Drawing straight segments with the pen tool
You draw straight lines by clicking the pen tool in the drawing area. This creates control points, called anchor points, that are connected by straight segments.
To draw straight segments with the pen tool: - Select the pen tool.
- Position the tip of the pen point where you want the straight segment to begin, and click to define the first anchor point (do not drag). The anchor point remains selected (solid) until you add the next point.
Note: The first segment you draw will not be visible until you click a second anchor point. Also, if lines appear that are extended from the points, you've accidentally dragged the pen tool; choose Edit > Undo and click again. - Click again where you want the segment to end. (Shift-click to constrain the segment's angle to multiples of 45 degrees.) This creates another anchor point.
- Continue clicking the pen tool to create additional straight segments.The last anchor point you add appears as a large square, indicating that it is selected. Existing anchor points become deselected as you add more anchor points.
- Complete the path by doing one of the following:
- To close a path, position the pen pointer over the initial anchor point. A circle appears underneath the cursor when you are directly over the initial anchor point. Click to close the path.
- To leave the path open, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) anywhere away from all objects, or select a different tool in the toolbox.
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