Move an object along a path

When you tweened the star's position earlier, you produced a star that moved along a straight line from its original position to a new position. Now you'll create an elaborate path and make the star move along it.

Create a path

1. Drag the playhead to frame 1.
2. Open the Curve flyout , and click the Freehand tool .
3. From the Outline width box on the property bar , choose Hairline to be able to see the path you'll create. If you can't see the Outline width box, click here.
4. On the stage, drag to draw an irregular line from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner.

Attach the star to the path

1. Using the Pick tool , click the object name Polygon in the Timeline Docker window to select the star tween.
2. Click Movie menu Attach to path.
   The pointer changes into a curved black arrow.
3. Click anywhere along the path.
4. On the property bar, click the Sets the tween to occur along full path button to make the star follow the entire length of the path.

Preview the animation

1. On the movie control panel, click the Play button .
2. Click the Stop button.
   The star now moves along the path you created, but the path itself displays briefly during the movie. You need to make the path invisible.

Make the path invisible

1. Drag the playhead to frame 1.
2. Using the Pick tool, click the path on the stage to select it.
3. From the Outline width box on the property bar, choose None.

Save the movie if you want to, and then close the file.

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