To start the Pyramid command, you can type the command name PYRAMID (or just type PYR) and then press Enter. Alternatively, you can click on the Pyramid button found in the Create panel in the 3D Basics workspace. If you are using the 3D Modeling workspace, you will find the Pyramid button in the Modeling panel under the Home tab, or in the Primitive panel under the Solid tab, as shown in the following screenshot:

After starting the command, to create a pyramid using the default settings, perform the following steps:

1. Choose a location and click to specify the center point of the pyramid base.
2. In the default method, you specify a radius for a circle, and a square base is created, circumscribed about that circle. You can specify the radius using the mouse cursor. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard to enter the radius value and then press Enter.
3. Move the mouse cursor in the z direction to specify the height and click to finish. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard to enter the height value and then press Enter to finish.

The following screenshot is an illustration of the previous steps:

If you select the pyramid object, you will find a collection of different types of control points, and these can be divided into five types as follows:

• On the corners of the pyramid's base, there are four small arrows to control the base shape.
• On the midpoints of the sides of the pyramid's base, there are four small arrows to control the base shape.
• At the center point of the bottom face and at the tip of the pyramid, there is a small blue arrow pointing out (normal to) the face.
• Near the tip of the pyramid, there is a blue arrow to create/control the top face.
• In the middle of the bottom face, you find the pyramid base point, highlighted as a small square in the following screenshot:

The small points on the pyramid’s base corners can be used to modify the base shape, as shown in the following step-by-step example:

1. Use the mouse cursor to pick one of the base corners.
2. Move the arrow to modify the base shape. Observe that the shape of the pyramid will change dynamically as the mouse moves.
3. Click again to finish.

The following screenshot is an illustration of the previous steps:

The small arrows on the pyramid's base sides can be used to modify the base shape, as shown in the following step-by-step example:

1. Use the mouse cursor to pick one of the midpoints on the base sides.
2. Move the arrow to modify the base shape. Observe that the shape of the pyramid will change dynamically as the mouse moves.
3. Click again to finish.

The following screenshot is an illustration of the previous steps:

The arrow near the tip of the pyramid can be used to create/modify the upper face, as shown in the following step-by-step example:

1. Pick the arrow near the tip of the pyramid.
2. Move the mouse to modify the shape of the top face. You can also enter the desired value using the keyboard.
3. When you arrive at the desired location, click to finish.

The following screenshot is an illustration of the previous steps:

The arrows at the bottom face and at the tip of the pyramid can be used to change the height of the pyramid, as shown in the following step-by-step example:

1. Pick the arrow at the tip of the pyramid or the arrow in the bottom face center point.
2. Move the face to the new desired location. Observe that the shape of the pyramid will change dynamically as the mouse moves. You can also enter the desired value using the keyboard.
3. When you arrive at the desired location, click to finish.

The following screenshot is an illustration of the previous steps:

And finally, the base point (highlighted as a square in the bottom face center point) can be used to pick and move the pyramid.

There are a number of options associated with the Pyramid command. These options make provision for alternative methods in creating the pyramid. The first set of options appears in the command bar right after you start the command, as shown in the following screenshot.

• The first option in this set is called Edge. This can be selected by clicking on the option name in the command bar, or you can just type E and then press Enter. This option will allow you to specify the location of one of the base corners instead of specifying the center, as in the default method.
• The second option is called Sides. This can be selected by clicking on the option name in the command bar, or you can just type S and then press Enter. This option is used to determine the number of sides in the pyramid base. After you select the option, enter the number of sides in the pyramid base and then press Enter, and then continue creating the pyramid as usual. The created base will be an equilateral shape with a number of sides that were entered as shown in the example in the following screenshot:

The second set of options appears after you specify the center point of the pyramid base. This set contains one option called Inscribed. It can be selected by clicking on the option name in the command bar or you can just type I and then press Enter. After you select this option, the base of the created pyramid will be Inscribed inside the circle radius instead of circumscribed in the default setting:

The difference between circumscribed, which is the default base creation method, and the optional Inscribed method is illustrated in the following screenshot:

The third set of options appears once the base is created. It contains three different options, as shown in the following screenshot:

The first one is called 2Point. This option is an alternative way to create the height of the pyramid. The second one is called Axis endpoint. This option allows you to change the pyramid height direction. The third one is called Top radius. This option can be used to create a top face instead of the pyramid tip. These three options work exactly like the Cone command. Please refer to the Creating Cones section for the details of these options.

Now that we have learned how to create five different 3D shapes, let's take a look at the next one in the primitives list, which is the Wedge.