Any use of reshape tool?

[Philip_Peterson@adobeforums.com]

Does anyone use the reshape tool? If so, what for? How?

I don't quite see an application for it.

[Philip_Peterson@adobeforums.com]

Does anyone use the reshape tool? If so, what for? How?

I don't quite see an application for it.

[James_E._Talmage@adobeforums.com]

Yes. For just one quick example:

1. Spiral Tool: ClickShiftDrag twoard the right to draw a spiral with a fairly slow decay rate (10 ro 12 orbits ought to do it). If necessary, press the up/down arrow keys during mousedown to add a segment or two so that the inner endpoint of the spiral is to the left. (You are dragging right, so the outer endpoint is toward the right.)

2. Reshape Tool: Click the inner endpoint. Now ClickShiftDrag the outer endpoint toward the right.

Instant spine path for a coil spring.

JET

[Philip_Peterson@adobeforums.com]

I guess I'm still not picking up the difference between this, and the direct select tool...

[James_E._Talmage@adobeforums.com]

Phillip,

Did you try the example I described? How can you do that in one move with the DirectSelect Tool?

Look, do this:

1. Ellipse Tool: Draw a circle.

2. Scissor Tool: Click the right point of the circle to cut it.

3. DirectSelect Tool: Drag a selection marquee around the whole circle to select all its points.

4. Reshape Tool: ClickShiftDrag the rightmost point toward the right.

You will get a shape that would pass for one loop of a coil. Select the path and then SelectMenu>Object>Direction Handles. Note what has happened. You haven't moved just one point horizontally, you've moved 4 of the 5 points. The one at the opposite end of the path has remained stationary and all the others have moved. But they have not all moved the same distance; they have moved logrithmically-derived distances. Note also that the angle of the handles of the leftmost point changed to maintain tangency to the curve.

Now try to do that kind of shape distortion with one move of the DirectSelect tool (or any transform tool).

To see what's going on, do this:

1. Line Tool: ClickShiftDrag toward the right to draw a horizontal line about 1" in length.

2. Apply Object>Path>Add Anchor Points four times.

3. Reshape Tool: ClickShiftDrag the right endpoint far toward the right (about 8-10 inches or so).

Now look at the distribution of the points along the line. They start out tightly space at the left, grow increasingly wider spaced toward the middle, and tighten up again toard the right end that you moved. (The distribution is similar to that you would see if the line were wrapped around the side of a cylinder.)

4. ReshapeTool: Drag the middle point up/down/around and watch what happens as you drag. The ends stay put. All of the other points move around affected by the movement you make, but they all move different amounts. The farther away they are (not in distance, but in count along the path) from the point you are dragging, the less they are affected.

5. Release the tool. Undo the movement you just made.

6. DirectSelect tool: Drag a selection marquee around just a few of the points along the path.

7. ReshapeTool: ClickDrag a point in the middle of the ones you have selected. Unselected points do not move. All of the selected points except those at either extreme of the selected range move, but in differing amounts, according to their count-distance from the one you are dragging.

The DirectSelect tool does not make these kinds of "range of influence" movements. Sure, you could replicate the results with the DirectSelect tool with alot of point-by-point and handle-by-handle moves, but not in one move.

JET

[Robert_Overbeck@adobeforums.com]

Hey JET,

Thanks for the informative post. I forgot the reshape tool even existed. Nice explanation.

[Timothy_Foolery®@adobeforums.com]

It's like a magnetic drag or dragnet tool. I've never used it either. Thanks for the info, James.

[Philip_Peterson@adobeforums.com]

Yeah, thanks for the in-depth info!

[B. Philippus]

It's like cracking open a whole new version of Illustrator...

[James_E._Talmage@adobeforums.com]

It's like a bracing mountain breeze rushing down from over the glacier-covered slopes toward....

Aw, forget it.

;-)

JET

[Philip_Peterson@adobeforums.com]

It's like wearing a kilt with no underwear on a frosty winter morn...

[James_Talmage@adobeforums.com]

Here's a visual explanation of the spring coil I was talking about in post 3:

<http://www.IllustrationETC.com/AIBuds/SpringSpineBrush.pdf>

JET

[James_Talmage@adobeforums.com]

....and the spiral thing:

<http://www.illustrationetc.com/AIBuds/ReshapeSpiral.pdf>

JET

[James_Talmage@adobeforums.com]

Still utterly wasting what would otherwise be perfectly good productive time monkeying around with a Reshaped spiral.... ;-)

<http://www.IllustrationETC.com/AIBuds/AITornado/AITornado.html>

JET

[Philip_Peterson@adobeforums.com]

You are a better scripter then I, nice one. Thanks also for all the effort you put in to the answers!

[Harron_K._Appleman@adobeforums.com]

Heh, heh...