Inspector palette

Table of Contents | Window & Palette Reference

Tool Palette | Inspector Palette | Modifier Palette | Movie Window

Inspector palette

The Inspector palette allows you to precisely view and adjust the characteristics of selected actors and effects. Inspector palette settings can be applied to multiple items of the same type within the same container (multiple actors within a sprite track or multiple tracks within a movie. for example), so you can easily edit groups of actors in unison. Because the information displayed in the Inspector palette is different for each modifier, you cannot edit multiple effects or actions simultaneously.

Although the Inspector palette displays different controls and fields, depending on what items are selected, this section is limited to those features that are available for actors: the material displayed for the effects and actions is listed in the Modifier palette section of the Window and Palette Reference.

Start Time: The time at which the selected actors begin playing.

To change the start time of the selected items, type a new value in the Start Time field in the Inspector palette. The Other radio button will automatically be selected. All start times must be non-negative.

The preset start time for all actors and effects is 0.00 seconds, which starts the item at the same time as its container.
Duration: The length of time for which the selected actors will play.

The preset duration for all actors and effects is Auto, which picks an appropriate duration based on the content. For time-based actors such as video and sound, the automatic duration is the length of the clip. Non-time-based actors such as still graphics do not have a natural length, so their automatic duration is fixed at 10 seconds. For an effect, the automatic duration is the duration of its actor. All custom durations must be between 0.001 seconds and 9,999.0 seconds.
Actor Ink: The ink to use when drawing the selected actors.

You can choose among a wide range of inks for sophisticated color-mixing effects. Please see the Ink Options appendix for detailed information about using inks with Electrifier Pro.
Horizontal and Vertical Position: The horizontal and vertical coordinates of the selected actors, in pixels.

When changing the coordinates of an actor, it helps to know the dimensions of the movie in pixels to ensure that the coordinates that you set fall with in the movie. The preset dimensions for a movie in Electrifier Pro are 468 pixels by 400 pixels, the approximate available area of a web page on a standard 14” monitor.
Horizontal and Vertical Scale: The horizontal and vertical scale of the selected actors, as a percentage

The preset value is 100%, which draws the actors at normal size. Percentage values higher than 100% will scale an actor larger, values lower than 100% will scale an actor smaller. The possible range of values is between 0% and 9,999%.
Rotation: The rotation angle of the selected actors, in degrees.

The preset value is 0 degrees, which draws the actors with no rotation. The possible range of values is between -179 degrees and 179 degrees, where negative values rotate the actors counter-clockwise and positive values rotate them clockwise.
Horizontal and Vertical Slant: The horizontal and vertical slant of the selected actors, in degrees.

The preset value is 0 degrees, which draws the actor with no slant. The range of possible values is between -80 degrees and 80 degrees, where negative values slant an actor downward or to the left, and positive values slant the actor up or to the right.
Horizontal and Vertical Perspective: The horizontal and vertical perspective for an actor, in degrees.

The preset value is 0 degrees, which draws the actor with no perspective, as if it were sitting in the plane of the screen. The range of possible values is between -80 degrees and 80 degrees, where negative values tilt the actor down or to the left, and positive values tilt the actor up or to the right. Another way of thinking about it is that negative values push the left or bottom edge of the actor back into the screen, while positive angles push the right or top edge back.
Perspective Distance: The distance that the selected actors should appear be viewed from, as a percentage.

The preset value is 400%, which draws the perspective as if the actors were seen from a moderate distance. The range of possible values is between 100%, which draws the perspective as if an actor were seen from close up through a wide-angle lens, and 800%, which draws the perspective as if an actor were seen from farther away through a telephoto lens.
Volume: The volume of the selected actors, as a percentage.

The preset value is 100%, which plays the actor at its original volume. The range of possible values is between 0% and 200%, where values over 100% turn the volume up, and values under 100% turn the volume down.
Balance: The audio balance of the selected actors when playing back on a system with stereo sound.

The preset value is 0%, which plays the actors with their original balance. The range of possible values is between -100% and 100%, where negative values move that percentage of the balance to the left speaker and positive values move that percentage of the balance to the right speaker.

For more information

For detailed information about inks that can be applied to actors, see the Ink Options appendix.

Tool Palette | Inspector Palette | Modifier Palette | Movie Window