Polyline
Click the Home | Insert | Polyline command to draw a polyline. A polyline is a collection of one or more connected line segments. You can choose a line style, color, width, opacity, and arrowheads for the polyline display.
Polyline Properties
Polylines contain line properties. You can change these properties in the Property Manager.
Drawing a Polyline
To draw a polyline:
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Click the Home | Insert | Polyline command to enter drawing mode and begin drawing a polyline.
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Move the cross-hair cursor over the location for the start of the polyline and click the left mouse button.
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Move the pointer to the next position along the line and click again.
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Continue this procedure until you click at the final point for the line, then press the ENTER key. Alternatively, set the final point by double-clicking the left mouse button.
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Press the ESC key, click the Polyline command, or click another command to exit drawing mode.
This shows a
Polyline drawn through three points.
Drawing Tips
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Click the endpoints of the line to draw a straight line, or click several points to create an irregularly shaped line.
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Click the right mouse button to remove the last drawn point. This can be done repeatedly.
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Click and hold the left mouse button to create a continuous stream of points. When drawing a stream of points the plot window auto-scrolls to keep the cursor in the plot window.
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If the CTRL key is pressed while clicking points, the points are constrained to 45-degree angles.
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Double-click the left mouse button or press the ENTER key to end the line.
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To cancel drawing the line, press the ESC key before ending the line.
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Edit the shape of the line using the Features | Reshape | Reshape command.
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Line properties are set through the Property Manager.
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Line default properties are set through the File | Options command.
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Drawing mode is persistent for each individual plot document. You can switch to other documents or applications, and polyline drawing mode will still be enabled when you return to the plot document. Other plot documents may have a different draw tool or the select tool enabled.