The Direction setting specifies the direction and type of gradient. The Default page of this dialog allows you to choose from a number of pre-defined gradient patterns, such as Ace, Desert, and Golf.

The Colors page has the following options:

• Start: click this button to display a dialog in which you can select the starting color for the gradient.

• Middle: click this button to display a dialog in which you can select the middle color for the gradient.

• No Middle: turn this option on to use three colors in the gradient: start, middle, and end. Turn it off to not use a middle color.

• End: click this button, which may not always appear, to display a dialog in which you can select the end color for the gradient. If this button does not appear, the end color is automatically determined by some other color properties of the object the gradient applies to.
  

The Options page has the following options:

• Balance: this setting determines the balance between the colors when Direction is set to one of the diagonal choices.

• Horiz.: this setting, which is only available when Direction is set to Radial, specifies the horizontal offset of the radial gradient.

• Vert.: this setting, which is only available when Direction is set to Radial, specifies the vertical offset of the radial gradient.
  

The Directions page has the same settings as the Directions drop-down list but in a visual format.