Snapping art into position – Adobe Flash Professional CC 2014 v.13.0 User Manual
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Snapping art into position
Turn object snapping on or off
Adjust object snapping tolerances
Use pixel snapping
Select settings for Snap Alignment
Turn on Snap Alignment
Create a guide layer
To automatically align graphic elements with one another, use snapping. Flash Professional provides three ways for you to align objects on the
Stage:
Object snapping snaps objects directly to other objects along their edges.
Pixel snapping snaps objects directly to individual pixels or lines of pixels on the Stage.
Snap alignment snaps objects to a specified snap tolerance, a preset boundary between objects and other objects or between objects and
the edge of the Stage.
Note: You can also snap to the grid or to guides.
Turn object snapping on or off
To turn on object snapping, use the Snap To Objects modifier for the Selection tool, or the Snap To Objects command in the View menu.
If the Snap To Objects modifier for the Selection tool is on, a small black ring appears under the pointer when you drag an element. The small ring
changes to a larger ring when the object is within snapping distance of another object.
Select View > Snapping > Snap To Objects. A check mark appears next to the command when it is on.
When you move or reshape an object, the position of the Selection tool on the object provides the reference point for the snap ring. For example, if
you move a filled shape by dragging near its center, the center point snaps to other objects. This is particularly useful for snapping shapes to
motion paths for animating.
Note: For better control of object placement when snapping, begin dragging from a corner or center point.
Adjust object snapping tolerances
1. Select Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Flash > Preferences (Macintosh), and click Drawing.
2. Under Drawing Settings, adjust the Connect Lines setting.
Use pixel snapping
To turn on pixel snapping, use the Snap To Pixels command in the View menu. If Snap To Pixels is on, a pixel grid appears when the view
magnification is set to 400% or higher. The pixel grid represents the individual pixels that appear in your Flash Professional application. When you
create or move an object, it is constrained to the pixel grid.
If you create a shape whose edges fall between pixel boundaries—for example, if you use a stroke with a fractional width, such as 3.5 pixels—
Snap To Pixels snaps to pixel boundaries, not to the edge of the shape.
To turn pixel snapping on or off, select View > Snapping > Snap To Pixels. If the magnification is set to 400% or higher, a pixel grid is
displayed. A check mark appears next to the command when it is on.
To turn pixel snapping on or off temporarily, press the C key. When you release the C key, pixel snapping returns to the state you selected
with View > Snapping > Snap To Pixels.
To temporarily hide the pixel grid, press the X key. When you release the X key, the pixel grid reappears.
Select settings for Snap Alignment
When you select Snap Alignment settings, set the snap tolerance between horizontal or vertical edges of objects, and between objects’ edges and
the Stage border. You can also turn on snap alignment between the horizontal and the vertical centers of objects. All Snap Alignment settings are
measured in pixels.
1. Select View > Snapping > Edit Snapping.
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