Path Tool
The Path Tool is the most powerful and complex tool available within TouchDraw. It can be used to create complex curves and shapes with detailed control on every aspect of the shapes appearance. Paths created with this tool are made up of many segments and three different types of line segments are possible:
- Straight Lines
- Quadratic Curves (lines with 1 control point)
- Cubic Curves (lines with 2 control points)
It’s also important to understand that, like the Pen Tool, the Path Tool can be used to create both paths and shapes. The Path selection is different from the pen selection in that a continuous line is not drawn. A separate Click action is required to create each path segment of a line or shape and this is accomplished in one of either two ways depending on whether or not the end result should be a path or shape.
Use a Single Click to add each line end point or a Click/Drag combination to add a line end point and a corresponding control point in one action. To Create a Path, Double Click on the drawing canvas or choose another drawing tool when the path is complete. To Create a Shape, click on the first (start) handle (the orange handle with a white dot) to automatically draw a line from the current position to the start position to close the path.
Path Tool Actions
A control point is displayed in gray when it has not been used and is referred to as a “phantom” control point. This characteristic provides a hint to the TouchDraw application that it should function as a control point in scenarios where the next drawn segment is a curve. A few basic actions can be used to alter the type of created segment, curve positioning, and “phantom” control point position as a path is being created. Refer to the table below to learn more about each available action.
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Click/Drag | A Click/Drag combination can be use to create a curve segment and allows the “phantom” control point to be dragged to a any drawing canvas position to generate a desired curve segment. |
| Single Click | A Single Click adds a line or curve segment depending on the actions taken during initial path creation. For example, clicking on two points within the drawing canvas after selecting the path tool causes a straight line segment; however, an initial Click/Drag combination creates a curve segment. An additional curve segment (based on the “phantom” control point position) is created when a Single Click action is performed in this scenario. |
| Double Click | A Double Click action anywhere on the drawing canvas completes the path and causes the Selection Tool to be automatically chosen as the active drawing tool. |
| Shift/Click | A Shift/Click combination when adding the next path segment alerts TouchDraw to ignore the “phantom” control point and creates a straight line segment. |
| Option/Click | An Option/Click combination allows the “phantom” control point position to be set to a desired location on the drawing canvas after a Click/Drag combination has been performed to create a curve segment. Please refer to the Option Key page to learn more about this application feature. |
| Option/Click/Drag | An Option/Click/Drag combination allows the “phantom” control point to be dragged to any point on the drawing canvas and changes a corner point back to a smooth curve after the initial Click/Drag combination has ben completed for creating the curve segment. Please refer to the Option Keypage to learn more about this application feature. |