Operation Manual

Colour, Fills, and Transparency 109
Editing transparency
Once you've applied a gradient transparency, you can adjust or replace
its path on the object, and the level of transparency along the path. You
can even create more complex transparency effects by adding extra
handles to the path by clicking and assigning different levels to each
handle.
To adjust the transparency path:
• Use the
Transparency Tool to drag individual handles, or click
on the object for a new start handle and drag out a new
transparency path. The effect starts where you place the start
handle, and ends where you place the end handle. For bitmap
transparencies, the path determines the centre and two edges of the
effect.
Editing a gradient transparency path is similar to editing a comparable
fill path. Adding a level of transparency means varying the transparency
gradient by introducing a new handle and assigning it a particular value.
For transparencies with multiple handles, each handle has its own value,
comparable to a key colour in a gradient fill. Note that you cannot alter
the values in a bitmap transparency.
To edit a gradient transparency directly:
1. Select the object and set the Transparency tab’s Fill/Line swatch as
before.
2. Click the
Transparency Tool on the Attributes toolbar. The
object's transparency path appears on the fill or line, with start and
end handles.
3. To add a transparency handle, drag from any solid transparency
sample in the Transparency tab to the point on the path where you
want to add the handle.