Frame non-symmetrical parts of a diagram for labeling

Hi ​@ScottB 

Lucid’s container/frames system works best with contiguous, standard-shaped areas. For irregular or disjointed parts, the usual approach is to overlay a freeform shape, use multiple frames with matching style, or draw your own outline manually.

Frames and containers are two distinct design elements that serve different purposes. Frames offer a flexible, catch-all space to organize content and guide users through workflows or presentations using paths. In contrast, containers are designed for more specific use cases, allowing you to group objects thematically. While containers offer features like "Gather" for filtering content, they do not support paths, making them ideal for targeted, focused applications.

To learn more - What's the difference between frames and containers in Lucidspark? | Community

Hope this helps - Happy to help further!!
Thank you very much and have a great one!
Warm regards

Huma,

Thank you for the reply.  Yes, I can and have used multiple frames to outline and cordon off the network, but with the lines between the two areas, it gives the impression of not being contiguous.  Free had drawing is ok, but it looks like I was scribbling on a piece of paper and is not very symmetrical.  Is there a way to join two frames together and eliminate the common lines between them?

If you look at the two attached PNG files.  The frames.png is from Lucid and shows the frames and the lines I want to eliminate.  The second, lines-visio.png shows the same drawing exported to visio.  Then I removed the frames and selected the “lines” drawing tool.  Then I could draw perfectly straight lines all connected by endpoints until I had enclosed the area I was looking to cordon off.  If this functionality is not currently available in Lucid could I submit a feature request to have it added.  I know it’s not a huge feature but for network diagrams it is very helpful.

Thanks again for the quick response..

Scott ||  Lucid Noob

Hi ​@ScottB,

Thanks for clarifying and for sharing the screenshots! 

Lucid doesn’t support merging two frames together or removing the common borders between adjacent frames. Frames and containers are designed to stay as distinct elements, so unfortunately you won’t be able to achieve a seamless joined border in that way.

For now, the best workaround would be to either:

• Draw your own enclosure using straight lines or shapes (for example, rectangles with no fill and a consistent border style), and group them together into a custom boundary. This will give you the symmetry and straight-line control you’re looking for without the “scribbled” effect of the pen tool.

• Use a single large frame or container with a transparent background and then layer other objects on top, adjusting the z-order to create the effect of subdivided areas.

That said, your request for the ability to build custom-shaped boundaries or join frames together is a great feature idea.

If you’re willing to share, we’d love to hear more details about your use case or what you’d like to see in this experience within this thread. I’ve also converted this post to an idea so that it’s visible to others within the Product Feedback section of the community - from here, they can upvote it and add details of their own.

Finally, for more information on how Lucid manages feedback via this community, take a look at this post:

https://community.lucid.co/welcome-to-the-lucid-community-15/what-happens-to-my-feedback-5438

Ikalu,

Thank you for the reply. I’ve worked on the drawings using your idea of using the line shape.  I was able to get it to work.  My only “minor” issue is that the default line shape comes with an arrow at one end.  Not a big deal, I just had to select “None” for the endpoint.  It’s just another step.  Also, the line endpoints don’t snap to other lines when you get close like the do with other shapes/objects.  The other line endpoint does show up, but only when you get really close to it.  Also, the line shape is treated like a connector line so when it crosses another line it creates the bump to indicate it is jumping that line.  We’ll see if that is confusing as I share this drawing with others.

I’m happy to discuss the feature idea and share my thoughts.

Feel free to reach out.

Again, thanks for the reply.

Thanks,

Scott

Hi ​@ScottB ,

Glad to hear the workaround helped and thanks for sharing the extra details you noticed. You are right that line objects behave as connectors, which is why you see the arrowhead by default, the jump when crossing other lines, and the limited snapping at endpoints.

Your notes are very helpful for us as we continue to track this idea in the Product Feedback section. In the meantime, you can also try using rectangles or polylines with no fill and just a border. Those do not add arrows or jumps, though they also will not snap in quite the same way.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience and for helping us improve.

Hi Ikalu,

Keeping the border is the issue since you have to use rectangles but my diagrams have two sections that would be equivalent to connecting a rectangle with a square.  Similar to what you saw in my attached pictures earlier.

What could be done is to create the rectangles or squares and set the same fill color, send them to back, then eliminate the border.  They would still be separate objects but could be grouped to a single object.  But if you connect the two color filled objects without showing the borders, then it could identify it as a single area.  My only concern is sometimes the use of colors has different effects on those viewing it.  So, it’s something to try but lines that snap together would allow for simplistic grouping.

Thanks,

Scott