Reshape lines and shapes

Reshape a line or shape

To reshape a line or shape outline, drag any point on a line using the Selection tool. The pointer changes to indicate what type of reshaping it can perform on the line or fill.

Animate adjusts the curve of the line segment to accommodate the new position of the moved point. If the repositioned point is an end point the line will lengthen or shorten. If the repositioned point is a corner, the line segments forming the corner remain straight as they become longer or shorter.

Some brush stroke areas are easier to reshape if you view them as outlines.

If you are having trouble reshaping a complex line, smooth it to remove some of its details, making reshaping easier. Increasing the magnification can also make reshaping easier and more accurate.

Straighten and smooth lines

Straightening makes small straightening adjustments to lines and curves you already drew. It has no effect on segments that are already straight.

 To adjust the degree of automatic smoothing and straightening, specify preferences for drawing settings.

To make Animate recognize shapes, use the straightening technique. If you draw any oval, rectangular, or triangular shapes with the Recognize Shapes option turned off, use the Straightening option to make the shapes geometrically perfect. Shapes that are touching, and thus connected to other elements, are not recognized.

Smoothing softens curves and reduces bumps or other variations in a curve’s overall direction. It also reduces the number of segments in a curve. Smoothing is relative, however, and has no effect on straight segments. It is particularly useful when you are having trouble reshaping a number of very short curved line segments. Selecting all the segments and smoothing them reduces the number of segments, producing a gentler curve that is easier to reshape.

Repeated application of smoothing or straightening makes each segment smoother or straighter, depending on how curved or straight each segment was originally.

• To smooth the curve of each selected stroke, select the Selection tool and click the Smooth modifier  in the Options section of the Tools panel. Each click of the Smooth modifier button makes the selected stroke progressively smoother.

• To enter specific parameters for a smoothing operation, choose Modify > Shape > Smooth. In the Smooth dialog box, enter values for the Smooth Angles Above, Smooth Angles Below, and Smoothing Strength parameters.

• To make small straightening adjustments on each selected fill outline or curved line, select the Selection tool  and click the Straighten modifier  in the Options section of the Tools panel.

• To enter specific parameters for a straightening operation, choose Modify > Shape > Straighten. In the Straighten dialog box, enter a value for the Straighten Strength parameter.

• To use shape recognition, select the Selection tool  and click the Straighten modifier , or select Modify > Shape > Straighten.

Optimize curves

Optimizing smooths curves by refining curved lines and filling outlines, reducing the number of curves used to define these elements. Optimizing curves also reduces the size of the Flash Professional document (FLA file) and the exported Animate application (SWF file). Apply optimization to the same elements multiple times.

Modify shapes

Delete everything on the Stage

Remove stroke segments or filled areas

Erase by dragging

Using Pressure and Tilt modifiers

Pressure and Tilt options are added to Eraser tool to enhance drawing options.

Select Eraser tool and select the  icon from the tool bar to enable pressure sensitivity or select the  icon to enable tilt sensitivity. The default percentage values are 1% and 100% corresponding to the minimum and maximum values of Pressure/Tilt.

Use the eraser tool to create variable-width strokes based on pressure or tilt applied on the Eraser.

A sample drawing drawn with the help of Eraser Pressure and Tilt options is shown below for illustration:

Synchronizing settings in Eraser and Brush tools

You can choose to synchronize sub settings such as pressure or tilt settings, nib size, and nib shapes in Brush (B) and Eraser (E) tools. These settings are remembered even after quitting and relaunching a session in Animate.

1. Enable the Sync settings with Brush checkbox in the Eraser tool (E).
2. Current settings of Eraser (E) tool are mirrored in the Brush tool (B) and conversely. The Wacom pen always uses smoothing setting from the Brush (B) tool. Wacom rear end uses the brush settings when the Brush (B) tool is selected. Else, for any other tool, it uses the eraser settings.

Erase on active layer

You can choose to use the Eraser tool (E) to erase only on the active layer.

Enable the Erase on active layer check box in the Eraser tool (E).