The window

RustFig keeps xfig's arrangement of the main window.

Top strip

• Menus: File, Edit, View, Snap, Object (RustFig's own, for commands xfig only has as modes or keys) and Help. See Menus.
• File name: the current file; it is marked when there are unsaved changes. Click it to rename the file.
• Message panel: what to do next, errors and information. Click it to see the history of messages.
• Mouse indicator: three boxes, one per mouse button, say what each does in the current mode and step. Hold Shift to see the Shift meanings. Hovering shows the same as text.
• Units box: shows the units (inches or centimetres, a scale); click it for the unit panel (Edit > Set units).

Mode panel (left)

One button per mode: drawing modes first, then editing modes. Hover for the name and key. The same modes are available as keys, see Keys. The mode is highlighted while it is active. On a small screen the panel scrolls vertically (mouse wheel over it); the buttons keep their size.

Canvas

The drawing area with the page (page borders can be shown or hidden, View menu) and optional grid. Rulers at the top and left show the position; the scale follows the zoom. Scroll or use the rulers' arrows to pan; Z and Shift+Z zoom (see Zoom and view).

Indicator panel (bottom)

Buttons for the attributes that new objects get and that the current mode needs: line width, line style, colours, fill, arrows, font and so on. Which buttons show depends on the mode, as in xfig. See The indicator panel.

Depth manager (right, optional)

Lists the depths in use with check boxes to show or hide them (View > Show depth manager).

Choosing a mode puts xfig's sentence for it, with its key, in the message panel (for example “Rectangular BOX drawing (b)”). After opening a file the message reads Current figure "name" (N objects). RustFig's own Trim button is the last of the editing buttons, so every xfig button keeps its place in the grid.

Dialogs

A dialog taller than the window (Global settings on a small screen, for example) gets a vertical scroll bar: scroll with the mouse wheel or drag the bar to reach the rows and buttons below.