Select stroke/fill style to set current pen tool in Designer?

[Cooner]

Hey folks … Sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere, I haven't found anything in searching.

Is there a way in Designer to modify the current pen tool properties by selecting one of your preset stroke and fill styles?

Specifics: I create vector line art designs a client uses to cut metal templates on a CNC machine. I need all the lines to be an exact width, and the lines are color coded depending on what part of the design I'm working on: black for the initial design; red, blue, or green for added elements; light blue for support structures; etc. Right now I have to draw each line or group of lines with whatever the current settings are (I usually set this as a different line width and unique color, so I can see if I forgot to style something properly) and then go back and apply a style either individually or by selecting groups of lines.

What I'd LOVE to be able to do, is select my "Black 27pt" style when I begin a design to set the pen tool properly to a 27pt black stroke/no fill, then later select the red, blue, etc. styles as I get to each successive portion of the design, and know the tool is set properly and all my lines are correctly styled, AND see the design as color and line width it's supposed to look as I'm drawing it.

Anyone know if there's a way to do this, or something like this, short of having to manually check the pen tool's width and make sure to select the exact correct color each time?

Thanks! Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! ❤️

[Dan C]

Hi Cooner

My sincerest apologies for the delayed response, unfortunately due to the current circumstances our response time is longer than normal. We're working hard to keep on top of things, so many thanks for your patience and understanding here.

Unfortunately there's no way of choosing a Style for the Pen Tool before it's used - however you can Synchronise the default behaviour of the Pen Tool, so that it starts in Black, with no fill @ 27pt.

To do this, select the Pen Tool and set your custom settings. Then select Edit>Default>Save. You can now draw your curves, and use Styles to quickly apply different colours & thicknesses to your lines.

Each time you change the previously drawn curve however, you'll notice the Pen tool is now using the most recently used settings, rather than your defaults. To return it to default, select Edit>Defaults>Revert.

You can also create custom keyboard shortcuts to these menu options (specifically 'Revert') so you can quickly swap your Pen Tool back to your preferred settings.

I hope this helps!