- Drawing Objects
- Using the Direct Selection Tool
- Drawing Basic Shapes
- Drawing Stars
- Drawing Simple Lines
- Drawing Straight Paths
- Drawing Curved Paths
- Mixing Straight and Curved Path Segments
- Attaching Curves at Angles
- Adding, Deleting, and Converting Anchor Points
- Extending and Connecting Open Paths
- Splitting Paths
- Creating Corner Effects
- Making Compound Paths
- Creating Paths with the Pencil Tool
- Editing Paths with the Smooth and Erase Tools
- Using Type as a Graphic Element
- Using Outlines as Masks
- Using Outlines as Text Frames
Extending and Connecting Open Paths
InDesign treats the endings of open paths as just that, open. An end point is always available for extending or connecting into a closed path. You also can connect two open paths, which is just a special form of path extension.
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With the Pen tool selected, move the pointer over the end point of an open path. A slash is added to the pen pointer to indicate that the path will be extended (Figure 3.36).
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Click to select the path and reactivate the end point. Click-drag to select and add a direction line to the end point.
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To extend the path, click or click-drag an additional anchor point.
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To connect open paths, move the pointer over another end point. A hollow square is added to the pointer to indicate the connection (Figure 3.37).
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Click, and the paths are connected. (Use the same technique to connect two ends of the same open path to create a closed path.)
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The order in which you connect lines makes a difference. A smooth-anchor-point-to-smooth-anchor-point connection will be the same in either order, but smooth-anchor-point-to-corner-anchor-point connections will vary. Extending a corner anchor point to connect a smooth anchor point converts the smooth point to a corner and results in two corner points joined by a straight segment (Figure 3.38). Connected in the reverse order, the smooth anchor point is preserved, and the connection is made with a curved segment (Figure 3.39). In short, the nature of the first anchor point will determine the nature of the connection.
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