Graphite/website/content/learn/tools/_index.md

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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	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		Create and manage artboard regions that define the bounds of exportable artwork areas.
Navigate	Z	Pan and zoom the viewport.
Eyedropper	I	Sample a color from anywhere on the canvas and set it as the active fill or stroke color.
Fill	F	Apply the active fill or stroke color to the clicked layer.
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	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	P	Draw new bezier paths point by point, placing anchor points and dragging out handles to define the curvature of each segment.
Freehand	N	Draw freehand strokes that are recorded as vector paths.
Spline		Draw smooth Catmull-Rom spline curves by placing points that the curve passes through naturally.
Line	L	Draw straight line segments. This is the Line variant of the Shape tool.
Rectangle	M	Draw rectangles and squares, optionally with rounded corners. This is the Rectangle variant of the Shape tool.
Ellipse	E	Draw ellipses and circles. This is the Ellipse variant of the Shape tool.
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	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	B	Paint brush strokes onto raster layers.