Choose the tool, click on the frame and drag to draw a rectangle
Squares
Choose the tool, hold Ctrl, click on the frame and drag to draw a square
Ellipses
Choose the tool, click on the frame and drag to draw an ellipse
Circles
Choose the tool, hold Ctrl, click on the frame and drag to draw a circle
Rounded Rectangles
Choose the tool, click on the frame and drag to draw a rectangle.
Choose "Item" > "Edge Rounding" and enter the radius, click OK. The rectangle looks better if the outline
is 2 or more pixels wide
To change the width and the color of the outline
Select the shape and choose "Item" > "Line Width"
and "Line Color"
Choose the tool, click on the frame and drag to draw a straight line
Horizontal or Vertical Lines
Choose the tool, hold SHIFT, click on the frame and drag to draw a straight
line
Curves
Draw a straight line as above, select the tool, right click on the end node and choose "To Curve".
The control node should appear, drag the handle to shape the line. You can also hold Ctrl when adding lines to existing shape.
Stars, Hexagons and other shapes
Choose "Insert" > "Shape or Line" and select one of the items to insert
Creating Text Shape
Choose "Insert" > "Text Shape", enter the text and click OK
Node Editing
To edit existing polyline nodes choose the tool. Select a polyline to edit.
Right click on a node so one of the segments gets bolder. Then choose "Insert", "Delete", "To Curve" or "Straighten" command
from a popup menu.
Converting a line to a curve
Right click on the node ending the line and choose "To Curve"
To shape a curve
Choose the tool and drag the control node of the curve.
Straightening a curve
Right click on the node at the end of the curve and choose "Straighten"
To remove a node
Right click on the node and choose "Delete"
To add a node
Right click on the node at the end of the line where a new node should appear and choose "Insert"
Breaking the node
Right click on the node and choose "Break". Drag the broken node to a new position.
Moving the node
Choose the tool and drag the node
Moving multiple nodes
Choose the tool and drag a rectangle around nodes to select multiple nodes. Drag one of the selected nodes to move them.
Removing the node
Right click on the node and choose "Delete"
To close an open line
Select the line with the tool, choose the tool and draw a line between the end nodes.
To join 2 separate lines
Select both segments with tool and choose "Edit" > "Combine Shapes" command.
Select the tool and draw a line between the end nodes of each subpath.
To combine segments
Select 2 or more shapes (1) and choose "Edit" > "Combine Shapes" to create combined shape (2).
To break multisegment line
Select the line and choose "Edit" > "Break Apart" command.
Drawing freehand shape
Choose the tool, click on the frame and drag the mouse to draw a shape.
Tracing
Import a bitmap to trace. Choose the tool and click inside a solid area of the bitmap to create a vector shape. The magic wand tool has a tolerance of 1 pixel.
Clipping Path
A clipping path creates a mask and masks items ABOVE it (to clip an item put the clipping path below the item to
clip with Edit > Send to Back)
The following example shows 7 circles clipped by mouth shape.
clippath.sfd
To change clipping options double click the shape, check "Clip Shape" and specify how many items above the path should be clipped.