Alter shapes with path operations

1. In the Composition panel or Timeline panel, select the shape group into which to add the path operation.
2. Choose a path operation from the Add menu in the Tools panel or the Timeline panel:

   Merge Paths

   Combines paths into a compound path. (See Merge Paths options.)

   Offset Paths

   Expands or contracts a shape by offsetting the path from the original path. For a closed path, a positive Amount value expands the shape; a negative Amount value contracts it. The Line Join property specifies the appearance of the path where offset path segments come together. A bevel join is a squared-off connection. A miter join is a pointed connection. The miter limit determines the conditions under which a beveled join is used instead of a miter join. If the miter limit is 4, then when the length of the point reaches four times the stroke weight, a bevel join is used instead. A miter limit of 1 causes a bevel join.

   Pucker & Bloat

   Pulls the vertices of a path outward while curving the segments inward (Pucker), or pulls the vertices inward while curving the segments outward (Bloat).

   Repeater

   Creates multiple copies of a shape, applying a specified transformation to each copy. (See Using the Repeater to replicate shapes.)

   Round Corners

   Rounds corners of paths. Higher Radius values cause greater roundness.

   Trim Paths

   Animate the Start, End, and Offset properties to trim a path to create results similar to results achieved with the Write-on effect and the Write On setting for paint strokes. If the Trim Paths path operation is below multiple paths in a group, then you can choose to have the paths trimmed simultaneously or treated as a compound path and trimmed individually.

   Twist

   Rotates a path more sharply in the center than at the edges. Entering a positive value twists clockwise; entering a negative value twists counterclockwise.

   Wiggle Paths

   Randomizes (wiggles) a path by converting it into a series of jagged peaks and valleys of various sizes. The distortion is auto-animated, meaning that it changes over time without the need to set any keyframes or add expressions.

   Several properties for this path operation behave the same as properties of the same name for the Wiggly selector for text animation. (See Wiggly selector properties.) The Correlation property specifies the amount of similarity between the movement of a vertex and that of its neighbors; smaller values create more jagged results, as the position of a vertex depends less on the position of its neighbors. The Correlation property is similar to Correlation for the Wiggly selector, except that the Wiggle Paths version specifies the correlation between neighboring vertices instead of neighboring characters. Set the maximum length for segment paths using an absolute or relative size. Set the density of jagged edges (Detail) and choose between soft edges (Smooth) or sharp edges (Corner).

   Animate the Size property to fade the wiggling up or down. To smoothly accelerate or decelerate the wiggling, set Wiggles/Second to a constant value of 0, and animate the Temporal Phase property.

   Wiggle Transform

   Randomizes (wiggles) any combination of the position, anchor point, scale, and rotation transformations for a path. Indicate the desired magnitude of the wiggle for each of these transformations by setting a value in the Transform property group that is contained in the Wiggle Transform property group. The wiggled transformations are auto-animated, meaning that they change over time without the need to set any keyframes or add expressions. The Wiggle Transform operation is especially useful following a Repeater operation, because it allows you to randomize the transformations of each repeated shape.

   Several properties for this path operation behave the same as properties of the same name for the Wiggly selector for text animation. (See Wiggly selector properties.) The Correlation property specifies the amount of similarity between the wiggled transformations of a repeated shape and its neighbor within a set of repeated shapes. Correlation is only relevant if a Repeater operation precedes the Wiggle Transform operation. When Correlation is 100%, all repeated items are transformed in the same way; when Correlation is 0%, all repeated items are transformed independently.

   Zig Zag

   Converts a path into a series of jagged peaks and valleys of uniform size. Set the length between peaks and valleys using an absolute or relative size. Set the number of ridges per path segment, and choose between wavy edges (Smooth) or jagged edges (Corner).

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