Operation Manual

160 Fill, Lines, Colours, and Transparency
To apply a gradient fill (Swatch tab):
1. Select an object.
2. Click the Swatch tab and ensure the Line or Fill swatch is set
accordingly.
3. Select the Gradient button's drop-down menu and pick a
gradient category.
4. Click the thumbnail for the fill you want to apply.
- or -
Drag from the gallery swatch onto any deselected object.
Editing the fill path
If an object using a gradient fill is selected, you'll see the fill path displayed as
one or more lines, with circular nodes marking where the spectrum between
each key colour begins and ends. Adjusting the node positions determines the
actual spread of colours between nodes. You can also edit the fill by adding,
deleting, or changing key colours.
To adjust the gradient fill path on a selected object:
1. Select an object with a gradient fill.
2. Click Fill Tool on the Drawing toolbar. The object's fill path
appears.
3. Use the Fill Tool to drag the start and end circular path nodes, or drag
on (or outside) the object for a new start node, creating a new fill path
as you drag. The gradient starts where you place the start node, and
ends where you place the end node.
- or -
Use the Fill context toolbar to change Fill Start/Fill End colours or
Rotate Left/Rotate Right your fill (in 90 degree increments).
To constrain the fill path in 15-degree increments, hold down the
Shift key while dragging. On Elliptical fills, Ctrl-constraining also
forces the gradient's aspect ratio to match the object's bounding
box.