Working with Open and Closed Paths

If you've created an open path and subsequently decide that you want to extend the path at either or both ends, you can do so using the Pen tool. Along the same lines, you can use the Pen tool to connect two open paths and to close an open path. For example, if you've placed text or a picture into an open path, you may decide that the path would work better in a closed frame. And if you want to get even trickier, you can use the Scissors tool to split an open or closed path into two separate paths.

Extending an open path and connecting open paths

The steps required to extend an open path and to connect two open paths are very similar. Here's how you extend an open path:

Use the Direct Selection tool to select the path you want to extend.
Move the Pen pointer over one of the path's endpoints.

When the Pen pointer is over an endpoint, a small, angled line is displayed below and to the right of the Pen.
Click and release the mouse button.
Move the pointer to where you want to place the next anchor point.

If you want to create a corner point, click and release the mouse button. If you want to create a smooth point, click and drag, and then release the mouse button.
Continue adding smooth and corner points until you're done extending the path.
Finish the path by holding down the z or Ctrl key and clicking on an empty portion of the page or choosing another tool.

To connect two open paths, follow Steps 1 through 3 above, and then click on the endpoint of another path (the other path doesn't have to be selected). Figure 27-7 shows a path before and after being extended; Figure 27-8 shows an open path produced by connecting two open paths.

Figure 27-7: The original path (left) was cloned to create the path on the right. The cloned path was then extended by clicking on its right endpoint with the Pen tool and then clicking four more times to create four additional corner points.

Figure 27-8: Connecting the two open paths on the left with the Pen tool produced the single path on the right.

Tip ‚

If you hold down the Shift key when you click an endpoint with the Pen tool, an endpoint for a new path is created (that is, the selected path remains unchanged). In this situation, a small x is displayed below and to the right of the Pen pointer. This is useful if you want to create two paths that touch at a particular point. For example, you could draw a path and apply a 4-point black stroke to it and then create another path that shares an endpoint with the first path. By adding a different kind of stroke to the second path, the two paths would look like a single path to which two kinds of kinds of stroke have been applied.

Closing an open path

Closing an open path is much the same as extending an open path. The only difference is that you complete the path ‚ that is, you close it ‚ by clicking on the other endpoint. For example, if you slice a graphics frame into two pieces using the Scissors tool (this is explained in the next section of this chapter), two open paths are created. If you add a stroke to these open frames , a portion of the picture edge (the nonexistent segment between the endpoints) will not be stroked . If you close the path, the stroke will completely enclose the picture within. Figure 27-9 shows an open path that's been converted into a closed path.

Figure 27-9: The closed path on the right was created from a clone of the open path on the left.

Using the Scissors tool

The Scissors tool does precisely what its icon suggests: It lets you slice things. Specifically, it lets you split paths ‚ open and closed ‚ into two pieces. There are a few things you should know about using the Scissors tool:

It only takes one click with the Scissors tool to split an open path, but it takes two clicks to completely split a closed path.
You can split graphics frames, but you can't split text frames that contain text. If you want to split a text frame that contains text, you must first cut the text and paste it elsewhere.
If you split a graphics frame, a copy of the picture is placed within both frames.
When you split a path, all stroke and fill attributes of the original path are inherited by the two offspring. After you split a path, it looks the same as before you split it until you move or modify one of the resulting paths.

To split an open path, use the Scissors tool and move the crosshair pointer over a path, and then click and release the mouse button. You can click on an open portion of a segment (that is, between anchor points) or on an anchor point. In both cases, two anchor points ‚ endpoints of the two resulting paths ‚ are created.

To split a closed path, use the Scissors tool and move the crosshair pointer over a path, then click and release the mouse button. You can click on an open portion of a segment or on an anchor point. In both cases, two anchor points ‚ endpoints of the two resulting paths ‚ are created. Move the crosshair pointer to a different position along the same path, then click and release the mouse button.

After you split a path, you can switch to either of the selection tools and then select, move, or modify either of the two resulting paths as you wish. If you've split a closed path, you may want to close the two open paths (as described in the previous section). Figure 27-10 shows a pair of open paths that were created using the Scissors tool on an open path. Figure 27-11 shows a closed picture frame that's been split into two open frames.

Figure 27-10: The original path (left) was split into two pieces by clicking on it with the Scissors tool (center). On the right, you see the two resulting paths after the one on the right has been moved.

Figure 27-11: The closed path on the left was cut twice with the Scissors tool (center). On the right, one of the resulting open paths has been moved with the Selection tool.