help_tools

The line of buttons under the menus is the tool shelf. The first seven buttons are the mode you are in. From left to right:
 Cursor: This mode allows you to move your cursor around and click on the canvas without anything happening.
 Select: This mode will display rectangles around all shapes, allowing you to select shapes and modify them.
 Rectangle: This mode allows you to draw rectangles.
 Oval: This mode allows you to draw ovals.
 Line: This mode allows you to draw lines.
 Polyline: This mode allows you to draw polylines.
 Polygon: This mode allows you to draw polygons.

Each of the other 5 last modes are shape drawing modes which allow you to draw that shape. for each you click your mouse on the canvas to start drawing the shape, move your mouse to move the shape, and then click again to finish drawing (or with the polygon and polyline add a vertex in which case you right click to end drawing).

Border: This buttons allows you to choose what color to use for the border color of new shapes or to change the border color of the selected shape.
Filled: This check box allows to you specify whether or not the selected shape should be filled in.
Fill Color: This buttons allows you to choose the fill color for the selected shape.
Move: This allows you to move the selected shape. To do so, after pressing the button, click on the canvas and the shape will then move as you move your cursor.
Copy: This will create a copy of the selected object and then allow you to move the copy as instructed above.
Delete: This will delete the selected shape.