How do you stretch a shape without distorting angles?

[R Neil Haugen]

Illustrator is SO not my thing (I'm more at home in Premiere ... ).

So ... I have two thin long rectangle shapes, with the ends at 45*, and at 90* to each other. I wanted to simply stretch out the lower shape.

I've been through I don't know how many pages of help files on working with shapes and transforming and such ... and nothing would help me simply "pull" the lower horizontal one out longer without changing the shapes at the ends.

I finally set the ends to square, stretched, then reset to the 45* angle.

There's got to be something that allows you to 'pull' the end without altering the shape?

And besides that, I'd like to make them just one thing ... and yet, they're always two separate shapes.

Neil

[Ton Frederiks]

The easiest way would be to make it a Symbol.

Drag the 2 shapes to the Symbols panel and check the Enable Guides for 9-Slice Scaling option.

After that the symbol can be scaled without distorting the ends.

[Ton Frederiks]

I know it does not sound very intuitive, but with 9-slice-scaling you only scale between these areas and leave the corner parts untouched.

[Amanda3334395986o5]

Thank you for explaining this so clearly! I've spent so long trying to figure this out!

[pixxxelschubser]

Select the two anchor points with the "White Arrow", the Direct Selection Tool.

Click on one anchor point (and hold LMB) and drag to the right while additional hold [Strg] (or) [Ctrl] key.

You also can press the right arrow key on your keyboard multiple times (+ [Shift] key increases the steps by 10) after select the anchor points.

[SJRiegel]

Use the Direct Select tool to grap the two points on the angle you want to preserve, and pull those points to the desired location. 

[pixxxelschubser]

@R_Neil_Haugen wrote:

"… And besides that, I'd like to make them just one thing ... and yet, they're always two separate shapes. …"

The Pathfinder Panel (Mode Add) is your friend)

or the Shape Builder Tool  (is this the correct english tool name?)

[tromboniator]

Yes, that is correct.

[R Neil Haugen]

Thanks, all!

These are amazing programs ... yet all too often "intuitive" is not a word that seems to fit ... lol.

Neil