Adding, removing, joining, and aligning nodes
When you add nodes, you increase the number of segments and, therefore, the amount of control you have over the shape of the object. You can delete selected nodes to simplify an object’s shape.
When curve objects contain many nodes, it is difficult to edit and output them to devices such as vinyl cutters, plotters, and rotary engravers. You can have the number of nodes in a curve object reduced automatically. Reducing the number of nodes removes overlapping nodes and can smooth a curve object. This feature is especially useful for reducing the number of nodes in objects imported from other applications.
You can join the start and end nodes of an open path such as a line to create a closed object. This feature is useful for filling an object with color because you can apply fills only to the inside of closed objects. For information about applying fills, see “Filling objects.”
You can align the nodes of a curve object horizontally or vertically.
To add or delete a node |  |
, select a curve object, and double-click where you want to add a node.To reduce the number of nodes in a curve object | |
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To reduce the number of nodes in the entire object, click the Select all nodes button
 on the property bar. |
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To reduce the number of nodes in a part of a curve object, marquee select the part you want to change.
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Click Reduce nodes on the property bar to have overlapping and redundant nodes automatically removed.
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Move the Curve smoothness slider to control the number of nodes that are removed. Removing many nodes can reshape the curve object.
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To join the end nodes of a single subpath | |
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Click a subpath.
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on the property bar.
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You can close multiple subpaths in an object by clicking Arrange
 Close path. For more information, see “Closing multiple line segments.” |
To join the nodes of multiple subpaths | |
on the property bar.
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If you want to join nodes from separate curve objects, you must first combine them into a single curve object, and then join the end nodes of the new subpaths. For information about combining objects, see “Combining objects.”
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To align nodes | |
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Select a curve object.
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Press Shift, and select the nodes you want to align.
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on the property bar.