Recipe 1.35. Erasing Content

Problem

You want to erase lines and/or fills in part or entirely.

Solution

To delete an entire shape or fill, use the Eraser tool with the faucet option selected, and click on the shape or fill you want to erase. Optionally, use the Selection tool to select the shape or fill, and press the Delete key.

You can delete part of a shape or fill using the Eraser tool with the faucet option deselected.

Use the punch, slice, crop, or intersect features when you want to delete part of a shape or line to form a more complex shape.

Discussion

The Eraser tool lets you delete part or all of a shape or line. The Eraser tool works in a fairly obvious manner, for the most part. In the Options section of the Tools panel, you can select from the Eraser Shape drop-down menu. Then, as you click and drag on the Stage, it erases the portions of the shapes and lines that it crosses. However, there are a few features of the Eraser tool that are not so obvious.

In the Options section of the Tools panel, you can click on a small faucet icon to toggle faucet mode for the Eraser tool. In faucet mode, it deletes the entire shape or line on which you click.

You can also select from a variety of modes in the Options section of the Tools panel. The default mode for the Eraser tool is Erase Normal. However, you can select the Erase Fills mode to erase only fills or the Erase Lines option to erase only lines. The Erase Selected Fills option erases only fills that are selected, and the Erase Inside mode will erase only the fill enclosed within linesassuming that you first click the mouse within that shape.