Finish drawing a path, Editing paths, Select paths, segments, and anchor points – Adobe Illustrator CS3 User Manual

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ILLUSTRATOR CS3

User Guide

Finish drawing a path

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Complete a path in one of the following ways:

•

To close a path, position the Pen tool over the first (hollow) anchor point. A small circle appears next to the Pen
tool pointer

when it is positioned correctly. Click or drag to close the path.

Note: To close a path in InDesign, you can also select the object and choose Object > Paths > Close Path.

•

To leave a path open, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) anywhere away from all objects.

To leave the path open, you can also select a different tool, or choose Select > Deselect in Illustrator or Edit > Deselect
All in InDesign.

Editing paths

Select paths, segments, and anchor points

Before you can reshape or edit a path, you need to select the path’s anchor points, segments, or a combination of both.

Select anchor points

•

If you can see the points, you can click them with the Direct Selection tool to select them. Shift-click to select
multiple points.

•

Select the Direct Selection tool and drag a boundary around the anchor points. Shift-drag around additional
anchor points to select them.

•

Make sure the path that contains the anchor points is not selected. Move the Direct Selection tool over the anchor
point until the pointer displays a hollow square, and then click the anchor point. Shift-click additional anchor
points to select them.

•

(Illustrator only) Select the Lasso tool , and drag around the anchor points. Shift-drag around additional anchor
points to select them.

Select path segments

Do any of the following:

•

Select the Direct Selection tool

, and click within 2 pixels of the segment, or drag a marquee over part of the

segment. Shift-click or Shift-drag around additional path segments to select them.

•

(Illustrator only) Select the Lasso tool

, and drag around part of the path segment. Shift-drag around

additional path segments to select them.

Select all anchor points and segments in a path

Select the Direct Selection tool

or, in Illustrator, the Lasso tool.

Drag around the entire path.

If the path is filled, you can also click inside the path with the Direct Selection tool to select all anchor points.

Copy a path

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Select a path or segment with the Selection tool or Direct Selection tool and do one of the following:

•

Use the standard menu functions to copy and paste paths within or between applications.