Edit SVG path data visually
The SVG path editor works on the same path data that appears in your exported markup. You can mix every path command - M, L, H, V, C, S, Q, T, A, and Z, absolute or relative - in a single path, reshape segments on the canvas, and keep the result as standard SVG instead of an editor-only object.
Switch to the Edit tool (E) to work node by node: drag the square anchor nodes, pull the round Bezier handles, drag a segment directly to bend it, and double-click a segment to insert a node exactly where you clicked. On open paths the start node is drawn green and the end node red, so path direction is always visible on the canvas.
Edit the d attribute in the Path Editor panel
The Path Editor panel (Window > Panels > Path Editor) shows the selected path's raw d attribute in a live code editor with per-command syntax highlighting. Type or paste path data and the canvas follows as you edit; invalid data is flagged instead of silently applied, and every change lands as a single undoable step.
Below the editor, a structured table lists every command with a color-coded type badge, numeric inputs for each parameter, and checkboxes for arc flags. Change a command type - say a straight L into a cubic C - and its parameters convert in place. Insert or delete commands per row, click a row to select the matching node on the canvas, and canvas selections highlight their rows in return. The same panel also edits text-on-path baselines and animation motion paths.
Draw deliberate paths or quick freehand shapes
Use the Path tool (B) when you want exact control over each point and curve, the Polyline tool (P) for straight-segment outlines, or the Freehand tool (F) when you want to sketch first and clean up later; SVGSketch fits the stroke into editable vector geometry so it can still be refined node by node.
Straight segments can become curves, rough curves can be smoothed, and imported paths can be adjusted with the same controls as paths you draw from scratch.
Simplify paths without losing the shape
Traced artwork and freehand drawing often create too many nodes. Shape > Simplify Path (Ctrl+Shift+{) reduces path complexity while preserving the silhouette, with an adjustable tolerance in the edit toolbar, which keeps exported SVG easier to inspect, animate, and reuse in code. Complexify Path does the reverse when you need more control points to work with.
You can also reverse path direction when winding order, markers, or downstream path effects need the path to run the other way, and close, open, join, or split paths - down to welding and breaking individual nodes - from the Shape menu and the edit toolbar.
Prepare paths for clean SVG export
Because edits stay in normal SVG path syntax, the final artwork can be exported as readable markup and opened in other tools. Designers get canvas-level control, and developers get path data that is not hidden behind proprietary metadata.