straight lines with pen tool 2

[kushpa]

it's been a few years since i've used illustrator, and i'm trying to get up to speed, but am having trouble getting straight lines with the pen tool. is there a trick for keeping lines straight?

i know that shift with the line tool will draw a straight line, but is there any way to "snap" a line straight that's already been drawn?

what's happening is, i'll use the direct selection tool to select a point, and move it until the line appears to be perfectly straight. then when i release the mouse, it "jumps" to be slightly crooked.

i asked a designer i know, and she said to make sure the "snap to point" is off, which it is, as is "snap to grid."

any one have a suggestion, tip or trick for this?

 

[dimoj]

I normally just direct select one end of the line, copy it's x or y co-ordinate form the transform palette then select the other point and paste that co-ordinate into that points corresponding x or y box.

 

[ayersart]

It sounds like you are maybe releasing the shift key slightly before you release the mouse button?

But here is another way to do it:
select both points, then go to Object-Path-Average. Pick your axis and then it will be straight. If it's a horizontal line pick horizontal axis, vertical line pick vertical axis.

Hope that helps!