Nodes & Handles

Work with sharp, smooth, tangent, G2, and open-end nodes.

Node Shapes

Each node type has its own shape:

  • Square — sharp node.
  • Circle — smooth node.
  • Triangle — tangent node between a line and a curve.
  • Outer outline — G2 node.
  • Ribbon — first or last node of an open contour.

Right-angle corners and significant high or low points are filled solid, while other nodes have a lighter center. A node grows slightly under the pointer, and all nodes shrink as you zoom out.

Move a Node

Drag a node to move it together with its handles.

  • Hold Shift to move only horizontally or vertically.
  • Hold Control / Ctrl to turn off Vextra Smart Guides for that drag.

At a smooth or tangent node, Option-drag / Alt-drag slides the node along the line through its handles, leaving the handles where they are.

At a sharp node, Option / Alt moves the node and leaves its handles in place. Press or release the key mid-drag to switch behavior; the node carries on from where it is.

Change Sharp and Smooth Nodes

Double-click a sharp node to make it smooth. Vextra reads the surrounding path to choose useful handle directions.

Double-click a smooth node to make it sharp. If the node was sharp earlier, it returns to its previous sharp-handle positions.

Option-double-click / Alt-double-click runs Smart Sharp, which cleans up the handles around the corner.

Tangent Nodes

A tangent node joins a line to a curve, and its curve handle follows the line direction closely. Angle that handle clearly away from the line and Vextra treats the node as sharp.

Moving a selected segment can turn a tangent end into a sharp node when it can no longer stay tangent.

Drag Handles

At a sharp node:

  • Drag a handle to move it on its own.
  • Option-drag / Alt-drag to make both sides behave as a smooth pair.

At a smooth node:

  • Drag a handle to rotate the opposite handle with it.
  • Option-drag / Alt-drag to move it on its own.

At a G2 node, the node holds still while you drag a handle, and Vextra finds its new G2 position on mouse-up.

Make a Handle Horizontal or Vertical

Shift-double-click a handle, and Vextra rotates it to the nearest horizontal or vertical direction. At a smooth node, both handles stay on one line.

Shift-Option-double-click / Shift-Alt-double-click moves the node onto that axis instead, holding the handle line fixed.

Shift-double-click a sharp corner node to align the corner from its two path directions.

Slide a Node Along the Path

Shift-Option-drag / Shift-Alt-drag slides one node along the path.

  • A smooth node follows the joined curves.
  • A corner follows the line or curve beside it.

This changes where the node sits on the path, which is different from moving it freely across the canvas.

Join Open Ends

Open ends carry ribbon markers. Drag one end onto a matching end to join them.

Vextra highlights the target before mouse-up, and the new node becomes smooth when both path directions line up.

Hold Control / Ctrl to prevent the join.

Closing a contour makes the joined node sharp, and breaking a contour makes both new end nodes sharp.

For smoother curve flow, see G2 Continuity. For direct curve edits, see Segments & Structure.