it measures, with the distance as its label.

Measuring an angle

An arc around a vertex whose label shows the angle it covers.

• Operation:
  1. Pick Measure angle.
  2. Click the vertex of the angle, the point the arc will be centered on.
  3. Move to set the radius and click where the arc should start.
  4. Move to sweep the arc and click where it should end.
• Result: a circular arrow centered on the vertex, running from the second point to the third, with the swept angle as its label.
• Tip: pressing on the vertex and dragging to the arc start does the same as the first two clicks. The third click is always needed.

Creating a custom arrow

You can draw custom arrows with the regular vector drawing tools by enabling Arrow mode before drawing. When you finish, Irakasi converts the shape into an arrow that follows its curves and corners.

Drawing a custom arrow

Creates an arrow out of a line drawn with a vector tool.

• Operation:
  1. Pick Pen, Freehand drawing, Curve through points, or Straight line through points in the paths multi-button of the Tools panel.
  2. Turn on Arrow mode in the Actions panel.
  3. Draw the line as you would with that tool. See Paths, Freehand shapes, or Polylines. A shape under the start or the end of the line highlights while you draw.
• Result: a custom arrow that follows the line, with no start arrowhead and an arrowhead at the end, drawn with the stroke you were drawing with. An end that landed on a shape binds to that spot. A line that ends where it started is discarded.

Converting a vector shape into an arrow

Creates an arrow out of an open path, freehand shape, or polyline that already exists.

• Operation: select the shape and click Convert to arrow.
• Result: a custom arrow with the shape as its route. See Convert to arrow.

Editing

Select the arrow and drag its handles. Every arrow has a start handle and an end handle: dragging one moves that end, and releasing it on a shape binds it to that exact spot, as when drawing by dragging. The other handles depend on the route.

Free arrows

A free arrow adds one handle in its middle.

• Middle handle: drag it to bend the arrow into a curve, or back to a straight line.

Elbow and bezier arrows

Elbow and bezier arrows add a center handle on their middle segment.

• Center handle: drag it to move the middle segment sideways, so the arrow goes around what is in its way. The ends stay where they are.

Vertical and horizontal arrows

Vertical and horizontal arrows add a middle handle that moves the whole line.

• Middle handle: drag it to shift the arrow sideways or up and down. Thin offset lines then join each end to its anchor, so the arrow keeps measuring or pointing between the same two spots.

Diagonal arrows

Diagonal arrows add a middle handle that moves the whole line.

• Middle handle: drag it to shift the whole arrow parallel to itself. Offset lines join each end to its anchor, as above.

Circular arrows

Circular arrows add a center handle, and their end handle moves along the circle.

• End handle: drag it along the circle to change the angle the arrow sweeps.
• Center handle: marks the center of the arc.

Custom arrows

Custom arrows are edited like paths.

• Double-click the arrow to edit its points like a path: move, add, and remove points, and shape curves by their control points. See Editing on the Paths page.

Editing the label text

Writes or changes the words on the arrow.

• Operation:
  1. Start editing. How depends on whether the arrow is already selected:
     • If the arrow is selected, click its label.
     • If the arrow is not selected, or has no label yet, double-click it or its middle handle.
  2. Type the text.
  3. Click on empty board to finish.
• Result: the label sits on the arrow, centered on the route until you move it. Label source in the Arrow Style section switches it between your text and the measured distance or angle.
• Tip: when the label shows the measured distance or angle, type a value or an expression in it and press Enter to resize the arrow to that measure. In a label with your own text, type an expression and then = to write its result after it. See Math expressions.

Moving the label along the route

Slides the label to another point of the route.

• Operation: drag the label.
• Result: the label slides along the route and stays at that position along it when the arrow reroutes.

Attributes

A selected arrow shows these sections of the Attributes panel.

Selection info

The attributes that affect the arrow as a whole. Arrows have no width, height, or pivot; their position is given by their points.

Arrows replace the position, size, and rotation with their own coordinates.

• For arrows that aren't circular:
  • Xs: the horizontal position of the start point.
  • Ys: the vertical position of the start point.
  • Xe: the horizontal position of the end point.
  • Ye: the vertical position of the end point.
• For circular arrows:
  • Xc: the horizontal position of the center point.
  • Yc: the vertical position of the center point.
  • R: the radius of the circle.
  • Arrow angle: how far around the circle the arrow goes.
• Opacity: the transparency of the whole arrow.
• Opacity: the transparency of the whole arrow.

Stroke

The line the shape is drawn with, and its style.

• Stroke style: the kind of line. The style decides which of the controls below appear.
  • No stroke: no line at all. Arrows don't offer it.
  • Solid stroke: a continuous line.
  • Dashed stroke: a line made of dashes.
• Stroke color: the color of the line.
• Stroke opacity: the transparency of the line alone.
• Stroke width: the thickness of the line.

Dashed strokes and roughness

Freehand strokes

Arrow Style

The arrowheads, the route type, the offsets, and the label.

• Start marker: the end drawn at the start of the arrow.
  • No start marker
  • Arrow
  • Circle
  • Triangle
  • Inverted triangle
  • Square
  • Diamond
  • Bar
• Start marker size: the size of the start marker.
• End marker: the end drawn at the tip of the arrow.
  • No end marker
  • Arrow
  • Circle
  • Triangle
  • Inverted triangle
  • Square
  • Diamond
  • Bar
• End marker size: the size of the end marker. Shown while there is an end marker.
• Marker size ratio lock: changes both marker sizes by the same amount when you change one of them.
• Arrow type: how the arrow travels between its ends.
  • free: a straight line between its two ends, which you can bend into a curve by dragging its middle.
  • vertical: a vertical arrow. Dragging its middle shifts it sideways, and thin offset lines join it to its two ends.
  • horizontal: a horizontal arrow. Dragging its middle shifts it up or down, and thin offset lines join it to its two ends.
  • diagonal: a straight arrow in the direction of its two ends. Dragging its middle shifts it sideways, and thin offset lines join it to its two ends.
  • circular: an arc. Offered once at least one selected arrow is circular.
  • elbow: a path made of horizontal and vertical segments.
  • bezier: a smooth curve.
  • custom: a path you draw point by point.
• For free, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and circular arrows only:
  • Label source: what the label shows: custom text, the measured distance, or the measured angle.
  • Text decimals: how many decimals the measured value shows, from 0 to 5. Shown while the label shows a distance or an angle.

Secondary Stroke

The secondary stroke controls the offset lines between the measured shape and the arrow. The orange outlines mark these lines, shown here with a rough teal stroke.

• Secondary stroke style: the kind of line.
  • Freehand stroke
  • Solid stroke
  • Dashed stroke
• Secondary stroke color: the color of the extra lines.
• Secondary stroke opacity: their transparency.
• Secondary stroke width: their thickness.
• For solid and dashed lines only:
  • Secondary stroke roughness: how far the lines wander from the exact path. Two more options appear when it is greater than 0:
    • Multiple strokes: draws the lines twice.
    • Rough vertices: lets roughness move the corners too.
• For dashed lines only:
  • Secondary stroke gap: the space between dashes.
  • Secondary stroke dash length: the length of each dash.
• For freehand lines only:
  • Stroke thinning: how much their width varies.

Text Style

The typeface, size, and placement of the label.

Font style and family

• Font style: the family of typefaces to choose from.
  • Sans Serif: plain letterforms without finishing strokes.
  • Serif: letterforms with finishing strokes, as in print.
  • Handwriting: letterforms that look written by hand.
  • Mono: every character takes the same width, as in code.
  • Display: decorative typefaces for titles.
• Font family: the typeface, within the chosen style.

Font variant

• Font variant: the weight or slant of that typeface.

Font size

• Font size: the size of the text.

Letter spacing

• Letter spacing: for text on a path, the extra space between characters along the path.
• Line height: the space between lines.
• Horizontal alignment: where the lines sit across the box.
  • Align left
  • Align center
  • Align right
• Vertical alignment: where the text block sits down the box.
  • Align top
  • Align middle
  • Align bottom

Text Fill

The color of the label's letters and its opacity.

• Text fill style: whether the characters are filled. The style decides which of the controls below appear.
  • No fill: the characters are hollow.
  • Solid fill: the characters are filled with one flat color.

Text fill color

Shown with solid text fill.

• Text fill color: the color of the characters.

Text fill opacity

Shown with solid text fill.

• Text fill opacity: the transparency of that color.

Text Outline

The outline drawn around the label's letters.

• Text stroke style: whether the characters have an outline. The style decides which of the controls below appear.
  • No stroke: no outline.
  • Solid stroke: a continuous outline.
• For solid strokes only:
  • Text stroke color: the color of the outline.
  • Text stroke opacity: the transparency of the outline.
  • Text stroke width: the thickness of the outline.
  • Over Fill: draws the outline over the fill instead of behind it, so it covers part of each character. Texts, arrows, and geometry shapes have it, while the text has a fill.

Filter

A chain of SVG filter primitives applied to how the shape is drawn. See Filters.

Mask

An arrow can be masked. To use its shape as a mask, convert it to a path first. See Masks.

Actions

Besides the actions every shape has, covered in What every shape shares, an arrow offers these in the Actions panel.

Flatten

Turns the arrow into one path holding everything it draws.

• Operation: select the arrow and click Flatten in the Actions panel.
• Needs: an arrow with visible ink, outside text or point editing.
• Result: one path containing its current route, markers, secondary strokes, and label. It stops following connected shapes and uses the base color.
• Tip: see Flatten for how the result is built.

Other boolean operations

Arrows take part in the other boolean operations alongside vector shapes. Each fixes the current route in place.

• Union, Subtract, Intersect, and Exclude: combine the arrow's area with the other selected shapes. See Union, subtract, intersect, and exclude.
• Split: turns the arrow's separate painted pieces into independent paths. See Split.

Reverse arrow direction

Swaps the start and the end of the arrow.

• Operation: click Reverse arrow direction.
• Result: the start and end swap, arrowheads included, while the route stays in place.

Bind selected terminal to shape center

An arrow drawn by dragging binds its ends to exact spots. This action gives one of those ends the center binding it would have had if drawn by clicking, without redrawing the arrow.

• Operation: select the arrow, click the end handle bound to a spot on a shape, and click Bind selected terminal to shape center.
• Result: the end binds to the shape's center instead, so it aims at the middle of the shape from any direction and ends at the shape's edge.

Unbind shape

Detaches the arrow from the shapes it follows.

• Operation: click Unbind shape.
• Result: the ends stay where they are but stop following the shapes.

Duplicate with arrows

Copies the selected shapes together with the arrows connected to them.

• Operation: click Duplicate shape with arrows in the Actions panel.
• Needs: at least one selected shape with an arrow connected, incoming or outgoing. Shapes without arrows are skipped.
• Result:
  • A copy to the right of the original, with a small gap between them. The copy is selected.
  • Every arrow connected to the original is copied and connected to the copy. Its other end stays on the same neighbor, or moves to that neighbor's copy if the neighbor was selected too.
• Tip: when an arrow meets a neighbor at a precise point, its copy meets that neighbor slightly further along the edge, so the two arrows don't overlap.

Duplicate and continue flow

Copies a shape beyond its incoming arrow and joins the copy to the original with a new arrow.

• Operation: click Duplicate shape and continue flow in the Actions panel.
• Needs: at least one selected shape with an incoming arrow. Shapes without one are skipped.
• Result:
  • A copy one shape width or height past the original, to the left, right, top, or bottom: whichever follows the incoming arrow most closely.
  • A copy of the incoming arrow, with its style and label, running from the original to the copy. With several incoming arrows, only one is copied.
  • The copy is selected.

Convert to path shape

Turns the arrow into paths you can reshape point by point.

• Operation: click Convert to path shape.
• Result: a group with one path for the body, one for each arrowhead, and one for each offset line, keeping the arrow's stroke. The connections to other shapes are removed, and the label becomes a separate text shape.

Convert to freehand shape

Turns the arrow into freehand shapes made of points.

• Operation: click Convert to freehand shape.
• Result: a group of freehand shapes, one per part of the arrow, sampled into points. The connections to other shapes are removed, and the label becomes a separate text shape.

Convert to Image

Replaces the arrow with an image that looks the same but draws faster, to keep a board with many shapes light. The arrow can no longer be edited.

• Operation: click Convert to Image. If the arrow has a Stroke Animation or a Text Animation, a dialog warns that it will be lost, and you confirm with Convert.
• Result: an SVG image in place of the arrow that looks the same, label included, and stays sharp at any zoom. The image no longer follows the shapes the arrow was bound to. Move, rotate, scale, resize, and fade animations move to the image, and stroke and text animations are removed.

Animating arrows

Stroke Animation draws the arrow along its route over time, offset lines, body, and arrowheads in turn, and reveals its label at the end. Text Animation reveals the label as if typed.

Limits

• An arrow cannot bind to another arrow.
• Flipping an arrow only works when the shapes it is bound to are flipped with it.
• Deleting a bound shape leaves the arrow in place, unbound at that end.
• A circular arrow is created by the angle measure; other arrows cannot be switched to circular.