Adobe 38039481 User Guide - Page 181

FLASH CS3 175 User Guide A B C Drawing the second point in a curve A. Starting to drag second smooth point B. Dragging away from previous direction line, creating a C curve C. Result after releasing mouse button • To create an S-shaped curve, drag in the same direction as the previous direction line and release the mouse button. A B C Drawing an S curve A. Starting to drag new smooth point B. Dragging in the same direction as previous direction line, creating an S curve C. Result after releasing mouse button 5 To create a series of smooth curves, continue dragging the Pen tool from different locations. Place anchor points at the beginning and end of each curve, not at the tip of the curve. To break out the direction lines of an anchor point, Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) direction lines. 6 To complete the path, do one of the following: • To close the path, position the Pen tool over the first (hollow) anchor point. A small circle appears next to the Pen tool pointer when it is positioned correctly. Click or drag to close the path. • To leave the path open, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Macintosh) anywhere away from all objects, select a different tool, or choose Edit > Deselect All. Add or delete anchor points Adding anchor points can give you more control over a path or it can extend an open path. However, it's a good idea not to add more points than necessary. A path with fewer points is easier to edit, display, and print. To reduce the complexity of a path, delete unnecessary points. The toolbox contains three tools for adding or deleting points: the Pen tool , the Add Anchor Point tool , and the Delete Anchor Point tool . By default, the Pen tool changes to the Add Anchor Point tool as you position it over a selected path, or to the Delete Anchor Point tool as you position it over an anchor point. Note: Don't use the Delete, Backspace, and Clear keys or the Edit > Cut or Edit > Clear commands to delete anchor points; these keys and commands delete the point and the line segments that connect to that point.