- In this movie, I'll show you how to numerically edit
width points in order to gain even more precision
over your variable width strokes.
So let's say that I want to modify this wavering
blue line right here.
Well, you might naturally figure you should select the line
by pressing the ctrl key or the cmd key on the Mac
to temporarily access that last used arrow tool
and then clicking on that path outline like so.
And then you'd go ahead and release the ctrl or cmd key
and drag at that endpoint.
The problem is, as opposed to modifying the selected path,
you end up adjusting the path in the foreground instead.
And that's because the width tool does not care
which path is selected.
Now the problem is compounded if you decide to drag
some more like so.
In which case, I end up with this kind of recently fed
snake effect.
Fortunately, you can delete a selected width point
just by pressing the backspace key or the delete key
on the Mac.
And then if I want to get rid
of that first width point I drew,
then I'd go ahead and click on it to select it
and press the backspace or delete key once again.
Now the best way to get this foreground path out of the way
so that you can edit the path behind it
is to once again press the ctrl key
or the cmd key on the Mac, in order to get that
Black Arrow Tool, and then just go ahead and click
on that path outline to select it,
then go up to the Object menu, choose Lock
and choose Selection.
And that will go ahead and lock that path outline
so you can no longer edit it.
And now notice whether this blue path is selected or not,
I can go ahead and add a width point right at the top of it
like so, and then I can go ahead and add another width point
farther down the slope.
The thing is, let's say I have a specific
width value in mind.
In that case, I would go ahead and double-click
on that width point to bring up
the Width Point Edit dialog box,
and I would enter that value into the total width field,
in which case Illustrator will by default
go ahead and evenly distribute that width value
to both sides of the path outline.
And notice by the way that we do have a delete button,
so I can go ahead and delete this point
that I just created.
I don't want to do that so I'll just go ahead and click OK
to apply my change.
All right, now let's say I want to edit that very first
width point.
I'll go ahead and double-click on it
to bring out the Width Point Edit dialog box.
And noticed that you can enter the sides independently
if you want to.
I could change, for example, Side 1 to 15 pt,
which will go ahead and extend this side, apparently.
And then I'll change Side 2 to 5 pt
in order to reduce its size.
And then from this point on,
if you click on this chain icon
to link these two values together,
then modifying one of the values will change the other
not to the same value but to the same extent
as we're seeing right here.
Another thing I want you to see is how the delete button
is dimmed, and that's because you have to have width points
at either end of an open path.
And so I'll just go ahead and click OK to apply that change.
All right, now let's say I want to duplicate
this width point, the one below my cursor.
Then I would just go ahead and press the alt key
or the opt key on the Mac and drag the width point,
not the handles, because that allows you
to adjust the handles independently,
but rather the point itself.
And now I'm going to duplicate it again
and then I'll duplicate it a third time like so.
So you've got to be careful
to make sure that you're alt dragging or opt dragging
the width point itself.
All right, now I'm going to add a width point
at this location, just by double-clicking this time
in order to bring up the Width Point Edit dialog box.
I want this one to be symmetrical, however,
so I'm going to make sure the chain icon is turned off,
and I'm going to change Side 1 and Side 2 to 5 pt a piece
like so.
And notice that there is no preview checkbox
inside this dialog box.
And that's because it's always previewing your changes
in the background.
Note also that the delete button is once again dimmed.
That's not because we can't delete this width point.
It's rather because so far, we haven't created it.
All right, so I'll go ahead and click the OK button,
and then I'll double-click right there.
And I'm going to turn the link icon on,
now that the values are the same.
And I'm going to take the Side 1 value
up to 7 pt, let's say, in order to create
this effect right here.
I'll click OK and then finally,
I'll create a width point at this bottom left location,
and I'm just going to take the total width value
up to, let's say, 18 points.
And I'll click OK.
All right, now there's one checkbox
that I've so far ignored, and I want to show you
how it works.
I'll go ahead and double-click on this point
that I just created in order to bring up
the Total Width dialog box.
And notice this checkbox, Adjusted Adjoining Width Points.
If you turn that checkbox on,
then any modifications you make to this total width value
will affect the adjacent width points as well,
going all the way up to the endpoints by the way.
And if you take this value down,
then you're going to reduce the thickness
of the neighboring width points.
And so I'll take it to right about there, I figure,
and then I'll go ahead and click OK to accept that change,
and I'll press the V key to switch back
to my Black Arrow Tool, so we can see
the modified path outline
free of the width points and their handles.
And that's how you adjust width points
with numerical precision,
just by double-clicking with the Width Tool
here inside Illustrator.