Advanced Diagramming

Hi Roy

Thanks for posting in the community! Yes you are able to define which node of a shape your lines connect to. To draw your first line hover over the node you'd like to start from until a red dot appears then click and drag out your line. To add your second line to the same node hover over that same node until the red dot appears again then click and drag your second line. You'll notice that this second line branches out from the original and can be adjusted to extend in different directions as seen below.

This structure should be maintained when you export your diagram to a CSV. However if it looks correct in the original Lucidchart document and you're only seeing these lines connect to separate nodes after you export please let us know and we can take a closer look at the issue. 

Hi

When I export the diagram to csv the file only shows the shape it is connected with not which node.

Here is the csv export. You can see that id 7 is referenced twice but there is no reference to which node is connected.

IdNameShape LibraryPage IDContained ByGroupLine SourceLine DestinationSource ArrowDestination ArrowText Area 1Text Area 2Text Area 3
1PagePage 1
2Swim LaneFlowchart Shapes1CustomerSalesBilling
3TerminatorFlowchart Shapes12:1Customer Contacts Company
4ProcessFlowchart Shapes12:1Customer Request logged into CRM
5ProcessFlowchart Shapes12:2Contact the customer to gauge needs
6ProcessFlowchart Shapes12:2Provide Estimate
7DecisionFlowchart Shapes12:2Does Customer Want Service?
8ProcessFlowchart Shapes12:2Gather all of the Customer Data
9TerminatorFlowchart Shapes12:2END
10ProcessFlowchart Shapes12:3Collect payment
11Line156NoneArrow
12Line1810NoneArrow
13Line145NoneArrow
14Line178NoneArrowYes
15Line134NoneArrow
16Line167NoneArrow
17Line179NoneArrowNo

Roy apologies for the confusion. Thanks for getting back to me and clarifying. Unfortunately there isn't a way to define a specific node with the CSV import tool. It will attach lines to nodes based on the most simple connections possible and is not designed for the import of more complex diagrams. 

Micah

I can achieve an outcome very close to what I want if I create a Custom Shape. However there are a couple of small issue which are that the custom shape name nor the library export in the csv.

I created this by grouping an "Off-Page Link" shape and two "Text" shapes. They all export in the CSV but the Custom Shape name "My-Shape" is ignored and they are still referenced as standard library shapes. I get the following lines in the csv. Any thoughts on how I might be able to change this or would Lucid engineering take an enhancement request so that CustomShape names are exported?

10Off-Page LinkFlowchart Shapes12:220Decision
11TextStandard12:220Yes
12TextStandard12:220No

16Line1117NoneArrowYes

19Line1128NoneArrowNo

Hi Roy 

Nice work-around! Unfortunately only certain standard shape libraries and their names are supported by the CSV export. Would you mind adding your thoughts to this feature request form? We're always looking for ways to make Lucidchart better and ideas submitted here are passed along to our development team for consideration. Thanks!