THE DECO TOOL is actually several tools in 1; Vine Fill, Grid Fill and Symmetry Brush, all providing ways to quickly create simple or complex patterns that would otherwise be too time consuming to design manually.
This a true designer’s tool, in that it can be used to create repeating patterns commonly found in some design work. You can create a complex pattern using any graphic shape or object.
1 Using the Deco Tool 
is very easy. Select it and then simply click anywhere on the stage to create a pattern using the default options. As seen here the default options will create a vine pattern based on the default shapes. You can easily customize this pattern by creating your own graphics and converting them to symbols.
2 Open the file “deco_tool.fla” located on the source disk from the back of this book. In the Library you will find a few custom symbols to play with. Deselect “Default” in the Properties panel and selected my custom drawn star and flower symbols. I also clicked on the color swatches to change their colors.
3 What could be better than a custom tiled background? An animated tiled background of course! Select the “Animate Pattern” option in the Advanced Options menu and then click on the stage. Sit back and watch Flash CS4 create an animated background pattern for you.
4 The Deco Tool comes with additional drawing effects such as the Grid Fill. Click anywhere on the stage to create a perfectly drawn grid of black squares (default). You can edit your grid further by using the options from the Advanced Options drop-down menu. Change the amount of space between the objects horizontally and/or vertically as they scale.
5 Just like the Vine Fill option, you can edit the grid by swapping the default shape for any symbol in the Library. Here I have also applied a grid pattern to a fill color simply by clicking inside of it.
6 Use the Symmetry Brush to arrange symbols symmetrically around a central point represented by a set of handles that appear when you click on the stage. Use the handles to control the symmetry by increasing or decreasing the number of symbols.
7 Rotate Around Point Rotates the shapes in the symmetry around a fixed point that you designate. To rotate the object around its center point, drag in a circular motion. Reflect Across Line flips the shapes an equal distance apart across an invisible line that you specify. Reflect Around Point places two shapes an equal distance apart around a fixed point that you specify. Grid Translation generates a grid pattern using the shapes in the Symmetry effect. Adjust the height and width of the shapes using the X and Y coordinates defined by the Symmetry Brush handles. Test Collisions prevents or allows shapes in the Symmetry effect to overlap with each other.
Hot Tip
It’s easy to get carried away creating complex patterns using vector objects. Test your movie often to avoid creating an animation too complicated for older processors.