Operation Manual

160 | CorelDRAW X8 User Guide
The components of a curve: control handles, segments, and nodes
Curve objects created in CorelDRAW follow a path that gives them their defining shape. A path can be open (for example, a line) or closed
(for example, an ellipse) and can sometimes include subpaths. For more information about paths and subpaths, see “Breaking the path of
curve objects” on page 167.
Most objects that are added to a drawing are not curve objects, with the exception of spirals, freehand lines, and Bézier lines. Therefore, if
you want to customize the shape of an object or text object, it is recommended that you convert it to a curve object.
To convert objects to curve objects
1 Select the object.
2
Click Object Convert to curves.
You can convert artistic text to curves so that you can shape individual characters.
Bitmaps cannot be converted to curve objects.
You can also convert an object to a curve object by selecting the object and clicking the Convert to curves button on the
property bar.
Selecting and moving nodes
You can select individual, multiple, or all of the object’s nodes. Selecting multiple nodes lets you shape different parts of an object
simultaneously. You can marquee select nodes by enclosing them with a rectangular marquee box, or by enclosing them with an irregularly
shaped marquee box. Freehand marquee selection is useful when you want to select specific nodes in complex curves.
When a node is selected on curved segments, control handles are displayed. You can adjust the shape of the curved segments by moving the
nodes and control handles.