Style and organize diagrams
Change element appearance, arrange selections, and protect finished parts of an Excalidraw diagram.
Use this guide after you have placed elements on the canvas and need to make the diagram readable or easier to maintain. You will style a selection, transform it, align related elements, group them, duplicate a pattern, and lock the finished result.
Before you begin
Open a drawing that contains at least three elements, or create a rectangle, ellipse, and arrow in Create and edit diagrams. Select elements with Selection. Operations that act on multiple elements require a multi-selection.
Steps
Choose Selection, then click an element. Add the other elements to the selection using the editor's multi-selection gesture. A visible selection boundary confirms which elements the next action will affect.
With an element selected, use the selected-element controls to change its fill, stroke, opacity, font, or text alignment. To reuse an existing appearance, use Copy styles on the source element and apply the copied style to the target. The target visibly adopts the source styling.
Resize or rotate the selected element with its handles. Use the available constraint modifier when you need to preserve proportions or constrain the angle. To reverse orientation, choose the horizontal or vertical flip action; the element changes direction while remaining selected.
Select the elements you want to arrange, then choose an alignment action such as Align left, Align center, or Align top. Use a distribution action when the elements should have equal spacing. The selection updates to a common edge, center, or interval.
With related elements selected, choose Group. The group can be moved as one unit while its members retain their internal layout. Duplicate the group when you need a second copy of the same pattern, then move the duplicate to its new position.
Select the elements that should not move during later edits, then choose the lock action. Confirm that the locked elements no longer respond as ordinary movable targets; unlock them before making further changes.
Verify the result
Select the finished group and move it: its members should keep their relative positions. Compare the repeated elements to confirm their styles match, then try selecting a locked element to confirm it is protected. Unlock it and verify that normal editing is available again.
Common problems
Continue with frames, bindings, images, and web embeds when the diagram needs containers or external content.