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Tip of the Week: Editing Subpaths in a Compound Path

This tip was sent to Tip of the Week email subscribers on October 29, 2015.

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When you’re working with type converted to outlines or other complex vector shapes, you might want to tweak the appearance by editing just a subpath. To do this, start with the object deselected. Then take the Direct Selection tool and press Option/Alt while you click on one of the anchor points of the subpath (don’t click on a segment inbetween anchor points).

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Now you can manipulate the subpath independently from the rest of the object.

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You can move it,

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rotate it,

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scale it,

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shear it,

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or delete it.

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Want to manipulate multiple subpaths at the same time? Hold Option/Alt+Shift while you click to select them.

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Editor in Chief of CreativePro. Instructor at LinkedIn Learning with courses on InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, GIMP, Inkscape, and Affinity Publisher. Co-author of The Photoshop Visual Quickstart Guide with Nigel French.
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