Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 294

• To add a selector using the Composition panel, select a range of characters in the Composition panel, right-click
(Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the text, and choose Add Text Selector from the context menu. Choose
Range, Wiggly, or Expression from the submenu.
• To delete a selector, select it in the Timeline panel and press Delete.
• To rename a selector, make sure that it is the only thing selected, and then press Enter (Windows) or Return
(Mac OS).
• To copy a selector, select it in the Timeline panel and choose Edit > Copy. To paste the selector, select a layer and
choose Edit > Paste.
• To reorder a selector, drag it to a new location in the stacking order in the Timeline panel.
Adding a new range selector to an animator group
See also
"Working with expressions" on page 543
"Mask modes" on page 260
Common selector properties
Specifies how each selector combines with the text and with selector above it, similar to how multiple masks
Mode
combine when you apply a mask mode. For example, if you want to wiggle only a specific word, use a range selector
on that word and then add a Wiggly selector and set it to Intersect mode.
Specifies how much the range of characters is affected by animator properties. At 0%, the animator
Amount
properties do not affect the characters. At 50%, half of each property value affects the characters. This option is useful
for animating the result of animator properties over time. Using an expression selector, you can use expressions to
dynamically set this option.
The units for Start, End, and Offset. You can use either the percentage or index units and base
Units and Based On
the selection on the characters, characters excluding spaces, words, or lines. If you select Characters, After Effects
counts spaces and effectively pauses the animation between words as it animates the spaces between words.
Original (left) and with VEN selected by the range selectors, Based On set to Character, Shape set to Triangle, and Scale set to 40% (right)
Range selector properties
Range selectors include the following properties, in addition to properties common with other selectors:
The beginning and end of the selection. You can modify the Start and End properties by dragging the
Start and End
selector bars in the Composition panel when the selector is selected in the Timeline panel.
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