- Setting Selection Preferences
- Selecting Lines with the Selection Tool
- Selecting Fills with the Selection Tool
- Using a Selection Rectangle
- Using the Lasso Tool
- Deselecting Elements
- Repositioning Elements Manually
- Repositioning Elements Numerically
- Basic Editing Tasks: Cut, Copy, Paste
- Editing Existing Elements with Assistance
- Moving End Points with the Selection Tool
- Moving Points with the Subselection Tool
- Reshaping Curves with the Selection Tool
- Reshaping Curves with the Subselection Tool
- Converting, Removing, and Adding Points
- Reshaping Fills
- Changing the Size of Graphic Elements
- Reorienting Graphic Elements
- Distorting Graphic Elements
- Changing the Envelope of Selected Elements
- Modifying Strokes
- Using the Eraser Tool in Normal Mode
- Using the Faucet Modifier
- Modifying Fill Colors
- Creating Solid Colors: Color Mixer Panel
- Creating New Gradients
- Creating Color Sets
- Putting Gradients to Work
- Modifying Applied Gradients
- Applying Attributes of One Graphic Element to Another
- Converting Lines to Fills
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Basic Editing Tasks: Cut, Copy, Paste
Flash supports the standard cut, copy, and paste operations and also provides some special operations tailored for working with animated graphics.
To delete a selection:
- Select the elements you want to remove.
From the Edit menu, choose Clear (Figure 3.20), or press the Delete key.
Flash removes the selected items.
Figure 3.20 The Edit menu offers all the basic cut, copy, and paste commands, as well as some special ones for working with graphics and animations. Choose Clear or Cut to remove selected items on the Stage.
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To cut a selection:
- Select the elements you want to cut.
From the Edit menu, choose Cut, or press
-X (Mac) or Ctrl-X (Windows).Flash copies the selected items to the Clipboard and removes them from the Stage.
To copy a selection:
- Select the elements you want to copy.
From the Edit menu, choose Copy, or press
-C (Mac) or Ctrl-C (Windows).Flash copies the selected items to the Clipboard.
After you cut or copy an item, it resides on the Clipboard until your next cut or copy operation. You can retrieve the Clipboard's contents with the Paste command.
To paste the Clipboard's contents in the center of the window:
From the Edit menu, choose Paste in Center, or press
-V (Mac) or Ctrl-V (Windows).Flash pastes the Clipboard's contents in the center of the current view (Figure 3.21).
Figure 3.21 Copy a selected graphic element (top) and then choose the Paste in Center command. Flash pastes a copy of the element from the Clipboard to the center of the current view (bottom).
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To paste Clipboard contents in their original location:
From the Edit menu, choose Paste in Place, or press Shift-
-V (Mac) or Ctrl-Shift-V (Windows).Flash pastes the Clipboard contents back into their original location on the Stage. The value of this command will become more apparent when you get into working with layers and animation, when it can be crucial to have elements appear in precisely the same spot but on a different layer or frame.
To duplicate a selection:
- Select the elements you want to copy.
From the Edit menu, choose Duplicate, or press
-D (Mac) or Ctrl-D (Windows).Flash creates a copy of the selected items. The duplicate appears on the Stage, offset from the original item (Figure 3.22). The duplicate is selected so that it doesn't interact with the original. (For more information on interaction between elements, see Chapter 4.) The Duplicate command doesn't change the contents of the Clipboard.
Figure 3.22 The Duplicate command (top) offsets a copy of the element from the original. The duplicate is the selected element (bottom).
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