Guide · Arrange on path
Repeat geometry along a curve you already drew.
Pick source segments, pick a target path, then decide interval, alignment, and orientation.
Start from segments, not from a whole drawing.
The tool asks you to select one or more path segments on the canvas. Working from segments means the repeated element can be a detail of a larger drawing rather than an object prepared in advance.
The target path is the curve the copies will follow. It is ordinary document geometry, so it can be drawn, adjusted, and reused like anything else.
A future visual will identify the marked segments, the target path, and the produced copies.
The repeat interval sets the spacing.
The interval controls the distance between consecutive copies along the target. It is measured along the path itself, so spacing stays even as the curve bends.
Start from a value you can reason about, such as a fraction of the path length or a spacing you already use elsewhere in the document, then adjust once you can see the rhythm.
Align the run to the start, centre, or end.
Alignment decides where the sequence of copies sits when it does not exactly fill the path. Start anchors the run at the beginning, end anchors it at the finish, and centre distributes the leftover distance to both sides.
Centre is usually right for decorative borders, while start or end is better when the arrangement has to meet a specific point of the artwork.
- Start
- Centre
- End
Orient the copies to the tangent.
With orientation enabled, each copy is rotated to follow the direction of the target path at its position. That is what makes marks around a circle point outward instead of all facing the same way.
With orientation off, every copy keeps the rotation of the source. Both are useful: tangent orientation suits ticks and ornaments, fixed orientation suits repeated symbols that must stay upright.
Treat the result as generated geometry.
The copies are ordinary paths once produced. Inspect them for overlaps at tight curvature before uniting them or sending the document to export, because a tight bend can push neighbouring copies into each other.
Escape leaves the tool and returns to the selection tool, which is the quickest way to step back and look at the arrangement as a whole.