Draw vector shapes and paths

Vector shapes are drawn with points and lines, so they stay sharp at any size: icons, badges, dividers and simple illustrations. Vector editing is reaching workspaces in stages, so you may not see these tools yet.

Draw a shape

Press a tool's key on the canvas, then drag where the shape should go. A click puts one in at its default size.

• Rectangle tool: R
• Ellipse tool: E
• Line tool: Shift+L
• Polygon tool and Star tool: in the tool menu in the top bar, and in the command palette

While you drag, Shift keeps the shape square, or a line at 45° steps, and Alt (⌥) draws it out from where you pressed.

Change a shape

With a shape selected, the Shape section of the panel on the right changes it, and the shape is drawn again:

• a rectangle's Corner radius;
• a polygon's Sides, from 3 to 60;
• a star's Points, from 3 to 60, and its Inner radius, how deep its points go.

Convert to path turns the shape into a plain path: the Shape section goes, and you can move its points one by one.

Draw a path with the pen

The Pen tool (P) draws a shape of your own:

1. Click to add a corner point. Press and drag to add a curved point, and pull its handles.
2. Click the first point to close the shape. Enter or Esc ends an open line where it is.

Points snap to the other points' positions, so straight edges line up.

Edit the points

Select a shape and press Enter to show its points and handles.

• Drag a point or a handle to move it. A curved point's two handles move together; hold Alt (⌥) to move one alone.
• Click a line between two points to add a point there.
• Toggle curve point (Shift+P) turns the selected point curved, or back into a corner.
• Delete removes the selected point, and the arrow keys nudge it.

Combine shapes

Select two or more shapes in the same frame, then:

• Union (⌥⇧U) joins them into one;
• Subtract (⌥⇧S) cuts the others out of the first;
• Intersect (⌥⇧I) keeps only where they overlap;
• Exclude (⌥⇧E) keeps where they don't.

The result is one shape that takes the first shape's fill and stroke. The shapes stay inside it, in Layers, so you can still move or change each one, and the result follows. With the combined shape selected, the same commands change how it combines them.

Flatten (⌘E, Ctrl+E on Windows) makes the result a single path and removes the shapes inside it. Edit its points with the pen afterwards.

Every change here is one step: Undo takes it back.