Apple Motion 4 - Manual (Page 828)

When dragging, press Shift to constrain the path to a straight line. Once a path has been
extended, you can add control points for extra control over the shape of the path.
To add or modify text path control points
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Option-click or double-click the path to add a control point.
Note: Control points can only be added to Open Spline or Closed Spline paths.
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To remove a control point, select the point, then press Delete. You can also Control-click
the point and choose Delete Point from the shortcut menu.
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To create a linear point, Control-click the point and select Linear from the shortcut menu.
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To create a smooth (Bezier) point, Control-click the point and select Smooth from the
shortcut menu.
Note: When Path Type is set to B-Spline, the Very Smooth option becomes available in
the shortcut menu.
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To lock a point, Control-click the point and select Lock Point from the shortcut menu. A
locked point cannot be edited.
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To unlock a point, Control-click the point and select Unlock Point.
Important: Text paths are modified in the same way as shape control points. For a
complete information, see Using Shapes, Masks, and Paint Strokes .
Note: Clicking any path control point and holding down the mouse button displays an
info window containing the point number (based on the order the points are drawn on
the path) and X, Y, and Z coordinates. All path control points are also listed by number
in the Layout pane of the Text Inspector.
To adjust the text path in 3D space
1 If there is no camera in your project, add a camera by doing one of the following:
• Click the Add Camera icon in the Toolbar.
• Choose Object > New Camera (or press Command-Option-C).
Note: If none of your project groups are set to 3D, a dialog appears asking you if you
want to switch your 2D groups to 3D groups. Click Switch to 3D to allow the camera
to affect the groups.
2 To change the default camera view (Active Camera) to Top, do one of the following:
• Click “Active Camera” in the upper-left corner of the Canvas to open the Camera menu,
then choose Top.
• Choose View > 3D View > Top.
The text is no longer visible because the camera is now looking down perpendicularly
(on the Y axis) at the text on a path. The text path and its points are still visible. (The
yellow wireframe camera icon in the Canvas represents the Active Camera you added
in step 1.)
828 Chapter 13 Creating and Editing Text