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Shape Object Panel

The 'Shape' Panel shows properties for the current shape.


Name
This is the name of the shape that appears in the Outline Panel.

Line style
You can select from a number of line styles for the line around the outside of the shape. The default style is solid. If you do not want a line around the outside of the shape, select None from the Menu.
If you choose the custom option, then you can directly define the line style using the 'Custom Line Style' dialog box. This allows you to define the line style by a combination of minus signs and spaces. The window at the bottom of the dialog box shows you a preview of what the line style looks like. When you have the line style you want, press the 'OK' button.
Line thickness
You can change the thickness of the line around the outside of the shape (if any). The default thickness is 1.

Line color
You can change the color of the line around the outside of the shape (if any) using the Color Selector. The default col our is black.
Fill style
You can select the fill style of a shape from a number of styles. The default setting is solid, though if you want the interior to be hollow, select 'None' from the Menu.

·	Solid: uses a single color, which may have a degree of transparency (alpha value). Click on the 'Fill Control' or colored button to change the color using the Color Selector

·	Linear gradient: uses a smooth change in colors in straight bands across the shape. The Fill Control lets you change the colors in the gradient (see below)

·	Radial gradient: uses a smooth change in colors in circular bands across the shape. The Fill Control lets you change the colors in the gradient (see below)

·	Tiled image: uses a bitmap image to fill the shape. If the image is too small to fill the shape completely, then the image is tiled. Click on the Fill Control to select an image

·	Clipped image: uses a bitmap image to fill the shape. If the image is too small to fill the shape completely, then the outside pixels are stretched. Click on the Fill Control to select an image

Fill Properties Button
When you select a gradient or image fill style, the 'Properties' button is displayed. If you press the 'Properties' button, you can directly edit the fill Transform in a dialog box. For image fills, you can also change the compression (image quality).
The Gradient Properties' dialog box is represented below.
The controls are the same as for the Transform Panel. However, in this case, the Transform applies to the fill pattern within the shape, rather than the shape within the Scene. The 'Always Fit' checkbox lets you automatically set up the fill Transform so that the fill will always fit the shape while reshaping. You can also visually edit the fill Transform using the Fill Transform tool.
For image fills the title bar shows you the size in pixels and color depth of the image. The dialog box looks like this:
There are several extra controls at the bottom right hand corner of the image fill dialog box:

·	When checked, the 'JPEG quality' setting lets you specify the level of JPEG quality, with 100% representing the best quality.

·	When the 'No Smooth' setting is checked, the bitmap that have been resized will never be smoothed.

·	The 'Preload' function lets you select where you want the image definition to appear in the .swf file. See the Export Panel for more information.

Fill control
The fill control changes depending on the fill style you have selected.

For solid fills, the control shows you the fill color. Click on the colored 'fill control' button to select a different color.
For gradient fills, the control shows you the gradient. Click to place new colors onto the gradient. Click on a triangular colored handle to change the corresponding color using the Color Selector. Drag the handles along the gradient to adjust their positions. Drag the triangular colored handles completely off the bar to delete them.
For image fills, the control shows you the image. Click on the control to select a new image.
Solid shape with overlap filled
This function forces the shape to have no border and to be filled with a single solid color. Any areas where the shape has overlaps will be filled. This is different to the usual behavior of shapes, where overlapping areas are left hollow. You may find this setting useful when setting up masks for Sprites. The default setting is to have this function turned off.

Note: There is a bug in Flash where it will crash when trying to import a SWF files that has the Solid shape with overlap filled option turned on for any shape.


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