# Adding Shadows

Shadows create an appearance of depth. An element's shadow appears on any element behind it. You can create a variety of shadow effects, or remove the shadow from an element.

To quickly add or remove a shadow,select the element and then select or deselect Shadow in the format bar. The Graphic inspector gives you more control over shadow formatting.

To add a shadow using the Graphic inspector:
1. Select the element.
2. Click Inspector in the toolbar, and then click the Graphic inspector button.
3. Select Shadow to add a shadow to the object. Deselect Shadow to make the go away.
4. To set how far the shadow is from the element, use the offset control.

   The further the shadow is from the element the higher the element appears.

5. To adjust the softness of the shadow's edge, use the Blur controls.

   A high blur value makes the element's shadow appear more diffuse; a low value gives the shadow a more sharply defined edge.

6. To change the shadow's transparency, set a percentage in the Opacity field. Don't use the Opacity slider at the bottom of the Graphic inspector, which changes the opacity of the entire element (not the element's shadow).
7. To change the color for the shadow, click the Shadow color well and select a color.