Adobe Illustrator CS3 - Manual (Page 318)

ILLUSTRATOR CS3
User Guide
312
Convert type to outlines
You can turn type into a set of compound paths, or outlines, that you can edit and manipulate as you would any other
graphic object. Type as outlines are useful for changing the look of large display type, but they are rarely useful for
body text or other type at small sizes.
Font outline information comes from the actual font files installed on your system. When you create outlines from
type, characters are converted in their current positions; they retain all graphics formatting such as their stroke and
fill.
Modifying a letterform
A. Original type object B. Type converted to outlines, ungrouped, and modified
Note: You can’t convert bitmap fonts or outline-protected fonts to outlines.
When you convert type to outlines, the type loses its hints—instructions built into fonts to adjust their shape so that
your system displays or prints them optimally at a wide range of sizes. If you plan to scale the type, adjust its point
size before converting.
You must convert all the type in a selection; you cannot convert a single letter within a string of type. To convert a
single letter into an outline, create a separate type object containing only that letter.
1 Select the type object.
2 Choose Type > Create Outlines.
Choose a number style in OpenType fonts
1 To change the style of existing numbers, select the characters or type objects you want to change. If you don’t select
any text, the setting applies to new text you create.
2 Make sure that an OpenType font is selected.
3 In the OpenType panel, choose an option from the Figures pop-up menu:
Default Figure Uses the default style for the current font.
Tabular Lining Uses full-height figures all of the same width (if available for the current font). This option is appro-
priate in situations where numbers need to line up from one line to the next, as in tables.
Proportional Lining Uses full-height figures with varying widths (if available for the current font). This option is
recommended for text that uses all caps.
Proportional Oldstyle Uses varying-height figures with varying widths (if available for the current font). This option
is recommended for a classic, sophisticated look in text that doesn’t use all caps.
A
B