This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Modifying Shapes: Bézier Tools
The subselection tool lets you work with the anchor points of a path, moving them and manipulating their Bézier handles. Flash has two styles for displaying anchor points: hollow (the default) and solid. To set an anchor point style, from the Flash menu (OS X) or the Edit menu (Win), choose Preferences. From the Category list, choose Drawing. In the Pen Tool section, select/deselect the Show Solid Points checkbox, and click OK.
Note: The tasks in this book assume that Show Solid Points is selected.
To view a path and anchor points
- In the Tools panel, select the subselection tool
, or press A. The pointer changes to a hollow arrow 
. - On the Stage, click the line or curve you want to modify. Flash selects and highlights the path and anchor points. To manipulate a particular point, you must select it directly.
About Fill Paths
Although a fill shape without a stroke has no outline, it does have a path that defines its shape. The selection, pen, and subselection tools all work to reshape fill paths just as they do to reshape strokes, as outlined in the tasks in this chapter 
.
When you position the pointer over the edge of a deselected fill shape, the selection tool displays either the curve-point icon or the corner-point icon. Clicking the edge of the fill activates a portion of the path outlining the shape (top). Selecting the edge of a fill shape with the subselection tool highlights the full path and its anchor points. You can reposition anchor points and Bézier handles to modify the fill shapes (bottom).
To select an anchor point
- Using the subselection tool, move the pointer over the path you want to modify.
A small solid square appears next to the hollow arrow when the pointer is above a curve or line segment. A small hollow square appears next to the hollow arrow when the pointer is directly above an anchor point
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A solid square appears next to the hollow arrow when the subselection tool is ready to select the entire path (top). When a hollow square appears (bottom), the tool is ready to select and manipulate a single anchor point. - Click an anchor point. Flash highlights the selected point and displays its Bézier handles.
To move a corner point
- Use the subselection tool to highlight the path and anchor points of the element you want to modify.
- Position the pointer over a corner point.
- Drag the desired corner point to a new location. Flash redraws the path
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Using the subselection tool, drag a corner point to reposition it.
To move a curve point
- Use the subselection tool to highlight the path and anchor points of the element you want to modify.
- Position the pointer over a curve point. The anchor-point icon appears.
- Drag the point to a new location
. Flash previews the new curve as you drag.
When you select an anchor point (1), Flash highlights the entire path (2). You can drag the anchor point to modify the path (3). The path and anchor points remain highlighted when you’re done (4).
After you move a curve point, the path remains selected, and the Bézier control handles extend so you can further manipulate the curve.
To reshape a curve with the Bézier handles
- With the subselection tool, click the curve you want to modify.
- Click one of the anchor points that define the curve you want to modify. Bézier handles appear.
- Drag one of the Bézier handles. The pointer changes to a solid arrowhead as you drag.
- To modify the curve, do one or more of the following:
- To make the curve bulge in the opposite direction, move the Bézier handle past the existing curve, opposite to the direction of the current bulge.
- To make the curve deeper, position the Bézier handle farther from the anchor point.
- To make the curve shallower, position the Bézier handle closer to the anchor point.
Flash previews the new curve as you manipulate the Bézier handle 
.
When you select anchor points, their Bézier handles appear (1). Leaning a Bézier handle away from a curve makes that curve segment more pronounced (2). Dragging the Bézier handle away from its anchor point makes the curve deeper (3).
To convert a corner point to a curve point
- Use the subselection tool to highlight the path and anchor points you want to modify.
- In the Tools panel, from the Bézier-tool submenu, select the convert anchor-point tool
, or press C. The pointer becomes an upward-pointing caret 
.
In addition to the pen tool, the Bézier-tool submenu offers three other tools for modifying the anchor points and Bézier curves of a path. Click the current Bézier tool in the Tools panel to access a submenu showing all four tools. - Position the caret pointer over a corner point.
- To activate Bézier handles, click the point, then drag away from it.
Flash converts the corner point to a curve point that has Bézier handles 
. As you drag, the handles extend and move, modifying the curve.
To change a corner point into a curve point (with Bézier handles), use the convert–anchor-point tool (top) to drag out a corner point. You pull Bézier handles out of the point instead of relocating the point (middle). When you release the mouse button, Flash redraws the curve (bottom).
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The pen tool can perform many of the same functions as the other three Bézier tools (add anchor point, delete anchor point, and convert anchor point). As you position the pen pointer over the Stage and existing paths, the pointer icon changes, indicating the tool’s current function. The 
pen adds anchor points, the 
pen converts curve points to corner points, and the 
pen deletes corner points.
To convert a curve point to a corner point
- Using the subselection tool, select the path you want to modify.
- In the Tools panel, from the Bézier-tool submenu, select the convert–anchor-point tool, or press C.
- Click a curve point on the selected path. Flash converts the curve point to a corner point, removing the Bézier handles and flattening the curved path
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Clicking a curve point with the convert–anchor-point tool (left) reduces the point to a corner point (right). Flash redraws the path accordingly.
To delete an anchor point
- Using the subselection tool, select the path you want to modify.
- In the Tools panel, from the Bézier-tool submenu, choose the delete–anchor-point tool, or press – (minus sign). The pointer becomes a pen with a minus sign .
- Position the pointer over an anchor point and click. Flash removes the anchor point and reshapes the path to connect the remaining points
.
Click an anchor point with the delete–anchor-point tool to remove the point. Flash redraws the path accordingly.
To add a point within a path
- Use the subselection tool to select the path you want to modify.
- In the Tools panel, from the Bézier-tool submenu, choose the add–anchor-point tool, or press = (equals sign). The pointer becomes a pen with a plus sign
. - Position the pointer over the path and do one of the following:
- Click between two corner points to create a new corner point.
- Click between two curve points to create a new curve point.
- Click between a corner point and a curve point to create a new curve point.
Flash adds a new point 
.
Position the add–anchor-point tool between existing anchor points (left). Click the path to add a new point (right).
To extend an existing path
- In the Tools panel, from the Bézier-tool submenu, choose the pen tool, or press P.
- Position the pointer over the anchor point at either end of the path (a terminal anchor point). The pointer becomes a pen with a small slash
. - Click the terminal anchor point. The pen links to that point as if you’d just placed it
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A slash appears when you position the pen pointer over a terminal anchor point (the first or last point in an open path). Clicking the point links the pen tool to that path. Then, clicking on the Stage creates a new point that extends the existing path. - Click to add points as you learned in Chapter 2.
To create a single unified path, the pen tool and the existing path must be in the same drawing mode. If the existing path is a drawing-object and the pen is set to Merge Drawing mode (or vice versa), Flash places the points, but the segments remain separate.
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While creating a new path, you can link to any existing path, provided the pen tool is in the same drawing mode as the existing path. When you’re ready to link, position the pointer over a terminal anchor point in the path you want to join. When the pen is in Merge Drawing mode and you link to a merge-shape path, the 
pointer appears. When the pen is in Object Drawing mode and you link to a drawing-object path, the 
pointer appears. Click the existing terminal anchor point to join the paths.