Editing Shape Points

In a vector paint operator, you can edit any shape's points to change its form. Although editing points is basically the same for all shape types, some types have special options that give you additional control over the line segments connecting the points.

The point-editing tools and techniques discussed in this section apply to all shapes in vector layers. This includes:

Stroke shapes painted with the paint brush tool. See Painting with the Paint Brush for more information.
Lines painted with the line tool. See Painting Lines for more information.
Color shapes painted using the Rectangle, Ellipse, Freehand, and Mark Out Shapes tools. See Setting New Shape Properties for more information.
Stencil shapes, active or not, created using any of the stencil tools except for the Magic Wand tool. See Viewing the Paint Selection Mask for more information.

To edit a shape's points

Edit the vector paint operator whose shapes' points you wish to edit, as described in Editing and Previewing Paint Operators.
Select a shape of any type in the Fx Viewer.
From the Fx viewer paint menu, choose Shape Edit Point Tool, or position the mouse pointer over the Fx viewer and press M.

The shape's points are displayed.
Click a control point to select it.

Hold down Shift and click additional points to add them to the selection.

TipYou can also hold down Shift and click the shape's outline to add additional points to the shape.
Drag the selected control points to modify the shape as desired.
Depending on what type of shape you're editing, you may be able to further edit its points:
- If you are editing a Bézier shape, you can further modify it by adjusting the control handles at each of its points, as described in the following section, Editing B-Spline Point Weights.
- If you are editing a B-Spline shape, you can further modify it by adjusting its point weights, as described in Animating Vector Shapes.

Editing Points on Bézier Shapes

Editing points on Bézier shapes is a bit more involved that editing other shapes' points. Each point has a set of handles that you can use to adjust the shape's curve at that point.

NoteAlthough they are Bézier-curve based, stroke shapes painted with the paint brush tool do not have editable control handles.

When you select a Bézier shape, some or all of its points' handles are displayed with lines joining them to their respective points. Where the shape's outline passes through a control point, it is always parallel to the line joining the control point to its handles.

If the two handle lines are at an angle, then the shape's outline also has a sharp corner at this point, with the same angle. The shorter the handle line, the tighter the curve of the outline as it passes through the control point.

Note

If you draw a Bézier shape without using smooth handles (see Closed Shapes vs. Open Shapes), its control points' handles are not displayed when you edit the shape. This may also happen when you change a non-Bézier shape's type to Bézier.

To display a point's handles, hold down Ctrl, click the point and drag.

To edit points on Bézier shapes

Edit a Bézier shape's points as described in the previous section.
Drag control points or their handles to create the desired shape.

As you drag the handle of a control point, its other handle simultaneously pivots to keep the angle between the two handle lines constant.

Do any of the following as needed when editing control points and handles:

Press Ctrl and drag a control point.

The outline is smoothed by forcing the control handle lines to be in line with each other and at the same length. It then lengthens the lines as the outline is stretched, or shortens them as the outline is contracted.

Press Alt and drag a handle.

The control point's other handle remains stationary as you move the selected handle. This creates a sharp corner at the control point.

Press Shift and drag a handle.

The length of the line changes but the angle at the control point remains the same.

Editing B-Spline Point Weights

Each point in a B-Spline shape has a weight value that defines the shape's curve at that point. Weight values range from 1 to 3, with higher values creating sharper curves. By default, all of a shape's points have a weight value of 1, which you can change using the BSpline Point Weight tool.

When you edit a B-Spline shape's point weights, each point's weight is marked next to the point itself. Notice that the top-left point's weight value is highlighted in a lighter color. That's because it was the first point drawn, and also the point where the shape closes.

When all of the shape's point weights are set to 1, each point is connected to its two adjacent points by a gentle curve.

Increasing the top-right point's weight to 2 straightens the segments between it and its two adjacent points, forming a rounded corner.

Increasing the top-right point's weight to 3 further straightens the segments between it and its two adjacent points, forming a sharp corner.

To edit B-Spline point weights

Edit the vector paint operator whose B-Spline shapes you wish to edit, as described in Editing and Previewing Paint Operators.
Select a B-Spline shape in the Fx viewer.

Alternatively, you can select a shape of another type, open its property editor, and set its Type to B-Spline.
From the Fx viewer paint menu, choose Shape BSpline Point Weight Tool, or with the mouse pointer positioned over the Fx viewer, press Ctrl+B.

Each point's weight value is displayed.
To adjust point weights, do the following:
- Click a point to increase its weight.
- Hold down Shift and click a point to reduce its weight.

Inserting Points

You can add points to any type of vector shape using the Insert Points tool.

To insert points

Edit the vector paint operator whose shapes you wish to edit, as described in Editing and Previewing Paint Operators.
Select a shape of any type in the Fx Viewer.
From the Fx viewer paint menu, choose Shape Insert Points, or with the mouse pointer positioned over the Fx viewer, press Insert.

The shape's points are displayed.
Click any segment between points to add a point.
Repeat as necessary.

TipYou can also insert points on any type of shape while using the Edit Point tool. To insert a point, Shift+click the shape's outline where you want the new point to be.

Deleting Points

You can remove points from any type of vector shape using the Edit Point tool or the Delete Point tool.

To delete shape points using the Edit Point tool

Select a shape of any type in the Fx Viewer.
From the Fx viewer paint menu, choose Shape Edit Point, or position the mouse pointer over the Fx viewer and press M.

The shape's points are displayed.
Click a any point to select it. Hold down Shift and click additional points to add them to the selection.

Alternatively, you can drag the mouse pointer over a region to select all of the points in the region.
Press Delete to delete the selected points. The shape's outline is reshaped accordingly.

To delete shape points using the Delete Point tool

Select a shape of any type in the Fx Viewer.
From the Fx viewer paint menu, choose Shape Delete Point, or position the mouse pointer over the Fx viewer and press D.

The shape's points are displayed.
Click any point to delete it.