How do I constrain anchor angle when I tug on a path with the direct select tool?

How do I constrain anchor angle when I tug on a path with the direct select tool like it did in every version of Illustrator since 1988? New behavior is costing me time.

That solves it!
I was not able to find this in the online materials about the pen tool. In fact, Illustrator Help | Adjust path segments does not show the new functionality at all. They need to update that article.
Better way to implement the new functionality
It would have been nice if Adobe added to the chording controls for the direct select tool the ability to toggle this setting temporarily by holding down the space bar after mouse down to drag a segment.
Before mouse down this would give the user the hand tool.
If, after mouse down, I could hold space bar and have the behavior switch from the historical capability where dragging a segment cannot change adjacent segments to the new behavior where dragging the segment cannot move anchors but can rotate them, I am sure I would find times when the tool saved time. If, before mouse up, I release spacebar, turn the constraint back on with anchors pointing in their new directions and allow me to stretch the curve protecting the new shapes of adjacent curves.
Using space bar for this would be intuitive to me because holding down the space bar is something I already do to organically drag the page around with the hand tool. The new tool allows me to more organically stretch artwork around, something that is distantly analogous, but close enough to remember.
For long time Illustrator users, the chording features holding Ctrl/Alt/Shift/Space or Ctrl/Command/Shift/Space in different combinations while using the direct select tool and pen tool is the killer app part of Illustrator that keeps us using it. This what we did on Illustrator 88 on a Mac Plus in 1988 and is still the most productive way to produce vector art when precision is required.

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How do I specify exact corners with the rectangular selection tool?

Suppose I have an image 2000 pixels wide by 1000 pixels high. Pixel (0,0) is at the top left as you view the image. Using the rectangular selection tool, how can I specify an exact area to select? Say, for example, I want to select the area defined by (0,0), (100,0), (100,100) & (0,100), how would I do this?
I'm using Photoshop CS6 on a Mac with OSX 10.8.3.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Kevin H.

Mylenium,
33,406 posts! That's amazing. Thanks for your technique for specifying an exact selection size. I tried it out and it works, but is there a way to get the marquee to snap to the guides, as opposed to snapping to pixels. I can't quite get the marquee to fall exactly where I place the guides, at least not easily.
Here's a method I've come up with since posting my question. (I guess I should have tried harder to figure this out before asking the question.)
Figure out beforehand where you want the corners of the selection marquee to be.
Activate the rulers: View>Rulers or (Cmd-R.)
Set rulers to pixels: Photoshop>Preferences>Units&Rulers>Rulers>Pixels
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Zoom in on where you want the top left pixel of your selection to be. Zoom in enough to clearly see the pixel.
With the selection tool active, click-and-release on the pixel you have zoomed in on.
Go back to normal view (Cmd-0) and you should see your entire selection.
This answers my own question, and with your method I now have two ways to do this.
Thanks,
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How do I show multiple images when I hover over different areas with the MouseOver function?

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img_nv.mask = mask2_mc;
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Ned:
I can't thank you enough for your help! I just have a few questions left if you don't mind.
If you look at the picture, the text shows up in the "tfield" yet there is a weird symbol after "37Y" that I cannot get rid of. In the code I erased in line 29 " + " zone" " Is that the reason why it is showing a weid symbol?
One more question. I tried placing multiple ranges and text fields and they are not working. All I did was duplicate the code for the first range and text like below but I am missing something. Will you kindly help me?
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How do I turn off preview of hidden areas when dragging an image in frame with Direct Select Tool?

CS5, Not sure how to word this...
In previous version of ID, if I had a graphic in a frame, I could drag the image around inside that frame with the Direct Selection Tool. I can still do this with CS5 but it seems to want to show the entire image in a ghosting way that is outside of the frame. Is there a way to turn this preview type look off like it was in previous versions? I feel like its slowing my computer down bigtime because I am dealing with a large image. Everytime I click to drag it, everything slows to a crawl and unusable.

Go to the Prefernces and set Live Screen Drawing to Delayed.

Direct selection tool won't show the handles when clicking the path.

When I draw a line, no matter if it's done with pen, pencil or brush tool, and try to select a point with the direct selection tool, it won't make a selection, I can't get the handles activated. They don't show at all. It only shows the line transform handle. This happens only in one certain file. When I open a different file or create a new one, the problem doesn't exist.

Acca,
Ctrl/Cmd+H.
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Direct selection tool not showing anchors illustrator CS3, Mac 10.5.8, MBP 2.6 GHz

With the direct selection tool (white arrrow) moving over an anchor they show up, but even if the anchor is selected the anchor blue box disappears as soon as the mouse moves away, so its impossible to select a handle. I can still move an anchor, but its hard to select two anchors to joint the paths etc., sort of like driving blind. If I click on a path, then hold down the command key, the hollow box anchors show up and the cursor changes into the selection tool. The hollow boxes show up on selecting using the selection tool (black arrow). I am pretty direct selection tool was working correctly last week (am an occasional user).
I've know the difference between the select tool, direct selection tool, and group selection tool. I think this happened a year ago and deleting a preference file helped. I, quit illustrator, deleted "com.adobe.illustrator.plist" in my user library, and tried again. that didn't help.

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How do i get my direct selection tool to work properly?

using adobe cc 2014 and all of a sudden the space bar does not turn the direct selection tool into the hand to drag a pasteboard.
it seems universal across the above programs
amazing how such a little thing kills productivity

spooney,
As I (mis)understand the issue, you may try the list.
The following is a general list of things you may try when the issue is not in a specific file, and when it is not caused by issues with opening a file from external media. You may have tried/done some of them already; 1) and 2) are the easy ones for temporary strangenesses, and 3) and 4) are specifically aimed at possibly corrupt preferences); 5) is a list in itself, and 6) is the last resort.
If possible/applicable, you should save current artwork first, of course.
1) Close down Illy and open again;
2) Restart the computer (you may do that up to at least 5 times);
3) Close down Illy and press Ctrl+Alt+Shift/Cmd+Option+Shift during startup (easy but irreversible);
4) Move the folder (follow the link with that name) with Illy closed (more tedious but also more thorough and reversible), for CS3 - CC you may find the folder here:
https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/preference-file-location-illustrator.html
5) Look through and try out the relevant among the Other options (follow the link with that name, Item 7) is a list of usual suspects among other applications that may disturb and confuse Illy, Item 15) applies to CC, CS6, and maybe CS5);
Even more seriously, you may:
6) Uninstall (ticking the box to delete the preferences), run the Cleaner Tool (if you have CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6/CC), and reinstall.
http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/cscleanertool.html

Direct select tool won't select anchor points

I can't get the direct select tool to select an anchor point on an embedded picture. I'm trying to squash a square image, but the direct select tool will only select the entire object, not individual anchor points. It worked in version 10, but in CS3 13.0.2 it just gives me the solid points. What changed?

>The direct select tool used to highlight the entire object, and the anchor(s) would become white circles. Then, you could move just one of the anchors at a time to make asymmetrical changes.
Not with placed images. Not ever.
>I can still do this with a shape I've drawn, but not with an image I placed.
Yes. That's the way it has always worked in Illustrator.
I have AI 8, 10, and 12 installed on this PC and on a Mac in my studio, so I'm not relying on (my failing) memory.

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Direct Selection Tool will not choose individual "path" anchor points

Photohsop CS4, 11.0.1
Mac OSX 10.4.11, MacPro, Dual-Core Intel Xeon, 2.66 GHz, 9GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT-256 MB VRAM, 500GB Startup HD, 500GB HD (wlhere file resides and scratch disk), OpenGL enabled
I am unable to select individual anchor points and line segments of a path, although the anchor points appear to be individually highlighted, copying them copies the entire path, not just the selected points, and deleting them deletes the entire path, not just the selected points. In effect the "hollow arrow" direct selection tool is working like the "solid arrow path selection" tool.
I ran Disk Warrior, repaired disk permissions. I deleted old preferences by renaming file with Photoshop closed, and then restarted photoshop.
After calling Adobe Tech Support, they are recommending I reinstall the entire CS4 suite, which I am hesitant to do. At the least I will lose all of my menu preferences in all programs. Should I just follow their advice and reinstall CS4?
Thanks.

When you click on it with path selection tool (black arrow) which option is enabled in options bar at top - add, subtract, intersect, or exclude?
Can you combine paths?
Have you tried drawing a new path and selecting points on it?
Can you still add and subtract points?
Edit: Can you pull on the bezier handles?
Edit: is it a vector mask or a standalone path?
I'm trying to simulate your problem – in the meantime I'm brainstorming, not sure how else to help. It seems like something restarting the program would fix.
What about quitting the app. Then going to User: Library: Prefs: Adobe Photoshop CS4 paths, trash it then restart?
Message was edited by: Printer_Rick: Added Edit: Can you pull on the bezier handles?

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How do I constrain anchor angle when I tug on a path with the direct select tool?

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