How to move independent points on an outlined font?

[jerianne]

I'm learning Illustrator, and I took a class but I don't remember how to extend a portion of a letter, but not the whole letter. I can outline the images but I can't figure out how to make each of the points an independent moving object to alter only a part of the letter. Something to do with paths?

example: I'm trying to alter the bottom of a P without ruining the top.

 

[dimoj]

Use the Direct Selection tool (the white arrow) to select individual anchor points.