Polygons

Rectangle

The Rectangle tool creates a unique element. It is not merely four lines but a dynamic element that can be rotated, positioned and sized as needed. It is best to create a Rectangle starting from the lower left corner as the first point and the upper right corner as the second point. This will create a Rectangle at 0°. If you start with the lower right corner, your second point will be the upper left corner. That will create a Rectangle at 90°. The Width and Height dimensions will rotate with the Rectangle.

Angles in PatternSmith are always going counter-clockwise.

Select the Rectangle tool from the Polygons drop-down on the ribbon or press the R key.

Click to place the first corner point. Move the mouse and click to set the diagonal corner. You can use the Snap function and Constraint function for any points.

To enter specific coordinates, press the Tab key to shift focus to the dialog. Enter the x-coordinate of your start point. Press Tab again and enter the y-coordinate of your start point. Press Tab to navigate to enter the width, height, and degrees of rotation. Press Enter or click the Create button after the last measurement is entered to create the rectangle. The rectangle can then be manipulated by dragging any corner point with the mouse until you have the desired size.

To make each segment a line, in the Creation Options section, enable Make element for each segment. You will no longer be able to edit it as a Rectangle.

You can assign any marking, cutting, or creasing tool to a Rectangle.

Polygon

Select the Polygon tool from the Polygons drop-down on the ribbon or press the G key.

Before you click to place the center point, use the dialog to set the number of sides and how you want to size the polygon (Side Length, Center to Side, or Center to Point). Click to place the center point. Move the mouse to set the distance from the center point. Click again to create the Polygon.

To enter specific coordinates, press the Tab key to shift focus to the dialog. Enter the x-coordinate of your center point. Press Tab again and enter the y-coordinate of your center point. Press Tab and set the number of sides and how you want to size the polygon (Side Length, Center to Side, or Center to Point). Press Enter or click the Create button after the last measurement is entered to create the polygon. The polygon can be manipulated by dragging any point with the mouse until you have the desired shape and size.

To make each segment a line, in the Creation Options section, enable Make element for each segment.

You can assign any marking, cutting, or creasing tool to a polygon.

Triangle

Select the Triangle tool from the Polygons drop-down on the ribbon or press the T key.

The main purpose of this tool is to create a triangle that starts with a Base Side and then a distance from the start and end of the Base Side to define the third point of the triangle. The third point is formed by the intersection of the two radii represented by the Distance from Start and Distance from End.

The Base Side can be established by selecting an existing line, clicking/snapping two points, or entering values directly into the tool window. When entering values for the Base Side, enter the XY coordinates of the start point, the vector angle, and the length of the Base Side.

When snapping the third point, normal snapping with the CTRL key for specific points and the SHIFT key to snap horizontally and vertically from the second point on the Base Side can be used. Also, there are two alternate snapping routines are available.

ALT key: Create an Isosceles triangle based on the Base Side. The two remaining sides will be equal wherever the point is clicked. Note the orange symbols showing equal sides and equal angles.

CTRL + ALT combination: A Right triangle will be created off of either end of the Base Side depending on cursor position, or the 90° corner will be placed along a radius equal to half the length of the Base Side. Note the orange symbol showing the corner with the 90° angle and the radial snapping guide.

Creation Options:

Make base side segment: Enabling this option will create all three sides of the triangle. Disabling this feature is used when selecting an existing Base Side. It will not create the Base Side which would create a duplicate element.

Make element for each segment: Enable this option when you want the triangle to have three separate lines. Disabling this option will result in a single closed polyline.

Change selected Element to Reference: Enabling this option will convert the Base Side to a reference element if the Base Side is a selected element. This option is only available after selecting a Base Side.

You can assign any marking, cutting, or creasing tool to a Triangle.