Available in: Sketch

Sketch a rectangle starting with a line and ending with the perpendicular distance of the aligned side.

  1. Click Aligned rectangle tool icon to set start with a line, click again to set the end of the line.

    Example of the Aligned rectangle tool in use, starting off with the first point and drawing the first line from that point

  2. Drag perpendicular to the line, and click at the desired distance perpendicular to the aligned side. The rectangle is created.

    Example of the Aligned rectangle tool in use, dragging out from the initial line to create the rectangle

  3. Optionally, immediately after the rectangle is created, input a numerical value (or type "=#" to input a variable) for the length and press enter, then input a numerical value (or type "=#" to input a variable) for the width and press enter. This dimensions the rectangle without having to use the dimension tool.

    Example adding numerical values for the dimensions of the rectangle's length and width

To input a variable in any dimension field after the geometry is already sketched, the equal sign (=) is not required. Type "#" to input a variable.

Hold the ALT key while sketching to constrain two rectangle sides to be equal (resulting in a square).

See the Learning center course Introduction to Sketching (Onshape account required) for more information.