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Enter vector edit

Select a shape and press A, or choose Edit vector in Properties. Double-clicking a vector shape also enters vector edit mode. Press V to return to Select.

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Select

Click a point or drag around several points. Hold Shift to add to the selection. Selecting a point or segment shows its curve handles.

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Handles

Points, also called vertices, have incoming and outgoing handles that control the curve. Drag a handle to reshape the curve; drag the point to move it with both handles. If adding a point is blocked by muted point animation, unmute those tracks in the timeline.

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Corner vs smooth

  • Option/Alt + click a point to switch between a corner and a smooth point.
  • Option/Alt + drag a handle to move it independently of the other handle.

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Join paths

Select two open endpoints in vector edit mode, or select two open paths, then press ⌘/Ctrl + J (Join open endpoints). Unlock the layers first. If a selected shape is used as a mask, release the mask. For separate shapes with rounded corners, use Flatten before joining.

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Flatten

Choose Flatten from the layer’s context menu. For text, Properties also offers Convert text to outlines. Flatten turns the shape at the current frame into editable paths. Review the dialog: affected point, corner-radius, and nested-layer animation will be removed. A flattened vector group takes the top shape’s appearance. You can undo Flatten. Unlock nested layers before flattening. Keep images and masks grouped; they cannot be flattened as a vector group.

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Copy appearance

To copy all fills, strokes, effects, and their animation:
  1. Select the source layer and press ⌘/Ctrl + Option/Alt + C.
  2. Select the target layers and press ⌘/Ctrl + Option/Alt + V.
Unlock the targets first. Fills and strokes need vector shapes as targets. Position, scale, rotation, and shape remain unchanged. To copy individual fills or strokes, select their rows in Properties with ⌘/Ctrl + click, or Shift + click for a range. Use ⌘/Ctrl + C, then ⌘/Ctrl + V to replace selected fill or stroke rows, or add them to selected vector layers. Their animation is copied too.