Drawing Relationship Lines, Step by Step

Emotional lines (close, conflict, cutoff, abuse, and more) are drawn from the ring of buttons that appears around a selected person. There's no separate line tool in the toolbar.

Draw an emotional line

1. With the Select tool active (V), click the first person's symbol. Round buttons appear around it.
2. Find the red Emotional Line button (the handshake icon, lower left of the ring).
3. Either press and drag from it to the second person and let go on their symbol, or click it once, then click the second person. After a single click, a banner reads Click another person to connect · Esc to cancel.
4. The line is drawn as Close and selected, so the Inspector shows the type grid. Click the type you want, for example Conflict, Cutoff, or Fused.

On a phone or tablet, tap Emotional Line, then tap the second person.

The line disappears when I reach the second person

This is the most common snag, and it has a specific cause. The line only connects if it ends on the second person's symbol, near the centre of the square or circle.

• Dragging: if you let go on empty canvas or on the name label below the symbol, the line is cancelled and vanishes. Let go right on the shape.
• Click mode: once you've clicked the button, click directly on the second symbol. Clicking empty canvas cancels.
• Holding then releasing in place: a quick click on the button starts click mode. Holding it down and letting go without moving cancels. Either click it briefly, or drag all the way to the other person.
• Zoom in (bottom right controls) on a crowded chart so the target symbol is big and easy to hit.

If nothing appears at all, check that you clicked the person first. The buttons only show around one selected person.

Fixing a line you drew wrong

• Wrong type: click the line and pick another type in the Inspector.
• Arrow points the wrong way: select the line and click the small reverse button on the highlighted tile, or right-click the line and choose Reverse direction. No need to redraw.
• Wrong people: select the line and press Delete (or the trash button in the Inspector footer), then draw it again. Undo (Cmd/Ctrl + Z) also works right after drawing.

Several lines between the same two people

Real relationships are rarely one thing. Draw another emotional line between the same pair and it gets its own lane, so you can show, for example, Close and Conflict together. The Inspector shows Connection 1 of 2 with numbered buttons for switching between them.

Making a triangle

A triangle is three lines. Draw one emotional line for each pair (A to B, B to C, A to C) and choose the type that fits each side, such as Close on two sides and Focused On Negatively or Conflict on the third. You can also select exactly three people and choose Mark as triangle in the Bulk Edit panel or the right-click menu.

Which way do abuse arrows point?

The arrow points at the person who was harmed. Click the person who did the harm first and the person harmed second, or use the reverse button afterwards. Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Sexual Abuse, the two neglect types, Control, and Manipulative are all directional.

The AI shortcut

Open the AI Assistant and describe it: "add a close relationship between Maria and her mother" or "show conflict between the two brothers". On the Free plan each request uses one AI credit. See Using the AI Assistant.

For a reference of every line style, see Emotional Relationships.