Resistor sizes [extra text required for the title]

i guess this is beginner, so.

i have a perfboard placed out and I'm trying to do 2 things.

1. extend the legs on a resistor

2. place a component the wrong way on a board.

3. i select a resistor from the core, drag it to blank space off the board, change it to THT, change the pin spacing to 500mil. no change.
   tbh the ability NOT to be able to select the specific component you want BEFORE you drag it seems ridiculous to me

4. i can place a component on a pcb, and choose the layer, but with a perfboard i am stumped. i can move the component up and down, but not the top and bottom of the board. i guess my design is too out there, as i wish the leds to be on the top of the board, but the components on the bottom.

side: yes, i am a complete beginner, as i can't even get the forum to operate as i would like... 1 = 3, 2 = 4