Blending Composite Paths And Groups; Adding Points To Objects Or Paths; Roughening Objects Or Paths - MACROMEDIA FREEHAND MX 11 Use Manual

Blending composite paths and groups

You can create blends between composite paths and between groups. Groups must contain only
simple paths and cannot contain composite paths, images, clipping paths, or other groups.
Objects in both groups must have the same type of stroke and fill.
Many factors affect how composite groups and paths blend. Experiment with different settings to
achieve the best results.
To blend selected composite paths or groups:
Select Modify > Combine > Blend.
1
Select Window > Object to display the Object panel.
2
In the Object panel, select a blend type:
3
gives good results for most blends.
Normal
Horizontal and Vertical
subpaths by dividing a segmented path into horizontal or vertical portions.
In the Object panel, select a blend order:
4
blends the objects based on their position.
Positional
blends the objects based on their stacking orders.
Stacking

Adding points to objects or paths

You can add points to an object or path to increase its complexity for applying other special
effects. Added points appear on the path without distorting the shape of the path.
To add points to a selected object or path:
Select Window > Toolbars > Xtra Operations.
1
Do one of the following to add a point between every pair of points on the path:
2
•
Click the Add Points button on the Xtra Operations toolbar.
•
Select Window > Xtras > Distort > Add Points.

Roughening objects or paths

You can alter a path or object by roughening it with the Roughen tool. A roughened path appears
jagged or wavy. You can also use the Ragged effect attribute to create a hand-drawn appearance for
an object without permanently altering the object. For more information, see "Using a Ragged
effect attribute" on page 196.
To roughen a selected path manually:
In the Tools panel, select the Roughen tool from its pop-up menu.
1
Drag to apply the effect to the selection.
2
216 Chapter 7
give optimal results between composite paths with nonoverlapping