Move Vertex

The Move Vertex tool allows you to move the vertices of polygons, the end points of segments and arrows, the corners of leaves, and the tips of petals. There two versions of this tool. This one also translates the Bezier Points on the sides connected to the vertex being moved. It might not seem obvious, but this is probably the behavior you want most of the time. If you leave the Bezier points in place when you move the vertex, you end up with a warped side which is exactly what the Move Vertex (Warp) tool does.

There are two modes for moving vertices.

  • Move Vertex
  • Move Vertex Collection

Move Vertex Mode

The Move Vertex mode lets you move a single vertex. The only construction options available are the Drag Constraints. There are four possible restrictions you can use when moving a vertex.

  • Free (no restrictions)
  • Horizontal
  • Vertical
  • By angle made with the center
  • Along a user defined vector

Most of the time, you’ll probably use only the first three options, but there are some situations where the last two can be useful. Moving along a vector will require some explanation. You first need to select a reference point. This point will serve as the start of the vector. You can select any point or use the “use center” button to automatically select the center of the polygon. There are two options for the second point of the vector.

  • free direction
  • locked direction

With free direction, the selected vertex will move in parallel with the vector you define by moving your finger. Locked direction will lock onto whatever point you’re currently over and use it as the second point. You then move your finger to define the distance to move the vertex along this locked vector. Here’s an example video that shows this process.

There is something very important to note about moving vertices: Moving a vertex will change the position of the center of polygon. The center of the polygon is calculated based on the positions of the vertices so if the vertices change, then so does the center. The reason this is important is that if you’re using the center as the basis of your manipulations (such as “By Angle Mode with Center”), it will probably be different for each manipulation. In this situation, you might place a Point at the center before you begin your manipulations so that you can Recenter the polygon back to its original center, or you might instead move several vertices simultaneously. Which brings use to the next mode of construction.

Move Vertex Collection

The other way of moving vertices is to select several (or all) of the vertices of a polygon and apply the same transformation to each simultaneously. First you select a reference point. This is done is the same manner as described above for the “Along a User Defined Vector” method of moving a single vertex. Once a reference point has been selected, you can either select all the vertices with the “select all” button or move your finger to the desired vertices and press “select vertex” for each vertex you wish to move. When you’re done selected, tap the “done” button. After this, you have the same options for moving the collection of vertices as you do when moving a single vertex. The top video above contains an example of this.