5.1. Selecting Graphic Elements

With few exceptions, before you can modify an object on the Stage, you first have to select the object. It's just as in a word processor, where you have to highlight a word with your cursor before you can edit or delete it. Since Flash deals with more complex objects than words, it gives you a variety of selection tools for different purposes. The Tools panel (Figure 5-1) has three different selection tools. Each is good for selecting different types of objects.

Figure 5-1. Flash gives you three different ways to select the strokes, fills, bitmaps, symbols, and other graphic elements that make up your images: Selection, Subselection, and Lasso. As you see in the following sections, each has its advantages and drawbacks.