Adobe InDesign CS3 - Manual (Page 318)

INDESIGN CS3
User Guide
311
2 Press Backspace (Windows) or Delete (Mac OS) to delete the selected segment. Pressing Backspace or Delete
again erases the rest of the path.
Extend an open path
1 Using the Pen tool, position the pointer over the endpoint of the open path you want to extend. The pointer
changes when it’s precisely positioned over the endpoint.
2 Click the endpoint.
3 Do one of the following:
• To create a corner point, position the Pen tool where you want to end the new segment, and click. If you are
extending a path that ends at a smooth point, the new segment will be curved by the existing direction line.
Note: In Illustrator, if you extend a path that ends in a smooth point, the new segment will be straight.
• To create a smooth point, position the Pen tool where you want to end the new curved segment, and drag.
Connect two open paths
1 Using the Pen tool, position the pointer over the endpoint of the open path that you want to connect to another
path. The pointer changes when it’s precisely positioned over the endpoint.
2 Click the endpoint.
3 Do one of the following:
• To connect the path to another open path, click an endpoint on the other path. When you precisely position the
Pen tool over the other path’s endpoint, a small merge symbol
appears next to the pointer.
• To connect a new path to an existing path, draw the new path near the existing path, and then move the Pen tool
to the existing path’s (unselected) endpoint. Click that endpoint when you see the small merge symbol that appears
next to the pointer.
Move or nudge anchor points or segments using the keyboard
1 Select the anchor point or path segment.
Note: In Photoshop, you can move only anchor points in this manner.
2 Click or hold down any of the arrow keys on the keyboard to move 1 pixel at a time in the direction of the arrow.
Hold down the Shift key in addition to the arrow key to move 10 pixels at a time.
Note: In Illustrator and InDesign, you can change the distance of a nudge by changing the Keyboard Increment
preference. When you change the default increment, holding down Shift nudges 10 times the specified distance.
Add or delete anchor points
Adding anchor points can give you more control over a path or it can extend an open path. However, it’s a good idea
not to add more points than necessary. A path with fewer points is easier to edit, display, and print. You can reduce
the complexity of a path by deleting unnecessary points.
The toolbox contains three tools for adding or deleting points: the Pen tool , the Add Anchor Point tool , and
the Delete Anchor Point tool .
By default, the Pen tool changes to the Add Anchor Point tool as you position it over a selected path, or to the Delete
Anchor Point tool as you position it over an anchor point. (In Photoshop, you must select Auto Add/Delete in the
options bar to enable the Pen tool to automatically change to the Add Anchor Point or Delete Anchor Point tool.)