how to use the flare tool in adobe illustrator cs4?

Step 1: Draw a rectangle or square and fill it with black. You can put this square on its own layer, or lock it for now.
Step 2: Double-click the Flare tool. Enter the values shown here and click OK. Now, either click and drag out a flare, or click once on the artboard. If you do the latter, the flare will be drawn, and then the dialog box will pop up again so you can adjust the settings.
Step 3: Since the flare contains transparency, it will be affected by whatever color is underneath it. Try adding 100% cyan to the black and see what happens (if you prefer to work in RGB,
Step 4:Now let’s get the Rotate tool involved. Squash your flare so that it forms an oval. Double-click the Rotate tool, enter 20° and click Copy. Press Cmd-D seven more times to make a complete circular shape:
Step 5: You can leave the shapes as they are, or if you want to re-color them, go to Object>Expand.You’ll end up with some very cool gradients that you can save for another project. Have fun! Answered Jan, 01 2011

click-and-hold on the Warp tool, wait until the menu appears.

 

Using the Warp tool in illustratorCS4, video tutorial :

http://www.lynda.com/home/TutorialLanding.aspx?lpk4=56071

here a PDF tutorial:

Adobe Illustrator CS4 Tutorial

 

Answered Aug, 30 2010

Double click on the Eraser Tool button from the toolbar, in the
pop-out window below, adjust Diameter value appropriately, click OK.Full guide: How to Use eraser tool in Illustrator Answered Dec, 21 2010