Modifying Simple Graphics in Flash MX, Part 1
- Modifying Simple Graphics Part 1
- Selecting Lines with the Arrow Tool
- Selecting Fills with the Arrow Tool
- Using a Selection Rectangle
- Using the Lasso Tool
- Selecting Partial Elements
- Deselecting Elements
- Repositioning Elements Manually
- Repositioning Elements Numerically
- Basic Editing Tasks: Cut, Copy, Paste
- Editing Existing Elements with Assistance
- Moving End Points with the Arrow Tool
- Moving Points with the Subselection Tool
- Reshaping Lines
- Reshaping Curves with the Arrow Tool
- Reshaping Curves with the Subselection Tool
- Converting, Removing, and Adding Points
- Reshaping Fills
- Changing the Size of Graphic Elements
- Reorienting Graphic Elements
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Modifying Simple Graphics Part 1
One way to modify Macromedia Flash XP graphics is to select one or more shapes and edit them by changing their attributes (such as color, size, and location) in the Property Inspector or in the appropriate panels.
You can also modify the shape of an element. Some operations—such as straightening lines, adjusting Bézier curves, and assigning new attributes—require that the element be selected. Other operations, such as reshaping a line segment or curve with the arrow tool, require the element to be deselected. A few operations allow you to edit the element whether it is selected or not—using the paint-bucket tool to change a fill color, for example.
This chapter covers using the arrow, lasso, and subselection tools to select and modify the elements you learned to make in Chapter 2. You also learn about using the Property Inspector and panels to modify elements' attributes.
Setting Selection Preferences
Flash allows you to select elements in several ways. You can click an element with the arrow tool or draw a selection outline. When you click to select an element by using the arrow tool, selecting an entire line can take you several selection actions, because each segment and curve of a line is a separate element that you must select. Adding to a selection is a common operation, and Flash gives you two ways to do it: Shift selection and additive selection.
Flash's default setting has Shift Select turned on. (You set the selection method in the General tab of the Preferences dialog box.) In Shift Select mode, you use the Shift key as a modifier while selecting an item to add it to any selection that is already active on the Stage. When you turn off Shift Select mode, selections become additive, which means that any new selections get added to current selections.
You always remove individual items from a selection by Shift-clicking.
To set a selection method for the arrow tool:
From the Edit menu (Mac OS 9 and Windows) or from the Flash application menu (Mac OS X), choose Preferences.
The Preferences dialog box appears.
Choose the General tab (Figure 3.1).
Figure 3.1 Select the General tab of the Preferences dialog box to choose a selection method.In the Selection Options section, check or uncheck the Shift Select checkbox.
Click OK.
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Figure 3.1In Shift Select mode (Flash's default setting), you must Shift-click to add items to the current selection. With Shift Select turned off, each new item you click with the arrow tool gets added to the current selection.