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 CorelDRAW pgx freehand tool Drawing lines and Polyline CorelDRAW pgx polyline tool Drawing lines tools let you draw freehand lines as if you were sketching on a sketchpad. If you make a mistake while drawing, 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.

You can choose settings to control how the Freehand and Bézier tools behave. For example, you can change the default smoothness of a curved line that you’ve created with these tools.


Bézier and Pen tools

The Bézier CorelDRAW pgx bezier tool Drawing lines and Pen CorelDRAW pgx pen tool Drawing lines 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.

CorelDRAW lines bezier segs Drawing lines

You can draw lines with multiple segments by using the Bézier tool and clicking each time you want the line to change direction.

CorelDRAW lines bezier curv Drawing lines

You can draw curves by using the Bézier tool and dragging the control handles at the ends of the Bézier curve.


3-point curve tool

The 3-point curve CorelDRAW pgx 3point curve Drawing lines tool lets you draw simple curved lines by specifying their width and height. Use this tool to create arc shapes quickly without manipulating nodes.

CorelDRAW lines threepoint curve Drawing lines

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 CorelDRAW pgx smart drawing tool Drawing lines lets you use shape recognition to draw straight and curved lines. For more information, see “Drawing by using shape recognition.”


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.”


To draw a line by using the Freehand tool

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Drawing lines
1.
 
In the toolbox, click the Freehand tool CorelDRAW pgx freehand tool Drawing lines .
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.
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.

CorelDRAW tip Drawing lines

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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.”
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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.

To draw a line by using the Polyline tool

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Drawing lines
1.
 
In the toolbox, click the Polyline tool CorelDRAW pgx polyline tool Drawing lines .
2.
 
Do one of the following:
•
To draw a straight segment, click where you want to start the line segment, and then click where you want to end it.
•
To draw a curved segment, click where you want to start the segment, and drag across the drawing page.
You can add as many segments as you want and alternate between curved and straight segments.
3.
 
Double-click to end the line.

CorelDRAW note Drawing lines

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You can erase a portion of a curved line by holding down Shift and dragging backward over the line before releasing the mouse button.
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You can close an open object by clicking the Auto-close curve button CorelDRAW pgx auto close button Drawing lines on the property bar.

To draw a line by using the Bézier tool

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Drawing lines
1.
 
In the toolbox, click the Bézier tool CorelDRAW pgx bezier tool Drawing lines .
2.
 
Do one of the following:
•
To draw a curved segment, click where you want to place the first node, and drag the control handle to where you want to place the next node. Release the mouse button, and drag the control handle to create the curve.
•
To draw a straight segment, click where you want to start the line segment, and click where you want to end it.
You can add as many segments as you want.
3.
 
Press the Spacebar to finish the line.

You can also
Draw a curved segment followed by a straight segment
Draw a curved segment, double-click the end node, and click where you want the straight segment to end.
Draw a straight segment followed by a curved segment
Draw a straight segment. Click the endpoint of the segment, drag to where you want, and release the mouse button. Drag to draw a curve.
Change curve angle to preset increments as you draw
While holding down Ctrl, drag a control handle.

To draw a line by using the Pen tool

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Drawing lines
1.
 
In the toolbox, click the Pen tool CorelDRAW pgx pen tool Drawing lines .
2.
 
Do one of the following:
•
To draw a curved segment, click where you want to place the first node, and drag the control handle to where you want to place the next node. Release the mouse button, and drag the control handle to create the curve you want.
•
To draw a straight segment, click where you want to start the line segment, and click where you want to end it.
You can add as many segments as you want and alternate between curved and straight segments. For more information about alternating curved and straight segments, see “To draw a line by using the Bézier tool.”
3.
 
Double-click to finish the line.

You can also
Preview a line while drawing
Enable the Preview mode button in the property bar. Click on the drawing page, and release the mouse button. Move the mouse, and click to finish the line.
Add a node to a line
Enable the Auto add-delete button CorelDRAW pgx auto add delete but Drawing lines on the property bar. Point to where in the line you want to add a node, and click when the pointer changes to the Add node state CorelDRAW pgx pen tool add node Drawing lines.
Delete a node from a line
Point to a node, and click when the pointer changes to the Delete node state CorelDRAW pgx pen tool delete node Drawing lines.

To draw a curve by specifying width and height

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Drawing lines
1.
 
In the toolbox, click the 3-point curve tool CorelDRAW pgx 3point curve Drawing lines .
2.
 
Click where you want to start the curve, and drag to where you want the curve to end.
3.
 
Release the mouse button, and click where you want the center of the curve to be.

To set options for the Freehand and Bézier tools

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Drawing lines
1.
 
Click Tools CorelDRAW onestep Drawing lines Options.
2.
 
In the Workspace list of categories, click Toolbox, and then click Freehand/Bézier tool.
3.
 
Move the Freehand smoothing slider to set the default smoothness for curved lines.
Higher values produce smoother curves.

CorelDRAW note Drawing lines

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Double-click the Freehand or Bézier tool to display the Freehand/Bézier page in the Options dialog box.

Drawing lines