InkFlow Preferences
Doubleclicking the InkFlow tool in the toolbox (or pressing the Enter key when the tool is selected) will bring up its preferences dialog.
InkFlow Preferences Dialog
1. Annotation Color
Sets the color for previewing the stroke when using the InkFlow tool. By default this is black, but it can also be set to red, blue, magenta, green, gray, or “Stroke,” in which case the actual current color of the stroke is used (if the current style has no stroke, the fill color is used and becomes the stroke color).
2. Tolerance
Tolerance affects the degree of smoothing when fitting the stroke to the input points produced by the drag of the tool. Lower values will result in more anchor points on the path (however, this is also affected by the Super Smart Remove setting). The value can range from 0 px to 20 px, with a default of 5 px.
3. Corner Tolerance
Specifies the angle at which a turn is considered a sharp corner rather than a curve when fitting the stroke to the input points produced by the drag of the tool. The value can range from 0° to 50°, with a default of 15°.
4. Keep Selected
When enabled, the last-drawn stroke remains selected, allowing it to be immediately edited, either using the panel or the tool.
5. Expand Strokes
When enabled, the InkFlow tool will not create a centerline stroke with a live effect as normal, but instead create a closed path or compound path defining the edge of the stroke (similar to the native Blob Brush). Therefore, as the art is no longer a live InkFlow stroke, it can no longer have its parameters changed.
InkFlow Expanded Stroke
6. Automatically Save Changes to Brush Presets
When enabled, selecting a preset brush and then changing its parameters will automatically update the preset without having to Option/Alt-click on the brush’s icon.
7. Super Smart Remove
When enabled, Astute Graphics’ point reduction technology is applied to the path, reducing its number of anchor points to make it easier to subsequently edit. The value can range from 5 to 200. Higher values remove more anchor points, but may result in the path not following the original input path as closely. If the stroke is automatically expanded because the preference Expand Strokes is enabled, then point reduction is not applied a second time to the expanded stroke.
InkFlow Super Smart Remove
8. Ignore Paths Under
Strokes drawn with the InkFlow tool which are shorter than the specified value will be ignored; no artwork will be created. The default value is 5 px. This may be useful when drawing with a stylus, which can result in a short drag when only a click was intended.
9. Close Path When Ends Are Within
If disabled, the InkFlow tool will always create open paths. Otherwise, the path will be closed if the end of the path is within the specified distance of the start of the path, in pixels (the default value is 15 px). A small “link” badge next to the cursor indicates when the path’s end is within the tolerance distance.
InkFlow Close Paths When Ends Are Within
10. Edit Continue Selected Paths Within
If disabled, drawing with the InkFlow tool will always result in a new path. Otherwise, if the path is started within the specified distance of an existing, selected InkFlow path, the existing path will be continued (lengthened) or edited. A small “link” badge next to the cursor indicates when the path’s start is within the tolerance distance (which has a default value of 6 px). See InkFlow: Tool Operation.
11. Informational area
Shows a brief description of each preference control when the cursor is being hovered over it.
12. Help Button
Opens the help documentation in the Astute Manager. If this does not automatically appear, please ensure your Astute Manager is running first.