One of the best new features in EQ4 is the Shape Tools in PatchDraw!  I was playing around one day ( I have been known to do this , ya know :-) and discovered that you can make really neat piecing diagrams for class handouts AND for websites! For class handouts, you will probably want to color the diagrams in grayscale.

Making shapes in PatchDraw:
Let me add first that I am going to give you instructions for using the Advanced Drawing tools first.  It really helps to have the "Snap Patch to Grid" ON, so that the shapes fall into place neatly and they come out looking nice and straight.

1. Go to the File Menu and select Preferences. Click on the tab for  Drawing Options.  Check the the two boxes beside Customize the Drawing toolbars and Advanced Drawing features.  Click OK.

2. Go to the Block Menu and select Drawing Board Setup.  You should now see two new tabs:  EasyDraw and PatchDraw.  Click on PatchDraw.  The Snap to Grid should already be checked by default, but if it is not, check it.  And then check the box beside Snap Patch to Grid.  Keep the check in the box beside Auto Join.  Click OK. If you want to know more about the Advanced Drawing features and adding the buttons to the right-hand toolbar look in the Help file and search for "Advanced Drawing".

3. Now lets try a simple Nine Patch block!  From the block menu choose New Block and select PatchDraw.  At this point leave the grid points at 24 x 24,  the size of the block won't make any difference -- you can change this later if needed to for different blocks.  Think of the PatchDraw worktable now as graph paper and you are going to set shapes to build a block -- kind of like putting puzzle pieces together. You will not be filling the whole block -- just think of it as your piece of paper.

4. From the PatchDraw toolbar click on the Shapes tool that has the triangles, squares and rectangles. Choose the square first. Point the cursor at any grid point and drag to make/place a square.  (It takes a little practice to figure out which way to move the cursor and which way the shape is going to fall) Try making a square that is 4 x 4 grid points.  Notice the square starts with the upper left hand corner, so you kind of have to swing it around and place the bottom left 4 grid points down.  With the Snap Patch to Grid on, the square will snap into place when you release the mouse.  Try several of these until you get the feel of it . Clear the board and then try drawing three squares in a row so that they look like the top of a Nine Patch block. Then add the rest of the squares to make the Nine Patch.  Got it?

This is just a selection from the PatchDraw worktable:

3. Now lets regroup and move.  Use the Select tool to move your squares to resemble a piecing diagram.  For a Nine Patch you would probably want to separate the top three squares and and then have the the bottom 2 rows "assembled" in threes.  To group the blocks together, hold down the SHIFT key as you select the ones you want to group OR draw a marquee/box around them and then you can move them as needed.  Leave some space between the groups and pieces.  Now Save in sketchbook and Save the project. And then color the patches any way you like.

4. Working with the half-square triangles, quarter-square triangles and rectangles is much the same, but you'll need to practice to place them the way you want.

5. The next step is to export your diagram as a bitmap. Click on the Snapshot button (looks like a camera) and draw a box around only what is needed.  Save it and then use it in your favorite word processing program. Also, you can convert the image to GIF format and use it on your website.

Pretty nifty, huh?