User Guide

Chapter 4: Drawing And Vector Effects
Smooth point: An anchor point that connects two curve segments where the curve flows
smoothly through the anchor point without a sharp change in direction. Circles and sine
waves are examples of paths that have only smooth anchor points.
Corner point: An anchor point where the path makes a sharp turn at the anchor point.
Corner points can connect two straight segments, two curved segments, or one curved and
one straight segment.
Tangent lines
All smooth points, and some corner points, have tangent lines passing through them. Canvas
displays the tangent lines when a point is selected.
A corner point can have one, two, or no tangent lines.When you select a corner anchor point with two
tangent lines, each tangent line can move independently.
A corner anchor point with
independent tangent lines
When you create paths with only straight segments, the anchor points are corner points. When you
draw curved paths with the Curve, Freehand, or Auto Curve tools, the anchor points are smooth
points. Adding anchor points to curved segments produces smooth points.
To change a smooth point to a corner point:
You can edit, reshape, and resize two adjoining curve segments independently by converting their
smooth anchor point to a corner point.
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