• “Drawing calligraphic, pressure-sensitive, and preset lines” (page 103) • “Formatting lines and outlines” (page 105)
• “Adding arrowheads to lines and curves” (page 108) • “Copying, converting, and removing outlines” (page 110) • “Closing multiple line segments” (page 111)
• “Applying brushstrokes” (page 112) • “Spraying objects along a line” (page 113) • “Drawing connector and callout lines” (page 115) • “Drawing dimension lines” (page 118)
• “Using a pressure-sensitive pen” (page 121)
You can draw lines by using shape recognition. For more information, see “Drawing by using shape recognition” on page 131.
You can also draw lines with precision by using object coordinates. For more information, see “Using object coordinates to draw and modify objects” on page 185.
Drawing lines
A line is a path between two points. Lines can consist of multiple segments, and the line segments can be curved or straight. The line segments are connected by nodes, which are depicted as small squares. CorelDRAW provides various drawing tools that let you draw curved and straight lines, and lines containing both curved and straight segments.
Freehand and Polyline tools
The Freehand and Polyline tools let you draw freehand lines as if you were sketching on a sketchpad. If you make a mistake while drawing freehand curves, you can erase the unwanted part immediately and continue drawing. When drawing straight lines or segments, you can constrain them to straight vertical or horizontal lines.
The Freehand tool lets you control the smoothness of the curved line you are drawing as well as add segments to an existing line. However, the Polyline tool is easier to use for quickly drawing a complex line that consists of alternating curved and straight segments.
In addition to drawing freehand lines and straight segments, you can use the Polyline tool to draw circular arcs.
You can choose settings to control how the Freehand and Polyline tools behave. For example, you can change the default smoothness of a curved line that you’ve created with these tools.
2-point line tool
You can draw straight lines by using the 2-point line tool. This tool also allows you to create straight lines that are perpendicular or tangent to objects.
Bézier and Pen tools
The Bézier and Pen tools let you draw lines one segment at a time by placing each node with precision and controlling the shape of each curved segment. When using the Pen tool, you can preview the line segments you are drawing.
You can draw lines with multiple segments by using the Bézier tool and clicking each time you want the line to change direction.
You can draw curves by using the Bézier tool and dragging the control handles at the ends of the Bézier curve.
B-spline tool
By using control points, you can easily shape a curved line and draw B-splines, which are typically smooth, continuous curved lines. B-splines touch the first and last control points and are pulled by the points in between. However, unlike the nodes on Bézier curves, control points don’t let you specify the points through which a curve passes when you want to align a curve with other drawing elements.
The control points that touch the line are referred to as “clamped.” Clamped control points function as anchors. The control points that pull the line but do not touch it are referred to as “floating.” The first and last control points are always clamped on open-ended B-splines. The points in between float by default, but you can clamp points if you want to create cusps or straight lines within the B-spline. You can edit completed B-splines by using the control points.
The path of a B-spline curve is determined by the control points you set.
3-point curve tool
The 3-point curve tool lets you draw simple curved lines by specifying their width and height. Use this tool to create arc shapes quickly without manipulating nodes.
You can draw a curved line by specifying its width (left), and then specifying its height and clicking the page (right).
Smart drawing tool
The Smart drawing tool lets you use shape recognition to draw straight and curved lines. For more information, see “Drawing by using shape recognition” on page 131.
Using nodes and control handles
Some lines have nodes and control handles that you can manipulate to shape lines as you draw. For information about node types, see “Using curve objects” on page 135.
Hiding the bounding box
When drawing lines by using the curve tools, you can hide the bounding box that is displayed around the lines once they are drawn. The curve tools include the Freehand tool, the 2-point line tool, the Bezier tool, the Artistic media tool, the Pen tool, the B-Spline tool, the Polyline tool, and the 3-point curve tool.
You can hide the bounding box to make drawing artistic media strokes in quick succession more fluid.
To draw a line by using the Freehand tool
1 In the toolbox, click the Freehand tool . 2 Perform a task from the following table.
To Do the following
Draw a curved line Click where you want to start the curved line, and drag.
Draw a straight line Click where you want to start the line, and then click where you
want the line to end.
Control the smoothness of a curved line Type a value in the Freehand smoothing box on the property bar.
Higher values produce smoother curves.
Reposition a line Hold down both the left and right mouse buttons, and drag the
line to a new position.
Place a copy of a line in the drawing Hold down the right mouse button, and drag the line to a new
position. Click Copy here.
Add line segments to an existing line Click the end node of a selected line, and click where you want the
new segment to end.
Create a closed shape from two or more connected lines In a line that contains two segments, click the end node, and then click the start node.
You can constrain a line created with the Freehand tool to a predefined angle, called a constrain angle, by holding down Ctrl while you drag. This feature is useful for drawing straight vertical and horizontal lines. For information about changing the constrain angle, see “To change the constrain angle” on page 217.
You can erase a portion of a curved freehand line by holding down Shift and dragging backward over the line before releasing the mouse button.