# How to make this rectangle a node (TikZ)?

I have drawn a rectangle with a fixed position:

$\begin{tikzpicture} \draw[thick] (3,1) rectangle (5,3); \end{tikzpicture}$

I would like to make it a node with a name (for instance rec), so that other elements later could be positioned with regards to it, for instance:

\node (elli) [ellipse, below=1cm of rec] {...};

Does anyone know how to make the rectangle above a node?

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You can specify the minimum height and minimum width for a node. In conjunction with draw, you'll end up with a rectangle with the specified dimensions:

\node (rect) at (4,2) [draw,thick,minimum width=2cm,minimum height=2cm] {};
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Here, iiuc (rect) is the label, so what indicates the shape ? Is rectangle simply the default for draw ? – Nikana Reklawyks Mar 16 '15 at 6:40
@Nikana: yes, exactly, rectangle is the default shape. – Jake Mar 16 '15 at 7:10
Actually explicitly setting [rectangle] is also possible, to restore the default if it was overriden. – Joost May 27 '15 at 18:12

Another solution with fit library. Following example shows how to use two opposite corner coordinates to define an rectangular node.

\documentclass[tikz,border=5]{standalone}
\usetikzlibrary{fit}

\begin{document}

\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw[help lines] (0,0) grid (6,4);
\fill[red] (3,1) circle (1pt) node[below left] {(3,1)} (5,3) circle (1pt) node[above right] {(5,3)};
\node[fit={(3,1) (5,3)}, inner sep=0pt, draw=blue, thick] (rect) {};
\draw[red] (rect.east) to[out=0,in=-90] (rect.south);
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

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You can define a node and put the rectagle inside. Then you can add more objets as nodes with relative posititions.

\documentclass[tikz,border=5]{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{calc}

\begin{document}

\begin{tikzpicture}
\node[at={($(cuadrado.center)$)},anchor=center] (texto) {asd asd asd};