User Guide

Canvas 12 User Guide
Standard: Strokes made of a single line. You can specify
the width, type of line joins, and shape of end caps.
Calligraphic: Strokes that have a weight, width, and
angle.
Neon: Strokes shaded like glowing tubes. You can
specify width, colors, tube shape, line joins, and end
caps.
Parallel: Strokes made of two or more lines. You can
specify width, dashes, colors, and spacing.
Symbol: Strokes made of symbols.
Arrows and dashes
Arrows and dashes can be applied to strokes for additional effects. Click on the Dash tab or Arrow tab
in the Presets palette to apply these to a stroke.
Arrow: You can use preset or custom arrowheads that appear
at the endpoints of each path segment.
Dash: You can apply preset or custom dash sequences that
divide solid strokes into solid and blank segments.
How inks affect strokes
You define the colors that apply to strokes separately from the pen stroke settings. The pen ink
(specified in the Presets palette) and the pen stroke settings together produce the appearance of an
object’s outline. The pen ink is the color (or pattern) that “paints” the object’s stroke. Therefore, the
object must have a visible pen ink for the stroke to be visible. Conversely, the object must have a
stroke for the pen ink to be visible.
Some inks can make strokes invisible. If the pen ink is set to “no ink,” the stroke won’t be visible.
Also, if the pen ink is set to white or a color that matches the background, the stroke could disappear
against the background.
Current stroke
The Strokes icon in the Toolbox shows a sample of the current stroke, the stroke that Canvas applies
to new vector objects you create. For example, if the current pen stroke is 3 points wide, new objects
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