Adjust stroke color and opacity

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Paths with brush strokes have a default color (based on the color of the stroke), but you can change this color, the gradient, and the opacity. You can also make the path transparent by removing the stroke completely.

Note that when you apply a brush stroke to an object that has a fill, the object is filled first and then stroked (the stroke always appears on top of the fill).

Changing the color or gradient of a stroke

To change the color or gradient of a stroke

  1. Select the path or paths you want to change.

  2. In the Properties panel, in the Appearance category, click the Stroke tab.

  3. From the Stroke Type buttons next to the tabs, click one of the following:

    • None or press / (slash)   The stroke becomes transparent.

    • Solid color or press , (comma)  The stroke takes on the default color. You can also apply another color from the Color Picker.

    • Gradient or press . (period)   The stroke takes on the default gradient.

      Note

      You cannot add a gradient to a bitmapped stroke.

Adjusting opacity

When you lower an object's opacity, you increase its transparency so that you can see other objects behind it.

To adjust the opacity of a stroke

  1. In the Properties panel, in the Appearance category, click the Stroke Opacity Cc294930.b3c68817-9fd5-45f4-8dfe-fc0dcbc31132(en-us,Expression.30).png slider.

  2. Slide the pointer up or to the right to increase the opacity or slide the pointer down or to the left to decrease the opacity. Click the slider to type a numeric value.

In the same way, you can adjust the Fill Opacity Cc294930.dd77552f-0121-4a90-82de-27d7a52fe133(en-us,Expression.30).png slider.

By default, the Fill and Stroke opacity sliders are linked so that changing one changes the other, too. You can click the Link/Unlink Cc294930.e63464e3-7055-47dc-8d14-eeac15e49279(en-us,Expression.30).png icon between the two sliders to enable them to change independently.

Some file formats do not support transparent objects and you may want to see how your design will appear without a transparent path.

To preview your design without transparency

  1. On the Edit menu, point to Options, and then click Display.

  2. In the Display panel, under Display options, clear the Display transparency check box.

See also

Tasks

Color Picker