Node cleanup after tracing
Review traced paths, simplify their outlines and remove unwanted fragments before adding them to the drawing.
The Node Cleanup panel works on the current Smart Trace result. It lists traced paths and their segment counts. Removing or simplifying a traced path here changes the staged trace result; it is not a general command for deleting every small object already in the drawing.
Review and select a path
Open Node Cleanup during the tracing workflow. Click a path in the Paths list to select it and inspect its segment count. Use the trace preview to judge whether it belongs in the result.
Set Tolerance
Use Tolerance to set the simplification distance in image pixels. A larger value permits more change to the outline. This is an image-space tolerance, not a metric or imperial ground distance.
Simplify or delete
With a path selected, use Simplify to remove unnecessary detail within the chosen tolerance, or Delete Path to remove the entire staged path. Inspect the preview afterwards. Simplification preserves a closed outline as a loop rather than treating it as an open line.
Remove small fragments
Use Remove Small Paths to remove paths whose bounding-box diagonal is no greater than twice the current tolerance. This uses spatial extent, not bounding-box area, so a long straight line is not discarded merely because it has zero area.
Accept the cleaned trace
Review the remaining paths and segment totals, then finish the Smart Trace workflow to add its result. Keep important details by choosing a lower tolerance rather than repeatedly simplifying until every shape becomes coarse.