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title = "Tools"
template = "book.html"
page_template = "book.html"
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order = 4
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Tools are the primary means of interacting with and creating content in the Graphite editor. Each tool is purpose-built for a specific kind of creation or editing task. Tools are activated from the **tool shelf** on the left side of the editor, or with their keyboard shortcut.
## Tool categories
### General tools
Tools for selecting, navigating, and applying colors and styles to content.
| Tool | Shortcut | Description |
|:-|:-:|:-|
| [Select](./select) | V | Select and transform layers and objects — move, resize, rotate, and skew by manipulating bounding box handles or using keyboard-driven grab/rotate/scale transforms. |
| [Artboard](./artboard) | | Create and manage artboard regions that define the bounds of exportable artwork areas. |
| [Navigate](./navigate) | Z | Pan and zoom the viewport. |
| [Eyedropper](./eyedropper) | I | Sample a color from anywhere on the canvas and set it as the active fill or stroke color. |
| [Fill](./fill) | F | Apply the active fill or stroke color to the clicked layer. |
| [Gradient](./gradient) | H | Create and interactively edit linear and radial gradient fills on layers. |
### Vector tools
Tools for drawing and editing vector paths and shapes.
| Tool | Shortcut | Description |
|:-|:-:|:-|
| [Path](./path) | A | Edit the anchor points and handles of existing vector paths — select, move, add, delete, and modify the curvature of individual points and segments. |
| [Pen](./pen) | P | Draw new bezier paths point by point, placing anchor points and dragging out handles to define the curvature of each segment. |
| [Freehand](./freehand) | N | Draw freehand strokes that are recorded as vector paths. |
| [Spline](./spline) | | Draw smooth Catmull-Rom spline curves by placing points that the curve passes through naturally. |
| [Line](./line) | L | Draw straight line segments. This is the Line variant of the Shape tool. |
| [Rectangle](./rectangle) | M | Draw rectangles and squares, optionally with rounded corners. This is the Rectangle variant of the Shape tool. |
| [Ellipse](./ellipse) | E | Draw ellipses and circles. This is the Ellipse variant of the Shape tool. |
| [Shape](./shape) | Y | Draw parametric shapes — polygon, star, circle, arc, spiral, grid, and arrow — with tool options to configure their geometry. Also encompasses the Line, Rectangle, and Ellipse variants. |
| [Text](./text) | T | Create and edit text layers by clicking to place a text frame and typing. |
### Raster tools
Tools for painting and editing raster (pixel-based) content.
| Tool | Shortcut | Description |
|:-|:-:|:-|
| [Brush](./brush) | B | Paint brush strokes onto raster layers. |