Draw shapes, and put things in frames.
Four toolbar tools make shapes. Drag to draw rectangles and ellipses, pick shapes from a collection, and use a frame as a container that holds other objects.
Rectangles and ellipses
Rectangle
Shortcut RDrag to draw a rectangle. When you let go, the rectangle stays selected and you’re back on the Select tool, so you can drag it to move it or use the handles to resize it right away. A plain click creates nothing.
- Drag outDraw
- ⇧+drag outA square
- ⌥+drag outDraw from the center
Ellipse
Shortcut CDrag to draw circles and ellipses. ⇧ and ⌥ work the same as with the rectangle.
- Drag outDraw an ellipse
- ⇧+drag outA perfect circle
- ⌥+drag outDraw from the center
Radius
Rounds a rectangle’s corners. Select one rectangle, and small blue dots show just inside its four corners. Drag one dot inward, and all four corners round together; hold ⌘ while you drag to round only that corner. Drag it all the way, and you get a pill shape with half-circle ends. The right panel has one Radius field per corner, so typing in one field changes only that corner. Frames, images, videos, and tables have the same dots and fields.
- Drag a dotAll four corners together
- ⌘+drag a dotJust that corner
- Type in a Radius fieldJust that field’s corner
- Drag the Radius title sidewaysAll four fields by the same amount
Inner Radius
Hollows out the middle of an ellipse to make a donut. Select an ellipse and type a value between 0 and 100 in Inner Radius in the right panel. At 50, half the radius is hollow; at 0, it’s a solid circle again. A value above 100 becomes 100.
The Shapes panel
Shape
Click the star-shaped Shape in the toolbar to open the Shapes panel. The panel covers the left half of the toolbar. Click a shape to place it in the center of the scene, 200px on its longer side. The panel then closes. The shape you add is a path with only a gray fill. You can move its points to reshape it, as in Paths and the Pen. Right after the panel opens, the cursor is in the search field, so esc doesn’t close it. To close it without adding a shape, click the × button at the right end of the panel’s title bar.
- Click a shapeAdd it at the center of the scene
- Right-clickAdd to or remove from favorites
Search and categories
Type a name such as “star” or “arrow” in the search field at the top, and only the matching shapes remain. English names work too, whatever the interface language. The 63 built-in shapes are split into eight groups. Choose one group, such as Arrows, from the All Categories list below the search field, and only that group shows.
Shape packs
If the pack list loads, it appears as a second list to the left of the category list, with Default chosen at first. If it can’t load, the list stays hidden and only the 63 built-in shapes show. Choose an icon pack such as Lucide or Phosphor Icons, and over a thousand icons appear, with the pack’s license noted at the bottom of the list. Most icon names are in English, so a search in another language finds only a few. In icon packs, search by English name.
Favorites
Right-click a shape and choose “Add to Favorites” to collect it in the “Favorites” group at the top of the list. This menu item shows in English whatever the interface language. Each pack keeps its own favorites, and they’re saved in the browser or app you’re using, not in the project.
Frames
Frame
Drag to draw a container that holds other objects. It starts with a white fill, and a gray name such as “Frame 1” appears just outside its top left. Objects you draw, or click to create, inside the frame go into it.
- Drag outDraw the frame
- ⇧+drag outA square
- ⌥+drag outDraw from the center
- Draw inside a frameIt goes into the frame
Moving objects in and out
Drag an existing object, and when the pointer is over a frame, the frame’s border lights up blue. Drop it then, and it goes inside. Drop it with the pointer outside the frame, and it comes out. In the Objects list (bottom left), an object inside shows nested under the frame’s row. Hold Space while you drag to move the object without moving it in or out of frames.
- Drag onto a framePut it inside
- Drag out of the frameTake it out
Clip Contents
Hides the parts that extend beyond the frame. It’s on for a new frame, and if you round the frame’s corners, it clips along the curves. Select the frame and turn off Clip Contents in the Frame panel on the right, and what’s inside shows beyond the frame too.
Frame name
The gray name just outside the frame’s top left. It lets you grab the frame when its contents cover it completely and you can’t click the frame itself.
- Click the nameSelect the frame
- Drag the nameMove it with its contents
- Double-click the nameRename it
Size and pins
When you resize a frame, the objects inside keep their distance from the frame’s left and top edges. To keep an object stuck to the right side or have it stretch with the frame, change that object’s Pin settings. See Resize with pins.
States and animations
In the Frame panel, Timeline has States and Animations lists. A frame can have its own clock, separate from the scene. A state is a look the frame holds, and an animation is motion that plays from start to end. See Make buttons with frame states and Frame clocks.
You can’t put text inside a shape
Rectangles and ellipses have no place to hold text, so double-clicking one doesn’t let you type. If you need a button with text on it, draw a frame, then click inside it with the Text tool. The text goes into the frame and moves with it. For how to type text, see Add text.
Converting to a path and adding color
To edit individual points. Select a rectangle or ellipse, right-click, and choose Convert to Path. It becomes a path whose points you can move to reshape it. An ellipse with a hollow middle can’t be converted. See Paths and the Pen.
To change the color and stroke. Change Fills and Strokes under Rect Style, lower in the right panel. For an ellipse it’s Ellipse Style, and for a frame, Frame Style. See Fill, stroke, and shadow.
Shortcuts on this page
| Rectangle tool | R |
|---|---|
| Ellipse tool | C |
| Draw a square or perfect circle | ⇧+drag out |
| Draw from the center | ⌥+drag out |
| Round just one corner | ⌘+drag a dot |
Updated 10/15/2026 · The videos on this page were recorded in the current editor.