Adding Shapes to Frames

There are various shapes that you can add to a frame, such as a polygon, oval, rectangle, and text rectangle. All shapes are found in the Timeline window pane's Frame View.

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How to Add a Shape to a Frame

  1. Open the frame.
  2. Do one of the following, depending on the part of the user interface you are using:

    • RibbonSelect Home> Objects. Then choose the shape you want to add.

    • Local Toolbar In the local toolbar of the Frame Editor, select Objects, then select the appropriate shape.

    The following shape options are available:

    Converts the cursor to Rectangle mode, which lets you create a square or rectangle shape by clicking in the frame and dragging in any direction. When you release the cursor, the shape is created.

    Converts the cursor to Oval mode, which lets you create a circle or oval shape by clicking in the frame and dragging in any direction. When you release the cursor, the shape is created.

    Converts the cursor to Polygon mode, which lets you create a closed plane shape bounded by three or more line segments. After you select this button, you can click anywhere in the frame to identify the starting point for the shape. When you move the cursor, a straight line segment is drawn. If you click the left mouse button, it signifies the end of that line segment and the start of another line segment. When you move the cursor, another straight line segment is drawn. When you double-click, a final line segment joins your starting and ending points, thus closing off the shape.

    Click this button to draw a text box (i.e., a square or rectangle with your cursor positioned within to allow for immediate typing).

  3. Do one of the following.

    To Draw an Oval or Rectangle

    1. Click and drag the mouse to draw the shape.
    2. Release the mouse button to complete the shape.

    To Draw a Text Box

    1. Click and drag the mouse to draw the shape.
    2. Release the mouse button to complete the shape.
    3. Enter the text for the text box.
    4. Click outside of the box when you are finished.

    To Draw a Polygon

    1. Click once in the frame where you want to start the shape.
    2. Without clicking your mouse button, move your cursor to draw a line segment.
    3. Click the left mouse button to end the line segment and start a new one.
    4. Continue creating line segments until you have drawn the shape that you want.
    5. Double-click the left mouse button to close the shape.

    Note Each object has properties that can be customized. See Object Properties Window Pane.

  4. Click Save the active file. to save your work.

Note A very useful tool when working with objects is a palette, which lets you store objects for future use. For example, if you are including callouts with some frames, chances are that you'll want to use the same look and feel for all of the callouts you create. Instead of creating new callouts from scratch each time or copying them from other frames, you can create an initial model callout and then add it to a palette. Then, when you're ready to use a callout in another frame, you can just drag your model callout from the palette to the frame (and make minor changes, such as the text, from there). See Palettes.

Note In addition to these shapes, you can also add objects such as interactive shapes and graphics to a frame.

Note You can convert any object into an action object. Right-click on the object and select Advanced > Convert to Action Object. If you want to convert an action object into a regular object, right-click on the action object and select Advanced > Convert to Timeline Object. See Converting an Object.

What’s Next?

If necessary, you can continue enhancing the movie. Otherwise, you can finalize the movie by building and distributing it. See Editing a Movie and Building Movie Output Using the Interface.