Gobe Productive User's Guide - Reshaping, Reorienting and Smoothing Shapes

- Working in the graphics environment
- Drawing tools
- Pre-defined Shapes
- Pen Attributes
- Fill Color
- Text Color
- Customizing inks
- Customizing ink sets
- Transparency
- Moving items
- Resizing & Rotating items
- Aligning Items
- Reshaping, reorienting & smoothing shapes
- Arranging, grouping & locking items
- Creating Outlines
- Views & Layers
- Styles

# Reshaping, Reorienting & Smoothing Shapes

Reshape an Item | Unsmooth/Smooth an Item | Reorient a Vertex | Add Vertices

Some shapes in the Gobe Productive suite have the ability to be reshaped. The freehand, polygon, and bezigon (Bezier curve) tools allow you to draw complex shapes that you can reshape, reorient and smooth. Using these features you can fine tune the design of a shape to get the desired look.

Reshaping is the process of moving and altering the vertices of a shape. Smoothing refers to the nature of the vertices in the shape. A smoothed vertex has a curve or arc, while an unsmoothed vertex is a sharp angle. See the two shapes below for an example:

In addition to reshaping and smoothing, you can also reorient the vertices in a shape. Reorientation is the process of setting how a curve behaves while passing through a vertex. Consider the following image.

The shape on the left is a normal, freehand drawn item. The shape on the right has one vertex reoriented. Notice how the line is significantly altered as it passes through the vertex. Using the reorientation features you can drastically change the look of a shape.

| Remember: Only freehand, polygon, and bezigon (Bezier curve) shapes can be reshaped, reoriented or smoothed.

## To Reshape an Item

1. Draw a freehand, polygon, or bezigon shape.
2. Select the shape.
3. Select Reshape from the Arrange menu.
   Or, select the reshape pointer from the selection tool .
4. The line displays many small squares, as demonstrated in the image below. Each of these squares is a vertex handle.
5. Grab a handle and move it to the desired location.
6. Hold down the [SHIFT] button to select multiple handles for reshaping. You can also hold down the "Windows" key and draw a selection box to select multiple handles.

## To Unsmooth/Smooth a Shape

1. Select one, or more, vertex handles in a freehand or bezigon (Bezier curve) shape.
2. Next, right-click on one of the handles. From the popup menu, select Unsmooth Handle(s).
3. The handle will change from a smooth curve to a sharp angle, like the corner of a polygon.

Likewise, you can smooth vertices in a polygon. This changes them from a sharp angle to a smooth arc. Follow the instructions above, except select Smooth Handle(s) from the popup menu.

## To Reorient a Vertex

Reorienting a vertex involves altering the vertex control handles. Consider the following diagram of an image.

1. Select a freehand, polygon, or bezigon (Bezier curve) image.
2. Select Reshape from the Arrange menu.
   Or, select the reshape pointer from the selection tool .
3. Press and hold the "Windows" key. For older PC keyboards, use the [CTRL] on the right side of the keyboard. You must use the right key, the left key does not work for this operation. For Macintosh style keyboards, use the [OPTION] key.
4. Position the cursor over a vertex handle.
5. Click and hold the primary mouse button.
6. Draw out the vertex control. You can draw two controls from any vertex. The controls must be drawn separately.
7. Release the keyboard key when finished. You may now move the vertex control handle to reorient the vertex.

## To Add Vertices

Using the same method described above, you can also add any number of vertices to a shape.

1. Select a freehand, polygon, or Bezier curve image.
2. Select Reshape from the Arrange menu.
   Or, select the reshape pointer from the selection tool .
3. Press and hold the "Windows" key. For older PC keyboards, use the [CTRL] on the right side of the keyboard (you must use the right one, the left one will not work for this operation). For Macintosh style keyboards this is the [OPTION] key.
4. Position the cursor anywhere on the shape where there is no vertex.
5. Click the mouse button once. A vertex is added to the shape. You can reshape, reorient, or smooth the vertex like any other.

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