The CanvasRenderingContext2D
.beginPath()
method of the Canvas 2D API starts a new path by emptying the list of sub-paths. Call this method when you want to create a new path.
Note: To create a new sub-path, i.e., one matching the current canvas state, you can use CanvasRenderingContext2D.moveTo()
.
Syntax
void ctx.beginPath();
Examples
Creating distinct paths
This example creates two paths, each of which contains a single line.
HTML
<canvas id="canvas"></canvas>
JavaScript
The beginPath()
method is called before beginning each line, so that they may be drawn with different colors.
const canvas = document.getElementById('canvas'); const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d'); // First path ctx.beginPath(); ctx.strokeStyle = 'blue'; ctx.moveTo(20, 20); ctx.lineTo(200, 20); ctx.stroke(); // Second path ctx.beginPath(); ctx.strokeStyle = 'green'; ctx.moveTo(20, 20); ctx.lineTo(120, 120); ctx.stroke();
Result
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
HTML Living StandardThe definition of 'CanvasRenderingContext2D.beginPath' in that specification. | Living Standard |
Browser compatibility
The compatibility table on this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.
Update compatibility data on GitHub
Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
beginPath
|
Chrome
Full support Yes |
Edge
Full support 12 |
Firefox
Full support 1.5 |
IE
Full support Yes |
Opera
Full support Yes |
Safari
Full support Yes |
WebView Android
Full support Yes |
Chrome Android
Full support Yes |
Firefox Android
Full support 4 |
Opera Android
Full support Yes |
Safari iOS
Full support Yes |
Samsung Internet Android
Full support Yes |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
See also
- The interface defining this method:
CanvasRenderingContext2D
CanvasRenderingContext2D.closePath()
CanvasRenderingContext2D.beginPath() by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.