Changing a shapes to lines?

[ianrobertdouglas]

Not sure the correct terminology, but if I have a shape in curve form, is there a way to trace a link through the centre of it, aside from manually (and imprecisely) with the pen tool?

 

Though it refers to Illustrator, this thread on Adobe's forum basically was asking in Ai how to do the same thing.

 

In my case, I have a squirly pattern, with arcs and straight lines. I want to be able to expand it outwards. If I had a line running through it I could add a stroke.

 

 

[MEB]

You can use one of side outlines of the shape as a reference (you have to break its end nodes to turn it into a single line - don't change its position) then apply a stroke to it, until you find the middle of of the original shape (it should have half the width of your original shape). Finally convert this stroke to a shape and break  the end nodes again to separate the part that follow the middle of the original shape from the rest.

[ianrobertdouglas]

You can use one of side outlines of the shape as a reference (you have to break its end nodes to turn it into a single line - don't change its position) then apply a stroke to it, until you find the middle of of the original shape (it should have half the width of your original shape). Finally convert this stroke to a shape and break  the end nodes again to separate the part that follow the middle of the original shape from the rest.

 

Okay. This is what I'm not sure how to do: "you have to break its end nodes to turn it into a single line - don't change its position". For example, on a curved shape.

[MEB]

Hi ianrobertdouglas,

Check the image below. It should be more clear.