Rectangle cannot be created

Symptoms

If one or more of these match what you are seeing, you are on the right page.

• •Dragging on the canvas selects existing elements instead of drawing
• •A rectangle appears but immediately disappears
• •The shape draws as a square when you wanted a rectangle
• •The shape draws from the centre rather than the corner

Causes and fixes

Ordered from most to least likely. Work down the list — each cause is paired with what to do about it.

1. 1

   The Rectangle tool is not the active tool.

   Press R, or select the rectangle icon in the toolbar. The active tool is highlighted — the Selection tool will select rather than draw.

2. 2

   Shift is being held during the drag.

   Shift constrains the rectangle to a perfect square. Release it for free proportions.

3. 3

   Alt is being held during the drag.

   Alt draws outward from the centre point rather than from the corner where the drag started. Release it to draw corner-to-corner.

4. 4

   The drag is too short to register as a shape.

   Drag a visible distance rather than clicking. To create a rectangle at exact dimensions, draw any size and then type the values into the W and H fields in the Properties Panel — the Rectangle tool does not need to be active to edit dimensions.

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