This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Modifying Primitives
With Flash’s rectangle- and oval-primitive tools, you create shapes with paths defined by a set of properties specific to that shape. You can’t change the outline of a primitive-shape freely the way you can reshape the outline of a merge-shape or drawing-object. You can change the primitive’s defining properties by dragging control points in the shape or by setting new values in the Property inspector.
To modify a rectangle-primitive
- Using the selection tool, select the rectangle-primitive you want to modify.
The shape’s bounding box highlights, and control points appear
. Each corner has two control points. For sharp corners with a corner-radius setting of 0, the points sit directly on top of one another. For rounded corners, a control point appears at both ends of the arc that defines the corner. The two points work in concert—dragging one moves the other.
The rectangle-primitive has two control points for the corner radius of each corner. When the corner radius is set to 0, the corner is a sharp 90-degree angle, and the control points sit directly on top of one another. - Position the pointer over one of the control points. The pointer becomes a solid arrowhead.
- To modify the shape, do one of the following:
- To increase the radius (make the corner more rounded), drag the point inward.
- To decrease the radius (make the corner less rounded), drag the point outward.
You can drag diagonally toward the center of a shape, or you can drag vertically or horizontally along the edge containing the control point 
.
As the corner radius increases, two control points appear at the end of the arc defining the corner. Drag inward to round the corner more; drag outward to round it less.
TIP
To set precise corner-radius values, select the rectangle-primitive on the Stage, then access the Rectangle Options section of the Rectangle Primitive Property inspector 
. To create rounded corners, enter positive values in the Rectangle Corner Radius fields. To create indented corners, enter negative values. (For details about setting these properties, see Chapter 2.)
The Rectangle Options section of the Rectangle Primitive Property inspector has fields for entering a precise corner-radius value for each corner of a selected rectangle-primitive. In the linked state 
, the Constrain Corner Radius modifier uses one value for all four corners. (Drag the slider to change the selected object interactively.) In the unlinked state 
, you can enter values for each corner separately to create a variety of shapes. (The slider is unavailable in this state.)
To modify an oval-primitive
- Using the selection tool, select the oval-primitive you want to modify.
The shape’s bounding box highlights, and control points appear
. Oval-primitives have four control points: one pair for the start and end angles of the outer oval, and another pair for the start and end angles of the inner oval. When the start angle and end angle of an oval have the same value, the control points lie directly on top of one another.
An oval-primitive has control points for the start and end angles of the outer and inner oval shapes. - Position the pointer over a control point. The pointer becomes a solid arrowhead.
- To modify the shape, do one or more of the following:
- To change the start angle, drag the control point clockwise or counterclockwise around the perimeter of the oval
.
Drag the control points on the outer edge of an oval-primitive clockwise or counterclockwise to change the start and end angles of the shape. - To change the end angle, drag the control point clockwise or counterclockwise around the perimeter of the oval.
- To increase the inner radius (to create a larger space inside the oval), drag outward
.
You can drag the control points on the inner edge of an oval-primitive to resize the radius of the inner oval. Drag toward the center of the shape to close down the opening in the middle of the shape, and drag away from the center to open up a bigger space. - To decrease the inner radius (to create a smaller space inside the oval), drag inward.
TIP
To set precise values for the start angle, end angle, and/or inner radius, select the oval-primitive on the Stage, then access the Oval Options section of the Oval Primitive Property inspector 
. (For details about setting these properties, see Chapter 2.)
The Oval Options section of the Oval Primitive Property inspector has fields for entering precise values for a selected oval-primitive’s start angle, end angle, and inner radius. Drag the sliders to change the selected oval-primitive interactively.