De manera predeterminada, esta herramienta está en modo Diseño. Puede dibujar la ruta con pulsaciones sucesivas. Puede mover los puntos de control pulsando sobre ellos y arrastrándolos. Entre los puntos de control están los segmentos.

Los números son los pasos para dibujar una ruta recta de dos segmentos.

Los segmentos curvos se pueden hacer fácilmente arrastrando un segmento o un nuevo nodo. Las flechas en azul indican la curva. Aparecen dos pequeñas anclas para que pueda arrastrarlas y así doblar el segmento.

	Sugerencia
	To quickly close the curve, click on the initial control point. If you want to reposition the start node, hold Shift and click to deselect the end node, then move the start node. You can use the Selection from Path button or the Path to Selection button in the Paths dialog to convert the path to a Selection.

	Sugerencia
	Cuando tiene dos anclas, trabajan simétricamente de manera predeterminada. Suelte el botón del ratón para moverlas individualmente. La tecla Mayús fuerza a las anclas a trabajar simétricamente de nuevo.

Several functions are available in Design mode:

Insertar un nodo nuevo: cuando pulsa Ctrl y sitúa el puntero del ratón sobre la ruta existente, el puntero del ratón cambia a un signo «+». Si pulsa se creará un nodo de ruta nuevo en ese punto de la ruta.

Mover uno o varios nodos: si se posiciona sobre un nodo, el puntero del ratón se convierte en una cruz de cuatro flechas. Puede pulsar y arrastrarlo. Puede seleccionar varios nodos con Mayús, pulsar y moverlos mediante pulsar y arrastrar. Pulsando Ctrl+Alt puede mover toda la ruta, como una selección.

Modifying handles: You have to Edit a node first. A handle appears. Drag it to bend the curve. Pressing Shift toggles to symmetric handles.

Modify segment: When the mouse pointer moves over a segment, it turns to a 4-arrows cross. Click and drag it to bend the segment. As soon as you move it, handles appear at both ends of the segment. Pressing the Shift key toggles to symmetric handles.

Añadir una subruta nueva: cuando pulsa Mayús y sitúa el puntero del ratón fuera de la ruta existente, el puntero del ratón comienza a mostrar un cuadrado. Si pulsa se iniciará una subruta que no está conectada a otras curvas pero se considera parte de la ruta.

Edit performs functions which are not available in Design mode. With this mode, you can work only on the existing path. When the mouse pointer is not on the path, the pointer changes to a small crossed circle and you can not do any path editing.

Añadir un segmento entre dos nodos: pulse sobre el nodo de una punta para activarlo. El puntero es como un símbolo de unión. Pulse sobre otro nodo para vincular ambos nodos. Esto es útil cuando tiene que vincular componentes abiertos.

Remove a segment from a path: While pressing Shift+Ctrl key combination, point to a segment. The mouse pointer turns to a "-" sign. Click to delete the segment.

Add a node to a path: point to a segment. Pointer turns to "+"". Click where you want to place the new control point.

Remove a node: While pressing Shift+Ctrl key combination, point to a node. Pointer turns to "-"". Click to delete the node.

Añadir un ancla a un nodo: señale un nodo. El puntero cambia a una pequeña mano. Arrastre el nodo para que aparezca el ancla. Presione Mayús para cambiar a anclas simétricas.

Remove a handle from a node: While pressing Shift+Ctrl key combination, point to a handle. The pointer doesn't turn to the expected "-"" and remains a hand. Click to delete the handle.

	Atención
	There is no warning before removing a node, segment or a handle.

El modo Mover permite mover uno o todos los componentes de una ruta. Simplemente pulse sobre la ruta y arrástrela.

If you have several components, only the selected one is moved. If you click and drag outside the path, all components are moved. Pressing the Shift key toggles between moving all components and selected components only.

If this is selected, you can choose what color is used to fill the path by pressing the color button.

If this is selected, a pattern will be used to fill the path. You choose another pattern by clicking the resource button or by typing the name of the pattern.

Enabling this setting allows you to remove or reduce the aliasing effect that can show up on borders.

For more information, see Anti-aliasing in the Glossary.

If this is selected, you can choose what color is used to stroke the path by pressing the color button.

If this is selected, a pattern will be used to stroke the path. You choose another pattern by clicking the resource button or by typing the name of the pattern.

This is distinct from the Dash pattern. If you select one of the two color options with no dash pattern, an unbroken line is drawn in the color set in the Toolbox. If you select Pattern with no dash pattern, an unbroken line is drawn with the pattern set in the Toolbox. If you select a line with a dash pattern, the color or pattern is still determined by the color or pattern set in the Toolbox. That is, if you have a marbled pattern set in the Toolbox, and select Pattern and dashed lines as Dash pattern, the dashes are drawn in the marbled pattern.

Enabling this setting allows you to remove or reduce the aliasing effect that can show up on borders.

Curved strokes or strokes drawn at an angle may look jagged or stair-stepped. The anti-aliasing option smooths them out.

For more information, see Anti-aliasing in the Glossary.

You can set the width of the stroke using the text box. The default unit is pixels, but you can choose another unit with the drop-down list button.

Choose the shape of the ends of an unclosed path, which can be Butt, Round or Square.

You can choose the shape of the path corners by clicking on Miter, Round or Bevel.

When two segments of a path come together, the mitering of the corner is determined by the Miter Limit. If the strokes were wide, and no mitering were done, there would be pointed ends sticking out at the corner. The Miter Limit setting determines how the gap, formed when the outer edges of the two lines are extended, will be filled. You can set it to a value between 0.0 and 100.0, by using the slider or the associated text box and its arrows.

Figura 14.136. Example of miter limit

Left image: Limit=0. Right image: Limit=5.

On the pixel level, a dashed line is drawn as a series of tiny boxes. You can modify the pattern of these boxes. The black area with thin vertical lines represents the pixels of the dash. If you click on a black pixel, you remove it from the dash. If you click on a white pixel, you add it to the dash. The gray areas indicate how the pattern will be repeated when a dashed line is drawn.

Instead of making your own dash pattern, you can choose one from the drop-down box. This pattern will then be displayed in the Dash pattern area, so you can get an idea of how it will look.