This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Making Selections
Merge-shapes, drawing-objects, and primitives all behave slightly differently as you select them because what you see as a single shape may contain several segments. An outline rectangle created as a merge-shape consists of four separate line segments. Clicking one side of the object selects just that segment of the outline. In an outline rectangle created as a drawing-object or primitive the segments are fused into a unit, so clicking any side of the object selects the entire outline.
To make selections by clicking
- In the Tools panel, select the selection tool, or press V.
- To select elements created as merge-shapes, do one of the following:
- To select a merge-shape fill, position the pointer over the fill and click. The selection icon appears next to the pointer arrow when the pointer is over the fill. Flash highlights the selected fill with a dot pattern
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When the pointer sits above a filled area, the icon changes into the selection arrow (a cross icon appears next to the regular pointer arrow, indicating that the tool is ready to move or select an item). Click a fill to select it. A dot pattern in a contrasting color highlights the selected fill. - To select a merge-shape stroke, position the pointer over a line segment and click. Flash appends a little arc or a little right-angle icon to the selection tool
. These icons indicate that the tool is over a point in a line segment and show whether it is a curve point or a corner point. (For more information about points, see the sidebar “About Curve and Corner Points ” in this chapter). Flash uses a dot pattern to highlight just the segment you clicked 
.
As you prepare to select a line, additions to the pointer icon indicate the type of point located beneath the pointer.
When you click a merge-shape line, Flash selects and highlights just one segment. - To select a merge-shape fill, position the pointer over the fill and click. The selection icon appears next to the pointer arrow when the pointer is over the fill. Flash highlights the selected fill with a dot pattern
- To select elements created as drawing-objects, position the pointer over any portion of the shape and click.
The arc or angle icon appears next to the selection pointer for merge-shape fills and strokes. Flash selects the entire shape and highlights it by displaying a bounding box that encloses the shape
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When you position the selection tool over an unselected drawing-object (left), the pointer displays the same icons as for merge-shapes (move/select cross for fills, curve-point arc or corner-point angle for strokes). When you click anywhere on the drawing-object, Flash selects the entire drawing-object and highlights its bounding box (right). - To select elements created as primitives, position the pointer over any portion of the shape and click.
The selection icon appears next to the selection pointer whether it’s over a fill or a stroke. Flash selects the entire shape and highlights its bounding box
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Whether you position the selection pointer over the stroke (left) or fill (middle) of a primitive-shape, the cross icon appears in the pointer. Clicking anywhere on the shape selects the entire shape (right). - To add elements to a selection, do one of the following:
- When Shift Select (Flash’s default selection style) is active, Shift-click each item you want to add
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With Flash’s default Preferences setting for selections, Shift-click unhighlighted line segments or fill areas to add them to a selection. - When Shift Select is inactive, click each item you want to include.
To use a contact-sensitive selection rectangle
- Make sure the selection preferences are set for contact sensitivity.
- In the Tools panel, select the selection tool.
- On the Stage, use the tool to draw a rectangle that touches (or encloses) the objects you want to select
. This rectangle isn’t a graphic element; it just defines the boundaries of your selection.
Dragging with the selection tool creates a selection rectangle (top). Be sure to start from a point that allows you to enclose all the elements you want to select (bottom). When you release the mouse button, Flash selects those elements. - Continue dragging until the rectangle encloses all the merge-shapes you want to select and at least some part of each drawing-object.
- Release the mouse button. Flash selects the shapes in the following ways:
Merge-shapes Flash highlights any portions of fill or stroke that fall inside the selection rectangle; portions of merge-shape fills or strokes that lie outside the rectangle remain unselected
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In Flash’s contact-sensitive selection style (the default), any drawing-objects or primitives that are touched or partially enclosed by the selection rectangle are fully selected; but only the parts of merge-shapes that fall within the selection rectangle are selected. (Here the star shapes are drawing-objects, the indented rectangles are primitives, and the circles are merge-shapes.)Drawing-objects and primitive-shapes If the selection rectangle touches any part of a drawing-object or primitive, Flash selects the entire thing, highlighting its bounding box.
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To use a non-contact-sensitive selection rectangle
- Make sure contact sensitivity is deselected.
- Follow Steps 2–5 in the preceding exercise; but this time, fully enclose the merge-shapes and drawing-objects you want to select. Flash selects the shapes in the following ways:
Merge-shapes Flash highlights any portions of fill or stroke that fall inside the selection rectangle; portions of merge-shape fills or strokes that lie outside the rectangle remain unselected
.
When contact-sensitivity is not active, a selection includes only the parts of merge-shapes that fall within the selection rectangle. To select drawing-objects or primitives, you must enclose them fully in the selection rectangle. (Here the star shapes are drawing-objects, the indented rectangles are primitives, and the circles are merge-shapes.)Drawing-objects and primitive-shapes Flash selects only those drawing-objects or primitives that are completely enclosed within the selection rectangle. If the selection rectangle touches or includes just a part of a drawing-object or primitive, Flash leaves the entire object deselected.
TIP
To create an irregular selection outline, in the Tools panel, select the lasso tool 
, or press L. Then draw a free-form line around the elements you want to select 
. Keep drawing until the lasso pointer is back over your starting point, and then release the mouse button. Flash closes the selection outline and highlights everything inside the lasso shape.
The lasso tool lets you select elements that are oddly shaped or too near other elements to allow use of the selection rectangle. Any merge-shapes inside the selection outline are highlighted and selected when you release the mouse button. Whether or not you must fully enclose drawing-objects and primitives in a lasso selection outline to select them depends on the contact-sensitivity setting in the Preferences dialog.
TIP
The lasso tool’s Polygon mode lets you define a selection area with a series of connected straight-line segments. With the lasso tool selected, click the Polygon Mode button 
in the Options section of the Tools panel. Now you can click your way around the elements you want to select 
. Double-click to end the selection outline.
In Polygon mode, the lasso tool creates a series of connected line segments to outline the element you want to select. To finish the lasso shape, double-click. Flash draws a line from the double-click location to the starting point. (Note that you must double-click, even when you position the pointer over your starting point.)
To deselect individual items
- In the Tools panel, select the selection tool, or press V.
- Hold down the Shift key.
- Click any highlighted drawing-objects, primitives, or merge-shape strokes or fills you want to remove from the current selection.
Flash deselects the items you clicked 
. No matter which selection method is active, you must Shift-click with the selection tool to remove items from a selection.
)
How Flash Tracks Elements
To track an element’s size and position on the Stage, Flash encloses each element in a bounding box—an invisible rectangle just big enough to hold the element. Flash then treats the Stage as a giant graph, with the top-left corner of the Stage as the center of the x- and y-axis 
. The graph uses the units of measure currently set in the Document Settings dialog. (To learn more about document properties, see Chapter 1.)
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The Property inspector and the Info panel display the size of the element (the width and height of the bounding box) and the position of the element (the x- and y-coordinates for one important point in the element).
To change an element’s size, you can enter new values for Height and Width in the Position and Size section of the Property inspector or in the Info panel. By entering new x- and y-coordinates in those panels, you can also change an element’s position on the Stage.
Depending on which panel you use to enter values, you can use either of two points to position an element: the registration point or the transformation point. For merge-shapes, drawing-objects, and primitives, the registration point is always located at the top-left corner of the bounding box. For symbols, you determine the location of registration point. For all types of objects, Flash initially places the transformation point at the center of the bounding box, but you can reposition it using the free-transform tool. You can position the transformation point differently for individual symbol instances (see Chapter 7).
The Property inspector always tracks elements by the registration point. The Info panel lets you track elements by either point. Choose which point is tracked by clicking the Registration/Transformation Point model to toggle between the two tracking styles. When a crosshair appears in the top-left corner of the model, the Info panel positions and sizes elements using the registration point. When a circle appears in the bottom-right corner of the model, the Info panel positions and sizes elements using the transformation point.
When you use ActionScript to dynamically move symbol instances at runtime, Flash always positions them using the registration point.
When you change the dimensions of the Stage, Flash can scale existing content to match the new Stage size. In the General section of the Preferences dialog, you’ll find the Scale Content option Align Top Left. With that option selected, Flash relocates your content, approximating its original location on the Stage. One way to visualize this is to think of grouping the original Stage and its contents in a giant rectangle (with its top-left corner at the center of the x- and y-axis), selecting it with the free-transform tool, and dragging the bottom-right corner of the group’s bounding box. The entire group—Stage and graphic elements—scales together.