Creating Text in an Arc …

[Dr_No]

I have text in a Publisher document which will eventually be multiple layers that I would like to have arc upward. I see no provision for doing that. Text is converted to curves, and should be warpable - but I see no warp tools available. Similarly, I can apply a color to the text (3 lines total, mid-line italics) in toto, but not to an individual selection.

A separate matter is importing text created in Illustrator CS6, QuarkXpress 9.5.4.1, and InDesign CS6. None of these formats imports into Publisher save as .pdf files, which are not editable. If they are editable, I haven't figured out the steps by which to make that so. All tips appreciated.

Please advise if these things are possible and, if so, how to achieve them.

Edited December 1, 2019 by Dr_No
Adding additional topic to question

[fde101]

You can put text on a path by creating the path using the normal shape/pen tools, then with the path selected, clicking on it with the artistic text tool.  The path itself will become invisible, but the text will follow it.  You can tell when the mouse is over a valid path because the pointer will change to reflect creating the text on the path.

The Affinity products do not yet have a mesh warp tool that keeps objects in an editable vector format, though Affinity Photo does have one that operates on raster layers, and this can be accessed from the Photo persona within Publisher if you have both programs installed and have started them both at least once.

IDML import is partially implemented in the 1.8 beta which is currently underway.  INDD and QXP import are not expected to happen.  Normally you should be able to edit text imported from a PDF file, but if the text had operations applied to it which cannot be cleanly imported into the Affinity products (things they do not currently support natively) my guess would be that they were rasterized or converted to curves during import.  If they are coming from PDF files, it may also be that the other program converted to curves when producing the PDF).

If your text is converted to curves and is a single object (one entry on the layers panel), then it will have a single, shared appearance (fill/stroke/etc); if you want to color the letters individually, you will need to break it into multiple objects.  To do that, right-click on the object and from the Geometry submenu select Separate Curves (you can also find the Geometry submenu in the Layers menu).

[Dr_No]

Thanks … that just about covers it, I think. 

Is it (relatively) safe to assume one can import text as .rtf (Rich Text Format) and then apply formatting to it in Publisher (or Photo or Designer)? If so, I can open the original .rtf files (which will still require substantial editing to bring them to match the finished files in INDD / AI / QXP) and complete the layout and formatting in Publisher. That should at least have the benefit of consistency, yes?

[fde101]

9 hours ago, Dr_No said:

import text as .rtf (Rich Text Format) 

Yes, you can import plain-text, RTF and Word DOCX (not DOC) files.  You can also copy/paste from other programs.

[Dr_No]

The uneditable .pdfs still had text as text (not converted to curves or vector outline.) Wouldn't be recognized as such, tho', and wouldn't allow reassigning of fonts, spacing, kerning, leading, etc. Puzzling. Tabs are still more of a chore than tabs should be, tho'. I realise I'm used to the tab bar in AI / ID / QX that lets a block be highlighted and tabs set, then all tabs become global settings. I have to be missing something with Publisher, ’cos I don't find tabs intuitive there at all. The little boxes with ‘tab sets’ and decimal settings don't effectuate any change(-s) when the text is highlighted and the button clicked. This, I'm thinking, is all part of the Great Learning Curve …

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, Dr_No said:

The uneditable .pdfs still had text as text (not converted to curves or vector outline.) Wouldn't be recognized as such, tho', and wouldn't allow reassigning of fonts, spacing, kerning, leading, etc. Puzzling.

Unless you provide an example I doubt we'll be able to help with that. Ideally you would provide both the original file and the PDF you're trying to Open in Publisher.

[Dr_No]

A re-visit to the above-mentioned .pdf shows its text was, indeed, made non-editable by the conversion out of INDD. The same was true for .pdfs generated by AI.

I think (note: ‘think’ in this context is open to interpretation) the Mystery of the Tabs is close to being resolved. I can set (as an example) a .15 tab indent for global application to a series of paragraphs that are highlighted (is it necessary for all to be highlighted?, he asked) and it took immediate effect - except for the very first line of text in the opening para. Mama, why is that … ? How is it correctable … ?

[fde101]

You can set individual tab stops using the text ruler on a text box (View -> Text Ruler) or in the Tab Stops section of the Paragraph panel.  Individual tab stops are listed in the list that covers most of the panel; the single width box at the top is used for the remaining tabs stops after the ones listed.

On the text ruler, if a tab stop is shown stuck to the bottom of the ruler, it will stick to the left side of the text box when the box is scaled.  If it is shown at the top of the text ruler, it will stick to the right side.

[Dr_No]

Well DAYYYUM! Thanks for that tip. Did not know that existed in Publisher. I do believe you have just greatly simplified my typesetting life. I'm still trying to understand the Mystical Tab Stops in the Para panel … I keep hearing ‘Does not compute. Does not compute.’ … at times there is a feeling of attempting to decode arcane alchemical symbology …