Contour Effects

Contour effects derive a new drawing from an existing one: an offset boundary, an expanded stroke, a shadow, or a more elaborate treatment. Establish the source shape first, then apply the effect to a copy when you need to preserve the original construction.

Parallel and Expand Contour

Create a parallel contour

Select the source contour and choose Contour > Create Parallel Contour…. The command generates a new boundary offset from the original. A contour with any selected node can be included; with no selection, the operation has a broader scope in the current drawing.

Choose Left, Right, or Both. These directions are relative to travel along the contour, not the left and right sides of the screen. For a counterclockwise outer contour, left is toward its interior and right is outward. Reversing the contour reverses that relationship.

Enter the horizontal and vertical offsets in font units. Link them for equal offsets or unlink them for different horizontal and vertical treatment. Check Remove the original only when you want the generated result to replace the source contour.

Confirm, then inspect tight corners, narrow counters, and short segments. Offsetting a complex curve can produce intersections or collapse a small opening. An offset is a geometric construction; it does not automatically create an optically corrected weight.

Repeating the operation can build concentric forms. Replacing the original can retain its place in contour order, but that alone does not guarantee interpolation compatibility: the generated point structure also needs to match across masters.

Expand a path into a filled stroke

Select an open or closed contour and choose Contour > Expand Contour…. Enter Distance, the total stroke width, then choose the corner and endpoint treatment.

Expand Contour combines the requested width with cap and join choices. The displayed distance is an example, not a prescribed value.

Setting	Choices and effect
Joins	Round follows a curved corner, Bevel cuts it off, and Miter extends the edges to their intersection
Caps	Butt ends at an open endpoint, Round adds a rounded end, and Square extends a flat end beyond the endpoint

For sharp mitered joins, the miter limit controls how far the corner can extend before a shorter treatment is used. Caps matter for open paths; a closed path has no endpoints to cap.

Confirm and inspect the resulting filled boundary. Expanding an open path makes a closed outline around it; expanding a closed path creates inner and outer boundaries around the original course. The source path is replaced by the expanded geometry.

This is a committed contour operation. A live Stroke or Power Stroke is a separate workflow in which the source path and thickness treatment remain adjustable. Changing a default stroke value later does not revise an already expanded contour.

Batch Contour Effects

Open Tools > Actions and choose Effects to find treatments that operate on the current glyph or a glyph selection. Before applying one, check the dialog's glyph and layer scope. Use one representative glyph first so you can judge the settings before applying them across a set. For selecting, previewing, and running an action with the intended scope, see Actions.

Effect	Result and a useful first check
Smooth	Converts line-based structure toward curves; check intended sharp corners
Blur	Produces a softened outline treatment; check counters and thin features
Add Nodes	Subdivides segments, optionally irregularly or as lines; check whether later processing actually needs the extra points
Distort	Displaces outline points; compare broad shape changes with small edge noise
Outline	Builds parallel outline treatments, including repeated offsets; inspect narrow internal regions
Perspective	Projects the drawing into a changed plane; check dimensions and spacing afterward
Shadow	Builds a displaced shadow form; check direction, distance, and retained regions
3D Extrude	Connects the source form to a displaced form to suggest depth; inspect intersections
Engrave	Fills the shape with a hatching pattern of lines, using angle, thickness, gap, and related settings
Scribble	Replaces closed source forms with an editable stroked path or a series of strokes
Warp	Deforms the drawing using a preset deformation shape and a strength value

These effects automate geometry-redrawing workflows rather than simply repeat one interactive command. Many commit new geometry once; adjustable live counterparts are taught in Live Filters and Working with Strokes. Their underlying results differ. Engrave retains its source through a live filter, so its hatching can respond to later source edits. Scribble replaces the original content, but the resulting paths and their stroke treatment remain editable. Do not assume that every entry preserves the source or that every entry immediately produces plain final outlines.

Smooth is also different from assigning a smooth node or harmonizing an existing curve join. Its purpose is a shape treatment; harmonization is taught in Harmonizing Curves and Smart Nodes. Add Nodes subdivides for later processing, while Nodes at Extremes places nodes for the purpose taught in Structural Soundness. Outline is related to the parallel-offset construction described earlier in this chapter. These relationships do not make the operations interchangeable.

When adjusting an effect, change a small number of parameters and inspect the result at drawing size and text size. Randomized settings can produce a different result on another run; keep a satisfactory version rather than expecting the same settings to reproduce every point exactly.

Effects can extend the drawing beyond its original bounds without making the intended spacing decision for you. After applying one, check advance width, overhangs, accents, counters, and the interaction with neighboring glyphs. For a font that interpolates, also check compatibility before repeating geometry-changing effects across its sources.

Save the native working font so retained live treatments remain available. Inspect the actual export when the effect needs to resolve into ordinary outlines for the target format.