Flash 8 Cookbook

1.32. Rotating Elements

Problem

You want to rotate an element.

Solution

Rotate using the Free Transform tool or rotate in 90° increments using the Modify → Transform menu commands.

Discussion

You can rotate elements to an arbitrary degree, or you can constrain rotation to regular intervals, such as 90° or 45°.

To rotate an element arbitrarily:

1. Select the Free Transform tool.

2. Hover the mouse near (but not quite over) any corner point until you see a circular rotation cursor.

3. Drag in a circular direction to rotate the element.

Holding down the Shift key constrains the rotation to increments of 45°.

You can also rotate an element by 90° clockwise or counterclockwise. To do so, select the element, and choose Modify → Transform → Rotate 90° CW (for clockwise, or CCW for counterclockwise). All rotations are performed in the X-Y plane (about the imaginary Z axis that runs perpendicular to the stage). To simulate rotation away from or toward the viewer, use a perspective skew as described in Recipe 1.31.

You can also rotate elements with numeric precision. If you need a shape to be rotated to 37°, you can draw it at 0° and then rotate it to exactly 37°.

To rotate an element with numeric precision, choose Modify → Transform → Scale and Rotate. In the Scale and Rotate dialog box, enter the rotation degree (and optionally, scale percent) and click OK.

See Also

Recipe 1.30