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Connecting Objects

There are several ways to connect two objects. The drag and menu methods open a draft: a preview of the new Connection that you name before it's saved. Embeds and Lino AI create Connections for you.

MethodBest for
Drag from the Connection badgeQuick one-to-one Connections
Drag from an edge (⊕)Same, when the badge is small because you're zoomed out
Right-click → Connect to...Connecting one or several selected objects to one target
Release on empty CanvasCreating a new object that's already connected
Reference an object in textConnections that follow your writing (Embeds)
Ask Lino AIFinding and drawing Connections across many objects

Drag from the Connection badge

  1. Hover an object. Its Connection badge (the number in its header) shows the hint Drag to connect / create.
  2. Press on the badge and drag. A line follows your pointer.
  3. Release over another object. A draft opens between the two (see Finish the draft).

Drag from an edge

When you're zoomed out, the badge can be tiny. You can also start from the middle of any of an object's four edges:

  1. Move the pointer to the middle of the top, right, bottom or left edge. The cursor changes and a small ⊕ appears just outside the edge, trailing your pointer.
  2. Press and drag, then release over another object, exactly like dragging from the badge.

Where the finished line attaches doesn't depend on which edge you started from. That's set by Settings → Connection Wires (see Connection appearance).

Connect to... from the menu

Use this to connect one object, or several at once, to a single target.

  1. Select one or more objects (Cards, Images, Links, Sketches, Tables, Sparks).
  2. Right-click one of them and choose Connect to....
  3. Click the target object. A draft opens.

With several objects selected, all of them connect to the target you click. You name them once in a single draft, and one ⌘Z undoes the whole batch. Press Esc before clicking a target to cancel.

Release on empty Canvas to create a connected object

If you drag from a badge or edge (or pick Connect to...) and release on an empty part of the Canvas, a create menu opens where you released, with Quick add and a Create list (Card, Image (upload), Sketch, Table…). The object you create is placed there and connected to the object you started from with a plain connects Connection. You can name it later (see Editing Connections).

Reference an object in your text

Mentioning an object in a Card connects them automatically:

  • Type @ in a Card and pick an object to insert a Reference chip (or block).
  • Click a word with a dashed underline (a Potential Concept: a word that matches another Concept Card) and choose Create & Link to.

Either way, the Card gets an embeds Connection to that object. It stays as long as the Reference stays in the text. See Embeds.

Ask Lino AI

Ask Lino AI to connect ideas ("connect these Cards by how they relate"). New Connections it draws appear right away, and you can undo them. If it wants to rename, restyle or remove a Connection you made, that change waits as a Proposal for your approval. See Proposals & undo.

Finish the draft

A draft is a dashed preview line with a toolbar and a name field already open. The name starts as connects.

  1. Type a Relationship name (for example "requires"), or keep connects for an unnamed link. Press Enter to close the name field.
  2. Optionally set arrows and line style in the toolbar (see Editing Connections).
  3. Finish in one of three ways:
    • Click ✓ (Confirm) to save.
    • Click X (Cancel) to throw the draft away.
    • Click anywhere else. The draft is saved with the name it has.

A new draft starts undirected and dashed, whatever name you type. Set arrows and line style yourself if you want them.

What the hint under the name means

If the pair is already connected, a hint under the name (also shown on ✓) tells you what saving will do:

HintWhat happens
Names the existing lineThe pair has only a plain connects Connection. Saving names it instead of adding a second one.
Already connected as "…"That Relationship already exists. Saving updates it (only the arrows or line style you changed) and doesn't add a duplicate.
Already has a named relationshipYou kept connects, but the pair already has a named Relationship. Nothing is added.
Belongs to a Relation propertyThat Connection comes from a Relation property and can't be changed here.

With several objects (from Connect to...), the hint counts them, for example "2 of 3 already connected as "requires"".

Things to know

  • You can't connect an object to itself.
  • You can't name a Connection embeds yourself. That name is reserved for automatic Connections.
  • There's no keyboard shortcut for creating a Connection.