Diagrams
A diagram is a drawing on the page. Use it for a control loop, a process block chart, a free-body sketch, or any other figure that is not a photo and is not a structural frame you intend to solve.
Nothing in a diagram is evaluated. Arrows do not carry values. Boxes do not become variables. Math on the sheet cannot read a label you typed in a diagram. If you need member forces, use a 2D Frame instead.
Place a diagram
- Open the Insert tab and choose Diagram. The pointer becomes a crosshair.
- Click the page. A sketch canvas appears, with a tool strip along the top.
- You can also right-click empty paper and choose Insert Diagram.
Drag the region frame to move the whole drawing. Drag a corner handle to enlarge the canvas. Hide the tool strip with Hide when the figure is finished, so print and PDF show only the drawing. Showing tools grows the region upward; the sketch stays the same size.
Tools
| Tool | What it draws |
|---|---|
| Select | Click a shape to move it. After you draw, Select is chosen automatically so you can drag the blue handles: corners scale, sides stretch, and arrow ends move. Stroke, fill, size, and text apply to the selection. |
| Line, Arrow, Dbl | Drag a connector. Dbl is a double-headed arrow. |
| Rect, Diamond, Tri, Oval | Drag a closed shape. Diamond is the usual decision block. |
| Box | A rounded text box. Click or drag, then type. This is the main block-diagram tool. |
| Label | A free caption that is not inside a box. |
| Pen | Freehand sketch. |
| Dup, Front, Back | Copy the selection, or change stacking order. |
Double-click a box, diamond, rectangle, or oval to edit the text inside it. Delete removes the selected shapes. With nothing in the diagram selected, Delete removes the whole region, as it does for any other block.
Stroke colour, fill colour, line weight, Size (text in points), Bold, dashed lines, and grid snap live on the second row. Size applies to the selected box or label, and to the next one you place. Enlarging the diagram region adds paper; it does not stretch the drawing.
Pictures sit beside diagrams when you need a photo rather than a sketch. See Pictures. A 2D Frame is the other sketch on the Insert tab — that one solves.