The easiest way to create a basic node is to use the three node creation tools for creating points, planes, and coordinate systems. These tools only allow for a few of the most often used creation types such as by Cartesian coordinates, on a plane, or by parameter along a curve. Only techniques that use geometrically accessible nodes in the View window are available through the tools.

To create a point using the shortcut, click the Create Point tool and then pick a location in the View window. By default, the point is placed on the baseCS.XY plane, which is similar to creating a point using the OnPlane update technique. The original location of the point does not have to be absolute as its exact location can be edited with extreme precision later by using the Move or Edit Node tool.

To place a new point which uses a line, curve, or surface as its support context, press and hold the <Ctrl> key, and click on the support geometry.

The method for creating a new point described above also works for planes and coordinate systems because all three node types implement the IPoint interface. For these types of geometry, use the Create Plane or Create Coordinate System tools. Then, in the View window place them either by Cartesian coordinates, or on a line, curve, or surface.

The nodes provided in the Node Type library can also be picked to create supporting nodes (as described in the To Create Nodes with the Node Types dialog ) and used in designing a model.