The Elliptical Ring tool is similar to the Ellipse tool except that instead of an ellipse, it creates an ellipse with an elliptical hole in the middle. This means that you have to define not only the bounding rectangle of the ellipse but also the inner (or outer) radius of the ring. The construction methods for the initial ellipse are identical to those of an Ellipse:
- Select the center first and then one of the corners of the bounding rectangle
- Select the opposite corners of the bounding rectangle
- Select one of the corners of the bounding rectangle and then the center
- Select the horizontal axis of the ellipse and then one of the corners of its bounding rectangle
- Select the vertical axis of the ellipse and then one of the corners of the bounding rectangle
- Select the center of the ellipse, the end of its horizontal axis (using the mark button), and then one of the corners of the bounding rectangle
- Select the center of the ellipse, the end of its vertical axis (mark button), and then one of the corners of the bounding rectangle
Once the initial ellipse is created drag outward to create the outer ellipse or inward to create the inner ellipse. You can constrain the placement of the second point horizontally or vertically using the Drag Constraint button
Here’s an example of elliptical ring construction:
Finally, the first option button lets you set the Snapping Points. These are invisible points on both the inner and outer ellipses that allow you to snap other paths (for instance, Line Segments) directly to those points. See Snapping for more information.