Flash glossary: Pen tool

Use the Pen tool in Adobe Flash Professional when you want to draw precise paths as straight lines or smooth, flowing curves. When you draw with the Pen tool, click repeatedly to create points on straight line segments. Click and drag to create points on curved line segments. Edit straight and curved line segments by adjusting anchor points on the line.

There are several Pen tool states:

• Add Anchor Point pointer: Indicates that the next mouse click will add an anchor point to an existing path. To add an anchor point, the path must be selected and the Pen tool must not be over an existing anchor point. The existing path is redrawn based on the additional anchor point. Only one anchor point can be added at a time.
• Delete Anchor Point pointer: Indicates that the next mouse click on an existing path will remove an anchor point. To remove an anchor point, the path must be selected with the Selection tool and the pointer must be over an existing anchor point. The existing path is redrawn based on the removal of the anchor point. Only one anchor point can be removed at a time.
• Convert Anchor Point pointer: Converts a corner point without direction lines to a corner point with independent direction lines. To enable the Convert Anchor Point pointer, use the Shift+C modifier keys to toggle the Pen tool.

The simplest path you can draw with the Pen tool is a straight line: Click the Pen tool twice to create two anchor points; continue to click to create a path made of straight line segments connected by corner points.

Note: The first segment you draw is not visible until you click a second anchor point (unless you've specified Show Pen Preview in the Drawing category of the Preferences dialog box).

To access the Pen tool, select it from the Tools panel. To draw a curve, add an anchor point where a curve changes direction and drag the direction lines that shape the curve. The length and slope of the direction lines determine the shape of the curve.

Curves are easier to edit and your system can display and print them faster if you draw them using as few anchor points as possible. Using too many points can also introduce unwanted bumps in a curve. Instead, draw widely spaced anchor points; practice shaping curves by adjusting the length and angles of the direction lines.

You can also use the Pen tool to edit custom ease curves in the Motion Editor.

To learn more about working with the Pen tool, watch this video tutorial on YouTube describing how to use the Pen tool in Flash. Also see the section titled Drawing with the Pen tool in the Flash documentation.