How to draw graphical shapes

Individual graphical shapes to be drawn may be selected from the Draw menu or by pressing the corresponding button on the toolbar.

Selection mode

Do one of the following to switch to Select mode:

• press the Esc key on the keyboard
• click this icon:
• move mouse pointer to the toolbar area in the upper part of the main window

Line

Click the mouse at the start and end point of the line. Press Esc to exit drawing.

Polyline

Click successively where you want the line vertices to be located. Use the Backspace key to remove an unwanted line segment. Press Esc to exit drawing.

Curve

Use this function to draw one or several linked Bezier curves. The curves are automatically linked together to get a smooth link.

The Bezier curve shape is defined by 4 points: two end points (1) (4) and two control points (2) (3). The ends of the curve are defined by the two end points. The curve shape also depends on the control points, which act like magnets. Based on the distance of the control points from the end points the shape of the curve is defined. Therefore the curve may take many different shapes.

Rectangle

Click the left mouse button at the upper left and lower right corners of the rectangle. You can now start drawing another rectangle or select a new graphic object from the menu.

Rounded rectangle

The procedure is similar to drawing a rectangle except a third point, which is used here to define rectangle rounding.

Arc defined by three points

The first mouse click defines the start point (1), the next click the point (2) through which the arc passes, and the third click the end point (3) of the arc.

To finish drawing the arcs, press the Esc key.

Arc, chord and pie

Proceed in the same way as when drawing a rectangle but you will also need to set up the starting and end angles of the arc. Enter the values of the angles in the Properties panel in tenths of degree.

Ellipse

The procedure is similar to rectangle drawing but the inscribed ellipse is drawn instead of the rectangle.

Polygon

Draws a polygon.

Click successively at the places where you want the vertices of the polygon to be located. After you have completed drawing the polygon, press the Esc key.

Connection point

Connection points (also known as outlets) can only be inserted in the symbols editor (documents with the extension ".ppd"). They are defined by a single point, displayed in red for easy visibility, and appear larger when selected.

How to draw arrows

Draw a line, Bezier curve or an arc and select type of the arrow in the Properties panel.

The shape of the arrows can be modified by entering the values Scale X and Scale Y in the Properties panel. The length and width of the arrow are multiplied by these values. For example, the value of 1.23 enlarges the arrow by 23%.

The direction of the arrow can be changed by clicking on the link flip arrow in the bottom part of the Properties panel.

Orthogonal drawing mode

Orthogonal drawing mode is activated by pressing Ctrl key when drawing objects. Lines are drawn vertically, horizontally or with angle 45°. Rectangles and ellipses are drawn as squares and circles in this mode.

Ability to add or remove points of a line or a polygon

This function allows adding to or removing points of a line or a polygon.

Procedure:

• Select line or polygon.
• Select menu command Edit – Add or delete
• By clicking on line edge add a point (A)
• By clicking on line node delete a point (B)
• Press Esc to return to Selection mode

Smooth modification of Bezier curve control points

If the Ctrl key is pressed when a Bezier control point is moved, the program moves the opposite control point so as to make the curve smooth.

Dashed line

Select the line and set the line type in the Properties window. Use the Line type Scale property to change the size of the line segments. For example, a value of 1.3 increases the length of the line segments to 130%.

Hatching

Select a closed graphic object and choose a type of hatching in the Properties panel.