these items are common to most matrox realtime effects:
directory this directory tree holds all of the effects for each transition or video effect type. if any effects have been added or deleted since the last time you selected a directory, a dialog box will appear with a summary of the changes.
effect tabs several tabs are available to let you switch between pages for setting up your effect:
"pre-created effect" tab this tab displays the default page that appears when you first apply a matrox effect. on this page, you can select a pre-created effect from the directory, for the type of effect that you've applied (such as any of the available page curls).
transform tab click this tab to display the transform page, where you can apply various settings to transform your clip, such as to resize and rotate your clip. for details on the available transform settings, see "transforming your clip" on page 81.
crop tab click this tab to display the crop page, where you can apply crop settings to your effect, such as to remove unwanted edges. for details on using the crop settings, see "cropping your effect" on page 85.
the transform and crop tabs are not available for all matrox effects.
effect list this section provides a small sample (icon) representing each effect. simply click an effect to select it. if you're creating a transition, "a" and "b" represent your clips on the video 1a and 1b tracks, respectively. if you're creating a video effect, "a" represents the clip on which you're applying the effect, and "b" represents your underlying (background) image on the lower tracks.
preview window allows you to see the result of your chosen effect. your effect will also be displayed on your ntsc or pal video monitor.
effect modifiers by selecting allow changes, you can change various settings for the effect (these will differ for certain transitions and video effects). these settings are active for the duration of your clip. not all matrox effects have effect modifiers on the pre-created page.
keyframe controls several controls are provided in this section to let you move around to different points on your clip and create keyframes. for details, see "working with keyframes" on page 88.
toolbar provides buttons for the most commonly used keyframe tasks. only buttons that can be used at a given time are available.
tracks and ruler the tracks represent the progression of your effect over time, with the ruler above the tracks denoting your effect's frame numbers.
you can create keyframes on the tracks to change a clip's settings over time, such as to make a clip progressively shrink and expand.
positioner you use the positioner (red vertical bar) to preview an effect by dragging it across the ruler (scrubbing), or to specify at which frame you want to create a keyframe on the track. to move the positioner to a particular frame, enter the frame number in the current frame box, or click the frame on the ruler. you can also right-click the positioner or ruler to display a pop-up menu with commands for moving the positioner.
zoom buttons you use the + or 々 zoom button to zoom in or out on the tracks. you can use this feature to find a certain frame, or range of frames, within your effect.
reverse select this to reverse the direction of the pattern for your selected effect.
force render select this to force your effect to be rendered when you return to the timeline. certain effects are difficult for some systems to play back in real time without dropping frames. if you find that this is happening, select force render. the effect will appear with a red bar over it when you return to the timeline, forcing you to render the effect to play it back. once rendered, the effect will play back smoothly. selecting force render does not require the effect to be rendered to preview it in the matrox effect setup dialog box.