How to delete middle anchor point without losing path shape?

[Carmela5C96]

Say you have a curved path, just a 'u' shaped curved path. There's 3 anchor points in that path, 2 at the ends and 1 at the middle.
How do I remove the middle anchor point without changeing the shape of the curved path?

[Ton Frederiks · Accepted solution]

Try the Delete Anchor Point Tool (-) and click the Anchor Point while holding down the Shift key.

[RuChou]

Thanks!  Totally works...I never knew and I have been using Illustator for years

[Ton Frederiks]

It will not be perfect, but better than without Shift key.

[Jacob Bugge · Accepted solution]

Camela,

As already implied by Ton, "remove the middle anchor point without changeing the shape" is more than a wee bit like have a cake and eat it.

Sometimes you can get away with it, but a full U spans 180 degrees, and that may give you grief.

The use of 4 Anchor Points for a circle so each segment spans 90 degrees is there for a reason; and sometimes that proves to be too great a span.

There are limits to Bezier curves, and a limit to the general suggestion of using as few Anchor Points as possible for smoothness.

[carlosgarro · Accepted solution]

Hi.

The best tool for this is the "Smart Remove Point" tech in Astute Graphics plugins.

Here's one sample: Smart Remove Point

In VectorFirstAid there is a "Super Smart Remove Point" option as well.

Check the following video: https://youtu.be/fJdzxJK5hKU

Best Regards

[Madelyn258858927bbk · Accepted solution]

Pressing SHIFT doesn't work for me. Any suggestions on why this may not work for some people?

I'm on a Mac, with an Apple keyboard - if that makes a difference.

Screen recording attached. I am pressing SHIFT when I try to delete the anchor points.

[Monika Gause]

You need to use the delete anchor point tool. Are you?

[Rachel382028635iay]

For the record, I'm having the same issue on Mac and I'm definitely using the anchor point tool. Everytime I press shift, it switches to the add anchor tool and tries to create a new line from the node I'm trying to delete. 

[Jacob Bugge]

Rachel,

You need to use the Delete Anchor Point Tool, the one with the -

You already knows what happens if you use the normal Anchor Point Tool while holding Shift, and it can be used for other purposes.

Without the Shift, the normal Anchor Point Tool works as the Delete Anchor Point Tool.

All when applied to an Anchor Point.