New shapes take the current line type and go on the active layer. If that line type or layer is hidden, the status bar warns you; if the layer is locked, nothing is drawn ("The active layer is locked.").
Each tool's options are in the side panel's first section while the tool is active. Options are remembered between sessions.
Press Esc to step back or leave a tool. A right-click also steps back.
Dot (D)
Click to place a dot (0.9 mm across). Dots can be the origin for distance marking and are exported as small circles.
Line (L)
Use: click the start point, then the end point. Each line needs two clicks; the next click starts a new line. You can also press and drag. Starting a line on the end of another joins them.
Options:
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| Length | Tick it and enter a length: the second point sits exactly that far from the first, in the cursor's direction. |
| Set angle | None; Relative: the angle from the line snapped at the start point (enter the angle; the cursor chooses the side); H/V: the line snaps to the nearer of horizontal or vertical. |
Hold Shift to keep the line horizontal or vertical.
Afterwards: drag an end to change it, or type an exact Length in the Properties section (the start stays put).
Bézier curve (B)
Use: four clicks, in the curve's own order:
- Start point (P0): snaps.
- First handle (P1): the curve leaves the start towards it. Shift keeps it level or plumb with the start.
- Second handle (P2): the curve arrives at the end from it.
- End point (P3): snaps; the curve is drawn. Shift keeps it level or plumb with P2.
The handle lines show while you place the handles, and the real curve while you place the end. The status bar shows the handle's length and angle, then the curve's length as you place the end (see The status bar). Esc or a right-click steps back one click.
To join curves smoothly afterwards, use Shape ▸ Smooth connected Bézier curves (see Shape menu).
Circle (E) and Oval (Shift+E)
Circle: click the centre, then click a point on the circle (or drag from the centre).
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| Diameter | Tick it and enter a size: one click places a circle of that diameter. |
Oval: click the centre, then a corner of the oval's box. Shift makes it a circle.
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| Diameter (width) and Height | Tick to place an oval of that width and height with one click. |
For circles tangent to other shapes, see Tangent circle or line.
Rectangle (R)
Click one corner, then the opposite corner (or drag). Shift makes a square. The rectangle is four separate lines joined at the corners, so each side can be bevelled, trimmed and pricked on its own.
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| Width / Height | Tick either to fix that side's length. |
Arc (V)
Choose a mode in the options:
| Mode | How to draw | Option |
|---|---|---|
| Radius | Click the start and end points, then move to the side of the centre and click. The preview shows the radii to the centre: click beyond the centre for the major arc (more than half a circle, round the centre's side). | Radius (at least half the distance between the points) |
| Semicircle | Click the start and end points, then move to the side the arc bulges to and click. | Height ÷ chord (0.5 is a half circle) |
| 3 points | Click the start, the end, and a point the arc passes through. | – |
Afterwards: drag an arc end to change its angle; type Radius and Sweep in the Properties section; right-click for Convert arc to Bézier curve or Draw golden spiral.
Text (T)
Use: click where the text should start and type. Enter or a click elsewhere keeps it; Shift+Enter starts a new line; Esc drops it. Click a text (with the Text tool) or double-click it (with Select) to edit it: its words, and its options, which the side panel shows while it is edited (also after a double-click with Select). Changing them restyles that text alone; the words and options you change are kept, or dropped with Esc, together as one undo step.
Options:
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| Font / Size | The font (Noto Sans is built in) and the letter height in mm. Remembered. |
| Rotation | Degrees. |
| Tracking | Letter spacing; 1 is normal. |
| Arc radius | Arched text round a circle of this radius; 0 is straight. CCW runs it counter-clockwise. While an arched text is edited, Arc: … of … mm (…%) shows the arc length it uses of the whole circle (amber when it runs round more than once and its ends overlap). |
| Line spacing | 1 is normal. |
| Fill inside | Draw the letters filled instead of as outlines. |
| Cancel | Drop the text being typed, or the changes to the text being edited. |
Text is drawn from the letters' outlines, so it prints, exports and 3D-prints exactly as shown. When no text is being edited, the options apply to new texts; editing an existing text doesn't change them.
A text keeps its stored letters, even when its font isn't available on this computer, until you change it. While a text is edited, the status bar warns in amber when its font is missing (another font is used for the changes) or when the font has no letters for some characters (they show as boxes).
Dimension (#)
Dimensions measure lengths and radii. They are drawn in line type 7 (orange) and are shown or hidden together with F5.
Modes:
| Mode | How to use |
|---|---|
| Linear | Click the first point, then the second (both snap), then move to place the dimension line and click. Moving above or below measures the width; left or right measures the height. |
| Aligned | The same, measuring along the line between the two points. |
| Radius | Click an arc or circle: the label reads R=… with a leader line. |
Options: Line type, Gap (between the measured object and the extension lines), Decimals, Single line (no extension lines), Inside (text between the arrows), Arrow only, Reverse text.
Dimensions are a group of shapes (line, arrows, extension lines, label). They don't follow the shapes they measure if those change.
The font for the numbers loads the first time you pick the tool. If you click to place a dimension before it has arrived, the status bar says so and nothing is added; click again a moment later and the dimension goes in with its number. A dimension is never added without its number. (One drawn without a number by an earlier version can be deleted and drawn again.)