Drawing ellipses

The default method for drawing an ellipse is to specify the endpoints of one axis of the ellipse, and then specify a distance representing half the length of the second axis. The endpoints of the first axis determine the orientation of the ellipse. The longer axis of the ellipse is called the major axis, and the shorter one is the minor axis. The order in which you define the axes does not matter. The program determines the major and minor axes based on their relative lengths. You can draw ellipses using any of the following methods:

• Axis-axis ()
• Axis-rotation ()
• Center-axis ()
• Center-rotation ()

To draw an ellipse by specifying the axis endpoints

1. Do one of the following:
• Choose Insert > Ellipse.
• On the Draw 2D toolbar, click the Ellipse Axis-Axis tool ().
• Type ellipse and then press Enter.
2. Specify the first endpoint.
3. Specify the second endpoint.
4. Specify the half-length of the other axis.

First axis endpoint (A), second axis endpoint (B), and half-length of other axis (C).