You can change the transparency of any object in a document. (That is, you can make make it semi-opaque.) There are a wide range of transparency 'shapes' including circular and linear. Most are 'graduated transparencies'; this means the level of transparency changes across the object. By combining transparency shapes with different fill colors and transparency type, you can create a wide range of effects and shading. Note that documents using transparent objects take longer to redraw on-screen and to print. For more information, see the Transparency Overview.