Optimizer

Reduce the number of nodes in one chosen part of a contour.

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Choose Optimizer from the Vextra panel or the Illustrator toolbar.

Optimizer runs the same cleanup as the Simplify command, and lets you pick the exact part of the path it applies to.

Choose the First Point

Click a node to mark the start of the area you want to clean.

You can also click the solid green point on a segment, and Vextra adds a node there to use as the start.

Choose the Second Point

Move along the same contour. Vextra offers a second node or point on a segment and highlights the path between the two.

Click the second point to simplify that part of the path.

The second point has to be on the same contour; Vextra rejects a point on another contour.

Select an Area

Drag from empty canvas to draw a box around a group of points, or Option-drag / Alt-drag to draw a freehand lasso.

Vextra cleans the selected range when you release the mouse.

What the Green Preview Means

Optimizer marks everything in green, which sets it apart from the Editor and Knife marks.

Once you choose the first point, the green preview shows exactly which part of the path will change.

Small and Large Artwork

Optimizer scales its cleanup to the size of the artwork, so a small icon is cleaned more gently than a large drawing. Work at the artwork's own scale.

Cancel

Press Escape to clear the first point, or to cancel the current box or lasso.

Good Uses

• Remove extra points after Autotrace.
• Clean up a Pencil edit.
• Simplify one side of a shape and leave the other side alone.
• Replace a rough run of curves with fewer, cleaner ones.

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For wider cleanup, use Simplify in Contour Commands.