To display the Paths palette:

Choose Window > Paths.

To select or deselect a path in the palette:

Do one of the following:

•To select a path, click the path name in the Paths palette. Only one path can be selected at a time.

•To deselect a path, click in the blank area of the Paths palette or press Esc.

To change the size of path thumbnails:

1Choose Palette Options from the Paths palette menu.

2Select a size, or select None to turn off the display of thumbnails.

To change a path’s stacking order:

1Select the path in the Paths palette.

2Drag the path up or down in the Paths palette.When the heavy black line appears in the desired location, release the mouse button.

Note: You cannot change the order of vector masks in the Paths palette.

Editing paths (Photoshop)

A path is composed of one or more path components—collections of one or more anchor points joined by segments.

Because they take up less disk space than pixel-based data, paths can be used for longterm storage of simple masks. Paths can also be used to clip sections of your image for export to an illustration or page-layout application. (See “Using image clipping paths to create transparency” on page 466.)

About anchor points, direction lines, direction points, and components

A path consists of one or more straight or curved segments. Anchor points mark the endpoints of the path segments. On curved segments, each selected anchor point displays one or two direction lines, ending in direction points. The positions of direction lines and points determine the size and shape of a curved segment. Moving these elements reshapes the curves in a path.

A B

C

D E

A path:

A. Curved line segment B. Direction point C. Direction line D. Selected anchor point E. Unselected anchor point

A path can be closed, with no beginning or end (for example, a circle), or open, with distinct endpoints (for example, a wavy line).

Smooth curves are connected by anchor points called smooth points. Sharply curved paths are connected by corner points.

Smooth point, and corner point

When you move a direction line on a smooth point, the curved segments on both sides of the point adjust simultaneously. By comparison, when you move a direction line on a corner point, only the curve on the same side of the point as the direction line is adjusted.

Adjusting a smooth point, and a corner point

A path does not have to be all one connected series of segments. It can contain more than one distinct and separate path component. Each shape in a shape layer is a path component, as described by the layer’s clipping path.

Separate path components selected

Selecting paths (Photoshop)

Selecting a path component or path segment displays all of the anchor points on the selected portion, including any direction lines and direction points if the selected segment is curved. Direction points appear as filled circles, selected anchor points as filled squares, and unselected anchor points as hollow squares.

To select a path:

1 Do one of the following:

•To select a path component (including a shape in a shape layer), select the path selection tool , and click anywhere inside the path component. If a path consists of several path components, only the path component under the pointer is selected.

To display the bounding box along with the selected path, select Show Bounding Box in the options bar.

•To select a path segment, select the direct selection tool , and click one of the segment’s anchor points or drag a marquee over part of the segment.

Drag a marquee to select segments.

2 To select additional path components or segments, select the path selection tool or the direct selection tool, then hold down Shift while selecting additional paths or segments.

When the direct selection tool is selected, you can select the entire path or path component by Alt-clicking (Windows) or Option-clicking (Mac OS) inside the path. To

activate the direct selection tool when any other tool is selected, position the pointer over an anchor point, and press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS).

To change the overlap mode for the selected path component:

Using the path selection tool, drag a marquee to select existing path areas, then choose a shape area option in the options bar:

•Add to Shape Area to add the path area to overlapping path areas.

•Subtract from Shape Area to remove the path area from overlapping path areas.

•Intersect Shape Areas to restrict the area to the intersection of the selected path area and overlapping path areas.

•Exclude Overlapping Shape Areas to exclude the overlap area.

To show or hide the selected path component:

Do one of the following:

•Choose View > Show > Target Path.

•Choose View > Extras. This command also shows or hides a grid, guides, selection edges, annotations, and slices.

Moving, reshaping, and deleting path segments

You can move, reshape, or delete individual segments in a path, and you can add or delete anchor points to change the configuration of segments.

Note: You can also apply a transformation, such as scaling, rotating, flipping, or distorting, to a segment or anchor point. See “Applying transformations” on page 182.

To move a straight segment:

1Select the direct selection tool , and select the segment you want to adjust. To adjust the angle or length of the segment, select an anchor point.

2Drag the selected segment to its new position.

To move a curved segment:

1Select the direct selection tool , and select the points or segments you want to move. Be sure to select both points anchoring the segment.

2Drag the selected anchor points or segments to new positions. Hold down Shift as you drag to constrain the movement to multiples of 45°.

Select points anchoring a curve. Then drag to move the curve.

To reshape a curved segment:

1Select the direct selection tool , and select the curved segment you want to adjust. Direction lines appear for that segment.

2Adjust the curve:

• To adjust the position of the segment, drag the segment.

Click to select the curve segment. Then drag to adjust.