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Outline

Intro​

Create a geometry stroke using the path of another Shape. The Outline Shape is similar to a stroke but rather than being a render effect it actually creates geometry. This means it can be deformed and be used as a clipping masks on other Shapes.

UI​

Common Attributes +

Input Shapes - Connect Shapes to create an Outline around.

Width - Set the width of the Outline.

Offset - Set the distance away from the Input Shapes to draw the Outline.

Cap Style - Select the shape for the ends of open Paths:

  • Flat - Set the caps to be flat.
  • Projecting - Set the caps to project.
  • Round - Set the caps to be rounded.

Join Style - Select the shape for the 'corners' of a Path:

  • Mitre - Set joints to be mitred.
  • Bevel - Set joints to be bevelled.
  • Round - Set the joints to be rounded.

Mitre Limit - Set a limit for the length of a mitred corner. This is useful to prevent very long mitres when angles between edges are very acute.

Dash Pattern - Enter a number sequence separated by commas (dash, gap, dash, gap...).

Dash Offset - Offset the Dash Pattern along the path.

Align - Align the stroke along the path.

  • Centre - Align the stroke along the centre of the path.
  • Inner - Align the stroke along the inside of the path.
  • Outer - Align the stroke along the outside of the path.
caution

Open paths only support Centre alignment. Where multiple contours appear in a single Path, any open contours will be set to Centre regardless of the Align setting.

Trim - When enabled the controls below are available.

Start - Set the percentage along the Input Path the Outline will start.

End - Set the percentage along the Input Path the Outline will end.

Travel - Move the Outline around the Input Shape.

Reverse Path - Reverse the direction the Outline travels around the Input Path.

Clean Up - Outline can create unwanted geometry in some cases. While this can usually be safely ignored, checking Clean Up will remove any geometry that may be causing issues with the resulting mesh. Note - using this feature will have an impact on performance.

Preserve Materials - When checked, the Fill or Stroke Color from the Input Shapes will be applied to the Outline. Where both a Fill and Stroke are present, the Stroke Color will be used.

info

An Outline is not a stroke. While it can be used as such it is actually a Shape and so can be used in the same way as any other shape (i.e. it can be deformed or used as a distribution path etc)