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CHAPTER 5: WORKING WITH TEXT AND PATHS 195
9. When you are satisfied with the result, click Toggle or Editing (or, right-click
and select Toggle Mode) to render your path object.
Converting line to curve
Editing polygon shapes
Like the basic path shapes, polygon shapes can be edited by dragging nodes,
adjusting node control handles, adding and deleting nodes, switching curved for
straight segments and vice versa. However, polygon shapes are special in that
their nodes and segments can be adjusted simultaneously, so that the adjustments
still result in a regular, symmetrical shape. This is due to the fact that they are
comprised of node sets.
What are node sets?
In a polygon shape, a node set consists of nodes that are located on the same
position on each side of the polygon. For example, all the convex points of a star-
shaped path belong to one node set, while all the concave points belong to
another. When you select a node in a polygon, all the other nodes in its set are
automatically selected. Consequently, when you adjust the position of a node or its
control handles, all nodes and adjacent segments in the set are adjusted
simultaneously, relative to the center of the polygon.
The original node set of a polygon that you create is the base node set. The
number of nodes in the base node set can be specified on the Attribute Toolbar.
You can add further node sets to a polygon shape simply by clicking on a side of
the polygon path. The other nodes in the set will automatically appear on the
corresponding positions of the polygon. Similarly, you can create a node set by
adding pairs of nodes that appear symmetrically on either side of a reference
node. Because the nodes of a polygon shape come in sets, individual nodes on a
polygon shape cannot be added, removed or edited. In order to do this, To edit
nodes on a polygon path individually, click Convert on the Attribute Toolbar. The
shape then converts to a standard path shape whose nodes can be edited
individually.
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