Adobe After Effects CS4 - Manual (Page 622)

616 USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Effects and animation presets
Last updated 12/21/2009
• Circle Shapes text around the circumference of a circle, defined by two control points (Tangent 1/Circle Point, and
Vertex 1/Circle Center). If the text is longer than the circumference of the circle, the text overlaps itself. If an arbitrary
path is chosen and if the path is closed, this property forms the text around the path, as opposed to looping it.
• Loop Shapes text around the circumference of the circle, defined by two control points (Vertex 1/Circle Center,
and Tangent 1/Circle Point). If text is longer than the circumference of the circle, it flows off the Tangent 1 point in a
straight line. You can also use margin controls to make text enter or exit a circle in a straight line.
• Line Shapes text in a straight line, defined by two control points (Vertex 1/Circle Center, and Vertex 2). As with
the Bezier path, the distance between the two control points doesn’t affect the spacing of the text, unless alignment is
set to Force.
Control Points Specify the points on the path.
• Tangent 1/Circle Point Specifies the following points: starting tangent for a Bezier curve, diameter of a circle and
starting or ending point of text (depending on the specified alignment), and diameter of a loop and the point where
text enters.
• Vertex 1/Circle Center Specifies the starting vertex for a Bezier curve, center of a circle or loop, and starting or
ending point for text on a line (depending on the specified alignment).
• Tangent 2 Specifies the ending tangent of the Bezier curve. The line between Tangent 2 and Vertex 2 specifies the
slope of the curve at its ending point. For circles or loops, Tangent 2 is ignored.
• Vertex 2 Specifies the ending vertex of a Bezier curve and the angle of a line. For circles or loops, Vertex 2 is
ignored.
Custom Path Specifies an arbitrary path. You can use a mask created in the Layer panel or in Adobe Illustrator.
Reverse Path Reverses the path.
Character controls
Size Size of the characters.
Tracking Average distance between characters.
Kerning Controls the horizontal distance between two characters. If you change the text, specified kerning is preserved
for all unchanged character pairs. You cannot use the Undo command to undo kerning changes. To change horizontal
spacing between characters over time, use Kerning Jitter Max or create keyframes for Tracking.
• Kerning Pair Specifies the pair of characters to kern. Click the arrow to move among the pairs.
• Kerning Value The amount of kerning to apply.
Orientation Specifies the orientation or rotation values of each character.
• Character Rotation Each character is rotated by the specified number of degrees from its current angle. The center
of rotation is on the point where the character intersects the path. Perpendicular To Path changes the initial angle of
the characters.
• Perpendicular To Path Rotates each character so that it’s perpendicular to the path. If Perpendicular To Path is
deselected, characters always remain upright (unless rotated by Character Rotation).
• Vertical Writing Rotates each character so it’s vertical along the path.
• Rotate Roman Characters Rotates Roman characters vertically along the path; if Rotate Roman Characters isn’t
selected, only non-Roman characters are rotated.