How to make lines in Affinity Designer & Publisher

When working with Affinity products, there isn’t a specialized line tool as you might find in some Adobe applications. However, creating lines is straightforward once you navigate to the pen tool on the left-hand side. In Designer or Publisher, the process is identical. Here’s how I go about it:

I select the pen tool, which then presents options on the contextual toolbar.
Important Step: I change from Pen mode to Line mode. You can create a line in the default Pen mode, but in line mode your path will break after placing two nodes. In Pen mode, you will keep adding to your line until you de-select the pen tool.
To draw a straight line, I click to set the starting point, hold down the shift key, and click to set the endpoint.

How to Create a Line in Affinity Software

First up, I select the Pen Tool from the left-hand toolbar, which brings up additional options in the contextual toolbar. Here’s what you’ll find:

Fill: Color inside the borders of the stroke
Stroke: Color of the stroke
Stroke Weight: Thickness of the line

Next, make sure the Pen Tool is set to Line Mode. This lets me click to set a starting point, then hold down Shift, click again to define the end point, and voilà – a straight line appears.

Adjusting the Line

Now, let’s tweak the line’s appearance.

I can change the Stroke Weight to make the line thicker for better visibility.
The Cap Options let me choose between a Rounded, Butt, or Square cap – affecting how the line’s end looks.

Cap Style	End Looks Like
Rounded Cap	Smooth, rounded (semi-circular) end
Butt Cap	Ends squarely, node is at the end of the line
Square Cap	Ends squarely, node is not at the end of the line

I usually stick with the Rounded Cap for a smooth end.

Square cap end on Canvas (ignore yellow square)

Scaling with the Object

When resizing objects, it’s good to know about the “Scale with Object” option.

On: The line’s thickness scales bigger or smaller as you resize the object.
Off: The line maintains its original thickness regardless of object scaling.

For a uniform look when scaling designs, I recommend turning this feature on.

Other options

To create dashed lines, click the line to the dashed setting and adjust the dash length and spacing settings. Entering “2” and “4” in the first two boxes is a good starting point.