Video summary
In this episode of Multimedia Mondays, Alden Library introduces viewers to the Line Segment Tool within Adobe Illustrator 2026, highlighting two primary methods for creating lines: single-clicking and drag-and-dropping. When using the single-click method, users can open a dialog box to precisely define the line's length and angle, such as setting a horizontal line at zero degrees. This approach is ideal for creating exact measurements without needing to guess dimensions visually. Alternatively, the drag-and-drop technique allows for freehand creation where the user determines both the length and angle dynamically by moving the cursor. To ensure precision while dragging, holding down the Shift key locks the line into a perfectly straight path, while lifting the mouse high enough enables snapping to 45-degree increments for creating perfect diagonals or right angles.
The tutorial further explores advanced customization options available through the Properties panel, demonstrating how to adjust stroke weight, apply dash patterns, and add arrowheads to enhance the visual style of lines. A particularly useful feature discussed is the ability to draw from the center of a line rather than its endpoint, which is achieved by holding down the Alt key on PC or the Option key on Mac while clicking and dragging. This technique is especially beneficial for symmetrical designs where lines need to radiate outward from a central point. Additionally, the video explains how to enable the "Fill Line" option, allowing users to color the interior of closed shapes formed by connecting line segments, effectively turning simple strokes into filled geometric forms.
To illustrate these concepts in practice, the presenter demonstrates drawing a shape using the Pen Tool connected to a pre-configured line segment tool with a light blue fill. By dragging the Pen Tool down to an existing line, the software automatically closes the path and fills the area with the selected color, showcasing the seamless integration between different drawing tools. The video concludes by inviting viewers to share their own tips or questions in the comments section and encourages them to schedule appointments with multimedia specialists for further assistance. This session serves as a practical guide for mastering line creation techniques, offering both beginners and experienced users new ways to manipulate vector graphics efficiently within Adobe Illustrator.
Read the full video transcript
This is Alden Library's new series
multimedia Mondays.
We're going to go over here to the line
segment tool to make some lines. So,
first off, let me go over here in my
left-hand panel.
There are two different ways you can
make lines in here with the line segment
tool. I can give it a single click and
it brings up this menu. I'm going to
change my length from this to 200 and
I'm going to change my angle to zero.
That way I have a nice horizontal line.
And I'm going to skip fill line for now.
We don't really need that at the moment.
And now I have myself a line. If I want
to change the way the line looks, like
let's say I want a dotted line or a
thicker line, I can go over here to
properties and appearance [music] and
that'll allow me to change whatever I
would like to with it. So, if I want it
to be a little bit thicker, I can change
here.
And if I want to change it to
>> [music]
>> from a straight line to a dash line, I
can click here and that's going to open
that up and I can change how long and
short I want the dashes. I can go down
here and it add an arrow head on it if I
want to. So, you got a lot of different
options for your line tool. I'm going to
go ahead and change it back. We're going
to go back in here. We're going to set
it to three point. [music] I'm going to
do another line here. Except this time,
I'm going to drag and drop.
So, when I do a drag and drop, I can put
it at any length I want to. I can change
it to any angle I want to. If I want
another straight line, I can actually
just go ahead and click shift and that's
going to lock it into a straight line
for me.
If I raise my mouse up high enough, it's
going to lock it into the closest 45°
angle above that. So, I can go to 45°, I
can go another 45° for 90°
and I can keep going my way all around
the circle here.
So, let's go ahead and keep it at that.
I'm going to go ahead and let go.
Now, let's say I want instead of my line
going from end to end, I want it to go
from the middle. If I'm on a PC, I'm
going to click alt. If I'm on a Mac
computer, I'm going to click option. But
either way, [music] we're going to click
here. We're going to hold down. I'm
going to hold down alt, and you're going
to see it go from the middle.
Now, if you need it to be a straight
line, again, you can click shift and
it'll lock it into the closest straight
line. Now, I'm going to circle back and
use that fill line.
So, how this is going to work is I'm
going to go over here, and I'm going to
double click. So, that way I bring up my
menu. I'm going to choose fill line.
I'm going to click okay. Now, whatever I
draw here, this line
anything that goes to it is going to be
able to fill in. So, if I bring this
line here down to this, it's going to
fill in. I've already chosen a color
here. I've chosen this light blue.
And if you ever need to change that, you
can do that here on this left-hand side.
And you can bring up the color picker
or
>> [music]
>> you can go over here to fill and choose
your colors from there.
Now, what I'm going to do
is I'm going to click V
and I'm going to choose this line here.
And I'm going to bring with my pen tool
this line down to my fill. And what's
going to happen is
let me try that again. Bring that pen
down to fill, and there we go. Did you
learn something? Did I miss something?
Is there a tip you have? Well, let me
know down in the comments. You can
schedule here to make an appointment
with our multimedia specialists, and
tune in for our next installment of
multimedia Mondays.