How to draw straight lines

Written by Greg Ives

Creator of Jotboard

Learn how to draw perfectly straight horizontal and vertical lines in Jotboard using the Shift key or the ruler toggle.

How to draw straight lines

You can draw perfectly straight lines in Jotboard by holding the Shift key while using any drawing tool, or by turning on the ruler toggle if you’d rather not hold a key down.

Using the Shift key

1. Select a drawing tool (pen, marker, highlighter, or brush).
2. Hold Shift on your keyboard.
3. Click and drag to draw.
4. The line will snap to a straight horizontal or vertical direction.

Using the ruler toggle

If you find it easier not to hold Shift while drawing, turn on the ruler toggle instead:

1. Select a drawing tool (pen, marker, highlighter, or brush).
2. In the toolbar, click the Draw straight lines toggle.
3. Every stroke you draw now snaps to a straight horizontal or vertical line, without needing to hold Shift.
4. Click the toggle again to turn it off and draw freehand.

The toggle only appears while a drawing tool is selected, since it has no effect otherwise.

When to use this

• Underlining text or headings
• Drawing borders or dividing lines
• Creating simple tables or grids
• Drawing arrows or pointers (combine with the pen tool)

Tips

• This works with all four drawing tools: pen, marker, highlighter, and brush.
• The line snaps to whichever direction (horizontal or vertical) is closest to your drag direction.
• The ruler toggle and the Shift key both work the same way — use whichever is more convenient. Holding Shift also works while the toggle is off.