The Pen tool & editing paths

When a rectangle or ellipse won't do, the Pen is how you draw exactly the shape you want — point by point. It's the tool behind logos, arrows, freeform silhouettes and the custom outlines that become a print cut contour.

What the Pen is for#

The Pen tool (shortcut P) draws custom vector paths. You place anchor points, and the Pen connects them with segments — straight or curved. Because the result is a true vector, it stays razor-sharp at any size and any print resolution. Grab the Pen from the toolbar above the canvas, or just press P.

Drawing straight segments#

The simplest path is a series of clicks. Click on the canvas to drop the first anchor, then click again to place the next — each click adds a straight segment between the last point and the new one. Hold Shift while you click to constrain the new segment to 45° steps, which is the easy way to get clean horizontals, verticals and diagonals.

As you go, a rubber-band preview follows your cursor so you can see where the next segment will land before you commit to it. The Pen shows a hint along the way:

Click to add points · drag for curves · click the last point or double-click to finish · click an endpoint to extend a path

Drawing curves#

To curve a segment, click and drag instead of just clicking. Dragging pulls out a pair of direction handles from the anchor, and those handles shape the curve — longer handles make a broader arc, and the direction you drag sets which way the curve bends.

Sometimes you want a curve on one side of a point and a sharp corner on the other. Hold Alt while dragging to break the handle (the leading side only), giving you a clean corner-to-curve transition without a separate step.

Finishing and closing a path#

You end a path in one of two ways:

• Finish it open — click the last point again, or double-click. An open path becomes a stroked line.
• Close it into a shape — hover the first point until a small ring appears, then click it. A closed path behaves like a filled shape, with a fill and a stroke.

Either way, the tool returns to Select (V) with your new path selected, so you can move or restyle it right away.

Made a mistake mid-draw? Cmd/Ctrl+Z removes just the last-placed point (not the whole path), and Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z puts it back. Press Esc to cancel the in-progress path entirely.

Editing points#

To refine an existing path, double-click it with the Select tool to enter point-editing mode. Now you can:

• Drag points and handles to reshape the path.
• Drag a marquee across several points to select them together.
• Shift+click to add or remove individual points from the selection.

The editing hint keeps the essentials on screen:

Drag points and handles · double-click a point to toggle smooth · Esc to finish

Click a segment to insert a new anchor right on it — the existing curve is preserved. To remove points, select them and press Delete or Backspace. (If deleting would drop the path below two points, the whole path is removed.)

Point types#

Every anchor has a type that controls how its handles behave. With one or more points selected, set it under Properties → Point type:

Double-clicking a point is a fast shortcut to toggle it between Corner and Smooth. Selected points also show a Radius field (tooltip Corner radius) if you'd rather round a corner numerically than pull handles by hand.

Reopening and extending a path#

A path's open-or-closed state isn't permanent. The Close path / Open path action in Properties toggles it either way. And with the Pen active, click an endpoint of an existing open path to pick it back up and keep drawing from that end — handy when you need to add to something you finished earlier.

Caps, joins and text#

Because Pen paths are true paths, they expose stroke Cap and Join controls that plain shapes don't — see Strokes & lines for how those end and corner styles work. And a closed path can be converted with Use as text frame to flow type inside your custom shape; that's covered in Adding & editing text.

Next#

Combine your paths with other shapes using Pathfinder, or turn a finished silhouette into a print cut contour.