Selecting Features

Click a feature on the canvas or in the feature tree to select it. Hold Shift and click to add to the selection. Drag a marquee rectangle on empty canvas space to select all features whose bounding boxes intersect the marquee.

Most edit tools operate on the primary selected feature (the last one clicked). Alignment and distribution tools operate on all selected features.

Transform Tools

Select one or more features, then click a transform tool in the toolbar. Click the same button again or press Escape to cancel the transform.

Move

Click Move with a feature selected. Click a reference point on the canvas (the "from" point), then click the destination (the "to" point). The feature moves by the delta between the two points. Snapping applies to both clicks.

Copy

Click Copy . Works like Move, but creates a new feature at the destination instead of moving the original. You can specify a copy count to create multiple evenly-spaced copies in one step.

Resize

Click Resize with a feature selected. Click a reference point, then drag to a new point. The feature scales proportionally based on the ratio of the two distances from the feature's center.

Rotate

Click Rotate with a feature selected. Click a reference point to define the start angle, then click a second point to define the end angle. The feature rotates by the angle between the two vectors from the feature's center.

Offset

Click Offset with one or more closed features selected. Enter an offset distance in the dialog that appears. A positive value expands the profile outward; a negative value shrinks it inward. The result is a new feature.

Offset is only available for closed profiles. Open paths and text features cannot be offset.

Alignment and Distribution

Select two or more features, then use the Align and Distribute popover menus in the toolbar.

Alignment options

  • Align Left — aligns left edges
  • Align Center Horizontally — aligns horizontal centers
  • Align Right — aligns right edges
  • Align Top — aligns top edges
  • Align Center Vertically — aligns vertical centers
  • Align Bottom — aligns bottom edges

Distribution options

Requires at least 3 features selected.

  • Distribute Horizontally (equal gaps) — equal spacing between edges
  • Distribute Horizontally (equal centers) — equal spacing between centers
  • Distribute Vertically (equal gaps)
  • Distribute Vertically (equal centers)

Locked features are excluded from alignment and distribution operations.

Shape Operations

Join

Select two or more closed features and click Join . The app computes the boolean union of the selected profiles and creates a new composite feature. A Keep Originals option is available in the toolbar while the join is pending.

Cut

Select the features you want to cut, then click Cut . Click on the canvas to designate one feature as the cutter. The cutter is subtracted from all other selected features. A Keep Originals option is available.

Direct Sketch Editing

Double-click a feature on the canvas, or select it and click Edit Sketch in the properties panel, to enter sketch edit mode. In this mode, the feature's individual control points and handles are shown and can be dragged.

While in sketch edit mode, three additional tools become available in the toolbar:

Add Point

Click Add Point , then click on a segment to insert a new control point at that location. The segment is split at the clicked position.

Delete Point

Click Delete Point , then click a control point to remove it. The adjacent segments are reconnected.

Fillet

Click Fillet , then click a corner point. Enter the fillet radius in the dialog. The sharp corner is replaced with a smooth arc of the specified radius.

Press Escape or click outside the feature to exit sketch edit mode. Changes are committed automatically.

Text features cannot be edited in sketch edit mode. Edit the text content, font, and style through the properties panel instead.

Constraints

Constraints lock a feature's position relative to another feature or to the world coordinate system. Currently, fixed distance constraints are supported.

To add a constraint:

  1. Select a feature.
  2. Click Add Constraint in the toolbar.
  3. Click a point on the selected feature (the anchor point).
  4. Click a reference point — either on another feature or on empty canvas space.
  5. Enter the desired distance in the dialog.

Active constraints are listed in the feature's properties panel. Click the × button next to a constraint to delete it. Invalid constraints (where the geometry cannot satisfy the distance) are shown with a warning indicator.

Locking Features

Check the Locked checkbox in a feature's properties panel to prevent it from being moved, resized, or rotated. Locked features are excluded from alignment and distribution operations. The lock state is shown in the feature tree.