Gone are the days when designers who wanted to manipulate type for design purposes were required to use applications such as Illustrator to first convert that type into paths. InDesign’s Create Outlines feature does just that. When you select Type>Create Outlines, InDesign will convert text selected with the Type tool into a set of compound paths that can be manipulated.

When you use the Direct Selection tool to hover over type that has been converted to outlines, InDesign displays the path and path points. You can simply drag the point you want to edit. The Pathfinder feature provides options to add, subtract, intersect, exclude overlap, and minus-back in a path. The Pathfinder panel, found under Window>Object & Layout>Pathfinder, features the same options found under Object>Paths, Object>Pathfinder, Object>Convert Shape, and Object>Convert Point.

Key points to note:

  • A text box or one or more characters can be selected to convert to outlines.
  • When selecting a character(s) from a word or paragraph to convert to outlines, the outlines are grouped and become anchored (inline) objects that flow with the text.
  • When converting text to outlines, the outlines are grouped and become anchored (inline) objects that flow with the text.
  • To edit individual letters when outlines are created from multiple letters, copy and paste the anchored text box that contains the outlines to create an unanchored box. Select the outline group and choose Object>Ungroup.
  • Hold down the Option (ALT) key as you choose Type>Create Outlines to create a copy of the selected text, as outlines, directly on top of the original.
  • Because the converted text is no longer true type, the characters can no longer be edited using the Type tool. In addition, typographical controls will no longer apply.

So if you have type that needs your creative touch and has to be manipulated and enhanced, use Create Outlines and start designing!

You can download our handbook, Using Adobe InDesign CC 2018, to learn even more!

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Note: Information contained in this post is current at the time of posting. Visit the Technology for Publishing News & Events blog for the latest info on Adobe software releases and functionality.

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Posted by: Monica Murphy

Monica Murphy
Monica Murphy has worked in the publishing industry for over 30 years supporting publishing operations of various sizes. In her role as Technical Product Manager for Technology for Publishing, she shares her publishing application expertise supporting a broad range of publishing clients in InDesign best practices, cross-platform content workflows, and InDesign Template strategies. Her weekly tip and blog posts have a committed following in the InDesign community, and as a long-time participant in the InDesign pre-release community, she regularly analyzes and provides feedback for upcoming features. Monica manages the authoring and publication of Technology for Publishing’s handbooks on InDesign, InCopy, and other associated titles.
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