MACROMEDIA FIREWORKS MX 2004-USING FIREWORKS Use Manual page 148

Modifying a mask's appearance
By modifying a mask's shape and color, you can change the visibility of masked objects.
You change the shape of a bitmap mask by drawing on it with the bitmap tools. You change the
shape of a vector mask by moving the mask object's points.
If a mask is applied using its grayscale appearance, you can modify its colors to affect the opacity
of the underlying masked objects. Using midtone colors on a grayscale mask gives masked objects
a translucent appearance. Use lighter colors to display the masked objects, and darker colors to
hide masked objects and show the background.
You can also alter a mask by adding mask objects to it or using the transformation tools.
To modify a selected mask's shape, do one of the following:
•
Draw on a bitmap mask with any of the bitmap drawing tools.
•
Move the points of a vector mask object with the Subselection tool.
To modify a selected mask's color, do one of the following:
•
For grayscale bitmap masks, use the bitmap tools to draw on the mask using various grayscale
color values.
•
For grayscale vector masks, change the color of the mask object.
Note: Use lighter colors to display the masked objects and darker colors to hide the masked
objects.
To modify a mask by adding more mask objects:
Choose Edit > Cut to cut the selected object or objects you want to add.
1
Select the thumbnail of the masked object in the Layers panel.
2
Choose Edit > Paste as Mask.
3
Choose Add when asked whether to replace the existing mask or add to it.
4
The object or objects are added to the mask.
To modify a mask using the transformation tools:
Select the mask on the canvas using the Pointer tool.
1
Use a transformation tool or a command from the Modify > Transform submenu to apply a
2
transformation to the mask. For more information about using the transformation tools, see
"Transforming and distorting selected objects and selections" on page
The transformation is applied to the mask and its masked objects.
Note: You can apply a transformation to the mask object alone by first unlinking the mask from the
mask objects in the Layers panel and then performing the transformation.
148 Chapter 7: Layers, Masking, and Blending
21.