When an objects opacity is less than 100%, anything in the back-
ground, including the illustration area, can affect the objects appear-
ance. The appearance of colors in an object can also be affected by
the objects transfer mode. See Using transfer modes on
page 20.374.
To set the opacity of objects
1
Select the objects whose opacity you want to change.
2
Do one of the following to use the Opacity slider:
Windows: Click the Opacity icon in the toolbox and the
Opacity slider appears. Drag the slider or click in the scale
to adjust the opacity setting.
Mac: Press the Opacity icon in the toolbox and the Opacity
slider appears. Drag in the scale to adjust the opacity set-
ting.
3
Drag the Opacity slider to the left to decrease opacity; drag to
the right to increase opacity. The opacity percentage appears at the
right of the slider.
Defining opacity
Transparency and
opacity are opposite
terms that describe the
ability to see through an
object.
Greater transparency
means it is easier to see
through something;
greater opacity means it
is harder to see though it.
In percentages, 100%
opacity equals 0% trans-
parency. Those values
describe objects you
cant see through. 1%
opacity equals 99% trans-
parency. Those values
describe almost com-
pletely clear objects.
All Canvas objects have
an opacity. You can set
opacity from 1% to 100%
in 1% increments. The
opacity of a new object is
100%. When you copy an
object, the copies have
the same opacity as the
original object.
In this manual, the word
transparency is often
used as a general term for
several related effects.
The word opacity is
used to refer to a specific
effect and a specific prop-
erty of objects.
In other words, an
objects transparency
can result from various
factors, including ink set-
tings, the transfer mode,
a channel mask, or anoth-
er effect. An objects
opacity, on the other
hand, is a specific setting
controlled by the Opaci-
ty slider.