Adobe Illustrator CS3 - Manual (Page 79)

ILLUSTRATOR CS3
User Guide
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4 Continue smoothing until the stroke or path is the desired smoothness.
Using the Smooth tool
A. Original path B. Dragging across path with the Smooth tool C. Result
5 To change the amount of smoothing, double-click the Smooth tool and set the following options:
Fidelity Controls how far you have to move your mouse or stylus before Illustrator adds a new anchor point to the
path. For example, a Fidelity value of 2.5 means that tool movements of less than 2.5 pixels aren’t registered. Fidelity
can range from 0.5 to 20 pixels; the higher the value, the smoother and less complex the path.
Smoothness Controls the amount of smoothing that Illustrator applies when you use the tool. Smoothness can
range from 0% to 100%; the higher the value, the smoother the path.
Simplify paths
Simplifying a path removes extra anchor points without changing the shape of the path. Removing unnecessary
anchor points simplifies your artwork, reducing the file size, and making it display and print faster.
1 Select the object.
2 Choose Object > Path > Simplify.
3 Set the Curve Precision to control how closely the simplified path follows the original path.
Select Preview to show a preview of the simplified path and list the number of points in the original and simplified
paths.
4 Select additional options, and click OK:
Curve Precision Enter a value between 0% and 100% to set how closely the simplified path should follow the original
path. A higher percentage creates more points and a closer fit. Any existing anchor points are ignored except for
endpoints of a curve and corner points (unless you enter a value for Angle Threshold).
Angle Threshold Enter a value between 0 and 180˚ to control the smoothness of corners. If the angle of a corner
point is less than the angle threshold, the corner point is not changed. This option helps keep corners sharp, even if
the value for Curve Precision is low.
Straight Lines Creates straight lines between the object’s original anchor points. Corner points are removed if they
have an angle greater than the value set in Angle Threshold.
Show Original Shows the original path behind the simplified path.
Average the position of anchor points
1 Select two or more anchor points (on the same path or on different paths).
2 Choose Object > Path > Average.
3 Choose to average along the horizontal (x) axis only, the vertical (y) axis only, or both axes, and click OK.
A B C