Edit Shape tool

Intro

The Edit Shape tool can be used to select and manipulate points on Editable Shapes.

To make an Editable Shape either check the Make Editable Primitives option when using the Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon or Star Tools or use the Make Editable command from the Shape menu (Cmd/Ctrl + E). The Pen, Pencil and Line tools all make Editable Shapes by default.

Select

To select a point(s) click a shape and then either:

• Click a point.
• Click + drag to marquee select several points (pre-selection highlighting to come).
• Option/Alt + click + drag to lasso select several points.
• Hold Cmd/Ctrl + click to add points to the selection.
• Double click a point to select all the points on a Contour.
• Shift + double click a point to select all the points on a Shape (where there are multiple Contours within a Shape).

Clicking anywhere outside a Shape will deselect all points.

Move

To move a point simply click + drag one or select a point and then use the arrow keys to nudge it by 1px or 5px when holding Shift.

info

Holding Option/Alt when nudging points will switch from moving points in the Shape's local space to world space. For example, if nudging a point of an Editable Shape with 90° rotation, hitting the ⬆︎ arrow key will move the point to the left (along the direction of its local transform) by default. Holding Option/Alt will mean the point will move up instead.

Edit

Points can be either corner or bézier points.

To convert a point or points from corner to bézier, use the Shape > Convert to Bézier Point command. To convert a point or points from bézier to corner, use the Shape > Convert to Corner Point command.

A quicker way to do this is to simply Option/Alt + click a point (or points) to toggle between bézier and corner points (e.g. a corner will become a bézier and vice versa).

When converting from corner to bézier you can also control the length of the bézier handles by using Option/Alt + click + drag. This will convert a corner point to a bézier point and drag the bézier handles out until the mouse is released.

Where bézier points exist, bézier handles will appear. These handles can exist in two states:

• Locked - When a handle is moved, the opposing handle also moves in an opposing direction.
• Unlocked - Each handle can be moved independently of the other.

The Lock/Unlock bézier Handle commands under the Shape menu can be used to convert points to either state.

Alternatively, a quicker way to do this on a point by point basis is to Option/Alt + drag a handle. If a bézier handle is locked, Option/Alt + dragging one side of the handle will unlock it. And conversely, if a bézier handle is unlocked, Option/Alt + dragging one side of the handle will lock it.

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Within a certain range, any bézier handles will appear automatically. Rather than having to click on a point first and then grabbing a handle it can be selected immediately. To provide a better visual picture of how other handles are determining the shape of the path, incoming handles from the previous/next point will also be shown when handles or points are selected.

Open paths can be closed by simply dragging one end of the path onto the other. As the cursor approaches a point, a small circle will appear in the Viewport to indicate the path will be closed. Use the Close Distance option in the Tool Settings to adjust the threshold.

Tool Settings

See Tool Settings for the context specific options available for this tool.

Shortcuts

Shortcut	Description
⬆︎⬇︎⬅︎⮕ keys	Move selected in 1px increments in Local Space.
Option/Alt + ⬆︎⬇︎⬅︎⮕ keys	Move selected in 1px increments in World Space.
Shift + ⬆︎⬇︎⬅︎⮕ keys	Move selected in 5px increments in Local Space.
Option/Alt + Shift + ⬆︎⬇︎⬅︎⮕ keys	Move selected in 5px increments in World Space.
Option/Alt + click	Convert a bézier point to a corner point (or vice versa).
Option/Alt + drag (Point)	Convert a corner point to a bézier point and set the handle lengths.
Option/Alt + drag (Handle)	Move and unlock a locked bézier handle (or vice versa).
X + click	Delete a bézier Handle.
Option/Alt + Delete	Remove a selected point and both connected edges.
H	Toggle Transform Tool.
S + click	Split Path (Bézier).
S + double click	Split Path (Corner).
Shift	Bézier angle snapping.
Cmd/Ctrl	Turn off snapping.