Change the stroke properties of an object

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Strokes are the borders on objects. You can change the applied brush (solid, gradient, or tile), opacity, width, and miter limit of the stroke on an object, in addition to the pattern, corner join, and start and end-cap styles. The stroke on an object is always applied on top of a fill, even if you have no fill applied to that object.

To make any changes to the stroke of an object, you must have Stroke selected in the list under Brushes in the Properties panel.

For more information, see the section entitled "Strokes" in Setting colors, brushes, and masks.

To change the stroke properties of an object

  1. In the Tools panel in Microsoft Expression Blend, click SelectionCc295330.2ff91340-477e-4efa-a0f7-af20851e4daa(en-us,Expression.40).png, and then select the object for which you want to adjust the stroke properties.

  2. Under Brushes in the Properties panel, make sure that Stroke is selected.

  3. In the Appearance category, click Show advanced options Cc295330.de239c9d-42ce-4f5e-83b9-5f9924c0431f(en-us,Expression.40).png, and then do one or more of the following:

    • StrokeThickness   Sets the width of a stroke. To modify the width, enter a value in the StrokeThickness box.

      The stroke width is measured in pixels (approximately 1/96 inch). Set the value to 0 if you don't want the object to have a stroke applied to it.

    • Stretch   Specifies how content is resized to fill its allocated space. To modify the Stretch property, select one of the following:

      • None   The content preserves its original size.

      • Fill   The content is resized to fill the dimensions of the object. The aspect ratio is not preserved.

      • Uniform   The content is resized to fit the dimensions of the object while preserving the aspect ratio.

      • UniformToFill   The content is resized to fill the dimensions of the object while preserving the aspect ratio. If the aspect ratio of the destination object differs from the source content, the source content is clipped to fit in the object dimensions.

      Note

      Generally, you do not set the Stretch value for a Shape object or change it from the shape-specific default. For more information, see Shape.Stretch Property Cc295330.xtlink_newWindow(en-us,Expression.40).png on MSDN.

    • StrokeDashArray   Applies a pattern of dashes and gaps to the stroke. To modify the StrokeDashArray, enter two values separated by a space in the StrokeDashArray box. The first value (located at index 0) specifies the length of the dash. The second value (located at index 1) specifies the length of the gap.

    • StrokeDashCap   Sets the start and end cap styles for the dash in a StrokeDashCap. To set the end cap style, select one of the following:

      • Flat   To create a squared-off end cap.

      • Square   To create an end cap that extends beyond the end point by one half the width of the stroke.

      • Round   To create a rounded end cap.

      • Triangle   To create a pointed end cap.

    • StrokeDashOffset   Sets the distance within the dash pattern where a dash begins. To modify the StrokeDashOffset, enter a value in the StrokeDashArray box.

    • StrokeEndLineCap   Sets the end cap style of a stroke. To modify the end cap style, select one of the following:

      • Flat   To create a squared-off end cap.

      • Square   To create an end cap that extends beyond the end point by one half the width of the stroke.

      • Round   To create a rounded end cap.

      • Triangle   To create a pointed end cap.

    • StrokeLineJoin   Sets the corner style of a join. To modify the style for a join, select one of the following:

      • Miter   For a pointed corner.

      • Bevel   For a squared-off corner.

      • Round   For a rounded corner.

    • StrokeMiterLimit   Sets how long the point of a miter join can get before it is automatically squared off into a bevel join. To modify the miter limit, enter a value in the StrokeMiterLimit box.

      Note

      The miter limit can only be set when Miter is selected as the corner join.

    • StrokeStartLineCap   Sets the start cap style of a stroke. To modify the start cap style, select one of the following:

      • Flat   To create a squared-off end cap.

      • Square   To create an end cap that extends beyond the end point by one half the width of the stroke.

      • Round   To create a rounded end cap.

      • Triangle   To create a pointed end cap.

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