Add a Polygon
- Last UpdatedJul 13, 2023
- 4 minute read
Use the Polygon tool to draw polygons and polylines. Polygons can be moved, re-sized, reshaped, brought to the front and so on, and their properties edited just like other types of object.
Note: You can manipulate the shape of a polygon at runtime by associating an expression with the polygon vertices. See Animate a Polygon at Runtime for a description of a polygon's Vertices properties.
To draw a polygon:
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Click the Polygon tool.
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Move the cursor to where you want the polygon to start and click and hold the mouse button.
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At the end of the first line segment, release the mouse button.
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Move the cursor to each point on the polygon in turn, and click the mouse button (clicking and dragging is not necessary after the first segment).
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To draw horizontally or vertically only, hold the Ctrl key down when you are drawing the polygon.
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To complete the polygon, double-click the mouse button.
When you complete the polygon, the object properties dialog is displayed.
To draw a polyline:
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Click the Polygon tool.
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Move the cursor to where you want the polyline to start and click and hold the mouse button.
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At the end of the first line segment, release the mouse button.
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Move the cursor to each point on the polyline in turn and click the mouse button (clicking and dragging is not necessary after the first segment).
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To draw horizontally or vertically only, hold the Ctrl key down when you are drawing the polyline.
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To complete the polyline, double-click the mouse button.
When you release the mouse button, the object properties dialog for the circle is displayed.
Initially, the object will actually be a polygon. To change it to a polyline, in the object's properties dialog define it as [Object type] Open.
Polygon Properties - Appearance (General)
Polygons have the following general appearance properties:
|
Property |
Description |
|---|---|
|
[Line] Width |
The width of the outline of the polygon (in pixels). You can change the width by clicking the up and down arrows to the right of the field, or by entering another value in this field. If you make the line more than 1 pixel wide, the line style will be solid. |
|
[Line] Style |
The outline style of the polygon. You can choose one of the following line styles:
To change the style, choose a style from the menu to the right of this box. |
|
[Line] Color |
The outline color of the polygon. |
|
[Fill] Filled |
The Filled check box determines whether the polygon will be filled with a color. |
|
[Fill] Color |
The color with which the polygon will be filled. The color that you select as your fill color here is static. To specify a fill color that changes with runtime conditions, click the Fill tab. If you have enabled the Fill (Color) properties, be aware that the color you select here will override the OFF color for Fill Color (On/Off), the ABC color for Fill Color (Multi-state), Array Color 0 for Fill Color (Array), and the At minimum color for Fill Color (Gradient). |
|
[Gradient] Color |
Controls the color of the gradient fill between the fill color and the gradient color. This option is available only when the Filled and Gradient Fill check boxes are selected. The gradient is updated at runtime to reflect the gradient between the two colors selected. Gradient fills support flashing colors. Gradients will not rotate with an object; for example, if an object contains a left-to-right gradient fill and is rotated 90 degrees (either at runtime or in Graphics Builder), the gradient is still left to right. |
|
[Gradient] Direction |
The direction to be used for the gradient color. Use the examples below as a guide to choose the gradient color direction you want.
Left to Right
Right to Left
Top to Bottom
Bottom to Top
Horizontal Gradient to Middle
Horizontal Gradient from Middle
Vertical Gradient to Middle
Vertical Gradient from Middle |
|
[Object type] Open |
Defines the object as a polyline (the first point and the last point are not joined).. |
|
[Object type] Closed |
Defines the object as a polygon (the first point and the last point are joined). |
For a description of a polygon's Vertices properties, see Animate a Polygon at Runtime.
For help with the other properties, see Edit Common Object Properties.