Using the Shaper Tool

To use the Shaper tool, you must have an object selected in the main window. (Although the procedures are basically similar, there are some special considerations for curved and circular objects, which are specifically described below.) To change the shape of an object with the Shaper tool:

1. In the tool palette, click on the Shaper tool to activate it.

The cursor becomes an "X" and green Shaper lines appears at the top and bottom of the object. The Shaper lines have adjustment control points.

2. Drag a line, curve, or control point to reshape the object.

How Shaper Lines Work

TypeStyler regards both text and panel objects as a combination of straight lines, arcs, and Bezier curves. The Shaper Tool allows the user to manipulate the control points of these elements to produce an almost unlimited variety of custom shapes.

By default, TypeStyler refreshes the screen every time a control point is moved. For complex designs, the time required to redraw the image can be long. This can be compounded during the shaping of objects where more than one control point is being manipulated.

To suspend redraw while using the Shaper tool, hold down the Option key. You may make as many changes to the shape of the object as you want without having the object redrawn. When the Option key is released, the object will then be redrawn.

Alternatively switching from Styled Preview to Quick View from the View menu will redraw only an outline of the object. Switching back to Styled Preview will refresh all applied effects.

Straight Shaper Lines

If the top or bottom of a shape is straight, its Shaper line will be straight. To stretch a straight text object without slanting it, drag the line from its center, straight up or down. To slant a text object, drag the line or one of its control points sideways. If you drag the line or control point all the way through the other side of the shape, the text object automatically flips upright (if you want the text to appear upside down, use the rotate tool).

You can drag a shape line's endpoints sideways to change the width of the text, or you can pivot one end to change just one side of a text object, fitting the text into sharper angles.

Curved Shaper Lines

If the top or bottom of an object is curved and you select the Shaper tool, the Shaper line for the curved portion is a Bezier curve, or an arc. When you decide to curve a straight line, TypeStyler exchanges the straight Shaper line for a Bezier line that you can make into a curve, and the resultant curve will print smoothly.

Creating Curve Top and Curve Bottom Shaper Lines

If the top or bottom Shaper line is straight and you want to curve it:

1. Click on the text object.

2. In the tool palette, click on the Shaper tool

3. Choose the Curve Top (Option-Command-Y) or Curve Bottom (Option-Command-H) option in the Shape menu.

The Shaper line turns into a Bezier curve. Two control points (they look like small +'s) appear between the endpoints on the shape line.

4. Drag either the control points or the curve's endpoints to make the Shaper line a curve.

Hint: Holding the shift key down as you drag a curve anchors the endpoints, for a more symmetrical look.

Shaping Circular Text

When you select a circular type layout by choosing one of the circular shapes (2 through 9) in the Shape Library, the resultant circular text in the main window appears equidistant between the outer and inner shaping arcs. The outer shaping arc is the called the resizing control, and the inner shaping arc is called the height control. The endpoints of the height control determine the height of the characters. The small dot in the center of the bottom line beneath the text is the center point handle, which you use when you want to move the circular text object around. The two handles at either ends of the shaping arcs are the arc begin handle and the arc end handle, and with them you can change the size of the shaping arc. These features are described below.

To shape circular text:

1. Click on the circular text object to be shaped.

2. In the Tool Palette, click on the Shaper tool

3. Drag the resizing control, the height control, the arc begin handle, and the arc end handle to create the desired effect.

4. If you want to move the text object, drag its center point handle.

The Resizing Control

The resizing control sets the diameter of a circular text object. As you drag it, the new text area that you're creating is represented by gray shading. When you release the mouse, the new text is redrawn to fit the gray area. This will not affect the proportions of the object's arc, just its diametric size.

The Arc Begin Handle and Arc End Handles

You adjust the proportions of a circular text object's arc with the arc begin and arc end handles. To use them, click on either handle and drag clockwise or counterclockwise. The new size of the arc is indicated by gray shading.

You can rotate the text by pressing " l" while dragging either arc handle. " l" is a temporary command that activates the Shape menu command Link Left and Right (see "Using the Temporary Override Shape Menu Key Commands" above). Pressing the shift key as you drag an arc begin or arc end handle also rotates the text.

You can resize the arc in both directions by pressing and holding the temporary command key " m" (Mirror Left and Right Shape) when you drag one side, to link as opposites the left and right control points.

The Height Control

The Height Control sets the height of the circular text. You adjust the height by dragging the Height Control closer or farther from the center point. When you release the mouse, the text is repainted at the new height.

The Center Point Handle

You can move a circular text object by dragging the center point handle to a new position. The center point handle has another less obvious use; holding the Shift key while clicking it swaps the baseline and the cap height line. This causes the text to flip from concave to convex, or vice versa.

Editing Circular Text

TypeStyler limits circular text objects to one line of text each. As with all TypeStyler text, you edit circular text in the Text Attributes dialog. Circular text always fills the arc span fully, in equal proportions; the letters are squeezed or stretched horizontally to accomplish this. When you edit text, you often change the number of characters, which modifies the fit of the text within the arc. If the letters are too narrow or too wide following text edits, you can either resize the arc or make adjustments by changing letter and word spacing in the Type Options dialog. For instance, you can adjust the letter spacing to bring the characters closer together. Since the arc span doesn't change, this has the effect of increasing the characters' width.

If you want to create a second line of circular text, you need to create a second circular text object. You can then size the new object (and resize the original) to create concentricity, and you can go on to create successive concentric rings of text if you desire.

Using Copy Attributes and Paste Attributes To Make Perfect Concentric Rings

To assure that concentric rings of circular text (or circular panels) are perfectly aligned:

1. Create your first line of circular text.

2. In the Edit menu, choose Copy (Command-C).

A copy of the circular text appears, directly on top of the original.

4. Open the Text Attributes dialog and type new text into the text box (unless your second text object is meant to read exactly the same).

Remember that you're going to be shrinking the second text object, reducing the size of its type proportionately, but making it harder to read if you try to include too many words.

4. With the new circular text object selected, use its resizing control to shrink it, until it appears to fit snugly into the arc of the original circular text object.

Drag the center point handle to reposition the smaller text object, then adjust the resizing control again if necessary, making the best fit possible.

4. Select the original circular text object and choose Copy Attributes (Command-[) in the Edit menu.

5. Select the second, smaller text object. Then, in the Edit menu, open the Paste Attributes dialog (Command-]) and select Center.

This aligns the two objects' centerpoints. You've already copied the original text object's style, shape, and font, so you don't need to select those options in the Paste Attributes dialog.

6. With the resizing control, you can tweak the smaller text object inside the first text object if it remains a few pixels from a perfect fit.

Using Copy Attributes and Paste Attributes To Align Panels and Circular Text

To assure that circular text and panel objects are perfectly aligned:

1. Create your circular text object.

2. Create your panel.

3. Select the circular text object and choose Copy Attributes in the Edit menu.

4. Select the panel and open the Paste Attributes dialog in the Edit Menu, then select the Shape and Area paste options.

The panel will occupy the same area as the circular text object, and will adjust to the object's shape.

5. With the panel selected, in the Arrange menu choose Send Backward.

You'll see the circular text object perfectly aligned over the panel. If you decide that perfect alignment doesn't look right in your design after all, you can still use the pointer to select and drag the text around by the center handle.

Setting the Shape Height

When TypeStyler styles type, it stretches or squeezes the area between the baseline and cap height of the font so that it fits neatly between the top and bottom shape lines of the shape. There is one cap height value that applies to the entire font. By default, the cap height is set to be the height of the capital " T" in the font. Through the use of the Shape Height Character dialog, the cap height can be set to be the height of any other character in the font. This feature can help to eliminate certain anomalies that may occur with certain shapes or when shaping mostly lower case text.

NOTE: This is an advanced feature that in most instances will be unnecessary.

This feature is of most value when a shape consists of a top shape line which is straight, and a bottom shape line which is curved. An example of such a shape is Style #16 in the Shape Library, a "vertical arc."

The arch basically keeps the top of the text undistorted, while stretching the bottom of the text downward. The text is thus not uniformly distorted, but rather there is a range of distortion with zero distortion occurring at the top of the text, and maximum distortion occurring at the bottom of the text. The distortion increases the further away the point is from the top straight line.

The top straight line is set at the Shape Height, which by default is the height of a capital " T" in the font. Even if a capital " T" is not in the display text, the top shape height is still set to the height of the " T." If the display text has characters which are much shorter than a capital " T," then the tops of the characters may distort, and the straight top edge will start to curve at the edges. This is very common for display type that is in lower case:

In this case, the Shape Height can be set to be a lower case " w", and the distortion will be removed. To proceed:

• Bring up the Text Attributes dialog for the text object

• Hold down the Command and Option key while clicking on Type Options...

• The Shape Height Character Dialog box will appear. Enter a lower case " w."

• Click on OK.

The object will be redrawn using the height of a lower case " w" as the shape height, and the distortion will disappear.

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