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Customizing strokes

You can customize strokes in the Attributes palette:

Display the strokes settings of selected objects.
Create custom pen, parallel, calligraphic, and neon strokes.
Create custom arrowheads and dash sequences.
Apply custom settings to objects or the current stroke.
Store custom strokes as presets in the palette.

Using the Attributes palette

To open the Attributes palette:

Do one of the following:
- Click the Stroke icon in the Toolbox to open the Presets palette, then click the Edit button.
- Choose Window | Palettes | Attributes.
Select the stroke type or stroke attribute that you want to define.

To use a preset stroke as the basis for a custom setting:

In the Presets palette, select a stroke, then click the Edit button.
Select an object in your document.
In the Attributes palette, adjust the stroke settings.
If you want to save the custom settings as a preset, click the Add Preset button.

To add custom settings:

In the Attributes palette, specify the custom settings.
Click the Add Preset button.

The new stroke or stroke attribute is added to the appropriate stroke type or tab in the Presets palette.

To add settings from an object to the palette:

Choose Window | Palettes | Attributes.
Select an object.

The respective stroke type manager or stroke attribute tab opens in the Attributes palette.
Click the Add Preset button.

When you end a Canvas session, the program stores the stroke type and attribute presets with the program.The same presets are available, whether you work with new documents, documents you created, or documents created by another Canvas user.

If you create a custom stroke and want to apply it to more than one object, and especially if you want to use it in a later work session, you should add the custom settings to the Presets palette.

Customizing standard & calligraphic strokes

If you want to create custom standard pen or calligraphic strokes, use the respective manager in the Attributes palette.

Standard pen strokes have a uniform weight, specified offset, and may have tapered ends. Calligraphic pen strokes have a separate width, weight, and angle setting. For both stroke types, you can define the line joins (bevel, miter, or round) and end caps (flat, round, or square).

For basic information about setting pen size, see Using standard pen strokes.

You can choose another unit of measurement instead of points as the pen size unit using the unit menu in the Attributes palette.

To create a standard pen:

Click on the Pen tab of the Attributes palette.
Select the standard pen stroke type to access its respective manager.
Use the standard stroke manager controls to define the new stroke.
Click the Add Preset button to add this new stroke to the Presets palette.

Standard pen stroke controls

Use these options to define standard strokes.

Weight	Enter the weight of the pen stroke. Strokes are normally defined in points but you can select another unit of measurement from the menu.
Tapered End	Select either no taper, end-to-end taper, left taper, or right taper.
Offset	Select above path, center of path, or below path.
Cap	Select an endcap: flat, round, or square.
Join	Select a line join style: miter, round, or bevel.
Miter Limit	This setting is measured in degrees. The miter limit indicates which corners are too tight to miter so Canvas will bevel them instead.

To create a calligraphic stroke:

Enter a value in the Weight field or drag the blue arrows in the edit box. The Weight refers to the thickness of the stroke.
Enter a value in the Width field or drag the red arrow in the edit box. The Width refers to the thinnest part of the stroke. The Width should differ from the Weight.
Enter a value (in degrees) in the Angle field. You can also adjust the angle by moving the blue arrows or red arrows in a circular motion. Typically, the angle is set to 45 degrees.
Select endcaps and line joins for the pen stroke. For an explanation of the various cap and join choices, see Standard pen stroke controls.
Click Add Preset when you are completed.

Calligraphic pen stroke

Choosing line joins and end caps

For standard pen strokes and calligraphic strokes, you can specify the type of line joins and end caps. Line joins determine the appearance of two path segments that meet at a corner. End caps specify the shape of the endpoints of an open path.

Line joins

Canvas has three types of line joins: miter, round, and bevel. For preset pen strokes, Canvas indicates the type of line join in the respective manager in the Attributes palette.

Miter: Joins path segments with sharp corners that extend to a single point. When you choose miter joins, the Miter Limit field is enabled. Enter the miter limit in degrees (5, 10, 30, 60, or 90 degrees).

The miter limit setting tells Canvas which corners are too tight to miter; Canvas bevels these corners instead; i.e., if the miter limit is set to 10°, and two path segments join at an angle of 9°, Canvas bevels the corner rather than creating a miter join. The miter limit lets you prevent long, spiked corners that might result as a combination of a wide pen size and a small angle.

Round: Smooths corners, so the joint is rounded instead of pointed or flat.
Bevel: Squares off path segment corners, so that the joint appears flat rather than rounded or pointed.


Miter join, miter limit = 10°	Bevel join	Round join	Miter join, miter limit = 20°

End caps

Canvas has three types of end caps. For preset pen strokes, Canvas indicates the type of end cap in the respective manager in the Attributes palette.

Flat: The end of the stroke is flush and square with the end of an open path or dash. By default, end caps use this setting.
Round: A semi-circular cap extends half the pen width beyond the endpoint of an open path or dash.
Square: The stroke tip is square, similar to the Flat option, but extends half the line width beyond the endpoint, like the Round option.

	Flush with endpoint
	Rounded at endpoint
	Square at endpoint

Customizing parallel line strokes

You can create custom parallel line strokes using the Parallel manager in the Attributes palette. Specify the number of lines, color, dash pattern, and pen size of each line, and line spacing.

To create custom parallel line strokes:

Open the Attributes palette, if necessary.
Click the Pen tab.
Select the Parallel line as the stroke type. The Parallel manager comes to the front.

Parallel manager

Use these controls to create parallel line pen strokes.

Total lines	Enter the number of parallel lines for the stroke. The minimum and maximum are 2 and 12, respectively.
Orientation	Specify the placement of parallel lines relative to the object’s path. Choose Center, Outside, or Inside.
Line Attributes	Use these controls to define the appearance of the stroke. Pen: Select a pen width from the palette. Color: Select a color from the palette. You can also specify custom pen colors (seeThe color editor). Dash: Select a dash if you want the stroke to contain one. Spacing: Enter a number to specify the distance between the selected line and the one below it. For Line #1, this setting defines the space between this line and Line #2. Choose a number from the menu to edit the line. Line #1 corresponds to the bottom line. You can also click a line in the edit box to select it. The selected line is indicated with handles.
Equidistant	Turn on this option to apply the spacing setting for the selected line to all lines.
Use pen ink	Turn on this option to apply a color to the spaces between the parallel lines.
Identical	Turn on this option to give all parallel lines the same appearance (pen width, color, and dash).
Add Preset	Click the Add Preset button when you have finished defining the stroke.

Customizing neon strokes

You can create custom neon strokes using the Neon manager in the Attributes palette. Specify the width, colors, line joins, and end caps as well as create uniform and calligraphic neon strokes.

To make the stroke appear round, experiment with lighter inside colors and darker outside colors.

To create custom neon strokes:

Open the Attributes palette and select the Pen tab.
Select the Neon pen stroke type.
Use the Neon manager to define either a standard pen stroke or calligraphic stroke.
Select colors for the neon stroke from the pop-up palettes. Canvas blends these colors to create the neon effect.

	Neon stroke with square corners
	Neon stroke with tapered corners
	Neon stroke with round corners

Neon manager

Use these options to define a Neon pen stroke.

Weight	Enter a value in the Weight field. The Weight refers to the thickness of the stroke.
Width	Enter a value in the Width field. The Width refers to the thinnest part of the stroke. For a standard stroke, the Width is equal to the Weight. For a calligraphic effect, the Width should differ from the Weight.
Angle	Enter a value (in degrees) in the Angle field. For a calligraphic stroke, the angle is typically set to 45°.
Outer Color	Select the color for the exterior portion of the neon stroke.
Partial	Select this check box to give the stroke a gradient effect.
Inner Color	Select the color for the interior portion of the neon stroke.
Corners	Define the appearance of the stroke’s corners: Round, Square, or Tapered.
Add Preset	Click the Add Preset button when you have finished defining the stroke.

Customizing symbol strokes

You can create custom symbol strokes using the Symbol manager in the Attributes palette. Select a symbol, and specify the width, color, gap, offset, angle and centerline of the stroke.

Symbol manager

Select Symbol	Click the Select Symbol button to select a different symbol. By default, Canvas symbol files are located in: C:\Program Files\ACD Systems\Canvas 12\Symbols
Color	Select the color for the symbol stroke. This overrides the color of the symbol.
Width	Enter the width of the thinnest part of the stroke.
Gap	Enter the gap between symbols.
Offset	Enter the offset between symbols and the centerline. This can be a positive or negative value. If you use a thick centerline, enter at least half the weight of the centerline as the amount of offset so that the symbols appear at the edge of the centerline.
Angle	Enter a value (in degrees) in the Angle field. "0" means no rotation, "180" means the symbol is flipped on both axes.
Auto gap	Select this check box if you want Canvas to automatically adjust the gap between the last and first symbols. For example, if you draw a circle object and you select this check box, Canvas adjusts the gaps between symbols, so that the gaps are consistent for all symbols on the path.
Gap first	Select this check box if you want to start the stroke with a gap.
Autorotate	Select this check box to automatically rotate the symbols based on the direction of the stroke.
Centerline	The centerline is the line that the symbols follow. If you want a line to appear, enter the weight, color and dash of the line. If you want the line to disappear, set the weight to 0 or the color to None.
Add Preset	Click the Add Preset button when you have finished defining the stroke.