4
A directory dialog box opens. Locate the strokes file you want
to open and click Open.
Customizing pens
In the Pen manager, you can choose from the following options:
standard or calligraphic pen styles, also known as nibs.
Standard pens have a uniform width. Calligraphic pens have
a separate width, weight, and angle setting.
bevel, miter, or round line joins
flat, round, or square end caps
For basic information about setting pen size, see Using standard pen
strokes on page 19.336.
To create a custom pen width: In the Pen manager, choose
Standard in the pop-up menu, and set the width in the Width text box.
The sample window at the bottom of the manager shows the current
settings; drag from this window to the scroll list to add the pen stroke
to the presets.
To create a calligraphic pen
The calligraphic option lets you create a pen stroke with a custom
weight, width, and angle. The shape of a calligraphic stroke varies
depending on the strokes path.
1
In the Pen manager, choose Calligraphic in the pop-up menu.
Weight, Width, and Angle text boxes and an editing box appear in
the configuration manager.
2
To set the width of the pen, enter a value in the Width text box,
or drag the thin red arrow in the edit window. The width is the max-
imum thickness of the stroke when it is perpendicular to the pen
angle.
3
To set the weight of the pen, enter a value in the Weight text
box, or drag the thick blue arrows in the edit window. The weight is
the maximum thickness of the stroke when it is parallel to the pen
angle.
4
To set the pen angle, enter a value in the Angle text box or drag
an arrow in the edit window.
For the most calligraphic effect, the weight and width values should
be dissimilar (at least by a factor of three or four) and the angle set to
approximately 45 degrees.
Tip
You can choose millimeters,
inches, or picas instead of
points as the pen size unit
using the Preferences com-
mand in the File menu.