This tutorial talked about paths. At first the paths have no appearance, as shown in the first image. They are simply paths. The second image shows that you can use "fills" and "strokes" to add meaning to these images. The rectangle has been filled with yellow and, the stroke tool was used to give it an outline. You can dictate the thickness and/or color of the outline; you can also change the color or the pattern of the fill in the shape. As well as making the outline thinner or thicker, you can control whether there are gaps in the line. You can determine the length of each gap as well as each dash.

This tutorial was on the page: http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=351 >>> link: Fill and Stroke Attributes