Edit Nodes Tool 
¶
The Edit Nodes tool allows you to edit the nodes, lines, and curves that make up a shape in LightBurn. Note that built-in primitives in LightBurn, like Text, Ellipses and Rectangles, cannot be edited without converting them to a generic path object first using Convert to Path.
Node Edit¶
| Action | Windows / Linux | macOS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smooth corner node | S | S | while hovering over a node |
| Convert line to smooth curve | S | S | while hovering over a line |
| Convert curve to line | L | L | while hovering over a curve |
| Convert smooth node to corner | C | C | while hovering over a node |
| Delete node | D | D | while hovering over a node |
| Delete line | D | D | while hovering over a line |
| Insert node point | I | I | while hovering over a line or curve |
| Insert node at midpoint | M | M | while hovering over a line or curve |
| Break shape at point | B | B | while hovering over a point |
| Trim line | T | T | while hovering over a line, trim line under mouse at next intersection |
| Extend line | E | E | while hovering over a point, extend line from point under mouse to intersection with another shape |
| Align to angle | A | A | while hovering over a line, press 'A' to align it to the nearest horizontal, vertical, or 45° angle (new in v1.3) |
Video Tutorial: Trim and Extend
Snapping¶
Note that in all of the above tools, when creating a new shape, you will occasionally see the cursor change if you hover over a point on an existing shape. This means LightBurn is going to snap what you're about to make to that point. You can bypass this behavior by pressing the Ctrl key (Command on MacOS). LightBurn will snap to object centers, end points of lines or curves, or center point of lines or curves, in addition to just snapping to the grid.
Paths and Shapes - Convert to Path¶
In LightBurn, all vector objects are stored as paths - a series of points connected by lines or curves. If you use the Draw Lines tool, you are directly creating what LightBurn calls a Path shape. Path shapes are the "lowest level" thing you can make in LightBurn.
Rectangles, Circles, Polygons, and Text shapes are different - They store the information used to build the path, and if any of that information changes, the path is discarded an re-built from scratch.
For example, Rectangle shapes know their Width, Height, and whether the corners have a radius. If you edit the 'Corner Radius' property on a rectangle shape, the path that LightBurn has built is thrown away, and a new one with the new radius is created. Similarly, if you change the font applied to a text shape, the old version of it is discarded and a new one is built using the new font.
If you want to node edit a shape, it has to be a path shape - using the Convert to Path function in LightBurn on a built-in shape type tells LightBurn to turn it into an editable thing that is just points and curves, and that it's ok to throw away the information about the original type of thing it was.