Subtitles of the Movie

Continuing my review from the previous movie, the various Auto Shapes that are available here in the Vector Tools section of the Adobe Fireworks CS3 Tools panel, we get to the donut auto shape. This draws object groups that appear as filled rings. Use control points to adjust the inner perimeter, or split the shape into pieces with these three control points, notice that I'm splitting the donut now into an arc. I can also adjust the inner radius of the donut. This is an interesting trick. I can hold down the Alt key here in Windows, or the Option key on the Mac, to split this donut into segments like so. I have three segments. Now I can ungroup, remember these are grouped objects. I can choose Modify, Ungroup, and now I have three independent sections here and I can color those differently, like so. Notice that only one of them is selected, and then split them up into pieces as well, and go ahead and modify them using the regular four control points. Notice that once you ungroup them you lose your special control points that make Auto Shapes unique. Even grouping them back together again, I still lose those special control points, so once you ungroup they become objects, just like all the other objects, vector objects here, you can create in the Vector tools area. Next we have the L-shape. This draws object groups that appear as right-angled corner shapes. Using control points you can edit the length and width of the horizontal and vertical sections, as well as the curvature of the corner here. Next is the pie auto shape. This draws object groups that appear as pie charts. Using the control points you can split the shape into pieces, as well as adjust the radiant of those pieces there. The middle control point is to reset the pie chart. Holding down the Alt or Option key allows you to segment either end, so now I have four pieces there, and like I did for the donut shape, I can go ahead and ungroup this and now modify each individual piece separately from the others, including changing the color and location, like so. Notice again, once you ungroup they lose their special Auto Shape attributes. Notice that those special control points like I have here with this Auto Shape are now no longer there, even if I go back and regroup the objects. And that will conclude this demonstration of the various Auto Shape tools here in the Vector Tools area of the Fireworks CS3 Tools Panel. Let me now move on to the next movie and talk more about how to edit paths of vector objects by moving, adding, or deleting points, or by moving point handles to change the shape of adjacent path segments.