IllustratorTypepath

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From www.studio.adobe.com

Put type on a path Having text follow along a path is nothing new to Adobe® Illustrator® users. However, if you’ve used Illustrator before, you’ll find that since Illustrator CS, type on a path is implemented quite differently than in previous versions— to the point where it might even seem like a new feature.

To make it easier to learn how to use this feature in Illustrator CS2, you will start by creating type on an open path. After you’ve done this, you will understand how to perform the same function on a closed path.

Note: Everything you’re learning about type on a path here can be applied to Adobe InDesign® as well, because the functionality is identical to Illustrator.

You can use the in and out ports to thread text across multiple Path Type objects, and you can even create a thread of text that includes both Path Type and Area Type objects. By dragging the start and end points, you can define the area of the path that can contain text. For example, you can have a long path, but have text appear on just a small portion of that path. If you think about it, adjusting the start and end points on a Path Type object is akin to adjusting the width of an Area Type object. You can also drag the middle line to either side of the path to flip the text.

Note: Prior to Illustrator CS, Type on a Path objects behaved similarly to Point Type objects.

1 Using your tool of choice, create an open path, or you can select an open path that already exists on your artboard.

2 Choose the Type tool and move your cursor so that it touches the path and changes to the Type On A Path tool icon, with a line through the icon.

3 Click the path to create a Path Type object.

This action removes any Stroke attributes from the path, but you can apply them to the path again later if you wish. At this point, you’ll see the blinking text insertion icon and you can enter or copy text onto the path.

A Path Type object is similar to an Area Type object in many ways.

4 Now switch to the Selection tool and select the path with the text on it (you can click either on the path, or on the text itself). As you look at the selection, you’ll notice a vertical line with a small white box on the left, a line at the center, and a small white box and a line on the far right.

The small boxes should look familiar to you—they are in and out ports. The ports are there because Illustrator treats type on a path like area type. The two vertical lines that appear on either end define the boundary, or the start and end points, of the text. The line in the center determines the center point between the start and end points and allows you to specify which side of the path the text sits on.

By moving the position of the start and end points, you can control the portion of the path that can contain text.

Tutorial

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS2 2 Put type on a path

Path type with closed paths Now that you understand how path type works, you’re ready to learn how to work with path type on a closed path. When you convert a path to a Path Type object, the point at which you click the path becomes the start point. On an open path, you can easily see the start and end points because they are on opposite sides of the path. However, when you are working with a closed path, the point that you click becomes the start and the end point (a closed path is continuous).

If, for example, you want to place text on a circle, click the top of the circle to create the start point and the end point; if you center your text, it actually aligns to the bottom of the path. To get text to align to the top center of a circle, either click at the bottom of the circle when you’re creating the Path Type object, or adjust the start and end points so that the center of the text rests at the top of the circle.

Changing the position of the start and end points can make it easier to center text at the top curve of a circle.

Path text options Positioning text on a path—especially a curved path— can be difficult because the spacing can look irregular.

However, you can adjust these and other settings by selecting the Path Type object and choosing Type > Type on a Path > Type on a Path Options.

The following settings are available in the Type on a Path Options dialog: Effect. The Effect setting controls the orientation of

the text relative to the path. Prior to Illustrator CS, all Type on Path objects used the Rainbow setting, which rotated each character to be tangent to the path.

Illustrator now allows you to also choose from Skew, 3D Ribbon, Stair Step, and Gravity.

Align to Path. The Align to Path setting determines which part of the text actually lines up with and touches the path. You can choose from Baseline (the default), Ascender, Descender, and Center.

At first placing text on a circle seems non-intuitive—clicking at the top of a circle centers your text at the bottom of the circle.

Tutorial

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS2 3 Put type on a path

Spacing. You can use the Spacing setting to help get

consistent spacing between characters on curved paths (the setting doesn’t do much on straight paths).

Where paths make sharp curves, the spacing between characters could appear at odd angles or with inconsistent spacing. Specifying a higher spacing value brings characters closer to each other and corrects the spacing issues.

Flip. The Flip setting allows you to control the side of the path on which the text appears.

If you want to apply an appearance to the path itself on a Path Type object, click just the path with the Direct Selection tool (it might be easier to do this while you are in the Outline view mode). You can then apply attributes to the path as you would normally. To offset text from the path itself, use the Baseline Shift setting, although if you’re working with wavy or curved paths, using one of the Align To Path settings offers better results because it takes advantage of the Spacing setting.

The four different align settings you can use with path type.

Excerpted from "Real World Adobe Illustrator CS2" by Mordy Golding © 2005. Used with the permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and Peachpit. To purchase this book, please visit www.adobepress.com.

The five different effect settings you can use with path type.

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