An element is any line, circle, or other part of the drawing. The Draw toolbar on the left side of the drawing sheet contains most of the buttons that you can use to draw any type of basic geometric element—freeform shapes, lines, arcs, circles, and so forth.
You can place most basic elements with just a few selects. For example, if you want
to place a line, you can select Line/Arc Continuous (
or 
) on the Draw toolbar. Then, select two points to indicate where to start and finish the line.
If you do not want to place another line, you can right-click to end the operation.
You can also place the line by selecting Line/Arc Continuous ( or ) and then selecting and dragging the pointer. When you release the mouse, the line
appears on the drawing sheet. With this method, you drag the pointer as if it were
a pen. You can draw most elements, such as rectangles, circles, and arcs, with this
method, sometimes called mouse-down drawing. The mouse-down method is typically used
to place most elements in conceptual sketching and modification.
If you want to place a precise line, select Line/Arc Continuous ( or ), type values into the ribbon that appears, and then press ENTER. You can then select
the drawing sheet to place the line. This method, sometimes called mouse-up drawing,
is typically used for precision placement and when you want to draw elements that
are related to each other.
In some cases, you might want to select points on the drawing sheet and type values
in the ribbon to place an element. For example, you can select Line/Arc Continuous ( or ) and then type 3.0 in the Length box on the ribbon box and press ENTER to lock the length value.
When a line that is three inches long appears next to the pointer, you can select anywhere on the drawing sheet to indicate where to place one end of the line. Then, you move the line around and select again to set the line's orientation angle.
If you do not like the results of what you drew, you can select Undo on the Main toolbar. If you want to repeat an action, select Redo on the Main toolbar.