Rectangle tool

The Rectangle tool lets you create rectangles and squares. These shapes usually have sharp, 90-degree corners. However, you can also easily create rectangles and squares with rounded corners. To create a rectangle, select the Rectangle tool  from the Toolbox and drag out an area in your document. The points where you pressed and then released the mouse button determine the size of the rectangle.

Tip: If you hold the ALT key while dragging, the rectangle will be centered on the point where you originally clicked.

Constraining and rotating

You can constrain the shape to form a square by holding down the SHIFT key while you drag.

Tip: If you press the CTRL key at any point while you're dragging, Expression Design stops resizing the rectangle and starts rotating it. At this point, holding down the SHIFT key constrains the rotation to an angle, typically 45 or 90 degrees. (The actual angle depends on the Rotation steps value in the Units and Grids page of the Options dialog box.)

Rounded corners

When you select the Rectangle tool or select a rectangle object on your page, a Corner Radius slider appears in the Edit Rectangle category in the Properties panel. By adjusting this value, you can control the radius of the rectangle's corners. The roundness value is specified as a measurement. For example, a Corner Radius of 10 px is a corner that appears like a quarter of a circle that has a radius of 10 px.

Remember that you can set slider values by dragging the slider handle or, for more precision, by clicking on the slider and typing the value you want. You can change the Corner Radius setting before creating the rectangle, or after drawing the rectangle.

Expression Design creates rounded corners by placing Bezier points on the rectangular path. If you change one or more of those nodes, the shape is no longer a rectangle object and so the Corner Radius option no longer appears in the panel.