Chapter 10: Chapter 10 provides details regarding the use of Firework's Text tool. Learn how to set or control the font, point size, style, kerning, leading, baseline shift, horizontal scale, horizontal alignment, text direction, text flow direction, and anti-aliasing. After reading this chapter, you'll be able to create text that follows a path and perform font management. Learn How to Control the Text You Type p.154

To Use the Text Tool p. 154

• Choose the Text tool
• Click the desired location of the canvas for the text
• Fireworks Text Editor will open (see the next section)

To Use the Text Editor p. 154

• Type your text into the Text Editor's
• You can check the Show Font and Show Size & Color to see the text as it will appear on the canvas
• If you click Apply you'll be able to preview the text's change on the canvas
• Click OK when finished

To Reopen the Text Editor p. 154

• Click Text/Editor or
• Double-click the text block

Learn How to Set the Text Attribute p.155

To Set the Font p. 155

• Choose the desired Font Face
• Enter your text
• If you highlight the entered text, you can still change the font face with the dropdown box

To Set the Point Size p.155

• Simply enter the font size from the keyboard or use the slider

To Add Styling p. 155

• Select your text
• Click the bold and/or italic buttons

To Apply Different Text Attributes p. 155

• You can always select the type properties (bold, italic, size, face, color, alignment, etc.) prior to entering the desired text into the Text Editor

Kerning is the space between characters. Leading is the space between lines of text.

To Kern Text p. 156

• You can kern between two characters by clicking between the two characters
• Enter your desired Kerning value in the textbox or use the slider

To Set the Range Kerning p. 156

• You can kern a string by selecting the string of characters
• Enter your desired Range Kerning value in the textbox or use the slider

To Set the Leading p. 157

• Select your text
• Enter a value for the Leading in the textbox or use the slider

To Add a Baseline Shift p. 157

• Select your text
• Enter a value for the Baseline Shift in the textbox or use the slider

To Change the Horizontal Scale p. 157

• Select your text
• Enter a value for the Horizontal Scale in the textbox or use the slider

To Set the Horizontal Alignment p. 158

• Select your text
• Click one of 5 possible alignments
  • Left
  • Right
  • Centered
  • Justified
  • Stretched

To Set the Text Direction p. 159

• Select your text
• Click the Vertical Text or Horizontal Text buttons to control the text's direction

To Reverse the Text's Flow p. 159

• Select your text
• Click the Text Flows Right to Left button

To Set the Anti-Aliasing Amount p. 159

• Select your text
• Choose one of the Anti-aliasing Level settings below:
  • No Anti-Alias
  • Crisp Anti-Alias
  • Strong Anti-Alias
  • Smooth Anti-Alias

Learn How to Work with Text Blocks p. 160

To Modify Text Inside a Text Block p. 160

• You can drag the text block handles to change the wrapping of your text
• If you've selected a text block, you will have the following commands at your disposal:
  • Text/Font
  • Text/Size
  • Text/Style
  • Text/Align

To Change the Appearance of the Text in a block p. 160

• Select your text
• All of the colors well are available to change the fill or stroke colors
• You can use the Stroke, Fill, or Effects panels to change the appearance of your text

To Reposition Text While Using the Text Editor p. 160

• Simply click the text and drag it to its new position

To Transform Text in a Text Block p. 161

• Select your text block
• Choose whichever transformation tool you wish to modify the text

Learn How to Work with Text on a Path p. 162-163

To Attach Text to a Path p. 162

• Select the text block and the path
• Click Text/Attach to Path

To Change the Alignment of Text on a Path p. 162

• Select the path that holds the text
• Click Text/Align
• Choose an alignment setting:
  • Left
  • Center Horizontally
  • Right
  • Justified
  • Stretched
  • Top
  • Centered Vertically
  • Bottom
  • Justified Vertically
  • Stretched Vertically

To Change the Text Offset along a Path p. 163

• Select the path that holds the text
• Click Window/Object
• Enter a value for the Text Offset textbox

To Change the Orientation of Text p. 163

• Select the path that holds the text
• Click Text/Orientation
• Choose one of these orientation settings:
  • Rotate Around Path
  • Vertical
  • Skew Vertical
  • Skew Horizontal

To Reverse the Direction (Flip Sides) of Text on a Path p. 163

• Click Text/Reverse Direction

Learn How to Conduct Font Management p. 164

To Convert Text to Paths p. 164

• Select the Text block or Path that contains text
• Click Text/Convert to Paths
• You can now manipulate individual characters

To Change Missing Fonts p. 164

See the textbook's details concerning with how to deal with Messages that complain that font(s) are missing or not installed. You'll learn how to substitute a different font for the missing font.

Copyright © 2001, RGPatterson, all rights reserved; last revised: 9/30/01