If I select an anchor and try to change the y value, it raises/lowers the whole line - not just the anchor point.

You're selecting the whole line. Try clicking off the shape & re-clicking on a point. I've changed the X/Y values manually quite often and it works with relative ease.

When I used Adobe Premiere about 15 years ago its Titler included a tool for making lines or polygons in whatever colour or thickness you chose. Hard to believe that Vegas, which is so much better in most respects, still can't do this.

that did the trick. Thanks.

When I used Adobe Premiere about 15 years ago its Titler included a tool for making lines or polygons in whatever colour or thickness you chose. Hard to believe that Vegas, which is so much better in most respects, still can't do this.

Vegas isn't an effects app, that's why it's not in the titler. But it can do those with the generated media, and/or cookie cutter, and/or the pan/crop mask tool. You can do lines, hearts, diamonds, squares, trapezoids, etc.

> "Vegas isn't an effects app ..."

Not sure what that means. Vegas has dozens of effects, and that's all part of editing video. Adding titles is an effect, and sometimes it also helps to be able to superimpose a line between two points, or draw a shape over the video.

Yes it can sort of be done using a combination of generated media, cookie cutters, beziers etc, but if you prefer doing things the hard long way, you must hate being able to overlap events to make a dissolve!

I'm talking about simply clicking and dragging to create a line/shape in whatever thickness or colour is needed. If Vegas can do this, please tell me how.

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I'm talking about simply clicking and dragging to create a line/shape in whatever thickness or colour is needed. If Vegas can do this, please tell me how.[/I]

Hi Peter. Try this: in the mask tool select path. Then, when you click and drag you get a rectangle with vertical and horizontal sides. After you have drawn the rectangle, press Alt and you can freely rotate the rectangle. Also, when you are dragging to create the rectangle, Alt drag creates rounded corners.

/jerry

I'm talking about simply clicking and dragging to create a line/shape in whatever thickness or colour is needed. If Vegas can do this, please tell me how.

Pan/crop mask tool. 4 points and you've got a line. Or a square, rectangle, trapezoid, rhombus, anything with 4 points. You can feather it on the inside/outside/both as much as you want. You can invert it with one click. Everything's toggle-able and animate-able.

I'm not seeing how it's hard at all.

Sure, you can't use the event you used for the title, but "Vegas isn't an effects app" sums that up. It's an Editor with lots of effects, almost to the point of being an effects app. Can AE do everything Maya can do? No, but it can do some stuff: it's not a 3D app, it's an effects app. Can AE do what Premiere does? No, if it did then Premiere wouldn't even be sold, AE would more then replace it.

I wouldn't want to do it on the same event as the title. It would be like doing everything on a single layer in Photoshop.

Thanks guys - yes, the rectangle mask or 4 point approach can create a line and it can be moved, rotated etc., but it's still a very clunky way of doing it, especially being able to keep control of exact thickness. Also, this just creates a line, no option to easily put an arrow on one or both ends, and we only have the option of rectangles, circles etc - regular shapes. I'd like to be able to easily create any polygon. By the way Happy Friar I would never advocate including such a line or shape with a title - it would always be its own title event on a track above.

I used irregular polygons to create a masking effect in Premiere's Titler 12 years ago for a Title sequence - this was back in DV 4:3 days, and if my Dropbox linking works, it looks like this:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5gr903ku7xjol2o/CrazyPaving.mp4

edit: I've embedded videos from youTube previously - is it possible to do so from Dropbox? - if so, I'm getting something wrong .....

If you are talking about getting a straight horizon line = x on keyboard so you get horizontal arrow only then create a node slide while holding left down on mouse = split tangent will keep the horizontal then stop make a new key.

I am just bad I pop on a color media and squish it in the track motion panel to height I want then move it into position.

+ Rory's Squish!

+ But now, NEW BLUE Titler Pro crests rectangles as object. Then it can have all types of additional controls applied to it! Amazing Plugin, simple and comprehensive for my needs.

Grazie