Type on a Path

Quick reference

• 00:04 So another important option that I'd like to show you guys when you're working with
• 00:08 text is how to put text along a path.
• 00:10 Now you've seen us working with paths a little bit now by using the pen tool and
• 00:14 things like that, so we can just grab the pen and
• 00:17 then we're just going to make a line.
• 00:18 So let's make it kind of a curvy line by clicking and holding, dragging out, and
• 00:23 then we'll click and drag again over here.
• 00:27 Now if I go ahead and press t on the keyboard to get my type tool.
• 00:30 You'll see that if I kinda hover over this path it changes into a type cursor.
• 00:36 So now if I click,
• 00:37 it's actually going to just put in all of this text right along my path.
• 00:42 So it's a cool way that you can actually add text on a line and
• 00:46 have it going in a direction or following a shape, okay?
• 00:50 So now that we have some text along a path like this, I'd like to also show you guys
• 00:54 something else that you can do which is kind of cool.
• 00:57 So if I grab my ellipse tool by pressing L on the keyboard, I can click and
• 01:01 drag out a circle, like this.
• 01:04 And then I'm gonna press Shift + X to just make it a stroke.
• 01:07 Now, this time, I have to click and
• 01:09 hold on my type tool, and I'm going to choose type on a path tool.
• 01:14 Okay, so now when I click on the circle,
• 01:16 it's adding my text all the way around the circle.
• 01:20 And I can use the same keyboard shortcuts, like Cmd Ctrl + Shift and
• 01:23 the left carrot, to make the text smaller.
• 01:26 And I can also space the letters out by holding down Alt + Option,
• 01:29 and pressing the right arrow.
• 01:31 And I can do this until the text goes all the way around the circle, or
• 01:34 until you get that plus icon, like that.
• 01:36 And that's just indicating that there's additional type that is being cut off.
• 01:42 Okay, but that's just a couple of the ways that you can do this.
• 01:45 And if you wanted to have the shape continue,
• 01:49 you could click on this plus here and then just click over here.
• 01:55 And now it's going kind of link those two together so
• 01:58 that you have your overflow text in this shape over here.
• 02:04 Right, so I know it looks kind of weird,
• 02:06 but basically all the text that's getting cut off here now is on this shape.
• 02:11 But instead we can just make the text smaller or
• 02:13 however we wanna do it until it fits in there.
• 02:17 But you can draw all kinds of shapes like this with the pen tool.
• 02:20 If you wanted to have just the bottom arc of a circle, or anything like that,
• 02:24 and then you can press T to grab your type on a path tool once again, and
• 02:28 your type will automatically follow the line that you've put in place.
• 02:33 So this is a really great way to create some interesting looking text.
• 02:36 And to even use text as a visual, and it can help you as a visual aide
• 02:41 anytime that you're using your type to support a graphic or an illustration.

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