Wrapping text around an image in Designer on Mac

[anotherhoward]

I have an image that I want to position in the upper-left corner of a text frame so that the text wraps around it -- see attachment, which shows the image and text as separate objects.

How can I do that in Affinity Designer?

I am using Designer version 1.10.4 on a Mac running Version 12.0.1.

[walt.farrell]

Text wrapping around objects is not a function provided by Designer; it's only in Publisher.

So I think you'll have to emulate it by creating a Text Frame with an odd shape. For example, you could put the image on the canvas or artboard and then use the Pen Tool to create a shape like this:

Then use Layer > Convert to Text Frame, and put your text into the frame.

 

[anotherhoward]

When I did that, it worked except for one thing. When I filled the new text frame, there is a blank area above the first line of text -- see attachment. Is there a way for the text to start at the top of the text frame?

[walt.farrell]

6 minutes ago, anotherhoward said:

When I filled the new text frame, there is a blank area above the first line of text

That didn't happen when I created the document for my screenshots above (though I showed it without the text), so I suspect it's something you've done. If you'd like to share the sample document that would be better than guessing.

[anotherhoward]

Attached is the sample document.

sample doc.afdesign

[Old Bruce]

I get a problem when using the pen tool making an L shape. But if I use a Text Frame and convert to curves and then make that into an L shape I have no problem. If I make two rectangles into an L shape by adding them and convert that to a Text Frame I have no problem.

Only when making some shape with the Pen tool do I see the problem. And that is because the top line must be dead level, off by a single pixel and all bets are off. Turn on Snapping choose the grid for the candidate.

[anotherhoward]

How can I make two rectangles into an L shape by adding them?

[R C-R]

3 hours ago, anotherhoward said:

How can I make two rectangles into an L shape by adding them?

I think he might have meant subtracting, not adding.

[walt.farrell]

13 hours ago, Old Bruce said:

And that is because the top line must be dead level, off by a single pixel and all bets are off. Turn on Snapping choose the grid for the candidate.

Hold Shift to constrain the lines to horizontal and vertical.

[walt.farrell]

7 hours ago, R C-R said:

I think he might have meant subtracting, not adding.

Add works fine.

Make the two rectangles. Snap them to each other. Add. 

[Old Bruce]

8 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

Make the two rectangles. Snap them to each other. Add. 

I overlap, always. With the way the Affinity applications can mess up using the Boolean operations I always overlap when adding, I am not confident the operation won't give extra nodes if I just butt them together.

[anotherhoward]

I have made an L-shaped rectangle and converted it to a text frame, but when I typed text into the text frame, the text appears strangely -- see attachment. There is too much space between the lines. I checked both the Paragraph and Character panels but don't see anything amiss in either of them.

I appreciate everyone's help so far.

sample-3.afdesign

[Old Bruce]

You have a 99 point leading override. Select all the text and use the Character panel to set the Override to Auto.

[R C-R]

4 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

Add works fine.

Make the two rectangles. Snap them to each other. Add. 

That does not work for me for something like this Add or subtract.afdesign file, but Subtract does, & works even when the smaller rectangle is not snapped to the larger one.

[R C-R]

4 hours ago, Old Bruce said:

I overlap, always. With the way the Affinity applications can mess up using the Boolean operations I always overlap when adding, I am not confident the operation won't give extra nodes if I just butt them together.

I am not sure what you mean about overlap, but consider this add or subtract 2.afdesign file with two overlapping rectangles.  If I try adding them together, I do not get an L shape. If I subtract, I do get an L shape, & it has no extra nodes. It is a quick & easy way to get an L shaped curve.

[Old Bruce]

@R C-R

Six of one a half dozen of the other.

[R C-R]

3 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

@R C-R

Six of one a half dozen of the other.

I am not sure what you mean by that. At least for me, adding those two overlapping rectangles simply does not ever create an L shape, but subtracting always does. Are you saying you are seeing something different?

Regarding an earlier comment:

19 hours ago, Old Bruce said:

Only when making some shape with the Pen tool do I see the problem. And that is because the top line must be dead level, off by a single pixel and all bets are off. Turn on Snapping choose the grid for the candidate.

The Pen tool includes an "Align to nodes of selected curves" snapping option on the context toolbar. With that enabled, after placing the first node with the Pen tool, you can use the Shift key to place the second one directly below it, & from there on the other nodes will snap into alignment with the existing ones without the need to hold down Shift. This works even when no other snapping options are enabled.

Not the most obvious way to make sure every node is aligned properly but it works.

[Old Bruce]

5 hours ago, R C-R said:

At least for me, adding those two overlapping rectangles simply does not ever create an L shape, but subtracting always does. Are you saying you are seeing something different?

I used completely different shapes. I made the upright then the bottom, basically the finished L then added them.

Six of one... referred to using two different methods to get the same result. Two pairs of rectangles, different shapes, two different operations, Add or Subtract give the same end result.

[Old Bruce]

5 hours ago, R C-R said:

The Pen tool includes an "Align to nodes of selected curves" snapping option on the context toolbar. With that enabled, after placing the first node with the Pen tool, you can use the Shift key to place the second one directly below it, & from there on the other nodes will snap into alignment with the existing ones without the need to hold down Shift. This works even when no other snapping options are enabled.

Not the most obvious way to make sure every node is aligned properly but it works.

Thanks for that, another excellent tool to add to my toolbox. Oh my, it has been there all along. Pay more attention Bruce.

[R C-R]

1 minute ago, Old Bruce said:

Six of one... referred to using two different methods to get the same result. Two pairs of rectangles, different shapes, two different operations, Add or Subtract give the same end result.

Well, add does not have the same end result as subtract for the rectangles in the files in my examples, or anywhere else where they do not overlap to create a perfect L shape before adding them.

[Old Bruce]

You are using one large rectangle and one smaller rectangle (though it doesn't need to be smaller, just the overlap is small) to Subtract (punch out) the L shape. I am use two small rectangles to arrange the L shape and Adding them. Think of nailing two narrow boards together versus sawing out a bit from one large wide board.

[R C-R]

5 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

I am use two small rectangles to arrange the L shape and Adding them.

I am aware of that. My point is Add only works if the two rectangles are already aligned so that together they form a perfect L shape, so you must insure the two rectangles are perfectly aligned.

So for example, in this almost aligned.afdesign example, Add will not produce a perfect L shape because there will be a tiny difference between the nodes at the bottom of the overlap.