Creating a polyline using the cursor

To create a polyline using the cursor:

1. Select the vector layer on which you want to create a polyline.
2. Click the Create Polyline button to display the Tool Settings: Polyline Creation panel.
3. In the 2D or 3D views, click once to create the start node of the polyline.
4. Move the cursor to draw the polyline:
   • If you want to attach a linear span to the node, move the cursor to preview its angle and length. A solid red line indicates where the linear span in the polyline is to be drawn.
     Note: Hold down Ctrl when you move the cursor to constrain the angle of the linear span drawn between nodes to 15 increments.
   • If you want to attach a Bézier span to the node, click Draw smooth polyline. Move the cursor to preview its angle and length. A solid red line indicates where the Bézier span in the polyline is to be drawn.
   • If you want to draw a freehand curve, click and hold down the left mouse button while dragging the mouse.
     Note: If the cursor's position aligns with the previous node's X or Y axis, the cursor changes to or ; if the cursor's position is orthogonal to the start node and the previous node, the cursor changes to .
5. If you are creating a linear or Bézier span, click to create a node in the polyline.

   The span that connects the two nodes is drawn on the selected vector layer.

6. Repeat the last two steps if you want to create any further nodes and spans in the polyline. If not, go to the next step.
7. Click on the start node of the vector to end the polyline and create a closed vector. Right-click to end the line and create an open vector.

   The new polyline is magenta and surrounded by a bounding box.