- Introduction
- Changing Drawing Settings
- Drawing with the Line Tool
- Drawing with the Pencil Tool
- Drawing Shapes with the Rectangle and Oval Tools
- Using the Polystar Tool
- Selecting Strokes with the Arrow Tool
- Selecting Strokes and Fills with the Arrow Tool
- Making Selections with the Lasso Tool
- Zooming In and Out with the Magnifying Glass
- Moving Around with the Hand Tool
- Displaying Rulers
- Using Grids and Guides
- Modifying Grid and Guide Settings
- Using Snap Align
- Changing Stroke and Fill Colors
- Creating Custom Colors
- Editing Strokes with the Ink Bottle
- Editing Fills with the Paint Bucket
- Editing Strokes and Fills with the Eyedropper
- Creating Gradients
- Using the Fill Lock
- Using Paint Brush Modes
- Drawing with the Pen Tool
- Drawing Curves with the Pen Tool
- Modifying Shapes with the Arrow Tool
- Modifying Shapes with the Sub-Selection Tool
- Using the Free Transform Tool
- Using Transform Options for Shapes
- Cutting and Pasting Graphics Between Layers
- Working with Graphics on Different Layers
- Distributing Graphics to Layers
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Using the Free Transform Tool
There are a number of ways to change the scale or size of graphics in Flash. The Free Transform tool allows you to interactively scale and rotate any selected object or shape on the Stage. Nearly every object in Flash can be transformed with these two functions of the Free Transform tool including groups, symbols, text, bitmaps, and editable shapes. The Free Transform tool allows you to select an object on the Stage and then interactively change its size or rotate it freely. Both options are available at once depending on where you place your mouse on the bounding box that appears.
Change the Scale of an Object
Select the object by clicking on it or by dragging a selection marquee around it with the Arrow tool.
Click the Free Transform tool in the Toolbar.
Timesaver
Press Q to select the Free Transform tool.
Click the Scale Modifier button in the Options area of the Toolbar.
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Figure
3.83Drag any of the small handles on the bounding box to change the size of the shape. The corner handles resize proportionally while the handles along the sides resize either horizontally or vertically.
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Figure
3.84Rotate and Skew an Object
Select the object by clicking on it or by dragging a selection marquee around it.
Click the Free Transform tool in the Toolbar.
Timesaver
Press Q to select the Free Transform tool.
Click the Rotate/Skew Modifier button in the Options area of the Toolbar.
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Figure
3.85Drag any of the corner handles on the bounding box to rotate the shape. Drag the handles along the side to skew the object.
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Figure
3.86Did You Know?
You can hold down the Shift key to constrain the rotation scale proportionally. When rotating, it constrains the rotation to 45-degree turns.
For Your Information
Working with Scale and Rotate
In the Default mode, both Scale and Rotate are enabled. Move the pointer to any of the four corner handles in the bounding box to enable the Rotate function. Scale and Rotate work relative to a center point on the shape, which becomes visible when the shape is selected with the Free Transform tool. Move this point if you want to scale or rotate a shape from a different part of the shape. This is especially important when Tweening and animating. You can change the scale and rotate objects by entering values in the Transform panel or in the Property Inspector. You can also access all of the Transform modes and some additional effects, such as Flip Horizontal and Vertical from the Transform submenu in the Modify menu.