Convert Text to Outlines


The safest way to preserve the look of your formatted text is to convert it to outlines ”regular Illustrator paths that can no longer be edited with Type tools. And with text converted to outlines, you can apply all of the effects and path editing techniques available for any other outline.

The downside of converting text to outlines ”and it is a significant downside ”is that the text is no longer editable, and you cannot use any of the Type tools with it. Therefore, you might want to save your text first as type, and then create a copy that you convert to an outline.

To convert text to an outline, select the text box and choose Type Create Outlines. The resulting object will consist of a group of paths. To move or edit individual letters , ungroup the characters . Converting text to outlines is especially useful for text destined for the Web. Because the text is actually a graphic image, all formatting characteristics are preserved, regardless of which fonts are supported by a viewer s system.

Figure 9-14 shows characters that have been converted to outlines and that are being manipulated as graphical objects ”no longer editable as text.


Figure 9-14: Outlined text can be edited like any path or shape ”but not with Type tools



How to Do Everything with Illustrator CS
How to Do Everything with Adobe Illustrator CS
ISBN: 0072230924
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 175
Authors: David Karlins

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