# What do you call a jagged edge on a diagram to show that the object continues? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 21, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-a-jagged-edge-on-a-diagram-to-show-that-the-object-continues/933391 "2021-02-21T16:02:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-a-jagged-edge-on-a-diagram-to-show-that-the-object-continues/933391/1 "2021-02-21T16:02:18Z")
What is the term of art for using a jagged or zig-zag edge in a diagram to show that an object continues, but you are seeing the important part? Example of this done for a screen shot: [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/o5ve0ft4r2b8bfr/jagged%20edge.png?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/o5ve0ft4r2b8bfr/jagged%20edge.png?dl=0) Also done in mechanical drawings. Bonus question: How do you do this in Visio? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-a-jagged-edge-on-a-diagram-to-show-that-the-object-continues/933391/2 "2021-02-21T16:25:34Z")
It might be a break or break line. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-a-jagged-edge-on-a-diagram-to-show-that-the-object-continues/933391/3 "2021-02-21T16:31:45Z")
Break lines are often used to omit the middle section of something that’s too long to fit on the page - there are some conventions in engineering drawing for representing them - examples here: [Line Conventions – ManufacturingET.org](http://www.manufacturinget.org/2011/07/line-conventions/) For examples like the one given by the OP - where an edge just trails off and the other end of the piece isn’t shown, I’ve always called that a torn edge (even when it’s not as conspicuously ‘torn’ as in the example), but I don’t know if that’s the official term. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-a-jagged-edge-on-a-diagram-to-show-that-the-object-continues/933391/4 "2021-02-21T19:21:22Z")
Here’s **[how in PowerPoint](https://www.shapechef.com/blog/ripped-paper-effect-in-powerpoint)**. Which is probably similar to Visio in image manipulation. If this won’t work directly in Visio, it gives you the recipe for how to do this to any image in either PP or a generic image editing app, then you could simply import the modified image into Visio. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-a-jagged-edge-on-a-diagram-to-show-that-the-object-continues/933391/5 "2021-02-21T19:36:01Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’ve always called that a torn edge (even when it’s not as conspicuously ‘torn’ as in the example), but I don’t know if that’s the official term. Same here. No one ever failed to understand what that meant. I think I saw ‘torn edge’ used in a web page design tool. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-a-jagged-edge-on-a-diagram-to-show-that-the-object-continues/933391/6 "2021-02-21T20:05:33Z")
I’m asking because I tried to do a search on it and couldn’t figure out what to search for. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-a-jagged-edge-on-a-diagram-to-show-that-the-object-continues/933391/7 "2021-02-21T23:15:31Z")
As I recall from mechanical drawing in high school, in that context it is called a [conventional break](https://etc.usf.edu/clipart/76600/76662/76662_breaketcsymb.htm) (crikey, how did I remember THAT of all things from so long ago) I believe when used in graphs and charts it’s called a graph break or break line, for a border around something to show it is taken out of something else, I don’t know ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-a-jagged-edge-on-a-diagram-to-show-that-the-object-continues/933391/8 "2021-02-22T00:45:50Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > As I recall from mechanical drawing in high school, in that context it is called a [conventional break](https://etc.usf.edu/clipart/76600/76662/76662_breaketcsymb.htm) I think those are “conventional” in that they are not “standard”. I only got ISO STANDARD mechanical drawing, which is simplified and standardized to make drawing faster and easier (doesn’t matter now: it’s all computers. Ha. ). As I recall, an ISO standard break line is a thin line with small zig-zags dotted on it at regular intervals. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-a-jagged-edge-on-a-diagram-to-show-that-the-object-continues/933391/9 "2021-02-22T05:39:20Z")
It is mimicking a deckel edge but I don’t know if you would call it that. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-a-jagged-edge-on-a-diagram-to-show-that-the-object-continues/933391/10 "2021-02-22T19:07:31Z")
Per engineering drawing standard ASME Y14.2-2014 (Line Conventions and Lettering), this is called a “Break Line”.