Using gradients

Gradients are gradual blends between two or more colors. You can paint, draw, or fill with gradients to create interesting effects or color transitions. You can use gradients to create Web buttons with shadows and highlights, to make objects look shiny or glowing, or to add dimension to objects. You can also use gradients to fade Web page graphics into other content, and you can use a black-to-white gradient as a mask.

For information about editing, creating, and sharing gradients, see Editing gradients and Exporting and importing gradients.

Important! Gradients are available for grayscale and 16 million color–images only. For more information about increasing the color depth of an image, see Increasing the color depth of an image.

To apply the current gradient

Edit workspace

•

On the Materials palette, click the Gradient button

on the Style drop-list for the Foreground and Stroke Properties box or the Background and Fill Properties box.

The most recently chosen gradient becomes active.

To choose a gradient

Edit workspace

On the Materials palette, do one of the following:

•

To choose a foreground gradient, click the Foreground and Stroke Properties box.

•

To choose a background gradient, click the Background and Fill Properties box.

The Material Properties dialog box appears.

Click the Gradient tab.

Click the Gradient drop-list to view thumbnails of the available gradients.

If necessary, choose a gradient category from the Category drop-list containing the desired gradients.

Click a gradient thumbnail.

The drop-list closes and the gradient name appears above it.

Choose one or more of the following options:

•

Style — lets you choose a Linear

, Rectangular

, Sunburst

, or Radial

gradient

•

Angle — specifies the angle or direction of the gradient, from 0 to 359 degrees. This option applies to linear, rectangular, and radial gradients only.

•

Repeats — sets the number of times (from 0 to 999) to repeat the gradient pattern

•

Invert — inverts the colors of the gradient

•

Center Point — determines the horizontal and vertical coordinates of the point from which the gradient disperses or radiates. The distance is measured as a percentage of the fill area’s width. You can change the center point to create fills in circles or other shapes in which the center of the gradient is not at the center of the object. This option applies to rectangular, sunburst, and radial gradients only.

•

Focal Point — determines the horizontal and vertical coordinates of the point where the foreground color of the gradient begins. The distance is measured as a percentage of the fill area’s width. You can change the focal point to create fills in circles or other shapes in which the effective light source is not at the center of the object. This option applies to rectangular and sunburst gradients only, and is available only when the Link center and focal points check box is unmarked.

•

Link center and focal points — assigns the same values to the center and focal points. Unmark the check box to edit the focal point separately from the center point. This option applies to rectangular and sunburst gradients only.

Click OK.


You can also
Edit the gradient colors, transition points, and opacity	Click Edit to display the Gradient Editor dialog box. For more information about editing gradients, see Editing gradients.
Save this gradient as a swatch that you can access later	Click Add to swatches, type a name, and press Enter.
Access recently used materials	Right-click in a properties box on the Materials palette to open the Recent Materials dialog box.
Apply the current materials to all tools	On the Materials palette, mark the All tools check box. If you unmark this check box, the current materials are applied to the active tool only.

You can also move the center point by dragging the control needle or crosshairs shown in the gradient drop-list. If you unmark the Link center and focal points check box, you can move the focal point by dragging the crosshairs on the gradient.

To save an edited gradient

Edit workspace

In the Gradient Editor, click Save As.

The Save As Gradient dialog box appears.

Enter a unique name for the gradient, and then click OK.

When you are prompted to confirm that you want to save the gradient, click Yes.

To create a gradient

Edit workspace

In the Gradient Editor, click New.

The New Gradient dialog box appears.

Type a name for the new gradient, and then click OK.

The gradient is created with two markers at 0% and 100% that use the custom color.

For more information about gradients, see Using gradients.

To rename a gradient

Edit workspace

In the Gradient Editor, click Rename.

The Rename Gradient dialog box appears.

Type the new name, and click OK.

To delete a gradient

Edit workspace

In the Gradient Editor, click Delete.

When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.