Square

The Square tool allows you to create a square in several different ways.

  • Corner to corner
  • Center to corner
  • Corner to center
  • Center to midpoint of side
  • Midpoint of side to center
  • Midpoint of side to midpoint of opposite side
  • Mark Side and drag to define which side the square falls on
  • Corner to midpoint of side, mark, and then drag to define which side the square falls on
  • Midpoint of side to corner, mark, and then drag to define which side the square falls on

The construction mode button graphically shows each of these methods. The last three require the use of the Mark Button. You can also use Drag Constraints to restrict the sides horizontally, vertically, or freely (no constraints). The reason there are so many methods for creating square is that in many situations it’s difficult to precisely place a square the way you want it. It’s much easier to create the square in the proper place than it is to move it or rotate it later. For example, suppose you want to place it perfectly balanced on top of a triangle. You’d need the midpoint of the square’s side to match the triangle’s vertex exactly. For this, you could use the Midpoint of side to midpoint of opposite side construction method. Here are several examples of the various methods of construction.

One other construction option you can use is the Bezier Points button. It looks like this and controls how many Bezier Points are created for each side. See the Move Bezier Point tool for how to use these invisible points.