Adobe Flash Professional CS3 - Manual (Page 185)

FLASH CS3
User Guide
179
Reshape using the Selection tool
To reshape a line or shape outline, drag any point on a line using the Selection tool. The pointer changes to indicate
what type of reshaping it can perform on the line or fill.
Flash adjusts the curve of the line segment to accommodate the new position of the moved point. If the repositioned
point is an end point, lengthen or shorten the line. If the repositioned point is a corner, the line segments forming
the corner remain straight as they become longer or shorter.
When a corner appears next to the pointer, you can change an end point. When a curve appears next to the pointer, you can adjust a curve.
Some brush stroke areas are easier to reshape if you view them as outlines.
If you are having trouble reshaping a complex line, smooth it to remove some of its details, making reshaping easier.
Increasing the magnification can also make reshaping easier and more accurate.
1 Select the Selection tool .
2 Do one of the following:
• To reshape the segment, drag from any point.
• To drag a line to create a new corner point, control-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh).
Straighten and smooth lines
To reshape lines and shape outlines, straighten or smooth them.
Note: To adjust the degree of automatic smoothing and straightening, specify preferences for drawing settings.
Straightening makes small straightening adjustments to lines and curves you already drew. It has no effect on
segments that are already straight.
To make Flash recognize shapes, use the straightening technique. If you draw any oval, rectangular, or triangular
shapes with the Recognize Shapes option turned off, use the Straightening option to make the shapes geometrically
perfect. Shapes that are touching, and thus connected to other elements, are not recognized.
Shape recognition turns the top shapes into the bottom shapes.