20. Style & Edit Type

In the preceding chapter, you learned how to create type. Now you will learn how to format and refine it. The first step is to learn how to select type, the type object, or both. Once you’ve mastered those skills, you will use the Character and Control panels to change typographic attributes; the Glyphs and OpenType panels to insert special characters; the Paragraph panel to apply paragraph settings; the Paragraph Styles and Character Styles panels to apply collections of attributes quickly; the Touch Type tool to transform individual characters manually; and the Tabs panel to align columns of text. Finally, you will learn how to convert type characters to paths; wrap type around an object; and apply appearance attributes to type, including multiple strokes and effects.

2. Turn on View > Smart Guides (Cmd-U/Ctrl-U).

3. Choose the Selection tool (V).

4. Do one of the following:

For area type (inside an object), click a type character A or the outer path.B Or if the object has a fill color, you can click the fill.

For point type, click the type.A

For type on a path, click the type or the path.

If the bounding box feature is on (View > Show Bounding Box), a bounding box will surround selected type.

If the Type Object Selection by Path Only preference is on, you must click the baseline of a point type object to select it. Use the Object Highlighting feature of Smart Guides to locate it.

Use this selection method if you want to recolor or reshape a type object but not the type.

2. Cmd-click/Ctrl-click, if necessary, to deselect. Click the edge of an area or path type object (not point type). You can use the Object Highlighting feature of Smart Guides to locate it.B Any modifications you make now will affect only the type object.C

Use this selection method to select just the type — not the object — so you can copyedit the text, change its character or paragraph settings (Character or Paragraph panel), or change its fill or stroke settings.

2. Do any of the following:

To highlight one or more words or a line of horizontal type, click and drag horizontally across them.D For vertical type, drag vertically.

To select whole lines of horizontal type, drag vertically. Or for vertical type, drag horizontally.

Double-click to select a word.

Triple-click to select a paragraph.

To select all the type in the block or on the path, plus any overflow type, click in a text block or on a text path, then choose Select > All (Cmd-A/Ctrl-A).

Click to start a selection, then Shift-click where you want the selection to end. Continue to Shift-click if you want to extend the selection.

3. When you’re done editing the type, Cmd-click/Ctrl-click outside the type object to deselect it.

For a description of the Character and Paragraph panels, which are used throughout this chapter, see pages 45 and 51, respectively. You can open either panel from the Type submenu on the Window menu, or temporarily via a link on the Control panel. To open all the type panels quickly, choose the Typography workspace from the Workspace menu on the Control panel.

In the method shown on this page, you will choose a font from the full Font Family menu on the Character or Control panel. In the method shown on the next page, you will choose a font by using a search feature.

Select the type to be modified with a type tool.

Select one or more type objects via the Layers panel or the Selection tool.

2. On the Character panel or the Control panel, click the Font Family menu arrow to display an expandable list of available font families and styles.A To scroll through the list, leave the mouse button up and press the up or down arrow on the keyboard; the fonts will preview immediately in your document. To expand a collapsed category, position the mouse over the category (mouse button still up), then press Cmd/Ctrl down arrow; scroll the nested list by pressing the up or down arrow. (To collapse an expanded category, position the mouse over it and press Cmd/Ctrl up arrow.)

3. To apply the currently highlighted font and exit the panel, press Return/Enter (or click the font name).B

If selected type already contains the desired font family and you want to change just the font style, you can also do so via the Font Style menu or field on the Character or Control panel.

Select the type to be modified with a type tool.

Select one or more type objects via the Layers panel or the Selection tool.

2. Verify that Search Entire Font Name is checked on the search menu on either the Character panel or Control panel (Search First Word Only uses the method of earlier versions of Illustrator).

3. On the Character panel or the Control panel, click in the Font Family field. If desired, you can clear the field by pressing the. Next, do one of the following:

Start typing a font name.A

Type a generic category, such as “semibold italic,” “black condensed,” or “ornaments”.

Type an abbreviation for a specific font (e.g., “f g” for Franklin Gothic or “my p” for Myriad Pro). Note the inclusion of spaces.

4. A menu displays, listing the fonts that most closely match the letters you typed. To scroll through the list, keep the mouse button up and press the up or down arrow on the keyboard. Fonts will preview immediately in your document.

5. To apply the currently highlighted font and exit the panel, press Return/Enter (or click the font name) B (see also A–B, next page).

If you want to exit the panel during a font search without changing the font, press Esc.

For another way to change the font, select type characters or a type object, right-click the type, then choose from either the Font submenu or the Recent Fonts submenu on the context menu. You can also choose a recently used font from the Recent Fonts submenu on the Type menu.

2. On the Character panel, make sure full options are displaying. If not, click the double arrow in the panel tab.

3. Near the bottom of the panel, click the All Caps, Small Caps, Superscript, Subscript, Underline, or Strikethrough button. (To remove the styling, select the text, then click the same button again.)

For other case options, select some text, then choose Type > Change Case > UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case, or Sentence case.

Select the type to be modified with a type tool.

Select a type object with the Selection tool or the Layers panel.

2. Do one of the following:

On the Character panel or the Control panel, enter the desired size in the Font Size field A–B (you don’t need to reenter the unit of measure). You could also choose a preset size from the menu; or click the up or down arrow; or click in the field, then press the up or down arrow on the keyboard.

If the type that you select is in more than one size, the Font Size field will be blank, but the new size you choose will apply to all the selected type. When using the Character or Control panel, you can press Return/Enter to apply the new value and exit the panel, or press Tab to apply the value and highlight the next field.

Hold down Cmd-Shift/Ctrl-Shift and press > to enlarge the font size or < to reduce it.C The type will resize by the current Size/Leading increment, which is set in Illustrator/Edit > Preferences > Type (the default increment is 2 pt). To change the font size by five times the current Size/Leading increment, hold down Cmd-Option-Shift/Ctrl-Alt-Shift and press > or <.

Right-click the type and choose a preset size from the Size submenu on the context menu. (Choosing Other on the context menu highlights the Font Size field on the Character panel.)

You can use the Horizontal Scale feature on the Character panel to make type wider (extend it) or narrower (condense it), or the Vertical Scale feature to make it taller or shorter. If you want to minimize the distortion, raise or lower the percentage by just a few points (e.g., 104% or 98%). To quickly reset the Horizontal Scale and Vertical Scale to the default value of 100%, select the type or type object, then press Cmd-Shift-X/Ctrl-Shift-X. Our preference is to use a typeface that has the desired characteristics — and more balanced proportions — in its design, such as Gill Sans Condensed or Tekton Pro Bold Extended.

Note: To change the vertical spacing in vertical type, change the horizontal tracking value (see the next page) instead of using leading. In vertical type, leading controls the horizontal spacing between vertical columns.

To change the leading for an entire block of type, select it via the Selection tool or the Layers panel. (You can also select multiple threaded or nonthreaded type objects using either method.)

To change the leading of all the lines in a paragraph, triple-click in the paragraph with a type tool.

To change the leading of an entire line of type, drag across it with a type tool, making sure to include any spaces at the end of the line.

2. Do either of the following:

On the Character panel, enter a Leading value (or click in the field, then press the up or down arrow on the keyboard),A–C or choose a preset value from the menu.

Hold down Option/Alt and press the up arrow on the keyboard to decrease the leading or the down arrow to increase it by the Size/Leading increment, which is set in Illustrator/Edit > Preferences > Type (the default increment is 2 pt). To change the leading by five times the current Size/Leading increment, hold down Cmd-Option/Ctrl-Alt as you press an arrow.

When Auto is the current Leading setting, Illustrator calculates the leading as a percentage of the largest font size on each line (and the leading value is listed in parentheses). The default Auto Leading percentage is 120%; it can be changed in the Justification dialog, which opens from the Paragraph panel menu.

If you change the leading for a threaded type object, only the leading in that object will change. To change the leading for a whole thread, select all the objects or use the Select > All command first.

Tracking is the adjustment of spacing between three or more selected characters. It’s best used sparingly, such as to spread out the characters in a single line of type (e.g., a header or subhead). Refrain from tracking whole paragraphs.

To move an individual character closer to an adjacent character manually, see page 283.

Zoom in on the type that you want to kern or track. Choose a type tool, then either click to create an insertion point between two characters for kerning, or highlight a range of text for tracking.

To track (not kern) all the type in an object, select it with the Selection tool or the Layers panel.

2. Do either of the following:

In the Kerning or Tracking field on the Character panel, A enter a positive value to add space between the characters or a negative value to remove space (or click in the field, then press the up or down arrow on the keyboard); B–D or choose a preset value from the menu; or click the up or down arrow.

Hold down Option/Alt and press the right arrow on the keyboard to add space between letters or the left arrow to remove space, based on the current Tracking increment in Illustrator/Edit > Preferences > Type. To kern or track by a larger increment, hold down Cmd-Option/Ctrl-Alt as you press an arrow.

The Tracking and Kerning features affect the vertical spacing of characters in vertical type.

To undo manual kerning, click between a pair of characters, then press Cmd-Option-Q/Ctrl-Alt-Q or reset the Kerning value on the Character panel to 0 (zero). To undo manual tracking, select the characters in question before resetting the Tracking value to 0 or using the above-mentioned shortcut.

The Fit Headline command uses tracking values to fit a one-line paragraph of horizontal or vertical area type to the edges of the object.

2. Select or click in a single-line paragraph of area type (not point type or a line within a larger paragraph).A

3. Choose Type > Fit Headline.B

If you scale a type object to which you have applied the Fit Headline command, you will need to reapply the command afterward, because the tracking values won’t readjust automatically.

2. Choose Type > Smart Punctuation.

3. Check the desired options in the Replace Punctuation area of the dialog,B and click Replace In: Selected Text Only or Entire Document.

4. Optional: Check Report Results to have a tally of your changes appear onscreen after you click OK.

5. Click OK.C

2. Under Type Options, check Use Typographers Quotes and choose the Language in which the text is going to be typeset. The standard Double Quotes and Single Quotes marks for the chosen language will display on both menus. Click OK.

You can insert alternate glyphs manually by using the Glyphs panel (as in the steps below), or automatically by using the OpenType panel (as in the steps on the next page). The Glyphs panel isn’t just used for OpenType fonts, though — you can also use it to locate and insert characters in a non-OpenType font.

2. Display the Glyphs panel (choose Glyphs from the Type menu or from the Window > Type submenu). If you selected just one character in the prior step, that character will be highlighted on the panel.

3. From the Show menu,B choose a category of glyphs to be displayed on the panel: Alternates for Current Selection,C Entire Font, Access All Alternates, or a specific category. Different options will be available depending on the current font and whether you selected a character or just created an insertion point.

4. Optional: You can choose a different font family and font style from the menus at the bottom of the Glyphs panel.

5. Double-click a glyph to be inserted in your text or to be used as a replacement for the selected character; or if the square containing the currently highlighted glyph has a mini arrowhead in the lower right corner, you can click the arrowhead and choose a glyph from the menu. The glyph will appear in your text.

To change the display size of the glyphs on the Glyphs panel, click the Zoom Out or Zoom In button in the lower right corner.

By using the OpenType panel, you can control whether alternate glyphs in OpenType fonts will be substituted for standard characters automatically, where applicable (and if available in the current font). For example, you can choose to have Illustrator insert a glyph for a properly formatted fraction whenever you type the characters for a fraction, such as ½ for 1/2 or ¾ for 3/4. Other options include ligature glyphs for specific letter pairs (such as ff, ffl, and st), swash and titling characters, etc.

To change all applicable occurrences in existing text, either select a type object with the Selection tool or the Layers panel or highlight one or more characters with a type tool, then style it with an OpenType font via the Control or Character panel.

To specify alternate glyph options for future text to be entered in a specific OpenType font, choose a type tool, then choose that font on the Control or Character panel.

2. Display the OpenType panel (Cmd-Option- Shift-T/Ctrl-Alt-Shift-T),A then click any of the available buttons.B–C The choices will vary depending on the glyph set of the current font.

The Figure menu on the OpenType panel controls the style and spacing of numerals. The Tabular options insert an equal amount of spacing between numerals, and are designed for aligning columns of numerals in a table. The Proportional options allow for variable spacing based on the actual width of each numeral character, and are designed to improve the appearance of nontabular numerals. Oldstyle numerals are beautiful but, because of their variable heights, are appropriate only in special design settings.

If a font lacks a true superscript, superior, subscript, or inferior glyph, or nonstandard fractions (such as), you can use options on the Position menu on the OpenType panel to produce the needed “faux” glyph. For example, to produce the fraction, we used the Numerator and Denominator options.

2. Display the Paragraph panel and its full set of options. Check Hyphenate.

3. If you want to choose hyphenation settings, choose Hyphenation from the Paragraph panel menu. In the dialog,A check Hyphenation and Preview.

4. In the Words Longer Than [ ] Letters field, enter the minimum number of characters a word must contain in order to be hyphenated (3–25). We usually enter a value of 6 or 7.

In the After First [ ] Letters field, enter the minimum allowable number of characters that may precede a hyphen. We use a value of 3 or 4.

In the Before Last [ ] Letters field, enter the minimum allowable number of characters that can be carried over to the next line following a hyphen. We use a value of 3.

In the Hyphen Limit field, enter the maximum allowable number of hyphens in a row (0–25). For the sake of both readability and aesthetics, we use a setting of 2. Oddly enough, a setting of 0 permits an unlimited number of hyphens in a row.

Or for a less calculated approach to achieving the desired number of line breaks (try this on existing text), simply move the Hyphenation Zone slider toward Better Spacing or Fewer Hyphens.

Finally, decide whether you want Illustrator to Hyphenate Capitalized Words (preferably not).

5. Click OK.

Regardless of the current hyphenation settings, you will need to “eyeball” your hyphenated text and, if necessary, correct any awkward breaks using a soft return or the No Break command. To prevent a particular word from breaking at the end of a line, such as a compound word (e.g., “single-line”), to reunite an awkwardly hyphenated word (e.g., “sex-tuplet”), or to keep related words together (e.g., “New York City”), select that word or those words, then from the Character panel menu, choose No Break.

To reveal the symbols for nonprinting characters, such as paragraph endings, soft returns, spaces, and tabs, choose Type > Show Hidden Characters (Cmd-Option-I/Ctrl-Alt-I).

Note: To create a soft return (line break) within a paragraph in nontabular text in order to bring the text to the right of the insertion point down to the next line, press Shift-Return/Shift-Enter.

Choose a type tool, then click in a paragraph or drag through one or more consecutive paragraphs.

Select a type object with the Selection tool or the Layers panel.

2. Display the Paragraph panel (to access it quickly, you can press Cmd-Option-T/Ctrl-Alt-T or click Paragraph on the Control panel).

3. Click an alignment button.A–B The first three alignment buttons (Align Left, Align Center, and Align Right) are also available on the Control panel.

Use one of the keyboard shortcuts listed in the sidebar on this page.

The justify alignment options have no effect on point type (type that’s not inside an object), because point type doesn’t have a container for the type to justify to.

With a type tool, drag through the paragraphs to be modified, or click in a paragraph.

Select a type object with the Selection tool or via the Layers panel.

2. On the Paragraph panel, do either of the following:

Enter a Left Indent and/or Right Indent value, then press Return/Enter or Tab;A–B or click the up or down arrow; or click in the field, then press the up or down arrow on the keyboard.

To indent only the first line of each paragraph, enter a positive First-Line Left Indent value.

With a type tool, drag through the paragraphs to be modified, or click in the paragraph above which you want to adjust the spacing.

Select a type object with the Selection tool or the Layers panel.

2. Via the Space Before Paragraph or Space After Paragraph controls on the extended Paragraph panel, choose a positive value to move the paragraphs farther apart or a negative value to bring them closer together (if you enter a value, press Return/Enter or Tab to apply it).C

Because the Space After Paragraph value for a paragraph is combined with the Space Before Paragraph value from the paragraph below it, you could wind up with more space between paragraphs than you intend. We recommend entering a positive value for just one of the two features, when needed, while keeping the other value at zero.

A paragraph style is a collection of paragraph formats, such as hyphenation and indentation, plus character attributes, such as the font family, font style, and font size. When you click a paragraph style, all currently selected paragraphs are reformatted with the attributes in that style.A

A character style contains only character attributes and is normally used to accentuate or reformat select characters or words within a paragraph (such as symbols in a bulleted list or boldfaced or italicized words) — not whole paragraphs. Character styles are applied in addition to paragraph styles — they’re the icing on the cake. As with paragraph styles, when you click a character style, all currently selected characters are updated with the attributes in that style.

To create, modify, and apply type styles, you will use the Paragraph Styles and Character Styles panels. We’ll show you the easiest way to create a style.

2. Apply all the attributes to be saved in the style to some text.

3. With a type tool, click in the type, then Option-click/Alt-click the New Style button on the Paragraph Styles or Character Styles panel.

4. An options dialog opens. Change the default Style Name to a descriptive one that will help you remember the style’s function (such as “Subheads” or “Body Indent”).

5. Click OK. To apply the new style to some type, see the next task.

For character styling, select one or more type characters (not a whole type object).

2. Click a style name on the Paragraph Styles or Character Styles panel. How easy was that?

Note: If the text doesn’t adopt all the attributes of the style sheet, follow the next task, then try again.

To choose a paragraph style before you create type, deselect, click Normal Character Style on the Character Styles panel, then click a style on the Paragraph Styles panel.

If you apply attributes to text manually after applying a style, when that text is selected, the presence of those overrides (attributes that don’t match the style definition) will be indicated by a + (plus) sign after the style name on the Paragraph Styles and/or Character Styles panel. If you want to force the text to match only the attributes in the style, clear the overrides, as follows.

2. Hold down Option/Alt and click a name on the Paragraph Styles or Character Styles panel.B The manually applied attributes in your text will disappear, and the + sign will disappear from the style name on the panel.

Note: If your text contains both paragraph and character style overrides, you will need to clear them separately via each panel.

If you unintentionally apply a character style to a whole type object and subsequently apply a paragraph style, only the formats from the paragraph style will be applied — not the character attributes — and the override symbol + won’t display next to the paragraph style name. To force a paragraph style to override a character style completely, select the type object, then click [Normal Character Style] on the Character Styles panel.

You can copy paragraph and character styles from one file to another. If you’re working on a series of documents for the same client or project, using the same styles for all will ensure that your type has a consistent look.

2. In the Select a File to Import dialog, locate and click the Illustrator document that contains the styles you want to import, then click Open. Note: If an incoming style bears the same name as a style in the current document, it won’t load, period.

When you edit a style, all the text in which it is being used in your document updates accordingly. There are two ways to edit a type style: by restyling a word or paragraph and then using it to redefine the style (as in the steps below) or by using the Paragraph or Character Style Options dialog (see the next page).

2. Change any attributes manually via the Paragraph, Character, Control, or Tabs panel.

Note: Make sure all the type you have selected contains the style you are redefining and the new attributes. If you’re redefining a paragraph style, also make sure the type doesn’t have a character style applied to it.

3. Choose Redefine Paragraph Style from the Paragraph Styles panel menu or Redefine Character Style from the Character Styles panel menu. The style will update to include the attributes of the selected text.

2. The Character Style Options or Paragraph Style Options dialog opens.A Click General at any time to view an expandable list of all the settings in the style. Check Preview so you will be able to preview changes in your document, then to edit the style, click an option set name on the left side:

Click Basic Character Formats to choose basic character attributes, such as the font family, font style, size, leading, kerning, and tracking.

Click Advanced Character Formats to choose horizontal and vertical scaling, baseline shift, or rotation values.

In the Paragraph Style Options dialog, you have access to the Indents and Spacing, Tabs, Composition (composer and hanging punctuation options), Hyphenation, and Justification option sets.

Click Character Color, click the Fill or Stroke square, then choose a fill or stroke color for the type. Colors from the Swatches panel will be listed here. For a spot color, you can choose a Tint percentage. For the stroke, you can also change the Weight.

Click OpenType Features to choose options to be applied if the style includes an OpenType font (see page 276).

3. Click OK. All the type in your document in which the style is being used updates instantly.

To clear all the settings in the currently displayed option set (in the currently displayed style options dialog), click Reset Panel.

A dash/blue background in a check box signifies that the option won’t override any attributes that were applied manually to text in the document.

To create a variation of an existing style, drag it to the New Style button. Double-click the duplicate style (labeled “copy”), then follow all the steps on this page. Neither of the Normal styles can be copied.

When you delete a style, the text attributes don’t change in the document.

2. Click a style name (or Cmd-click/Ctrl-click multiple style names) on the Character Styles or Paragraph Styles panel, then click the Delete Selected Styles button (or drag the style name over the button).

3. If the style is being used in your document, an alert dialog will appear. Click Yes (this can’t be undone).

You can’t delete the [Normal Paragraph Style] or [Normal Character Style].

To delete all the styles that aren’t being used in your document, choose Select All Unused from the panel menu, then click the Delete Selected Styles button.

2. Click a type character (try using this tool on large, chunky type). A selection border with handles displays around the character.A

3. Do any of the following (if you have a touch screen device, you can use your finger):

To scale the character proportionally, drag the upper right handle inward or outward.B

To scale the character horizontally, drag the lower right handle to the left or right.C

To scale the character vertically, drag the upper left handle upward or downward.

To rotate the character, drag the little circle (located above the character), to the left or right.

To shift the whole character, drag inside the selection border in any direction.D–E

Note: In vertical type, use the handle that is diagonally opposite each one that is described above.

To reset the horizontal and vertical scale values of a selected character or a selected type object to 100%, press Cmd-Shift-X/Ctrl-Shift-X. To reset the baseline shift or rotation value, enter 0 in the respective field on the Character panel.

With a type tool, select a paragraph in an area type object.

With a selection tool or the Layers panel, select a whole type object.

To turn on hanging punctuation as a default setting for future type objects, deselect.

2. From the Paragraph panel menu, choose Roman Hanging Punctuation.A

For a more visually pleasing alignment of letters and punctuation at the beginning and/or end of lines in a type object, such as the letters “W,” “O,” or “A,” select the object, then choose Type > Optical Margin Alignment. This command may cause some letters to shift slightly outside the block, but they will print.

Press the Tab key as you input copy, before typing each new column (you can change the tab location later). The cursor will jump to the nearest default tab stop.B

To insert a tab into existing text, click just to the left of the text that you want the tab to align, then press the Tab key. The text will move to the nearest default tab stop.

2. To customize the tab settings, follow the steps on the next page.

Select a type object with the Selection tool or the Layers panel.

Choose a type tool and select some text.

2. Display the Tabs panel (Window > Type > Tabs or Cmd-Shift-T/Ctrl-Shift-T).A

3. To align the ruler with the left and right margins of the selected text for horizontal type, or with the top and bottom margins for vertical type, click the Position Panel Above Text button.

4. Do any of the following:

To add a marker, click in or just above the ruler (the selected text will align to that stop), then with the marker still selected, click an alignment button in the upper left corner of the panel. Repeat to add more markers.

Option-click/Alt-click a selected marker to cycle through the alignment choices for it.

To delete one marker, drag it off the ruler. Or to delete a marker and all markers to its right, Cmd-drag/Ctrl-drag it off the ruler.

To reposition a tab marker, drag it to the left or right, or enter an exact location in the X field for horizontal type, or in the Y field for vertical type (or click in the field, then press the up or down arrow on the keyboard). Cmd-drag/Ctrl-drag a marker to move that marker and all the markers to its right by the same distance.

5. Optional: Click a tab marker in the ruler, then in the Leader field, enter a character (or up to eight characters), such as a period and a space, to be repeated between the tab and the succeeding text.B

6. Optional: For the Decimal-Justified tab alignment option, in the Align On field, enter a character for the numerals to align to (such as a period for a decimal point, or a dollar sign).C Unlike when you use the Leader option, the Align On character must be present (entered) in your text.

To create a sequence of tab stops that are equidistant from one another, based on the spacing between a selected marker and the one to its left, choose Repeat Tab from the panel menu. Beware! This command deletes all existing markers to the right of the one you click before it inserts new ones.

Choose Snap to Unit from the Tabs panel menu to have tab markers snap to the nearest ruler tick mark as you insert or move them. (You can also Shift-drag a marker to invoke the opposite behavior of the current Snap to Unit setting.)

Drag the right edge of the panel to adjust the panel width.

To clear all custom tabs, choose Clear All Tabs from the panel menu.

To change the attributes of the leader characters in your text, use a character style.

2. Do either of the following:

On the Character panel (with its full options displaying), enter or choose a positive Baseline Shift value to shift characters upward, or a negative value to shift them downward (or click in the field, then press the up or down arrow on the keyboard).B–E

Hold down Option-Shift/Alt-Shift and press the up arrow on the keyboard to shift the selected characters upward or the down arrow to shift them downward by the current Baseline Shift increment in Illustrator/Edit > Preferences > Type (the default value is 2 pt).

To access superscript and subscript characters in an OpenType font, use the OpenType panel.

2. Style the type as desired, including scaling it to the desired size. Once the type is converted into outlines, you won’t be able to change the font or other typographic attributes.

3. Optional: Type that is converted to outlines can’t be converted back to type (unless you undo the conversion immediately), so we suggest that you duplicate the type object.

4. Select the type object with the Selection tool or the Layers panel.A

5. Do either of the following:

Choose Type > Create Outlines (Cmd-Shift-O/Ctrl-Shift-O).B

Right-click the object and choose Create Outlines from the context menu.

6. Each former type character is converted to a separate compound path and is nested within a group on the Layers panel (see the last tip on page 361). If you want to reshape the points and segments on the resulting paths, you can double-click the group in the document window to put it into isolation mode first.C

Note: The fill and stroke attributes and any appearance attributes from the original type characters will be applied to the outlines. If the type was formerly along or inside an object, that object will be preserved as a separate path — unless it formerly had a stroke and fill of None, in which case it will be deleted.

You should avoid creating outlines from small type, for a few reasons: The characters will no longer have the hinting information that preserves the shape of type characters for printing; outline shapes are slightly heavier than their editable type counterparts, so they can be hard to read (even more so if you give them a stroke color); and outlines increase the file size.

2. Follow this step carefully, or the wrap isn’t going to work: Stack the object that the type will wrap around (we’ll call it the “wrap object”) in front of the type to be wrapped around it, within the same top-level layer, sublayer, or group. (Restack the object via the Layers panel, if necessary.) It can be a vector object, or a bitmap (placed) image that is surrounded by transparency.

3. Select the wrap object.A

4. Choose Object > Text Wrap > Make.

5. Choose Object > Text Wrap > Text Wrap Options. In the dialog,B check Preview, then enter or choose an Offset value for the distance between the wrap object and the type that is wrapping around it.

Note: To enable text to wrap around opaque (or partially opaque) pixels in a placed image, in Photoshop, put the imagery on a layer that is surrounded by transparency, delete the Background, then save the file in the Photoshop (.psd) format. Import the image into an Illustrator document via the Place command (see page 303).

6. Click OK.C Try moving the wrap object slightly, and note how the type rewraps around it.

Note: If you edit the type in a text wrap in Illustrator CC, the type will update more quickly than in previous versions of Illustrator.

To prevent a text object from being affected by the wrap object, via the Layers panel, restack it above the wrap object or to a different top-level layer.

To change the Offset for an existing wrap object, select it, then choose Object > Text Wrap > Text Wrap Options to reopen the dialog. (In case you’re wondering, the Invert Wrap option forces text to wrap inside an unfilled path instead of outside it.)

2. Choose Object > Text Wrap > Release.

Exercise: Create a shadow for point type

A drop shadow that is created using the following method (unlike one that is produced via the Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow command) is a separate vector object that can be modified via effects, the transform tools, or other methods.

2. Apply a dark fill color and a stroke of None.

3. Option-drag/Alt-drag the type block slightly downward and to the right.

4. With the copy of the type block still selected, choose a lighter shade of the same fill color.

5. On the Layers panel, drag the copy of the type below the original,A and make sure it’s still selected (has a selection square).

6. Show the Appearance panel. From the Add New Effect menu on the panel, choose Illustrator Effect > Stylize > Feather. Check Preview, choose a Radius value (try a low value of around 1–4 pt), then click OK. If desired, you can also click the Opacity link to open a temporary Transparency panel, then lower the Opacity setting slightly.B

2. Double-click the Shear tool (it’s on the Scale tool fly-out menu).

3. Enter 45 as the Shear Angle, click Axis: Horizontal, then click OK.

4. Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to align the baseline of the shadow text with the baseline of the original text.C

2. Using the arrow keys again, drag the shadow type so its baseline meets the baseline of the original type.D You’re done!

When a type object is selected with the Selection tool or via the Layers panel, a Type label appears in boldface at the top of the Appearance panel. For basic type, no Stroke or Fill listings display.A Any effects that you apply will affect the whole type object (both its fill and its stroke) and will be listed on the panel when the type object is selected.B

If you highlight some text characters with a type tool or double-click the word “Characters” on the Appearance panel, just the original Stroke, Fill, and Opacity attributes for those characters will be listed on, and be editable via, that panel.C If you want to redisplay the attributes that apply specifically to the type object, click the word “Type” at the top.

If you find this confusing, just remember that if the label next to the color square at the top of the panel is “Characters,” your edits will affect just the selected characters, whereas if the label is “Type,” your edits will affect all the type in the object.

To apply transparency settings to the fill or stroke of type, see page 373.

Next, we’ll show you two ways to embellish type, to build on the skills you learned in Chapter 14 (Appearances).

Exercise: Add multiple strokes to a character

1. Create a type character in an extra bold, black, or heavy font, approximately 230 pt. in size.

2. Select the type object with the Selection tool.A

3. On the Appearance panel, click the Add New Fill button. A new Stroke and a new Fill listing appear on the panel.

4. From the Swatch Libraries menu on the Swatches panel, choose Gradients > Metals. On the Metals library panel that opens, click the Gold (first) swatch.

5. On the Gradient panel, set the Angle value to –90°.

6. On the Appearance panel, click the Stroke listing, Shift-click the color square to open a temporary Color panel, then enter C 18, M 25, Y 94, and K 0 (press Tab to proceed from field to field). Choose 12 pt from the Stroke Weight menu.B–C

7. Continuing on the Appearance panel, click the Add New Stroke button. Apply a color of C 0, M 7, Y 51, and K 8, and a Stroke Weight of 8 pt.

8. Click the Add New Stroke button once more. Apply a color of C 20, M 40, Y 96, and K 8, and a Stroke Weight of 2 pt.

9. Click the bottommost Opacity listing on the panel. From the Add New Effect menu, choose Illustrator Effects > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Check Preview, choose settings to produce a pleasing-looking shadow, then click OK.D–E

Exercise: Use the Free Distort effect on type

1. Create a type character in an extra or ultra bold font, approximately 230 pt. in size. Choose the Selection tool.

2. At the bottom of the Appearance panel, click the Add New Fill button. Click the color square for the new Fill listing and choose a light brown color, or Shift-click the Fill color square and mix a light brown via the temporary Color panel.

3. Double-click the Stroke color square and click a dark green swatch. Choose a value of 7 pt from the stroke Weight menu.A

4. Double-click the Characters appearance listing, then set both the Stroke and Fill listings to a color of None.

5. Click the Type appearance listing to view the appearance attributes for the type object. Click the Fill listing, then from the Add New Effect menu, choose Distort & Transform > Free Distort.B

6. In the Free Distort dialog, move the top left point downward and to the left. Repeat for the top right point, then click OK.C

To edit the Free Distort settings at any time, expand the Fill listing, then click Free Distort.