Drawing > Drawing with the Pen tool and Bezigon tool > Pen tool smart cursors |
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Pen tool smart cursors
FreeHand 10 makes the Pen tool easier to use by adding additional smart cursors. As you move the Pen tool, the cursor changes to show what action will happen if you click at the Pen's location.
To draw with the Pen tool:
1 |
Click the Pen tool.
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2 |
Do any of the following: |
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Click to place a corner point. |
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Drag to place a curve point and extend its handles. Press Control (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) as you drag to move the curve point to a new location. |
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Hold down Alt and right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) to place a connector point. |
Dragging as you place a connector point extends the point's handle. This handle affects the curve of the next path segment. |
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3 |
To finish the path, do one of the following: |
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Double-click the last point or press Tab to create an open path. |
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Click the first point to create a closed path. |
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To draw with the Bezigon tool:
1 |
Click the Bezigon tool.
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2 |
Choose an option: |
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Click to place a corner point. |
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To place a curve point, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) as you click. |
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To reposition a point and the point handles simultaneously, hold down Control (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) and drag the point to its new location. |
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To place a connector point that connects a straight segment to a curved path: In Windows, hold down Alt and right-drag the mouse button. On the Macintosh, Control-drag to place a connector point. |
3 |
To finish the path, do one of the following: |
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Double-click the last point or press Tab to create an open path. |
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Click the first point to create a closed path. |
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To constrain path segments:
Hold down Shift as you place a point.
To continue a selected path:
1 |
Click the Pen or Bezigon tool. You can continue a Pen path with the Bezigon tool and vice versa. |
2 |
Click or drag to draw additional segments. |
To place a path segment at a sharp angle to a preceding curve, click the curve point to retract its handle. Then drag or click to set the next point as desired.
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Placing a path segment at a sharp angle |
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3 |
Double-click the last point or press Tab to finish the path. |
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To close a selected open path, do one of the following:
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Use the Pointer or Subselect tool to drag one end point over the other end point. |
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Choose Window > Inspectors > Object. In the Object inspector, select Closed to automatically connect the end points of the path with a new path segment. |
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In Windows only, right-click the path and choose Path > Closed from the pop-up menu. |
To open a selected closed path, do one of the following:
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Choose Window > Inspectors> Object. In the Object inspector, deselect Closed to remove the last path segment from the path. |
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In Windows only, right-click the path and choose Path > Open from the pop-up menu. |
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