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Drawing Shape with Drawing Tools

To create a new shape, you can use the Line, Spline, Rectangle, Ellipse tools.

Choose a tool and use the mouse to draw a segment. To add another segment to it, start drawing from one of the endpoints of the existing one. This will lengthen the geometry.

If you hold down the Shift key when drawing, the constrained drawing mode switches on. The way in which the constrained segments behave depends on the segment type.

Basic Segments

Line: a line segment. It can be created with the Line tool. To constrain a line to any 45-degree angle, hold down the Shift key as you drag.

To switch to this tool, do one of the following:
Toolbar	Click the Line button on the Drawing Tools toolbar.
Menu	Choose the Line item from the Tools / Draw menu.
Keyboard	Press Ctrl + 4.

Spline: a smooth curve (also called spline). It can be created with the Spline tool. This tool works like a pencil on paper, the only difference is that the curve results smooth rather than jagged. Once drawn, the spline is easy to modify by adjusting its control and adjustment handles.

To switch to this tool, do one of the following:
Toolbar	Click the Spline button on the Drawing Tools toolbar.
Menu	Choose the Spline item from the Tools / Draw menu.
Keyboard	Press Ctrl + 5.

Elementary Shapes

Besides single segments, you can also draw some widely-used shapes: rectangle, ellipse. Use the corresponding toolbar buttons for each of them.

Rectangle: creates a filled rectangle. Drag the mouse to determine its size. By holding down the Shift key as you draw, you constrain the rectangle to a square.

To switch to this tool, do one of the following:
Toolbar	Click the Rectangle button on the Drawing Tools toolbar.
Menu	Choose the Rectangle item from the Tools / Draw menu.
Keyboard	Press Ctrl + 2.

Ellipse: draws a filled ellipse. Drag the mouse to determine its size. By holding down the Shift key as you drag, you constrain the ellipse to a circle.

To switch to this tool, do one of the following:
Toolbar	Click the Ellipse button on the Drawing Tools toolbar.
Menu	Choose the Ellipse item from the Tools / Draw menu.
Keyboard	Press Ctrl + 3.

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