FW MX 2004 Tutorial (5): Text editing

The tutorial fireworks provides us with the powerful character design function, has provided the specialized text editing function for the text input and the setting, may conveniently to carry on the input text such as the font, the size, the shape, fills, the stroke, the up and down distance, the custom anti-aliasing and so on each operation.

　　1 , Text Properties window

Click the Text tool on the toolbar, and then clicking on the canvas displays the text's input box, as shown in Figure 5-01.

Figure 5-01

In this box, you can freely enter various types of text, and in the Text Tool property box in detail shows the various options for the Text tool, as shown in Figure 5-02.

Figure 5-02

You can set the font, font size, color, text spacing, custom anti-aliasing, and so on for text in this property box. Clicking the text-Editor in the menu bar also allows you to set the properties of the text, as shown in Figure 5-03.

As shown in Figure 5-03

　　 2 , the deformation of the text

Text scaling: The input text can also be adjusted to the path object with the "warp" tool on the toolbar, as shown in Figure 5-04.

Figure 5-04

When you click the Zoom tool, there are eight control points and a zoom center point in the text box, and the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow when you move the mouse over the control point, and then drag the control point to change the shape of the object, as shown in Figure 5-05, 5-06. When you drag a control point while holding down the ALT key, the object is centered by the zoom point, causing the object to have a symmetric scaling distortion.

Figure 5-05

Figure 5-06

When you move the mouse over the four corners of any control point, the pointer changes to a circular arrow, and you drag the control point to move it to rotate the direction of the text, as shown in Figure 5-07, 5-08. Changing the position of the Zoom center at this point is the central position of the rotation point.

Figure 5-07

Figure 5-08

The use of the tilt tool and the distort tool is also achieved by dragging control points. You can practice it yourself. In addition, when the shape of the text box is changed, clicking the Text Tool again continues to enter or edit the text, as shown in Figure 5-09.

Figure 5-09

　　 3 , text attached to the path

Text in Freworks is entered in a text entry box, and if you want text to be not restricted by a rectangular text box, you can draw a closed path and attach the text to a path so that the text flows along the path's shape and remains editable. Use the text-Attach path command, as shown in Figure 5-10, by pressing the Chrl+a key and selecting both the text and the path.

Figure 5-10

This way, the text is appended to the closed path, as shown in Figure 5-11. At this point the text and path become a whole, and the enclosing path temporarily loses its stroke, fill, and effect properties. Any stroke, fill, or effect properties that are subsequently used on the path are applied to the text, not the path.

Figure 5-11

If you feel that the text is not in the right position to the path, you can set the text offset in the Text property box. Enter "92" to offset the text counterclockwise by 92 pixels, as shown in Figure 5-12.

Figure 5-12

Not only can the text attached to the path change its position, you can also change the direction of text inside and outside the path by "text-reverse direction" on the menu bar, as shown in Figure 5-13.

Figure 5-13

Text can continue to be added or edited for all kinds of text after it has been attached to the path, as shown in Figure 5-14.

Figure 5-14

If you want to use text attached to a path, you can separate the text attached to the path by using the text-detach from Path command when you select the text and the path. When text is detached from the path, the path will regain its stroke, fill, and effect properties.

　　 4 , text to path

You can turn text into a path in freworks and then manipulate it as a vector path, but you can't edit it as text.

After selecting the text, click on the "text-Convert to Path" command, at which point the text will be converted to a combined path, as shown in Figure 5-15.

Figure 5-15

You can use the Subselection tool to drag the path node on the text to change the shape of the character, as shown in Figure 5-16, after the text has been converted to a combined path.

Figure 5-16

You can also use the Modify-ungroup command to split the character into a single, separate path, as shown in Figure 5-17.