Transitions can be used to affect the Position, Size, and Opacity of an object or image in Informa and FireBird. As an example, if you want a graphic to fade in from the lower left corner and display for a few seconds or minutes you would use the Opacity Transition to create that effect. This involves selecting a starting and ending opacity as well as a duration for the transition. You can have up to 10 transitions of each type on the same object.
First select an image or graphic from a file folder, click on the image name in the Elements box and it will move down to the Preview Pane. Drag it from the Preview Pane to the Draw Screen. Give the graphic a lifespan by selecting the image and then clicking on the Clock in the tool bar and enter a time or check the "end on project completion" box.
There are two ways to change Opacity. To simply change the opacity of an object without a fade or transition use the Opacity Icon in the tool bar. It is located to the right of the Wrench. A slider appears and you can adjust the opacity of the object from 0% to 100%. This method is used when you want to place one object over another but have them both visible to add a visual effect to a Project.
The second way to change Opacity is to create a transition. Let's assume you want to fade an object in. First, locate the object on the Draw Screen. Next, click the Opacity Icon in the tool bar and slide the Opacity bar to 0%. This will make the object invisible and be the starting Opacity. Next, move the mouse to the Time Line and click on the arrow to display the various time line options. Click on the Opacity line to bring up a blank transition (gray bar). Double-click on the blank transition to display the Transition Target Opacity slider. Drag the slider to 255, which is 100%. This makes your object fully visible after the transition.
The next item to take care of is the time or duration of the fade. To modify the time, move the mouse to the Opacity Transition bar, left click and hold, and then drag the bar to the starting frame for your transition. Remember that frame counts are 60 frames per second not 30. To lengthen or shorten the time or duration position the mouse pointer over the right border of the gray bar. When the pointer changes to a "left-right" arrow drag the time line to the right to lengthen the transition or to the left to shorten the transition. The frame count duration will be displayed on the screen so you can see how many frames are in the transition. Divide by 60 to calculate the seconds.
Click on the Object's Time Line Bar to re-dock the Transitions and then click the Play button in the tool bar to view your transition. If the timing is right you can move on to the next element. If the timing needs adjustment go back to the Opacity Time Line bar and drag the bar to correct end-frame.
If you want this same object to fade out after a period of time you will create another time line on the Opacity bar and position the start of this bar where you want the object to begin the fade out. Double-click in the bar to bring up the Transition Target Opacity slider and slide the bar to 0 and click okay. Modify the length of the second time line to match the fade out speed you want and you have created a second transition for this object.
Practice and experiment with this transition and you will begin to see the possibilities. This feature can add a significant enhancement to many projects.
