Flash 8 Cookbook

1.31. Distorting and Reshaping Elements

Problem

You want to skew, distort, or reshape an element.

Solution

Use the Free Transform tool (Q) in the appropriate mode.

Discussion

You can use the Free Transform tool to skew and distort elements, or to manipulate an element’s envelope.

Skewing means manipulating one segment of the bounding box, but the opposite segment is unaffected. To skew an element in Free Transform mode:

1. Position the cursor over any line segment between two handles.

2. When you see a split arrow cursor, drag in a direction parallel to the current line segment to skew the element.

Manipulating a corner point independently of other points distorts a shape. If you attempt to distort a non-corner point, you effectively skew that line segment. Distortion is commonly used to create trapezoid and perspective visual effects.

You cannot distort elements in the default Free Transform mode. To enable distortion:

1. Choose either Modify → Transform → Distort or enable the Distort button in the Options section of the Tools panel with the Free Transform tool selected.

2. Hover over any corner point until you see a large white arrowhead cursor.

3. Drag the corner to the desired position. Doing so moves the one corner, stretching the element to adjust to the new dimensions.

Tip

Holding down the Shift key when dragging a corner point in Distort mode makes the point on the opposite end of the same side move proportionately in the opposite direction.

Most transformations enable you to manipulate corner handles and side handles. What distinguishes them is how other handles react when you drag a given handle. However, manipulating a shape’s envelope allows you to move points independently, resulting in highly irregular shapes. Each of the corner and side handles also has control points, akin to those used with the Pen and Subselection tools. To customize a shape’s envelope:

1. Activate the Free Transform tool and enable the Envelope modifier (or choose Modify → Transform → Envelope).

2. Drag any selection handle to reposition it, without affecting any other handle. The eight handles are represented by black squares.

3. Drag any of the round tangent handles, which affect the curves of the line segments between the control handles.

See Also

Recipe 1.16, Recipe 1.3, Recipe 1.30