PlexiiDraw overview
PlexiiDraw is the drawing and painting studio in Office. Draw vector shapes and paths, paint with brushes, work in layers and export PNG, SVG or PDF.
PlexiiDraw is the drawing and painting studio in PlexiiOffice. One artwork holds two kinds of layer: vector layers, for clean shapes, paths and type you can keep editing, and paint layers, for brushes, the eraser and the paint bucket. Use it for logos, icons, illustrations, diagrams you draw by hand, sketches and painted artwork, and export the result as a PNG, an SVG or a PDF.
Every artwork is kept in Office. You can also put an artwork on a desk with the Artwork widget, which shows the same artwork with the same editor. See Artwork widget.
Before you start
- PlexiiDraw is on every plan.
- A drawing tablet works with the brushes: pen pressure can change a brush's size and strength.
Start an artwork
- From Office Home. Click the Apps heading in the side menu, then the PlexiDraw tile. A new artwork called "Untitled artwork" opens on a landscape artboard, 1920 × 1080.
- From the PlexiDraw page. Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows and choose New artwork. Pick an artboard size for what you are making.
See Start an artwork and set up the artboard.
What you see
- The header: the arrow back, the artwork's name, Share, and whether your changes are saved. See The editor header, saving and the File menu.
- The menu bar: File, Edit, Object, Layer, Document, View and Help.
- The options strip: the name of the tool you are using, zoom out, the zoom level, zoom in, fit to window, Show grid, Snap to edges and centres, and the artboard's size.
- The toolbox down the left: every tool, with the current fill and stroke at the bottom.
- The artboard in the middle. A transparent artboard shows a grey checkerboard.
- The inspector on the right: brush settings while a painting tool is chosen, then Fill, Stroke and the settings for what you have selected.
- The layers panel under the inspector.
The tools
Rest the pointer on a tool to see its name and key. Press the key to switch to it.
| Tool | Key | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Select | V | Select, move, resize and rotate objects. |
| Edit points | A | Move a path's points and curve handles. |
| Pen | P | Draw precise curves and corners, point by point. |
| Pencil | N | Draw a freehand line. |
| Rectangle, Rounded rectangle, Ellipse | R, D, O | Drag to draw the shape. |
| Polygon, Star | U, S | Drag to draw, then set the number of points. |
| Line | L | Drag to draw a straight line. |
| Type | T | Click or drag to place text. |
| Brush | B | Paint with the chosen brush. |
| Eraser | E | Rub out paint. |
| Paint bucket | G | Fill an area of paint with colour. |
| Eyedropper | I | Pick up a colour from the artwork. |
| Pan | H | Drag to move around the artboard. |
The pen, pencil, shape, line and type tools draw on a vector layer. The brush, eraser and paint bucket work on a paint layer. See Vector tools and Pathfinder and Paint with brushes.
Move around
- Zoom: hold ⌘ on a Mac or Ctrl on Windows and scroll, or use the zoom buttons in the options strip.
- Pan: hold Space and drag, drag with the middle mouse button, or use the Pan tool.
- See it all: View > Fit to window. View > Zoom to 100% shows it at actual size.
- Grid and snapping: Show grid draws a grid over the artboard. Snap to edges and centres makes objects line up with each other and the artboard as you drag them.
Layers
Every artwork is a stack of layers, top to bottom in the layers panel. Each layer can be hidden, locked, faded and blended with the layers below. See Layers and blend modes.
Export
File > Export PNG…, Export SVG… or Export PDF… saves the artwork. See Export artwork.
Keyboard shortcuts
These work while you are not typing in a box.
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Undo | ⌘ Z | Ctrl Z |
| Redo | ⇧ ⌘ Z | Ctrl Shift Z or Ctrl Y |
| Select all | ⌘ A | Ctrl A |
| Duplicate | ⌘ D | Ctrl D |
| Delete the selection | Delete or Backspace | Delete or Backspace |
| Nudge the selection | Arrow keys, with Shift for 10 pixels | Arrow keys, with Shift for 10 pixels |
| Smaller or larger brush | [ and ] | [ and ] |
| Clear the selection | Esc | Esc |
Help > How PlexiDraw works sums up the main techniques.
The file itself
File has New artwork, Make a copy, New from preset, Rename, Version history and Move to trash. See Version history and Delete and restore Office files.
Common questions
Where are my artworks? In Office, under Recent on Office Home, and under Your artwork on the PlexiDraw page.
What is the difference from PlexiiDesign? PlexiiDraw is for drawing and painting. PlexiiDesign is for laying out pages of text and pictures, such as flyers and brochures. See PlexiiDesign overview.
Can I put an artwork on a desk? Yes, with the Artwork widget. See Artwork widget.
Related tasks
- Start an artwork and set up the artboard
- Vector tools and Pathfinder
- Paint with brushes
- Layers and blend modes
- Export artwork
- Artwork widget
Guides in PlexiiDraw
- Start an artwork and set up the artboardStart a PlexiiDraw artwork at the size it is for, from screen canvases to print sizes and transparent icons, then change the artboard's size and background.
- Vector tools and PathfinderDraw editable vector shapes, paths and type in PlexiiDraw, colour them with fills, strokes and gradients, and combine shapes with Pathfinder.
- Paint with brushesPaint in PlexiiDraw with twelve brushes, from hard round to watercolour. Set size, opacity, flow and texture, and use the eraser, bucket and eyedropper.
- Layers and blend modesOrganise a PlexiiDraw artwork in vector and paint layers. Hide, lock, reorder, merge and rasterize layers, and blend them with opacity and blend modes.
- Export artworkSave a PlexiiDraw artwork as a PNG picture, a scalable SVG drawing or a PDF, with a transparent background where you need one.
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Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].