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878Final Cut Pro User Guide
Basic gradient controls in Final Cut Pro
Before you expand the gradient controls, you see the following in the inspector in
Final Cut Pro:
• Gradient preview bar: A horizontal bar that displays the currently selected gradient
• Disclosure triangle: A control that, when clicked, expands to show the gradient editor
Gradient editor controls in Final Cut Pro
In Final Cut Pro, use the advanced gradient controls to make precise adjustments to
gradients applied to selected items (such as titles and generators).
To customize or modify a gradient, click the disclosure triangle in the Gradient row of the
inspector to reveal the advanced gradient controls:
• 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.