Learn Flash: A Tutorial on the Free Transform Tool

• Lesson 02: The Subselection Tool


• Lesson 01: The Selection Tool

I'm going to assume you have basic knowledge with the program (such as creating new documents, opening documents, etc.). This is pretty basic stuff and acts like any software would. These tutorials were also conducted with Adobe Flash CS3 running on Mac OS X. However, this tutorial is pretty universal and can be applied to almost any version of Flash. Also, besides slightly different shortcut commands, the Windows and Mac versions of Flash are identical. On that note, let's get started!

In order to gain access to the Free Transform Tool, we will need to create a new document. So go to File > New and select Flash File (Actionscript 2.0). A white page will be displayed and you can then gain access to the main tool bar on the left. Select the Rectangle Tool from the Tool Bar (it's the 8th tool down, this slot is shared with multiple shape tools so you may need to click, hold and select the Rectangle Tool that way) and click and drag to draw a square. Now, select the Free Transform Tool (third tool down, this slot is shared with the Gradient Tool so you may need to click, hold, then select the Free Transform Tool that way) and move the cursor outside of the square, click, hold and drag and highlight the square. You will notice that 9 small black squares are around your drawing.

You can now resize and skew the drawing in many ways. If you select the top middle or bottom square, click and drag, it will allow you to adjust the height. Click and drag the right middle or left square and you can adjust the width. Click and drag the corner squares and you can resize the entire image. When resizing the entire image, you can lose the proportion of the original image. To prevent this, hold the Shift button in while you drag to keep the proportion correct.

If you move the cursor between the squares, you'll notice an icon which appears to be two parallel lines replaces the cursor. This is where you can skew the object. Click and drag left and right to experiment. Try doing this on both the horizontal and vertical lines to get a feel for what it can do.

The Free Transform Tool is a very convienent and vital tool to your Flash projects. Whether you need to slightly tweak the size of a drawing, or try to skew things for a different look, The Free Transform Tool is one tool you'll want to keep handy.

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