Using SpriteEffects

SpriteEffects let you apply image effects and filters to vector objects, images, text, and grouped objects. The types of effects and filters you can apply include: Artistic effects, such as Crystallize, Lens Flare, Oil Painting, and Stained Glass; Blur effects, such as Gaussian, Radial, and Motion blur; Brightness/Contrast, Color Balance, Hue/Saturation, Noise, Ripple, Spherize, Twirl, and many more.

You can apply effects temporarily, adjust effects settings, change the order of effects, and hide or remove effects individually, all from the SpriteEffects palette, without having to use Undo or save the original image to preserve it. And you can apply an effect to an entire object, or you can create a lens object and apply an affect to just the area specified by the lens.

Applying SpriteEffects

To Apply an Effect:

1. Select an object or a lens.
2. Do one of the following:
   • In the Properties bar, select an effect from the SpriteEffects drop-down list.
   • Choose Object | SpriteEffects | Add an Effect, then select an effect.
   • In the SpriteEffects palette, click the New Effect icon, select an effect from the drop-down list, then click OK.
3. If a dialog box appears, select the settings you want to use, then click OK.

You can apply multiple effects by repeating this task as many times as necessary.

You can remove all effects quickly by selecting the object and pressing the Clear All SpriteEffects button in the Properties bar.

You can remove transparency effects by selecting the object and pressing the Remove SpriteLayer Effect button in the Properties bar. 

To Edit or Delete SpriteEffects:

You can edit or delete SpriteEffects, depending on the type of effect.

1. Select the object.
2. Right-click the object and choose Edit from the context menu.
3. Under the Edit menu, choose one of the following:
• Delete [SpriteEffect].
• Edit [SpriteEffect]. This will open the SpriteEffect's dialog box, where you can adjust settings.

To Manage SpriteEffects in the SpriteEffects Palette:

Do one of the following:

• Choose Window | Palettes | SpriteEffects.
• In the Properties bar, click the SpriteEffects icon. 

To Show and Hide Effects:

1. Select the object whose effects you want to hide/show.

2. In the SpriteEffects palette, click the eye symbol to hide/show the effect.

   Hiding an effect temporarily removes the effect from the object. Showing an effect re-applies the effect to the selected object.

Using Lens Objects with SpriteEffects

Lens objects let you limit an effect to a particular region of an illustration, or they let you magnify an area when you want to show a detailed view. The default lens effect is normal (100%) magnification, but you can change this if you want to see a magnified view. You can also change the viewpoint of what is displayed in the lens. By default the viewpoint is the center of the lens. If you want to offset the lens from whatever is directly behind it, you can change the viewpoint.

To Create a Lens Object:

1. Create an object to use as a lens. You can create a new object or copy an existing object.

Fill inks are removed when vector or text objects are converted to lenses.

2. Select the object you want to use as a lens.
3. Do one of the following:
   • In the Properties bar, click the Make Lens button.
   • Choose Object | Convert to Lens.
   • In the SpriteEffects palette, select the Lens checkbox.

   The object becomes a lens and remains selected.

To Set Magnification:

1. Select the lens object.
2. Do one of the following:
   • In the Properties bar, enter the magnification value in the Lens Mag text box.
   • In the SpriteEffects palette, enter the magnification value in the Mag text box.

To Set a Viewpoint Precisely:

1. Select the lens object.
2. In the Properties bar or SpriteEffects palette, select one of the following:
   • Absolute: Select Absolute and enter horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) distances from the rulers’ zero point to the viewpoint; e.g., enter 0 in the X and Y boxes to set the viewpoint at the zero point. If you move the lens object, the viewpoint does not change.
   • Relative: Select Relative and enter horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) distances from the center of the lens to the viewpoint. Positive values move the viewpoint down and right of the lens center. Negative values move the viewpoint up and left of the lens center; e.g., to set the viewpoint 1 ruler unit left of the lens center, enter -1 (X) and 0 (Y). If you move the lens, the viewpoint changes.