Point Edit Mode

Point Edit Mode lets you modify individual anchor points and bezier handles on a shape. Use it to fine-tune curves, adjust corners, or reshape any path-based object.

Entering Point Edit Mode

Double-click on a shape with the Transform tool active to enter Point Edit Mode. The shape's anchor points appear as small squares, and a dotted bounding box surrounds the shape.

On touch devices, tap a selected shape to enter edit mode directly.

Point Edit Mode works with these shape types:

• Freehand shapes
• Polygon shapes
• Brush strokes
• Rectangles
• Triangles
• Stars
• Circles
• Circle segments
• Hearts
• Multi-point polygons

When you enter edit mode on a primitive shape (rectangle, circle, etc.), it converts to an editable path. The visual appearance stays the same, but you can now modify individual points.

Selecting points

Click to select

Click on an anchor point to select it. Selected points turn blue, and their bezier handles (if any) become visible.

Drag to select multiple points

Click and drag on empty space to draw a selection rectangle. All points within the rectangle are selected when you release.

Clear selection

Click on empty space (outside all points) to deselect all points.

Moving points

Drag any selected point to move it. If multiple points are selected, they all move together.

Bezier handles

Curved paths use bezier handles to control the shape of curves. When you select a point on a curved path, two handles may appear extending from the point.

• Handle in: Controls the curve entering the point
• Handle out: Controls the curve leaving the point

Drag a handle to adjust the curve. The farther you drag the handle from the point, the more pronounced the curve becomes.

On smooth nodes, moving one handle rotates the opposite handle to maintain a smooth transition through the point. On corner nodes, handles move independently.

Node types

Each anchor point has a node type that determines how its handles behave.

Smooth

Handles stay opposite each other, creating a smooth curve through the point. When you drag one handle, the other rotates to stay aligned (though their lengths can differ).

Smooth nodes appear as white squares when unselected.

Corner

Handles move independently, allowing sharp direction changes at the point. Use corner nodes for sharp angles or cusps.

Corner nodes appear as white diamonds when unselected.

Auto-smooth

Handles are calculated automatically based on neighboring points. Moving the point updates its handles to create smooth curves through adjacent segments.

Auto-smooth nodes appear as white circles when unselected.

When you manually drag a handle on an auto-smooth node, it converts to a smooth node so you maintain control.

Changing node type

Double-click a point to cycle through node types: smooth, corner, auto-smooth, then back to smooth.

On touch devices, tap an already-selected point to toggle its node type.

Exiting Point Edit Mode

To exit Point Edit Mode:

1. Deselect all points by clicking on empty space
2. Click on empty space again (with no points selected)

Alternatively, double-click on empty space to exit immediately.

When you exit edit mode, you return to the Transform tool with the shape selected.

Tips

• Select multiple points and drag to reshape a section of the path while keeping it smooth
• Use corner nodes at sharp angles and smooth nodes along curves
• Auto-smooth is useful for quick adjustments where you want CADit to calculate reasonable curves
• Shapes with holes (like the letter O) show points for both the outer path and inner hole paths