Axis Transformations

The Axis menu contains parameters used to adjust the position, scale, shear, and rotation of layers, paragraphs, and characters.

Layer Transformations

Use the Position, Scale, Shear, Centre, and Rotation parameters to adjust the attributes of a Layer.

The Centre X and Y parameters can be used to customize the position of the axis, affecting how the Scale and Rotation attributes of a Layer are applied.

Tip: Use the Centre Transform Widget keyboard shortcut, assigned to the Y key by default, to gesturally move the centre axis inside the viewport.

Layer Axis option

Select an alignment preset for the selected text layer. The axis alignment is used to determine the point from where the Scale and Rotation attributes of a layer are applied.

Note: The Layer Axis option is automatically set when the Justification of the first paragraph is modified in the Attributes menu.

Layer Show axis

Enable to display the Layer axis in the viewport.

Layer Lock Position

Enable to lock the position of the layer.

Scale Layer on Load

Use the Scale Layer on Load parameter in the Type section of the Tools & TL FX User Preferences to determine if the size of layers in a setup or preset are scaled or not when they are loaded in a Type node or Timeline FX with a different resolution. The options are:

Yes: The size of the layers is adjusted to fit the new resolution using the Scale X and Y parameters of the Layer Axis.
No: The size of the layers is preserved.
Ask: A dialog message appears asking if the layers should be scaled or if the size should be preserved when a setup or preset is loaded.

Note: When Ask is selected, only one dialog is presented if multiple instances of a Type setup or presets are loaded at once.

Paragraph Transformations

Use the Position, Scale, Shear, Centre, and Rotationparameters to adjust the attributes of a Paragraph.

The Centre X and Y parameters can be used to customize the position of the axis, affecting how the Scale and Rotation attributes of a Paragraph are applied.

Paragraph Show Axis

Enable to display the Paragraph axes, in the form of crosses, in the viewport. The axis of the current paragraph is displayed in a brighter colour.

Characters Transformations

Use the Position, Scale, Shear, and Rotation parameters to adjust the attributes of Characters.

Characters Show Axes

Enable to display the Characters axes in the viewport.

Characters Show Original Position

Enable to display outlines showing the original position of Characters in the viewport. The outlines only appear for Characters that are no longer in their original position.

Note: The outlines' colour can be changed using the colour button under the Characters Position section of the Node Prefs menu.

Characters Centre Axis

Click to move the axes to the centre of characters.

Animating Text on a Motion Path

Use the controls under the Path section of the Axis menu to create a text layer on a spline and animate it over time. This way, you create marquee text that twists and turns over an image or in time with other objects in the scene. The spline is fully editable; you can add control points and manipulate their tangent handles.

Note: The colour of the path's wireframe and vertices can be modified in the Node Prefs menu.

To animate text on a motion path:

Select a layer.
In the Axis menu, enable the Active under the Path section. By default, the text appears on a path with three vertices.
Adjust the shape of the path using the Path controls.
Animate the Offset parameter over time.

Path Active

Enable to place the selected text on a motion path.

Closed

Enable to close the path by connecting the first and last vertices. Text continues around the shape.

Invert

Click to reverse the order of the vertices on the path so that the text follows the opposite side of the path.

Offset field

Sets the position of the text on the path. Animate the Offset value to make the text follow the path for the duration of the clip.

Path Edit Mode option

Select an option to manipulate the selected path spline.

Clear option

Resets the text path at the current frame. To reset the path for the entire duration of the clip, click Reset Layer.

Note: In the Animation editor, the Path folder contains a Shape channel to animate the path and an Offset channel to animate the offset value.