Setting Join and Cap Options

You can choose the shape of the corner intersection and the ends of lines. Designer offers three choices for each. Select the options you want in the Object Format dialog box. A preview line (in the upper right) shows a red line in the center to show the effect of different cap options.

Setting Cap Options

Cap options determine the appearance of the ends of lines.

• The Round Cap option places the center point of a circle at the end point of the line. (The diameter of the circle matches the thickness of the line.)
• The Square Cap option places the center point of a square at the end point of the line. (The width and height of the square match the thickness of the line.)
• The Flat Cap option ends the line at the end point of the line.

Setting Join Options

Join options determine the appearance of the corner intersection of lines in an object.

• The Round Join option places the center point of a circle at the vertex of two line ends. (The diameter of the circle matches the thickness of the lines.)
• The Mitre Join option creates a pointed intersection that is the true intersection of two lines.
• The Bevel Join option averages the angles of the two lines, creating a blunt intersection.

Experiment with the rounded cap option and a line style of short dashes to obtain a dotted (rather than dashed) line style. When you select the Mitre Join option in the Object Format dialog box, any lines that meet at angles sharper than 11 degrees are drawn with beveled joins. This prevents objects from having extremely pointed joins.