In using an application's drawing feature, users typically use connecting lines between graphical shapes to depict a relationship between the shapes. Drawing connecting lines between two or more graphical shapes within an application can be a time consuming, manual task. An application that automatically generates connecting lines between shapes, based on spatial relationships among the shapes, can reduce the amount of time for drawing a diagram. Functionality can be implemented to generate connecting lines between 1:n shapes based on proximity among the shapes and/or contact between shapes. Automatically generating connecting lines among shapes based on spatial relationships among the shapes allows generating of the connecting lines based on manipulation of shapes, which typically have a larger surface area than a line. Manipulating a larger surface area can be easier than manipulating a line.