FLASH CS3
User Guide
204
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To transform the selection, drag the handles:
•
To move the selection, position the pointer over the object within the bounding box, and drag the object to a new
position. Do not drag the transformation point.
•
To set the center of rotation or scaling, drag the transformation point to a new location.
•
To rotate the selection, position the pointer just outside a corner handle and drag. The selection rotates around
the transformation point. Shift-drag to rotate in 45˚ increments.
•
To rotate around the opposite corner, Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh).
•
To scale the selection, drag a corner handle diagonally to scale in two dimensions. Shift-drag to resize propor-
tionally.
•
To scale in the respective direction only, drag a corner handle or a side handle horizontally or vertically.
•
To skew the selection, position the pointer on the outline between the transformation handles and drag.
•
To distort shapes, press Control (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) and drag a corner handle or a side handle.
•
To
taper
the object—to move the selected corner and the adjoining corner equal distances from their origins, shift-
Control-click to drag (Windows) or Shift-Command-click to drag (Macintosh) a corner handle.
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To end the transformation, click outside the selected item.
Distort objects
When you apply a Distort transformation to a selected object, dragging a corner handle or an edge handle on the
bounding box moves the corner or edge and realigns the adjoining edges. Shift-drag a corner point to constrain the
distortion to a taper—that is, move that corner and the adjoining corner an equal distance and in the opposite
direction from each other. The adjoining corner is the corner on the same axis as the direction you drag. Control-
click (Windows) or Command-click (Macintosh) to drag a middle point on an edge to move the entire edge freely.
You can distort graphic objects by using the Distort command. You can also distort objects when performing a free
transform on them.
Note:
The Distort command cannot modify symbols, shape primitives, bitmaps, video objects, sounds, gradients, object
groups, or text. If a multiple selection contains any of these items, only the shape objects are distorted. To modify text,
first convert the characters to shape objects.
1
Select a graphic object or objects on the Stage.
2
Select Modify > Transform
>
Distort.
3
Place the pointer on one of the transformation handles and drag.
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To end the transformation, click outside the selected object or objects.
Modify shapes with the Envelope modifier
The Envelope modifier lets you warp and distort objects. An envelope is a bounding box that contains one or more
objects. Changes made to an envelope’s shape affect the shape of the objects in the envelope. You edit the shape of an
envelope by adjusting its points and tangent handles.
Note:
The Envelope modifier cannot modify symbols, bitmaps, video objects, sounds, gradients, object groups, or text. If
a multiple selection contains any of these items, only the shape objects are distorted. To modify text, first convert the
characters to shape objects.
1
Select a shape on the Stage.
