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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" /><img src="images/photoshopSharedIndicator.png" title="Photoshop" /></p>
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<ul class="navigation"><li class="prev"><a accesskey="p" class="prev" href="WSAF00B06C-8404-4696-874F-2D5AD6173E0F.html" title="Adjust path segments"><img src="images/blank.gif" alt="Previous" width="17" height="17" /></a></li><li class="next"><a accesskey="n" class="next" href="WSa285fff53dea4f8617383751001ea8cb3f-6c0ca.html" title="Convert between smooth points and corner 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> /
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                <h1>
                    Add or delete anchor points
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                <br clear="both" /><div id="minitoc"><div class="t"><div class="b"><div class="l"><div class="r"><div class="bl"><div class="br"><div class="tl"><div class="tr"><div><h3>Contents [<a href="#" onclick="return toggleMiniToc('minitoc-links', this);" class="hideLink">Hide</a>]</h3><ul id="minitoc-links"><li><p><a href="#WS6F82E856-9D67-401e-A014-65329ECAE487"><h4 class="topictitle4">Add or delete anchor points</h4>
</a></p></li><li><p><a href="#WSD38DBD21-AF07-4996-A6B3-5FB61727D74C"><h4 class="topictitle4">Disable or temporarily override automatic Pen tool switching</h4>
</a></p></li></ul></div></div><br clear="both" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br clear="both" /><div><div class="section"><p>Adding anchor
points can give you more control over a path or it can extend an open
path. However, it’s a good idea not to add more points than necessary.
A path with fewer points is easier to edit, display, and print.
You can reduce the complexity of a path by deleting unnecessary
points.</p>
<p>The toolbox contains three tools for adding or deleting
points: the Pen tool&#160;<img src="images/P_VectorDraw_Lg_N.png" />, the
Add Anchor Point tool&#160;<img src="images/P_AnchorAdd_Lg_N.png" />, and
the Delete Anchor Point tool&#160;<img src="images/P_AnchorDel_Lg_N.png" />.</p>
<p>By
default, the Pen tool changes to the Add Anchor Point tool as you
position it over a selected path, or to the Delete Anchor Point
tool as you position it over an anchor point. (In Photoshop, you
must select Auto Add/Delete in the options bar to enable the Pen
tool to automatically change to the Add Anchor Point or Delete Anchor
Point tool.)</p>
<p>You can select and edit multiple paths simultaneously
in Photoshop and InDesign; however, you can add or delete points
to only one path at a time in Illustrator. In Photoshop and InDesign,
you can reshape a path while adding anchor points by clicking and
dragging as you add.</p>
<div class="note"><span class="notetitle">Note:  </span>Don’t use the Delete, Backspace, and
Clear keys or the Edit&#160;&gt; Cut or Edit&#160;&gt; Clear commands
to delete anchor points: these keys and commands delete the point
and the line segments that connect to that point.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="WS6F82E856-9D67-401e-A014-65329ECAE487" class="nochunk"><a name="WS6F82E856-9D67-401e-A014-65329ECAE487"></a><h3 class="topictitle3">Add or delete anchor points</h3><div><ol><li><span>Select the path you want to modify.</span></li>
<li><span>Select the Pen tool, the Add Anchor Point tool, or the
Delete Anchor Point tool.</span></li>
<li><span>To add an anchor point, position the pointer over a path
segment and click. To delete an anchor point, position the pointer
over an anchor point and click.</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="section"><div class="para"><div class="tip"><img src="images/tip_help.png" />In Illustrator, you can add anchor
points to a path by selecting the object and choosing Object&#160;&gt;
Path&#160;&gt; Add Anchor Points.</div></div>
</div>
</div></div>
<div id="WSD38DBD21-AF07-4996-A6B3-5FB61727D74C" class="nochunk"><a name="WSD38DBD21-AF07-4996-A6B3-5FB61727D74C"></a><h3 class="topictitle3">Disable or temporarily override automatic Pen tool switching</h3><div><div class="section"><p>You can override automatic switching
of the Pen tool to the Add Anchor Point tool or the Delete Anchor
Point tool. This is useful when you want to start a new path on
top of an existing path.</p>
</div>
<ul><li><span>In Photoshop, deselect Auto Add/Delete
in the options bar.</span></li>
<li><span>In Illustrator or InDesign, hold down Shift as you position
the Pen tool over the selected path or an anchor point. (To prevent
Shift from constraining the Pen tool, release Shift before you release
the mouse button.)</span></li>
<li><span>In Illustrator, choose Edit&#160;&gt; Preferences&#160;&gt;
General (Windows) or Illustrator&#160;&gt; Preferences&#160;&gt;
General (Mac&#160;OS), and select Disable Auto Add/Delete.</span></li>
</ul>
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