Drawing Tools | Certified Macromedia Flash MX Designer Study Guide

As mentioned earlier, a majority of the tools in the toolbar are drawing tools. You use these tools to create objects within your Flash file, whether it be a line or a shape. Table 6.1 outlines the different drawing tools and their utilization.

Table 6.1. Tools for Drawing

TOOL	UTILIZATION
Line	To create straight lines
Pencil	To create free-form, straight, and curved lines
Pen	To create lines using anchor points
Oval	To create circle and oval objects
Rectangle	To create square and rectangle objects

Line Tool

You use the Line tool whenever you need to create a straight line. The line is drawn from click to release. By holding the Shift key while drawing, you get straight lines in increments of 45 degrees. To draw connected lines, simply click and drag again immediately after releasing the last line segment. The current stroke attributes are displayed when you draw a line segment. Fill attributes don't affect line-tool drawings.

Pencil Tool

The Pencil tool mimics a pencil by letting you draw free-form shapes and segments. You create lines with the Pencil tool the same way you would create a line with the Line tool: click, drag, release. The current stroke attributes will be displayed when you draw the line segment.

The Pencil tool has three modifiers associated with it: Straighten, Smooth, and Ink. These modifiers can be located within a drop-down menu within the Options portion of the toolbar. The straighten modifier straightens line segments created with the Pencil tool. The smooth modifier provides a smoother line result without the harsh angles and edges that the straighten modifier produces. The ink modifier doesn't smooth or straighten; rather, it draws the segment as close to form as you created it.

Pen Tool

Unlike the Pencil tool, the Pen tool is used to draw precise lines and curves, as opposed to free-form line segments. Both fill and stroke attributes are active when the Pen tool is in use. Lines are created through end or anchor points that can be manipulated to achieve precise design elements. To make an anchor, simply click on the stage to create your start point. Click elsewhere on the stage to create your end point. The line segment is now drawn between these two points. To create curves, click and drag on the stage, and you will see curve handlers that let you modify the arc of the curve. To move any of these anchor points, use the Arrow tool.

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As with the Line tool, hold the Shift key to create any 45-degree angle line you wish.

Depending on how you use the Pen tool, appropriate types of icons appear at the lower-right corner of the Pen icon. The icons and their respective meanings are listed in Table 6.2.

Table 6.2. Pen Icons

ICON	MEANING
+	Adds a point to the line segment in the specified location
-	Removes the desired point
^	Changes a point to a corner point
o	Indicates the point is an end point
x	Displayed when the Pen tool is over the stage

Oval and Rectangle Tools

The Oval and Rectangle tools are used to create oval shapes and rectangular shapes, respectively. By adjusting fill and stroke attributes accordingly , you can create shapes with or without fills and shapes with or without strokes. The Oval tool has no modifiers; however, the Rectangle tool has a modifier that lets you make the corners of a rectangular shape rounded or sharp. You can create perfect circles and squares by holding down the Shift key.

The Rectangle tool has a modifier associated with it. This modifier allows rectangles to have rounded corners. It can be accessed by one of two ways. You can either double-click on the Rectangle tool or select the Round Rectangle Radius icon within the Options section of the toolbar. Once selected, a Rectangle Settings dialog box opens, which allows you to enter a numeric value between 0 and 999 for the corner radius.

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