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            <p class="sharedproducts">TOPIC APPEARS IN: </p><p class="sharedproductindicators"><img src="images/illustratorSharedIndicator.png" title="Illustrator" /><img src="images/indesignSharedIndicator.png" title="InDesign" /></p>
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<ul class="navigation"><li class="prev"><a accesskey="p" class="prev" href="WSa285fff53dea4f8617383751001ea8cb3f-6c22a.html" title="Types of paths and shapes"><img src="images/blank.gif" alt="Previous" width="17" height="17" /></a></li><li class="next"><a accesskey="n" class="next" href="WS5D46593F-4593-4f0c-A23F-81B9509450F2.html" title="About direction lines and direction points"><img src="images/blank.gif" alt="Next" width="17" height="17" /></a></li></ul><div class="hierarchy"><a href="WSa285fff53dea4f8617383751001ea8cb3f-6c24a.html">Drawing</a> /
     <a href="WSa285fff53dea4f8617383751001ea8cb3f-6c23a.html"><b>Understanding paths and shapes</b></a> 
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                <h1>
                    About paths
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                <div><p>As you draw, you create a line called
a <dfn class="term">path</dfn>. A path is made up of one or more straight or
curved <dfn class="term">segments</dfn>. The beginning and end of each segment
are marked by <dfn class="term">anchor points</dfn>, which work like pins holding
a wire in place. A path can be <dfn class="term">closed</dfn> (for example,
a circle), or <dfn class="term">open</dfn>, with distinct <dfn class="term">endpoints</dfn> (for
example, a wavy line).</p>
<p>You
change the shape of a path by dragging its anchor points, the <dfn class="term">direction
points</dfn> at the end of <dfn class="term">direction lines</dfn> that appear
at anchor points, or the path segment itself.</p>
<div class="fignone"><img alt="" id="sdw_path_components" src="images/sdw_path_components.png" /><div class="figdesc">Components of a path</div><br /><dl><dt class="dlterm">A.</dt>
<dd>Selected (solid) endpoint</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">B.</dt>
<dd>Selected
anchor point</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">C.</dt>
<dd>Unselected anchor point</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">D.</dt>
<dd>Curved
path segment</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">E.</dt>
<dd>Direction line</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">F.</dt>
<dd>Direction
point</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p></dl>
</div><p>Paths can have two kinds of anchor points: corner points and
smooth points. At a <dfn class="term">corner point</dfn>, a path abruptly changes
direction. At a <dfn class="term">smooth point</dfn>, path segments are connected
as a continuous curve. You can draw a path using any combination
of corner and smooth points. If you draw the wrong kind of point, you
can always change it.</p>
<div class="fignone"><img alt="" id="sdw_points_on_path" src="images/sdw_points_on_path.png" /><div class="figdesc">Points on a path</div><br /><dl><dt class="dlterm">A.</dt>
<dd>Four corner points</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">B.</dt>
<dd>Four smooth
points</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">C.</dt>
<dd>Combination of corner
and smooth points</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p></dl>
</div><p>A corner point can connect any two straight or curved segments,
while a smooth point always connects two curved segments.</p>
<div class="fignone"><img alt="" id="sdw_corner_points" src="images/sdw_corner_points.png" /><div class="figdesc">A corner point can connect both straight segments and curved
segments.</div><br /></div><div class="note"><span class="notetitle">Note:  </span>Don’t confuse corner and smooth points
with straight and curved segments.</div>
<p>A path’s outline is called a <dfn class="term">stroke</dfn>. A color or
gradient applied to an open or closed path’s interior area is called
a <dfn class="term">fill</dfn>. A stroke can have weight (thickness), color,
and a dash pattern (Illustrator and InDesign) or a stylized line
pattern (InDesign). After you create a path or shape, you can change
the characteristics of its stroke and fill.</p>
<p>In InDesign, each path also displays a <dfn class="term">center
point</dfn>, which marks the center of the shape but is not part
of the actual path. You can use this point to drag the path, to
align the path with other elements, or to select all anchor points
on the path. The center point is always visible; it can’t be hidden
or deleted.</p>
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