Reference Section > Shape Library > Primitives

The Ellipse shape is a single closed ellipse, centred on the insert point, set by its two diameters. On its own it is an elliptical blank; placed inside another profile it is an elliptical hole.

It appears in the shapes library under Round Shapes and Primitives.

Insert point and direction

The centre of the ellipse is the insert point (Base X, Base Y). Major D is always the width along X and Minor D the height along Y, before any Rotation is applied. The ellipse is built as one true ellipse entity, not as arcs. Its half-width is Major D / 2 along X and its aspect ratio is Minor D / Major D, so the Minor D half-height is set by that ratio. With positive diameters it starts at its right-hand end (on +X) and runs anticlockwise.

The Major D dimension is drawn across the ellipse along X, above it; the Minor D dimension is drawn along Y, beside it.

Properties

Property	Description	Default
Major D	Overall width of the ellipse, measured along X through the centre (mm or inch).	100 mm (4 in)
Minor D	Overall height of the ellipse, measured along Y through the centre (mm or inch).	75 mm (3 in)

Notes and limits

•Minor D does not have to be the smaller value. If Minor D is larger than Major D the ellipse is simply taller than it is wide. Equal values give a circle.

•Enter both diameters greater than 0. The property page sets no minimum on either value, and the shape does not check their sign.

•If Minor D is 0 the shape adds a point at the insert point and also builds the ellipse with a zero minor axis, which is a flat line along X.

•If Major D is 0 the aspect ratio (Minor D / Major D) divides by zero. The error is caught: the only geometry kept is the point at the insert point, and the property page shows the warning. Set Major D greater than 0.

•If an error is caught while the ellipse is built, the shape keeps any geometry added before the error, and the property page shows Warning: Cannot build shape from these parameters.

To make an ellipse out of arcs that break at the quadrant points (for example to control bevel transitions round it), use Create Ellipse From Arcs in the Geometry Editor instead.

Every 2D shape also has the Transform properties (Base X, Base Y, Rotation, Scale, Mirroring X) and the Polar Array properties, listed after the shape's own properties.