Page 30 - CC2018_ID_Look_Inside

Understanding Anchor Points and Handles
An anchor point marks the end of a line segment, and the point handles determine the shape of that segment. That’s
INDESIGN FOUNDATIONS tool, or you can edit the curves that are created as part of another shape (such as a circle).
the basic definition of a vector, but there is a bit more to it than that. You can draw Bézier shapes from scratch using the Pen

Each segment in a path has two anchor points, and
It’s important to understand that every line segment is
connected to two handles. In this example, Handle A1 and
can have two associated handles.
Handle B2 determine the shape of Segment AB. Dragging
You can create corner points by simply clicking with the
either handle affects the shape of the connected segment.
Pen tool instead of clicking and dragging. Corner points do
not have their own handles; the connected segments are
controlled by the handles of the other associated points.
(Using the Convert Direction Point tool, click a smooth point
to convert it to a corner point; click and drag from a corner A1 AB B2
point to add handles, converting it to a smoother point.)

Handle of other B1
connected point controls
the segment shape.
When you use the Pen tool, clicking and dragging a point
creates a symmetrical (smooth) point; both handles start out
Corner point at equal length, directly opposite one another. Changing the
has no handles.
angle of one handle of a symmetrical point also changes
the opposing handle of that point. In the example here,
In the following image, we first clicked to create Point A repositioning Handle B1 also moves Handle B2, which
and dragged (without releasing the mouse button) to create affects the shape of Segment AB. (You can, however, change
Handle A1. We then clicked and dragged to create Point B the length of one handle without affecting the length of the
and Handle B1; Handle B2 was automatically created as a other handle.)
reflection of B1 (Point B is a symmetrical point).
B2
A A1

AB A A1
B B1 AB
B2 B

This image shows the result of dragging Handle B1 to B1
the left instead of to the right when we created the initial
curve. Notice the difference in the curve here, compared to
the curve above. When you drag a handle, the connecting
segment arcs away from the direction you drag.

A A1
AB B2

B
B1

40 Project 1: Letterhead Design