What is Scope and how does it work?

Say we want to map a red to green gradient along a single path, simple. We start at the first vertex and progress along the path:

Mapping a gradient to a single path

Mapping variable width works the same

Scope applies to variable widths & gradients

But what if we have multiple paths, should the gradient and width progress restart on each path or stretch to encompass all paths in aggregate?

Scope: Individual Paths progress resets on each new path

Scope: Multiple Paths progress continues on each new path

To define this behavior, we have the concept of Scope and it controls how we want to map our gradient and variable thickness along our path / paths.

Scope distribution is based on arc length, not path count. If paths or time-offset copies differ in length, their portions will not be equal.

What else can we scope?

In addition to scoping to individual or multiple paths, we can also scope to trimmed sections of our paths or individual dashes (if Dashes are enabled, otherwise the Scope: Dashes option will be hidden).

Scope: Individual Trims

Scope: Individual Dashes

How does scope work if we have repeated copies?

But wait there's more! If we're using the repeater, how will the scope map our gradient or width along copies? The scope expands to all repeated copies in aggregate in the following order:

1. original
2. first copy
3. ...
4. last copy

If we have multiple paths and repeated copies, scope order becomes:

• original first path
• original second path
• ... continue until all original paths drawn
• first path, first copy
• second path, first copy
• ... continue until all first copies drawn
• ... continue until all repeated copies drawn

In the following example the hue of the gradient and the thickness of the stroke acts as a visual indicator of order. The two original paths are shown with their vertices illustrated, and the repeated copies sit below:

3 total copies, each receiving additional Translation Y offset.

Note this same ordering applies if trimming multiple paths with Trim Offset and Repeater enabled.