User Guide

Canvas 12 User Guide
Smooth: Available when two or more points of an object are selected. You can smooth any
paths made of straight segments.
Fillet: Available when the pointer is on a corner point (with less than two tangent lines
between two segments. Fillet creates a radius corner between the two segments. When you
choose Fillet, in the dialog box, enter a radius value in the text box and click OK. The larger
the radius value, the larger the curved segment. A message appears if the radius value is too
large for the angle of the segments.
Add Point: Available when the pointer is on a path segment and appears as a gray
arrowhead. Inserts an anchor point with a tangent line where you click.
Break: Available when the pointer is a gray arrowhead on a path. Splits the path segment at
that location, and adds anchor points to the ends of the resulting segments.
Join: Available when you select two anchor points that are not connected. Connects the
selected points with a straight segment.
Delete Handle: Available when the pointer is on a tangent line handle and appears as a
crosshair. Removes the handle and the effects of the tangent line on the path (see "To delete
tangent lines:" on page 341).
Add Handle: Available when the pointer is on an anchor point and there are fewer than two
tangent line segments at the anchor point. Adds one or two tangent line segment to the
anchor point (see "To add a tangent line:" on page 341).
Straighten: Available when the pointer is on a path segment and appears as a gray
arrowhead. Makes the path segment straight by removing tangent lines from the segment’s
anchor points.
Enable Symmetrical Drag: Available when an object is in path edit mode. You can easily
create a symmetrical design from a circle, rectangle, or a complex group of objects (see "To
symmetrically resize path points:" on page 347).
Selecting anchor points and segments
When you edit paths, you need to select particular anchor points or segments before you can delete,
move, or reshape them. Before you can select anchor points and segments, a path object must be in
edit mode (see "To place an object in edit mode:" on page 328).
When a path is in edit mode and you point to an anchor point with a Selection tool, the pointer
becomes a crosshair. When you point to a segment, the pointer becomes a gray arrowhead. The
Selection tools are explained in "Selecting objects with Selection tools" on page 159.
When an anchor point is selected, the Properties bar displays settings for angle and length. You can
even add/delete handles or adjust the point to smooth or cusp.
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