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# Changing the Line Style and Thickness

You can change the style and thickness of your lines. You can also change the style and thickness of the outlines of rectangles, circles, and ellipses.

## Changing the line style

The line style may be either solid or one of several predefined dot and dash patterns.

To change a line style

1. Click on the line, rectangle, circle, or ellipseto display the object properties.

2. Find the Line property group on the Object property page.

3. Click on the Style value field in the Line property group. A will appear.

4. Click the and select the line style you want from the list:

5. Click anywhere on the screen to see your line.

Note:

The Dot 1, Dot 2, and Dot 3 options are not available in 5.1 compatibility mode. They are also not available for rectangles, rounded rectangles, circles, or ellipses.

## Changing the thickness of solid lines

Solid lines can be any thickness you want. You may select one of the predefined thicknesses or enter your own.

Note:

Thickness can also be changed for some types of dotted or dashed lines.

To change the thickness of a solid line

1. Click on the line, rectangle, circle, or ellipse to display the objectproperties.

2. Find the Line properties on the Object property page.

3. Select Solid as the Style.

4. Click on the Thickness value field underneath Line to display the .

5. Click to display thedrop-down list and select the thickness you want:

To create a custom line thickness

1. Click on the line, rectangle, circle, or ellipse to display the object properties.

2. Find the Line properties on the Object property page.

3. Click on the Thickness value field underneath Line to display the .

4. Click to display thedrop-down list:

5. Scroll to the end of the drop-down list and select Custom. The Measure property will appear below Thickness:

6. Click on the Measure value field. The value in the field will be highlighted:

7. Enter the line thickness you want.

8. Press or click anywhere on the screen to see your line.

Note:

Predefined line thicknesses are displayed in inches, regardless of the default unit of measure you select. Custom thicknesses are entered in the default unit of measure. If you prefer to enter your line thickness in points instead of inches or centimeters, you can do it without changing your default. Just enter the point size followed by “pt”:

2 pt

When you click out of the value field, the point size will be “translated” to your default unit of measure.

## Changing the line edges

You can change the edges of solid lines and some types of dotted and dashed lines according to your preference. You can choose from the following options:

Round (the default). Rounded edges are rounded at the end and extend one-half of a line thickness beyond the measurement:

Square. Square edges are flat at the end and extend one-half of a line thickness beyond the measurement:

Flat. Flat edges are flat at the end and do not extend beyond the measurement:

The Edge property is not available in 5.1 compatibility mode. All lines in 5.1 compatibility mode have rounded ends.

Note:

There are no edge settings for lines used for rectangle borders because they are continuous and do not have ends.

To change the edge of a line

1. Click on the line to display the objectproperties.

2. Find the Line properties on the Object property page.

3. Click on the Edge field underneath Line to display the .

4. Click to display thedrop-down list:

5. Select the line edge you want.

## Changing the thickness of dotted and dashed lines

The thickness for the Dots line style is preset and cannot be changed. The thickness of lines with other dotted and dashed styles can be changed. This feature is available for lines only. It does not apply to rectangle borders. Thicknesses for dotted and dashed rectangle borders are preset.

The procedure for changing the thickness for Dot 1, Dot 2, and Dot 3 lines is the same as for solid lines. Dash, Dash Dot, and Dash Dot Dot lines cannot be changed unless they have square or flat edges.

To change Dot 1, Dot 2, or Dot 3 line thickness

1. Click on the line to display the objectproperties.

2. Find the Line properties on the Object property page.

3. Select Dot 1, Dot 2,or Dot 3 as the Style.

4. Click on the Thickness value field underneath Line to display the .

5. Click to display the drop-down list and select the thickness you want.

To change Dash, Dash Dot, and Dash Dot Dot line thickness

1. Click on the line to display the objectproperties.

2. Find the Line properties on the Object property page.

3. Select the line style.

4. Change the line edges to either Flat or Square.

5. Click on the Thickness value field underneath Line to display the .

6. Click to display the drop-down list and select the thickness you want.

Note:

Thickness for dotted and dashed lines cannot be changed in 5.1 compatibility mode. If you are working in 5.1 compatibility mode, all the line styles will have preset thicknesses, except for Solid.