Getting to Know the Tools of the Trade

The Pencil Tool

The Pencil tool is used to draw simple or complex shapes on a page. Because the pencil is a freeform tool, you can freely drag the Pencil tool all over the page and create lines or shapes, instead of having them automatically made for you like when you use basic shape tools. The pencil is a very intuitive and easy tool to use.

You find out how to use the pencil tool in the section “Drawing Freeform Paths,” later in this chapter.

The Pen Tool

The Pen tool is used to create complex shapes on the page. The Pen tool works together with other tools, such as the Add, Remove, and Convert Point tools. The pen works by adding and editing points along a path, thereby manipulating the segments that join them.

Drawing with the Pen tool isn’t easy at first. In fact, it takes many people a considerable amount of time to use this tool well. Don’t get frustrated if you don’t get used to it right away — the Pen tool can take some practice in order to get it to do what you want it to. You find out how to use the Pen tool in the “Drawing Freeform Paths” section, later in this chapter.

Basic Shapes and Frame Shapes

Basic shapes are preformed shapes that you can add to a document by using tools in the toolbox. The basic shape tools include the Line, Rectangle, Ellipse, and Polygon tools.

You can also draw these shapes and turn them into frames — containers that hold content in your document — if you want. You might use a frame as a text frame, or as a graphic frame that is used to hold pictures and text. Draw a basic shape, and then convert the shape to a graphic or text frame by choosing Object®Content®Text or Object®Content®Graphic.

We discuss graphic and text frames in more detail in Chapters 11 and 12 of this minibook.