I know this seems like a stupid question but i'll ask any ways. I use Illustrator more that Corel but am moving more into it...but anyway. when i set type it wants to use the point system and I want to use inches were can i change this setting.
thanks in advance...gosh i sound like a newbe!lol
chris
Posted by Tony McDonald (Member # 1158) on :
go to - tools > options > text > change dropdown to inches > hit apply
Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :
Tony,
That doesn't change the points in the drop down, does it? If so, mine did not work.
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
No matter what you do it will show points. At least, I have never found a way to change it.
Problem with inches is, what do you want it to indicate? The height of the letters including decenders? The height of the capital letters? The height of the square or rounded letters?
If you convert the text to curves it will show the height, but it is decieving bacause of even little things like apostrophes and commas.
Posted by Chris Lovelady (Member # 2540) on :
I want to set the font size, which would be cap hieght, to inches not points. I often know what letter hieght i want to start with say 3"...well what is that in points? see my dilema.
Tony: I tried to do what you suggested and it di change in that diologe box but i did not see a change in the size drop down menu in the main screen.
chris
Posted by Steve Eisenreich (Member # 1444) on :
Every font is different so start at 100 point per inch I think and go up to 150 points. I tried too different fonts and that was the amount of difference. I guess if you are selling your fonts buy the inch then it might matter. In Corel Options there is a place to show fonts buy the inch but it does not look like it works.
Posted by Chris Lovelady (Member # 2540) on :
I have found a place in the format text option that you can set the letter height in inches but it is not acurate!? see in Illustrator you can set your type at a certin letter heighth by inches or point and picas. but it does not seem that way for corel...what i have been doing is set the guide line to the size i want buy using the the ruler.
chris
Posted by Tony McDonald (Member # 1158) on :
Sorry, I tried it too...and it didn't work like I thought it would. Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Chris...If you want to see an accurate indication of height of text. Select the text you have typed, then go to the "shape tool" (second one down on the left) click on the little triangle at the bottom of the button and then select the "free transform" tool (second last one).
Once you do that a new toolbar will appear across the top of the window. It shows the height exactly. BUT it calculates the entire height, Fine for All-Caps but useless for upper and lower case letters that have descenders.
IF that works for you you can have it available all the time by doing the following....
tools>options>customization>commands..use the down arrow to select "ALL (show all items)"...scroll down to find "object(s) size"...click and drag that command to the page and close the options window...now you can drop that command onto the toolbar and it will be there all the time.
[ December 22, 2005, 04:35 PM: Message edited by: Dave Grundy ]
Posted by Bruce Williams (Member # 691) on :
Dave Grundy has said what you need to know, I think.I also seem to recall that 72 points is an inch, and that letter hight includes ascenders and descenders.
If you're supposed to make 3" letters, that usually means all caps. If so, then select your font and type a flat capital, like I or E. Make it 3" tall, and note the letter-height reading in points. The round letters, like O and S will be taller, so you can read their points at 3" and do it that way.
Posted by Dave Utter (Member # 634) on :
I agree that 1" is supposed to equal 72 points. however, if you type a capital E or F in corel at 200 points, and then convert it to curves, the result is always somewhere around 2". Plus, not all fonts give the same result. An arial Black E comes out to 1.988". An E in "bolt" turns out to be like 2.046 tall......... go figure. I'm clueless...................
Posted by Arthur Vanson (Member # 2855) on :
When making TTF and Type1 fonts, a notional template called the Em Square is used for each character. Nothing is standard but generally the em square is 1000 ems x 1000 ems and every part of any character must fit within the template. It follows that script lettering, with dramatic ascenders, descenders and accents cannot have capitals as tall as a face without such wild extremes. Hence the discrepancy in cap heights of various fonts.
Posted by Bill Biggs (Member # 18) on :
The guidelines are my best advice. Make part of your text entry and pull it out to the size you want, then edit it. simple and efficient. I usually cut and paste into sign lab anyway for the final job. Bill
Posted by Chris Lovelady (Member # 2540) on :
Thank you all for your imput..It was a great help
I did a quick search for some conversion table and this is one i found.
chris
Posted by Kim Vlahovich (Member # 2448) on :
Hi Chris;
Both Daves' raise some good points(no pun intended)in regards to text generated by intermediate software...i.e. Corel or Adobe.
I too questioned this years ago with Corel ver.2 when I used it back in 1990. These days, using Adobe Illustrator, I have a scale factor for select sizes and fonts that we use for making signs.
It does make a difference depending on the format of fonts used and each one may differ.
For example, an Adobe Type 1 Helvetica will require a different point size than say a TTF version of the same from Corel, typically "Switzerland"...even if you employ a customized scaling chart.
Also, there are many free fonts out there that utilize a different method in their design most notably in the amount of nodes a specific font will have. This too will affect the outcome of the end product so to speak. Some fonts use waaaay too many nodes, and yet others will have just enough to allow for a nice clean plot.
Consider as well, that for some reason, depending on the foundry (in legitimate licensed fonts) or the freebies that can be had by the thousands, they will differ as well once "Converted To Curves" or in the case of Adobe, "Create Outlines".
Prime example. We recently updated our FHWA series of Highway Gothic fonts from the original 1997 release to the 2001 release...same company, slightly modified font and internal character kerning chart...but different "X" height overall.
Also interesting to note is that when purchased, this particular font style came in 2 versions on the disk. One in Adobe Type 1 and the other in TTF.
Huge difference in that both required a different scale...and when converted to outlines, the TTF contained a gazillion nodes compared to the ATM version.
Best I can suggest is that if you have the time, consider making a scale chart of standard sizes of some of the more popular fonts that you use on a regular basis. It does save time in the long run.
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