Direct Select tool

Shortcut: A. Direct Select edits a path at the anchor level — moving points, reshaping curves and changing anchor types.

How to use it

With a path active, Direct Select reveals its anchor points and handles:

Drag an anchor to move it; drag its handles to reshape the adjacent curves.
Double-click a segment to add an anchor where you click.
Alt-click a segment to add an anchor at its midpoint.
Double-click an anchor to cycle its type: cusp ↔ smooth ↔ symmetric.
Select anchors and press Delete to remove them; the arrow keys nudge the selected anchors.

The three anchor types are explained in vector editing basics.

The Tool Options bar shows a reminder of these modifier-key interactions while the tool is active.

To anchor-edit a shape (rectangle, ellipse, polygon…), convert it to a path first.
Switch back to Select (V) to move or transform the whole object.