You may find that some vector paths contain unnecessary anchor points. By unnecessary, we mean you might be able to create the same path with fewer anchor points. Too many unnecessary anchor points on a path translates into more complex files that take longer to print and that are more difficult to edit.

You’ll often come across this problem when you’re importing files from CAD applications or when you’re using vector tracing programs such as Adobe Streamline (the Live Trace feature in Illustrator, covered in Chapter 9, Mixing It Up: Working with Vectors and Pixels, does not suffer nearly as much from this problem).

To reduce the number of anchor points on a path, select the path, and choose Object > Path > Simplify. You can use the Preview option to see the results as you change the settings. The Simplify dialog also gives you real-time feedback on the number of anchor points on the original path and the number of points using the current Simplify settings. The dialog also offers the following settings:

• Curve Precision. This controls how closely the simplified path matches the curves of the original selected path. A higher Curve Precision setting results in a path that more closely matches the original but that has fewer reduced anchor points.
• Angle Threshold. The Angle Threshold setting determines the smoothness of corners. If the angle of a corner point is less than the Angle Threshold setting, the corner point is not changed to a smooth anchor point.
• Straight Lines. This setting forces the simplified path to only use corner anchor points, resulting in a path that is far less complex. Of course, the path may not match the original that well, but this option may be useful in a creative mind-set.
• Show Original. With the Show Original option checked, Illustrator displays both the original path and the simplified result, allowing you to preview the difference between the two.