5

Gradient Editor
To customize or modify a gradient, click the disclosure triangle in the Gradient row to
expand the controls and reveal the gradient editor.
Controls in the Gradient Editor
Use the gradient editor to change the color, color position, number of colors, opacity,
direction, and interpolation of a gradient. Click the disclosure triangle in the Gradient row
to reveal the gradient editor, which comprises a graphical control and additional
subparameter controls. The color and opacity of a gradient can be animated.
Important: This section covers common gradient editor controls. However, the gradient
editor in the Style pane of the Text Inspector has an additional Angle parameter.
Graphical controls: Three horizontal bars that let you set and preview the opacity, color,
and spread of a gradient.
The narrow, white top bar (the opacity bar) controls opacity and transparency in the
gradient. Adjust the spread of opacity across the gradient by dragging one of the small
box-shaped opacity tags horizontally along the bar. Click in the opacity bar to add opacity
tags, creating a gradient with varying levels of transparency. Delete an opacity tag by
dragging it away from the color bar. Change the value of an opacity tag by selecting it
and dragging the Opacity slider (described below).
Opacity tags have a value range of 0% (completely transparent) to 100% (completely
opaque). Adjust the transition between two opacity tags by dragging the middle control—a
small triangle between adjacent tags, available when Interpolation is set to Continuous
(described below). By default, the opacity of a gradient applied to text is 100%.
The wide middle bar shows a preview of the current gradient.
133Chapter 3 User Interface Controls