Line Properties

April 17, 2007

Assumed knowledge: Basic Flash interface
Concepts covered: How to create lines, line properties and line joining

This tutorial goes through everything to do with using lines in Flash MX.

To create a line select the Line tool then click on the stage, while holding down move your line in the direction that you want it to go and then release it.

When your line is on the stage you can move it by clicking on it then grabbing and dragging it. You can also change the curve in your line by selecting any part of the line when it displays the curve signal. Or increase/decrease the length of the line and rotate it by placing your cursor over the start or end of the line and then moving it when the symbol changes to a right angle.

You can draw another line and connect the two with the right angled cursor. With these techniques you can create many good line drawings in Flash.

When selecting your lines you can change their properties. Once your line/s are selected look at the Properties bar and you can change the properties. You can change their thickness, colour and the type of stroke. You can also do this before you go to draw your line.

Like any other shape that you draw in Flash, lines can be connected to other shapes easily.

There is an easy way to create wavy lines in Flash and this can be done via the Pen Tool. Select the Pen Tool from the Tool bar.

Then drag a line on the stage like you would with the Pen tool. This creates a blue line with a dot in the centre. Do it again but a little bit out from your last one. You?’ll see that a wavy blue line is created. This is your line, you can make more and more cuves by repeating these steps. To stop creating a line you can use the Arrow tool and select off of your line. Learning how to use this tool properly takes time and practice.

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