Operation Manual

VIDEOGRAPHICS LAB USER GUIDE

Changing the size and style of an object over time

Using the Time Control Panel, you can make an object change its size

over time as well as perform other effects such as fades and color transi-

tions. This is done through the use of key frames that you place at strate-

gic positions throughout the moving path. By changing the attributes of an

object at each key frame, you cause it to change over time.

To change an objects size and style over time:

1. Select the object you want to change with the Moving Path tool. The

moving path of the object appears.

2. Move the Preview slider in the Key frame Controller to the frame in

the path where you want the object to change. The object moves to

that frame position on the moving path.

3. Click the Add Key frame button on the Time Control Panel. A key

frame is added to the Key frame slider.

4. Change the style and size of the object using the Object Style Panel as

well as the resize buttons on the Attribute toolbar. If you are changing

the style, any changes to the fill color options produces a fade effect

from one to the other, as long as two fill colors are of the same type,

for example, going from a gradient fill to another gradient fill. If the

types are different, no fade occurs and the style changes only at the

second key frame position.

You can also control the transparency of the object as it moves over

time by adjusting the control points in the Fade graph. Moving a control

point upward makes the object more transparent: downward less

transparent.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to add more key frames. (To edit an object at an

existing key frame position, you must first make it active by clicking on

its key frame in the Key frame slider.)

6. Move the Preview slider to the start or click on the Start Key frame

button to return the object back to its beginning position.

7. Click the Play button to see how the object moves and changes over

time. (To see changes in an object’s style, you need to play the moving

path in Preview mode, not Wireframe.)