About Polygons

Use this tool to draw closed polygonal shapes, like rectangles, squares and regular polygons of any number of sides.

Polygons include two object classes, Rectangle and Polygon, that have specific editing rules.

Topics in this Section

• Rectangles
• Regular Polygons

Rectangles

The Polygons tool provides three methods to create rectangles: rectangle by vertex, rotated rectangle by vertex, and rectangle by center.

Rectangle by Vertex

To draw a rectangle, click to set the first vertex, move the pointer and click again to set opposite vertex. You can add diagonals to a rectangle by pressing the Option key on the second click. To draw a square, use the rectangle tool and hold the Shift key to constrain the diagonal direction. 

To set the size of the rectangle, click to set the starting vertex, then push the “W” key to set the width and “H” to set the height. Positive values go rightwards and upwards. To edit the rectangle with either the Arrow tool or the Drawing tool active, click on vertices to resize, on midpoints of sides to stretch, and click on sides or center point to move.

Rotated Rectangle

Click to place the first vertex, move the pointer and click again to set the base angle; then move the pointer and click a third time to set the height of the shape. To set the dimensions, click the first vertex, push the “A” key to set the angle, the “W” key for the width and the “H” key for the height.

Rectangle by Center

Click to set the center of the rectangle; move and click to define the orientation and the first axis; move and click again to define the perpendicular axis.

Editing a Rectangle

You can modify a rectangle by stretching one of its four vertices, the mid-points of the sides, or move it by the center.

• Select the rectangle. Depending on the handle point you click, you can stretch, resize or move the object.
• Vertex: resize the rectangle by one of its vertices or corners. You can enter the new dimensions by pressing the W and H keys as you resize the shape.
• Middle points: stretch the rectangle and modify its width or height by clicking the middle point of one of the sides.
• Center: move the rectangle to a new location.

Regular Polygons

The Polygons tool includes three methods to create regular polygons of a variable number of sides: polygon by external radius, polygon by internal radius, and polygon by side.

To define the number of sides, use the input field on the Properties bar.

Regular Polygon by External Radius

This method allows you to draw regular polygons with any number of sides starting from three. To set the desired number of sides, use the offset field in the Methods bar next to the tool methods and insert the value. 

To draw a Regular Polygon by the external radius, click to set the center of the shape (all these regular polygons are inscribed in a circle), move the pointer and click again to set the radius of the circle circumscribed and the vertex of the polygon.

Regular Polygon by Internal Radius

This method lets you draw the polygon by setting the center and the radius of the circle inscribed in the polygon.

Regular Polygon by Side

Creates a polygon defined by the side. To create the polygon, draw the first side, exactly like a line of the desired length and angle, and click again to place the shape at the desired location.