Editing Anchor Points As You Draw a Path

The Convert Anchor Point is a path-editing tool that’s hidden under all the Pen tools in the Tool palette. It’s used to convert a Curved Point into Corner Point as well as turning a Corner Point into a Curved Point by clicking on the Anchor Point and dragging out Handles. You can also click on a Handle and drag to unlock the two Handles from each other to make two Curves meet at a corner. Next to the Pen tool itself, the Convert Anchor Point tool is one of the most important tools in Illustrator. You may ask, “Is there a way to temporarily switch to the Convert Anchor Point tool to edit an Anchor point as you’re drawing with the Pen tool?” Absolutely! While working with your Pen tool, hold down the Option key (Alt on PC) to temporarily switch to the Convert Anchor tool. When you stop pressing the key, you’re ready to continue drawing with the Pen.

Tip provided by Jeff Witchel, Certified Adobe® Training Provider.