Add a figure

To create your figures, use the drawing tools on the left side of the drawing area. When you move your mouse pointer over a tool, a short description pops up. When you click on a tool, instructions on using the tool appear at the bottom of the Figure Editor.

To use most drawing tools:

1. Click the tool in the tool palette.
2. Move your mouse to the point where you want to begin drawing and click to anchor the starting point.

How to use the individual drawing tools

Operational tools

Tool	Use	How to use
	Undo or redo actions	Click the left arrow to undo one or more recent changes; click the right arrow to redo one or more changes you previously undid.
	Select objects	Click the object or a point on the object to draw, move, or select the object for other operations. To select multiple objects, click this icon and drag the pointer across the objects you want to select or hold down the SHIFT key and select multiple objects.
	Rotates and object around a pivot point	Select the object to rotate and then click the Rotate icon. A hollow pivot point appears. When you rotate, the object pivots around this point. You can move the pivot point to another location by dragging it. When your pivot point is correct, click on the object and drag it in the direction you want to rotate.

Drawing tools

Tool	Use	How to use
	Draw a straight line	Click to anchor the beginning of the line; click again to position the end of the line. When the line is selected, you can specify arrow heads using the Arrows section of the Figure Objects tab.
	Draw an arc	Click to anchor the beginning of the arc and then draw the arc. When the arc is selected, you can adjust the curve.
	Draw an open ellipse or circle	Click to draw an unfilled ellipse or circle. When the ellipse or circle is selected, you can adjust the size and shape.
	Draw a filled ellipse or circle	Click to draw a filled ellipse or circle. When the ellipse or circle is selected, you can adjust the size and shape and change the color of the fill.
	Draw an open rectangle or square	Click to draw an unfilled rectangle or square. When the rectangle or square is selected, you can adjust the size and shape.
	Draw a filled rectangle	Click to draw a filled rectangle or square. When the rectangle or square is selected, you can adjust the size and shape and change the color of the fill.
	Draw an open polygon	To create an open polygon, click at the end of each line in the polygon. At the end of the last line, double-click or press Enter to end the drawing. When the polygon is selected, you can edit the vertices.
	Draw a filled polygon	To create a filled polygon, click at the end of each line in the polygon. At the end of the last line, double-click or press Enter to end the drawing. When the polygon is selected, you can edit the vertices or change the fill color.
	Draw a polyline	To create a polyline, click at the end of each line in the polyline. At the end of the last line, double-click or press Enter to end the drawing. When the polyline is selected, you can adjust the size, line style, or color.
	Edit vertices of a polygon or polyline	To edit the vertices of a polygon or polyline, select this icon and click on the object. Handles appear at the vertices and you can click a handle and drag the vertex to the position you want.
	Enter text	Position your cursor where you want to enter text and begin typing. When the text is selected, you can choose the text font, style, and size using the Font Info section of the Figure Objects tab. To delete text, click on the text and press Enter to select all of the text. Then click Delete.
	Enter a mathematical formula	Position your cursor where you want to enter the formula. The Equation Editor appears where you can create your formula.
	Choose foreground and background colors	Lets you specify the foreground and background colors of objects as you draw them. Click the top (foreground) box to set the colors of lines; click the bottom (background) box to set the fill color of ellipses, rectangles, and polygons. Click the foreground or background box to get a pop-up where you can select a color.

The Figure Objects tab

The Current Object dropdown list at the top of the Figure Objects tab lists all the objects in your drawing area. You can select an object from this list to edit it.

Each object in your drawing area is assigned a descriptive name and type by the system. For example, if you import an image, it will be called "picture1: picture," where "picture1" is the name and "picture" is the type of object.

The Object Name box lets you rename any selected object. Using the preceding example, if picture1 is a map, you can enter map in the Object Name box. The Current Object list will then display the image as "map:picture."

The other options available on the Figure Objects tab vary depending on what kind of object you selected in the drawing area.

Size & Coordinates section

Option	Use
Position	The X and Y coordinates, in pixels, of the objects position in the drawing area. You can edit these coordinates to move the object to a precise location
Insertion	The X and Y coordinates, in pixels, of the object in relation to its original insertion point. If the object is in the position where you originally put it, these coordinates are 0 and 0. If you enter a positive value for the X coordinate, the object moves to the left; if you enter a negative value, the object moves to the right. If you enter a positive value for the Y coordinate, the object moves down; if you enter a negative value, the object moves up.
Width and Height	The dimensions of the object in pixels. You can edit these values to resize the object.
Length	The length of a line in pixels. You can edit this value to change the length.
Rotation Angle	The angle of a rotated object. You can enter the number of degrees to rotate an object that amount. Choose zero to restore the object to its original orientation.

 

Lines section

Option	Use
Line Thickness	The thickness of the lines in the object. You can enter a thickness in pixels in the box or use the slider to select the thickness.
Line Color	The color of the lines in the object. Click the color box to select a color from a popup.
Line Style	The style of the line. You can choose whether your line is solid or broken in dashes or dots.

 

Arrows section

Option	Use
Arrow Size	The size of the arrow head in pixels. You can enter a value in the box or use the slider to select the size.
Head Arrow	Select this option to add an arrow to the end of your line (the point where you stopped drawing it).
Tail Arrow	Select this option to add an arrow to the origin of your line (the point where you began drawing it).

 

Background section

Option	Use
Fill Color	The color of the interior of the object. Click the color box to select a color from a popup.
Filled Background	Select this option to include a fill inside the selected object.

 

Text Object section

Option	Use
Text Value	The text displayed in the figure. You can add or edit text here. If you have used formulas, you see the code for mathematical notation. (For example, you see @Sup{2} for a superscript 2.)
Text Value	When this option is selected, appropriate text is interpreted as a formula. You can click Edit Formula to create or edit formulas using the Equation Editor.
Interpret Functions	When both Formula Mode and this option are selected, math symbols and trigonometric and logarithmic math functions are recognized and converted into an easily-recognized font. For example, if you type "sin", the term displays as the trigonometric sine function, sin; if you type the letter e, it is displayed as the exponential constant .

 

Font Info section

Option	Use
Font Name	You can choose the font for the selected text from the dropdown list. You can choose from two proportional fonts, Times or Arial, and one monospace font, Courier.
Font Color	The color of your text. Click the color box to select a color from a popup.
Font Size	The size of your text in pixels. You can change the size using the dropdown list.
Format	Select the Bold, Italic, Underline, or Strikeout box to add this formatting to your selected text.

 

Figure Settings tab

The settings tab lets you set properties of the figure.

Name shows the internal name of the figure.

You can set the following properties:

• Authoring Notes - Optionally enter any information that you might need to edit the figure later.
• Dimensions - Specify the width and height of the drawing window in pixels. In the drawing area, you also can resize the drawing window by dragging the blue borders.

The menus at the top of the Figure Editor contain additional options for working with your figures.

File menu

The File menu contains:

• New - Opens a new blank drawing area.
• Open Figure - Opens a previously saved figure.
• Save Figure - Saves your figure as an XML file.

Edit menu

The Edit menu contains:

• Undo and Redo - Reverts actions in the drawing area. You have multiple levels of undo and redo.
• Edit Source - Opens the XML source file for your image.
• Insert Picture - Opens your browser's file navigator so you can locate an image file to insert in the drawing area.

View menu

The View menu contains:

• Show Editor - When checked, displays the Objects and Settings area.
• Show Grid - When checked, displays a drawing grid.
• Snap - When checked, makes drawing objects align with the nearest grid point.
• Grid Settings - Lets you format your grid. You can choose:
  • Dots - The grid appears as dotted lines.
  • Lines - The grid appears as solid lines.
  • Set Size - Lets you set the width and height of the grid cells in pixels.

Arrange menu

The Arrange menu contains four options that you can use to specify how graphic objects, including text, overlap each other:

• Bring to Front - places the selected object(s) on top of all other objects.
• Bring Forward - moves the selected object(s) up one layer.
• Send to Back - moves the selected object(s) under all other objects.
• Send Backward - moves the selected object(s) down one layer.