MacroSystem Columbus 3 - Manual (Page 11)

11 Columbus 3 manual
sted) and the Outline color allows you to select its color.
Once you have done this for Font 1, you should switch to
Font 2, and so on, up to and including Font 5.
Of course, you need only to define as many as you require
at this time. You can change these font definitions in this
menu at any time. Changes to the text design always affect
all the texts that use this font. Specific key points can only
be created through setting these fonts.
3 .6 .4 Key object
The key object is an object that is displayed at key points.
It is displayed in exactly the same way at all the key points
that have their key object setting set to
Global (default
setting).
Notes: When you want to adjust such global settings, it
will prove beneficial to have an active key point that makes
use of these global settings. This way, you will see the
result of the changes to the settings right away. If you have
a key point with local settings, you will only see the global
changes when using a slider.
First, you can activate or deactivate the key object display
using the
Show key object setting. If it is activated, you
can select the object using Select key object. A selection
window (similar to the familiar pattern selection window - see
Chapter 3.13) opens allowing you to make your selection.
Furthermore, you can modify the
Key object size.
3 .6 .5 Key object position
You can optimize the position of the object with respect to
the key point by moving it along the
X- and Y-axes.
3 .6 .6 Key object view
In order to obtain a better view of the object, you can
rotate it in three dimensions using the controls for the three
angles X, Y and Z. Because of their default settings, many
objects will be shown from the back. Hence, it is important
to change their view setting.
3 .6 .7 Head object
The head object is directly linked to the growth of the
line and moves together with the head of the line (i.e. the
leading end). Basically, the same selection options and
settings options are available as for the key objects. An ad-
ditional setting under
Head object allows you to make the
direction of the head object change automatically. If Auto
direction is activated (default setting), the head object is
always rotated automatically so that it points in the direc-
tion in which the line is growing. This ensures, for instance,
that an aircraft symbol will always appear to fly forwards
and not sideways or backwards. For many 2D-objects it is
beneficial to switch off this option.
3 .6 .8 Head object position
You can position the head object with respect to the tip of
the line using the
Distance and Angle functions. To do this,
you should first enter a distance and then an angle. This will
enable you to better visually verify this adjustment.
3 .6 .9 Head object view
In order to obtain the optimum view, you can rotate the
head object in three dimensions using the controls for the
three
angles X, Y and Z.
3 .6 .10 Head object transition
This is where you define the fade-in and fade- out values
for the global setting. You can choose how the head object
fades in or out at the key points and how long the transi-
tions take to complete. The times can only be adjusted if
an effect has been selected. The available transitions are as
follows:
Off: No transition takes place. The slider for adjusting the
time is locked.
Smooth fade: The object is smoothly faded in or out.
Light up: The object briefly lights up and is then faded.
Zoom: The object grows smaller when fading out and
grows in size when fading in.
3 .6 .11 Light
Many Columbus 3 key objects or head objects are three
dimensional (3D). This effect, however, is only seen clearly if
lighting is simulated. In this submenu, the
Use light but-
ton allows you to activate and deactivate lighting. You can
also use the Light button (type of light) to change the
Light
direction and the Light color.
Note: If the color of the light is not white, all the objects
will be slightly colored by it. So if the color of some objects
appears different to how you imagined they would look,
please check the lighting settings.
3 .6 .12 Shadows
Irrespective of your light source settings, you can set a sha-
dow casting for your course. Shadows can be set individu-
ally for 3D objects, lines, fonts and images or scenes.
For each of the 4 possibilities, you dispose of the same
settings.
Indicate if you want to use a
shadow or not.
Enter the direction of the object‘s shadow cast, the di-
stance to it, and its color. An alpha value of less than 100%
is only natural, since that will allow the shadow casting to
adapt itself somewhat to the ground on which it is cast.
3 .6 .13 Time
This menu allows you to set the time duration of the trajec-
tory. The individual Pause times and Transitions are added
to this time, thus resulting in a total time for the animation.