The invention improves the appearance of freehand drawn lines and shapes in an electronic document by first recognizing freehand drawn lines and shapes and generating a line made up of sequential straight line segments for the freehand drawn line when the line does not form a closed line and generating a multiple straight-line-segment shape when the line forms a closed line. If a multiple segment shape is being reshaped, a basic shape is selected from reference ideal shapes as the basic shape of the multiple segment shape. The basic shape is adjusted to provide a specific shape as an improved shape for the freehand drawn shape. The recognition of the freehand drawn lines and shapes is accomplished by comparing source segments of a source freehand drawn line to a straight line and substituting a straight line segment for a source segment if the deviation between the source segment and the straight line is below a predetermined value. Sequential source segments of a source freehand drawn line are evaluated to determine if they are an angle segment. A segment pair of sequential source line segments are defined as an angle segment having two straight line segments intersecting at a common end point if both source segments of the segment pair are within a predetermined deviation value from a straight line. The straight line segments and angle segments are combined to form a multiple segment line if the line does not close on itself and a multiple segment shape if the line does close on itself.