Strokes In Indesign: Outlining The Basics

Converting text to outlines in InDesign is a common practice, often requested by printing services. However, it is mostly unnecessary and can even be harmful to your document. While it may be useful if you want to edit the shape of individual letters or add artistic flair to specific words, it will diminish the quality of your text in most other cases. To convert text into outlines in InDesign, you can select the text and go to the Type menu, then select Create Outlines. Alternatively, you can copy the text into Illustrator, expand it there, and then copy it back into InDesign.

Converting text to outlines

• The quality of the text will suffer as the glyphs turn into shapes and lose some of the Font's inherent automations.
• Some characteristics, such as underlines, overlines, bullet points, and enumerations, will be lost in the conversion because they are not part of the character but are applied by InDesign.
• Once you've converted your text into outlines, you will be working with shapes, and you won't be able to edit your text.
• The PDF file size will be much larger because each letter is a shape.

If you still need to convert text to outlines, there are a few ways to do it:

• Using InDesign: Select a word, group of words, or text box, and click on Type > Create Outlines.
• Using Adobe Acrobat: Create a PDF from InDesign, open the PDF with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, click on the "More Tools" icon on the right-hand bar, click on "Print Production" in the sub-menu, and then double-click on "PDF fixups" or search for "Converts fonts to outlines" in the Search field. This will save the PDF with a new name and all fonts converted to outlines.

Note: Converting strokes to outlines in InDesign is not possible. You will need to use Illustrator or another program to do this.

Why you shouldn't convert text to outlines

Converting text to outlines is mostly considered unnecessary and is even advised against. The idea is old and outdated, and there are several reasons why you should refrain from doing so unless you want to edit the shape of single letters or give a specific word some artistic flair.

Firstly, the quality of the text will suffer. When you convert text to outlines, the glyphs turn into shapes, causing them to lose some of the font's inherent automations that ensure high quality, even when viewed in low resolution or printed in a small size. Additionally, some characteristics will be lost in the conversion because they are not part of the character but are applied by InDesign, such as underlines, overlines, bullet points, and enumerations.

Secondly, once you've converted your text into outlines, you will be working with shapes, and there is no going back. You won't be able to edit your text, which can be problematic if you need to make changes later on.

Thirdly, the PDF file size will be much larger than usual because each letter is now a shape. This can cause issues with file storage and sharing.

Lastly, converting text to outlines is often requested by printing services, but it is not necessary and can even be harmful to your document. If you feel forced to do it, you should consider changing suppliers or using a different method, such as embedding fonts in the PDFs, to ensure your text is displayed correctly.

Using the Pen Tool to draw Bezier curves

The Pen Tool in InDesign is a crucial skill for creating text paths and uniquely shaped graphic boxes. Drawing Bézier curves with the Pen Tool involves dragging from numbered black points to the red circle in one motion rather than a click and click-drag method.

To draw a curve, select the Pen Tool and position it where you want the curve to begin. Hold down the mouse button, and the first anchor point will appear, with the Pen Tool pointer changing to an arrowhead. Drag to set the slope of the curve segment, then release the mouse button. The length and slope of the direction lines determine the shape of the curve.

If you want to create a C-shaped curve, drag in the opposite direction of the previous direction line. To create an S-shaped curve, drag in the same direction as the previous direction line.

When drawing curves, it is best to use as few anchor points as possible, as using too many can introduce unwanted bumps. Instead, draw widely spaced anchor points and practice shaping curves by adjusting the length and angles of the direction lines.

After drawing a line, deselect it before moving on to the next one. This can be done by choosing 'Deselect All' under 'Edit', switching to the 'Selection' tool, or using the 'Command' (Mac) or 'Control' (Windows) shortcuts.

Using the Pathfinder Panel

The Pathfinder panel in InDesign is a powerful tool that consolidates all the path tools in one place. To access it, go to the Window menu, then to Objects and Layout, and finally select Pathfinder.

The Pathfinder panel allows you to close open paths or convert paths into known shapes. For example, if you've drawn a path using the Pen tool and want to convert it into a triangle, simply select "Convert shape to triangle" in the Convert shape section of the Pathfinder panel.

If you frequently work with paths, it's a good idea to dock the Pathfinder panel along with your other panels for easy access.

The Pathfinder panel is also useful when working with text outlines. Text outlines are a fun way to add effects to text and change the characteristics of individual letters or words without changing the entire font. To create an outline of a letter, select it with the Selection tool, go to the Type menu, and select "Create Outlines." This will create a path with many vertices, allowing you to selectively add effects like transparency or drop shadows, or fill the outline with an image or color.

When working with text outlines, it's important to note that converting text to outlines can cause issues with printing services and reduce the quality of your document. It's generally recommended to refrain from converting text to outlines unless you specifically need to edit the shape of single letters or add artistic flair to specific words.

Additionally, when using the Pathfinder panel with outlined text, you may encounter issues with Groups or Compound Paths. In such cases, you can try cutting and pasting the objects in front (Cmd + X, Cmd + F on a Mac) to remove any groupings or compounds that may be interfering with the Pathfinder function.

Overall, the Pathfinder panel in InDesign is a versatile tool that can help you create and manipulate paths and shapes, as well as add creative effects to your text.

Creating text outlines

Using the Selection Tool

Firstly, select the text you want to outline using the Selection tool. Then, go to the Type menu and select "Create Outlines". This will create an outline path of the selected text, and you will be able to see the vertices, which are the paths along the outline.

Using the Pen Tool

You can also use the Pen Tool to draw Bezier curves. Select the Pen Tool from the toolbar and draw on the document. You can start a new curve from the endpoint of the previous curve. If you hover the Pen Tool over any of the vertex points, the cursor will change to a Pen with a minus symbol, indicating that the vertex can be deleted.

Using the Pathfinder Panel

The Pathfinder Panel can be found by going to the Window menu, then to Objects and Layout, and finally selecting Pathfinder. The Pathfinder consolidates all the path tools under one panel. You can close open paths or convert paths into known shapes. For example, if you want to convert a path into a triangle, select the "Convert shape to triangle" option in the Convert shape section.

Why You Shouldn't Convert Text into Outline

While it is possible to convert text into outlines, it is generally advised against as it can diminish the quality of your document. Here are some reasons why you shouldn't convert text into outlines:

• The quality of the text will suffer as the glyphs turn into shapes and lose some of the Font's inherent automations.
• Some characteristics will be lost in the conversion as they are not part of the character but are applied by InDesign (e.g. underline, overline, bullet points, enumeration).
• Once you've converted your text into an outline, you won't be able to edit it.
• The PDF file size will be much larger than normal because each letter is a shape.

Frequently asked questions