Drawing Tools and Shapes

Line Tool
The Line Tool allows you to create single, straight-line segments by (Clicking) and dragging with your mouse. If you hold down the [SHIFT] key while you draw your segment Fireworks MX® will limit the angle of your line to increments of 45 degrees. Experiment clicking and dragging while holding down the [SHIFT] key to see how this function works.

The Line Tool utilizes the Stroke Panel ’s settings for the appearance of the line onscreen. We will be exploring the function of the Stroke Panel in a later chapter.

If you create a line while in Object Mode you can use your Pointer Tool to select the line segment and move it around inside the Document Window . With the Subselection tool you can select either end of the line segment and move it while the other end remains stationary.

The Line Tool has no options.

The Pen Tool

The Pen Tool expands on the capabilities of the Line Tool . With the Pen Tool you can create a series of connected line segments and, if you wish, a closed polygonal shape that can be filled with a color or pattern. Multiple line segments are connected by Points that can be modified and adjusted in a number of different ways.

A closed polygon created with the pen tool

Select the Pen Tool from the Toolbox .

To create multiple, connected line segments simply (Click) your left mouse button and release to create the first point and move and (Click) for each additional line segment.

When you have created all of the segments that you need, (Double Click) the right mouse button and you’ll have a complete line.

If you would like to create a closed shape (Click) and move your mouse until you have all the segments you need and then place your cursor back at the beginning of the first line segment you created. You will know you are positioned correctly if you see a small black square at the bottom right hand corner of your cursor. (Click) your right mouse button and you will have a closed polygonal shape.

Curves and the Pen Tool

You can also create smoothly curved line segments using the Pen Tool .

1. In this case, instead of (Clicking), moving, and (Clicking) as you would with a straight-line segment, you (Click) and drag. Take note of the Direction Lines that emanate from your point of origin as you drag.
2. Release your mouse button and your line segment now has a curve. Move the end of your line segment to wherever you wish it to finish and (Double click). You now have a curved line segment.
3. The segment’s degree of curvature is dependant on how long your Direction Line is. If you create a very short Direction Line your curve will remain fairly flat no matter where you place the end your line segment.
4. A long Direction Line will create a pronounced curve.

You have a number of options when making curved line segments. If you’d like to augment a curved line with additional curved segments you simply hold down the right mouse button, after you anchor your first segment, and drag.

1. Direction Lines will appear and if you drag and release your mouse button an additional curved segment will be added to the original. If you were to (Click) after creating a curved line segment your next line segment would be straight.
2. By using combinations of curved and straight lines you can create almost any shape you wish.
3. You can also close curved line segments in the same way that you can straight lines.
   
   
   Long direction line and resulting curve.
   Short direction line and resulting curve.

Paths can be modified after they’ve been created. The Subselection tool allows you to select points along a path and edit them.

1. If you would like to move a point, (Click) on it to select it, drag, and release your mouse button to reposition it.
2. If you would like to delete a point, select it and hit the [DELETE] key.
3. Selecting a point on a curved line segment will highlight both the point itself and its Direction Lines.
4. You can select the point and move it around or you can select a Direction Line and affect the curve of the path. Select a Direction Line by [Clicking] and dragging its handle.
5. The handle is a small blue square at the end of the Direction Line that is very similar in appearance to a point on a path.
6. You will notice that the path is affected on both sides of the point if you move one of its Direction Lines. If you hold down the [ALT] key while moving a Direction Line you limit its affect to one side of the point.

1. You can change a Corner Point back to a regular point by (Clicking) on it with the Pen Tool .
2. The Direction Lines will straighten and the curvature of the path will become smooth on both sides of the selected Point.
3. You can also add points to your path by (Clicking) on a line segment with the Pen Tool.
4. If you would like to move the entire line segment (Click) on it with the Pointer Tool and drag.
5. Select the Pen Tool from the Toolbox and spend some time drawing and modifying line segments, paths, and closed shapes.
6. Try adding and deleting curves, corner points and new points to your shape. Any vector object that you create, be it path or shape, can be edited using the Pen Tool.
7. At first using the Pen Tool may seem a bit awkward to use and it will probably take a while before you get used to using it.
8. You can modify the appearance of your paths by applying Stroke, Fill, and Effect settings to them. We will explore these panels in-depth later in the manual.

The Pen Tool has no options.

Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse and Polygon Tool

The Shape Tools are used to create polygonal objects. Included in this group are a Rectangular Tool for square and rectangular Shapes, Ellipse Tool for circular and oval Selections , and the Polygon Tool for shapes with 3 or more sides. To create a shape you select the tool you need, place your cursor in the Document Window , (Click) and hold your mouse button, and drag. To constrain the shape of the rectangular and elliptical Shape Tools (Click), drag and hold the [SHIFT] key as you make your object. Perfectly square and circular shapes result. If you hold down the [ALT] key while using one of the Shape Tools, the point of origin will be the center of your object. If you don’t hold down the [ALT] key, the top right corner of your object will be the point of its origin.

The Rounded Rectangle Tool has options that that can be accessed through the Object Panel . You can set the roundness of a rectangle’s corners by increasing or decreasing the number in the field in the panel or moving the slider beside the field. This can be a useful option if you want to create capsule shaped buttons for your website.

The Ellipse Tool has no options and allows you select specific circular areas of bitmaps.

The Polygon Tool options in the Object Panel allow you to choose between creating a regular Polygon or a Star-shaped object. If you choose Polygon from the drop down menu you can increase or decrease the number of your shape’s sides by moving the slider or typing a number in the field in the Object Panel. If you choose Star you can not only increase the number of sides but also increase or decrease the angle of their points. The lower the angle the “spikier” the star.

The Pencil Tool
The Pencil Tool allows you to draw non-editable, freehand, 1 pixel-wide paths in Edit Mode.

Using your Pencil in Image Editing Mode you have 3 options in the Object Panel . You can select “Anti-Aliased” and make your lines relatively smooth, “Auto Erase” if you want to draw the fill color over a stroke , or “Preserve Transparency ” if you want to draw only on areas that contain pixel information.

The Brush Tool
Use the Brush Tool to create lines and paths that utilize the settings in your Stroke Panel . The major difference between this tool and the pencil tool is the way it works in Image Editing Mode . The Pencil Tool is limited to a one pixel-wide line whereas the Brush Tool utilizes your Stroke settings.

Transform Tool
This tool can only be applied to vector shapes. Select it from the Toolbox and then select a vector shape on your screen. A transformation bounding box will appear around the object which can be used to modify the shape. You can use this tool to Scale, Skew, and Distort an object. Select one of the points and drag to affect a transformation. Alternately you can select Modify/Transform from the Menu and perform many of the same transformations by inputting information numerically. Press [CTRL] + [SHIFT] + T if you prefer keyboard shortcuts.

Freeform Tool
Another vector tool. Select it from the toolbox and drag it over a selected vector object in your Document Window . The tool will affect the path in interesting and unusual ways. The way the Freeform Tool works depends on whether or not your cursor is inside or outside your object when you click and drag. The Area Tool’s ability to change your path is dependent on how big you’ve made its brush. Use the options panel to modify brush sizes for both the Freeform and Area Tools. Draw a vector shape in your Document Window and experiment with these tools.

Paint Bucket Tool
The Paint Bucket tool allows you to fill areas of solid or similar color with the color of your choice. You can expand the range of color that will be filled by increasing the Tolerance figure in the Options Panel .

You can adjust the edge of the fill that your Paint Bucket Tool creates by selecting an option from the Edge drop down menu and moving the associated slider. Below you will see examples of the Paint Bucket at work. Experiment with this tool on the bitmap image of you choice.

Eraser
The Eraser is really just a slight variation on a paint brush. In Image Editing Mode , this tool will remove pixel information from your bitmap image and replace it with transparency or color depending on your settings. Check the options for this tool in the Options Panel .

The Panel will allow you to adjust the eraser’s shape, size and edge. You can also choose how you want the eraser to erase. You can have it use your stroke color, your fill color, background color, or erase to transparent.

The Eraser Tool also operates in Object Mode as a knife. Use it to draw a straight line across a selected vector object. Deselect the shape, select the Subselection Tool and reselect the shape again. You’ll find that the object has been cut in two along the line that you drew with the tool.