Approximate smooth path with line segments

Question

Can Illustrator convert a smooth path to a series of straight line segments?

I am looking to approximate a curve with line segments in a way similar to this:

I want to do this because I plan to import the data into other software and to do some measurements on it. It will be much easier to deal with a series of straight line segments than Bezier curves.

Answer 1

You can do this, its not really meant for this but it can be done. There is a command called Object → Path → Simplify... It has an option to make linear segments. Now it makes one segment per span, and you can increase the spans with Object → Path → Add Anchor Points.

There are also some alternate methods and script scripts that can aid in doing this.

• Make a n segmented line and make it a art or pattern brush. This allows for more accurate segment control
• Hiroyuki Sato's scripts, divide as well as others (he implements a Bézier curve toolkit so you can divide as you like)