Arc

An arc is part of a circle. Use arcs for curved edges and round ends: the top of a bookend, the curve of a phone stand, a handle. There are three arc tools.

Tangent arc and Centre point arc are under the ▾ next to Arc.

How to use it#

Arc: click Arc or press A. Click where the arc starts, then where it ends. Move the pointer to bend the arc, then click.

Tangent arc: choose Tangent arc from the ▾ next to Arc. Click the end of a line or an arc, then click where the arc should end. The arc leaves the line tangent: it meets the line smoothly, without a corner, and a Tangent constraint keeps it that way. The pointer shows the radius.

Centre point arc: choose Centre point arc from the ▾ next to Arc. Click the centre, then the start (this sets the radius). Move the pointer round the way the arc should go, and click the end.

Then use Dimension: click an arc to give its radius (R).

Tips#

• To round the corner where two straight lines meet, sketch Fillet is quicker: click the corner and type the radius.
• To make a line and an arc meet smoothly after you have drawn them, select both and click Tangent (T).
• The start and end snap to points and lines, so the arc joins up with the rest of the shape.

If it does not work#

• Those three points are in a straight line, so there is no arc. Try again.
• Click the end of a line or an arc to start from. A tangent arc must start at the end of a line or arc.
• The end has to be off the line the arc starts along. Click to one side of it.
• The end is where the arc started. Click somewhere else round the circle.
• A centre point arc goes the wrong way round: press Ctrl+Z and draw it again, moving the pointer round the other way.