Pen and path editing
Draw straight and curved paths with the Pen, close them into shapes, and edit their points.
The Pen draws any outline the basic shapes cannot: a flag, a swoosh, a custom badge. A path is a line made of points, with handles that bend the line between them.
Draw a path
Choose the Pen
Press P, or choose Pen in Design tools.
Place points
Click to place a corner point. Click and drag to place a curve point: the drag pulls out the handles that bend the line. Hold Shift to keep the next segment at 45 degrees. Hold Alt while dragging to move only the outgoing handle.
Finish the path
To close the shape, click the first point. To leave it open, press Enter or Esc. Backspace removes the last point you placed.
The new path is a layer with a 2 pixel black stroke and no fill. It goes into the frame under its first point, it is selected, and the tool returns to Move.
A closed path shows nothing inside until you add a fill. Choose Add fill in the Fill section of the Design tab. Set the line's colour and Weight in Stroke. See Fills.
Edit the points
Double-click a path to edit its points.
| To | Do this |
|---|---|
| Move a point | Drag it |
| Bend a curve | Drag a handle |
| Switch a point between smooth and corner | Double-click it |
| Move one handle without its twin | Hold Alt and drag it |
| Add a point | Click the line between two points |
| Remove a point | Select it, then press Delete or Backspace |
| Finish | Press Esc or Enter |
A smooth point gives a curve with no kink. A corner point can bend sharply.
Turn a shape into a path
A rectangle, ellipse, polygon, star or combined shape becomes a path when you flatten it. Select it and press Cmd/Ctrl+E, then double-click it to edit its points. See Group, frame and arrange.
Try it
Make a corner flag for the sale card. Press P and click three points in the top left corner: one at the corner, one along the top edge and one down the left edge. Click the first point to close the triangle. Add a Fill, then double-click the path and drag a point to change the angle. Press Esc when you are done.
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Updated 1 Nov 2026