8.5

Drop Shadow XTensions software
With Drop Shadow XTensions software, you can apply automatic feathered drop shadows
to items and text in a layout.
There are two ways to apply drop shadow effects to active items: Using the Drop Shadow
tab of the Measurements palette and using the Drop Shadow pane of the Modify dialog
box (Item menu). In either case, however, the options are as follows:
• Angle field: Enter a value between 180° and –180° in .001 increments to specify the angle
of the "light source" causing the drop shadow.
• Synchronize Angle check box: Check this to synchronize the angle with other drop
shadows in the layout for which this feature is checked. Changing the Angle value of any
drop shadows for which Synchronize Angle is checked will affect all of the drop shadows
for which the box is checked.
• Distance field: Enter an offset value for the item; the drop shadow offset is measured from
the upper left corner of the item's bounding box.
• Scale field: Enter a value from 0 to 1,000% to specify the size of the drop shadow in relation
to the original item.
• Blur field: Enter a value to specify how blurry the edges of the drop shadow are, with
higher values creating fuzzier edges.
• Skew field: Enter a value between –75° and 75° to slant the drop shadow at a certain angle.
• Color, Shade, and Opacity: Choose a color from the drop-down menu and enter values
in the fields to specify color, shade, and opacity of the drop shadow.
• Multiply Drop Shadow: This setting controls how the shadow is combined with its
background. When this box is checked, the shadow color is combined with the background
color or colors using a "multiply" blending mode, producing a darker result (similar to an
overprint). When this box is unchecked, the color of the background is combined with
the color of the shadow to create the intermediate shades you see on screen. In general,
this box should be checked when the shadow is black (regardless of shade or opacity) but
unchecked when the shadow is a lighter color.
• Inherit Item's Opacity: Check this to have the drop shadow reflect different opacities in
the item, such as differences in the box background and frame.
• Item Knocks Out Drop Shadow: Check this to prevent a shadow from displaying through
semi-opaque areas of an item — to keep a shadow from peeping through its box, for
example.
• Runaround Drop Shadow: Check this to include a drop shadow with the text wrap contour
specified in the Runaround pane (Item > Modify). The runaround Outset value is measured
from the edges of the drop shadow. For example, if text is wrapping around a rectangular
pull-out quote with a drop shadow, text will not overlap the drop shadow when Runaround
Drop Shadow is checked.
To create text with a drop shadow, put the text in a box with a background of None, and
apply the drop shadow to the box.
A GUIDE TO QUARKXPRESS 8.5: PLUS EDITION | 407
XTENSIONS SOFTWARE