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In addition to moving text with transform tools, you can move text up and down in the
composite in the Layers list and Timeline. Like all other objects in Motion, text can also
be copied, pasted, duplicated, and deleted. For more information, see Managing Layers
in a Project.
Using Text Tools
There are two ways to edit a text object:
• As with other object in Motion, you can edit text by using the parameters in the
Properties Inspector, or by using the onscreen controls.
• You can edit the text characters using the Text parameters in the Text Inspector or in
the HUD.
The following interface tools are used to edit text in Motion:
• Toolbar
• Text HUDs
• Text Inspector
This section discusses using the Text tool (in the toolbar) and the Text editor (in the
Format pane of the Text Inspector) to create and modify text.
Note: When text is selected with the default selection tool, you can use the standard
onscreen controls to move and animate the text in the Canvas.
Text Tools in the Toolbar
The Motion toolbar contains several tools that you can use to manipulate text.
• Text tool: Use this tool to create text. Click the Text tool, then click or drag in the Canvas
to create a blank text object.
If you click in the Canvas, you activate the Type layout method (the default), which
requires that you insert manual line breaks (by pressing Return) to make text wrap to
a new line. If you drag in the Canvas, you activate the Paragraph layout method, which
wraps text into a column.
• Select/Transform tool: Use this tool to select and transform text. After you finish typing
text, click the Select/Transform tool (or press Esc) to select the text as an object. To
select existing text, click the Select/Transform tool, then click the text in the Canvas.
821Chapter 16 Creating and Editing Text