Drawing > Drawing spirals and arcs

 

Drawing spirals and arcs

With the Spiral and Arc Xtras tools, you can easily draw spirals and arcs. Each tool has several options that let you customize the way it works.

For information on managing Xtras, see Using and managing Xtras.

To set Spiral tool options:

1

Choose Window > Toolbars > Xtra Tools.

2

Double-click the Spiral tool in the Xtra Tools panel.

3

In the Spiral dialog box, select a Spiral Type option:

Click the left button to create a spiral with a concentric, evenly spaced radius.

Click the right button to create an expanding-radius spiral that opens up farther with each rotation. In the Expansion text box, enter a value or drag the slider to adjust the expansion rate.

4

Select a Draw By option:

Rotations specifies the number of rotations in the spiral, regardless of its size. Set the number by entering a value in the Number of Rotations text box or by adjusting the slider control.

Increments adds more rotations as the spiral grows bigger. Set the spacing between each rotation by entering a value in the Increment Width text box or by adjusting the slider control. For expanding spirals, enter a value in the Starting Radius text box.

5

Select a Draw From option:

With the Center option, you click to set the center point of the spiral and drag to place the end point.

With the Edge option, you click to place the end point of a spiral and drag to place the center point.

With the Corner option, you click to place one end point of a spiral and drag to place the other end point.

6

Click a Direction button to specify whether a spiral turns clockwise or counterclockwise. This does not change the path direction of a spiral.

7

Click OK.

To draw a spiral:

1

Choose Window > Toolbars > Xtra Tools to display the Xtra Tools panel.

2

Click the Spiral tool and drag to draw a spiral.

3

To modify the spiral as you draw, use any of the following keys:

Press Shift to constrain the placement of the final point.

Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) to draw from the center regardless of the selected drawing option.

To set Arc tool options:

1

Choose Window > Toolbars > Xtra Tools to display the Xtra Tools panel.

2

Double-click the Arc tool.

3

In the Arc dialog box, select from the following options:

Select Create Open Arc to draw only the arc curve. Deselect this option to draw the arc as a quarter pie shape.

Select Create Flipped Arc to flip the orientation of the arc.

Select Create Concave Arc to draw the arc with an outer corner.

Concave (left), Open (center), and Flipped (right)
 

4

Click OK.

To draw an arc:

1

Choose Window > Toolbars > Xtra Tools to display the Xtra Tools panel.

2

Click the Arc tool and drag to draw an arc.

3

To modify the arc as you draw, press any of the following keys, alone or in combination, after you begin drawing the arc:

Press Shift to constrain the arc.

Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) to draw a flipped arc.

Press Control (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) to draw a closed arc.

On the Macintosh only, press Control to draw a concave arc.

In Windows only, press Control and hold down the right mouse button as you draw to create a concave arc.