To draw a rectangle, ellipse, or line in Macromedia

To draw a rectangle, ellipse, or line:

1	Click the Rectangle, Ellipse, or Line tool in the Tools panel.
2	Hold down the mouse button to start a path, drag to draw, and then release the mouse button to end the path.

To draw a rectangle, ellipse, or line from its center:

Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) as you drag the respective tool.

To ungroup a rectangle or ellipse:

Select the rectangle or ellipse

Choose > Modify > alter path > correct direction

To draw rectangles with curved corners:

1	Double-click the Rectangle tool.
2	In the Rectangle Tool dialog box, enter a value or use the slider to adjust the corner radius, from 0 for a standard 90° corner to 100 for extremely curved corners.
3	Click OK.
4	Draw the rectangle.

To adjust the corners of a selected rectangle:

1	Choose Window > Inspectors > Object to display the Object inspector.
2	Enter a value in the Corner Radius text box. Press Enter or Return.

Drawing polygons and stars

You can use the Polygon tool to draw polygons and stars. When you draw a polygon, you create a closed path. A polygon path is similar to a path drawn with the Pen or Bezigon tools, except that the Polygon tool constrains the path to a regular shape with the characteristics you specify in the tool's options.

The Polygon tool draws from the center.

To set Polygon tool options:

1	Double-click the Polygon tool.
2	In the Polygon Tool dialog box, select Polygon or Star for the shape.
3	Set the number of sides by dragging the slider or entering a value from 3 to 360. Values above 20 will create a nearly round object.
4	For a star, set the angle of the star points. Select Automatic to draw a preset star shape, or Manual to set a shape using the Acute/Obtuse slider. The preview window displays the setting results.
5	Click OK.
	Automatic (left), Acute (center), and Obtuse (right)

To draw a polygon or star:

1	Click the Polygon tool in the Tools panel.
2	Drag the pointer to draw a polygon.
	To constrain the angle at which a polygon or star appears in your document, press Shift as you draw.

Drawing spirals and arcs

With the Spiral and Arc Xtras tools, you can easily draw spirals and arcs. Each tool has several options that let you customize the way it works.

To draw a spiral:

1	Choose Window > Toolbars > Xtra Tools to display the Xtra Tools panel.
2	Click the Spiral tool and drag to draw a spiral.
3	To modify the spiral as you draw, use any of the following keys:
	Press Shift to constrain the placement of the final point.
	Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) to draw from the center regardless of the selected drawing option.

To draw an arc:

1	Choose Window > Toolbars > Xtra Tools to display the Xtra Tools panel.
2	Click the Arc tool and drag to draw an arc.
3	To modify the arc as you draw, press any of the following keys, alone or in combination, after you begin drawing the arc:
	Press Shift to constrain the arc.
	Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) to draw a flipped arc.
	Press Control (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) to draw a closed arc.
	In Windows only, press Control and hold down the right mouse button as you draw to create a concave arc.