Expand stroke

Expand stroke expands the stroke of a shape or line, converting the line's boundaries into paths forming a closed shape.

Before
After
Before and after expand stroke is applied.

Drawing a line creates an open path with a skeletal structure that can be adjusted. The boundaries of a line, on the other hand cannot be edited. Expanding the stroke converts the line's boundaries into paths forming a closed shape, so you can edit them individually in the same way as a regular shape.

The expand stroke feature has a range of uses. It can be used to:

Move Tool Node Tool To expand a stroke:
  1. Select the shape with either the Move Tool or the Node Tool.
  2. Click Expand Stroke on the Layer menu.

The shape's stroke is now detached from the object and made into curves. As with Convert to Curves, the resulting curves can then be manipulated with the Node Tool.

SEE ALSO: