Technique to use text highlight/selection box as the boolean subtractor, instead of text itself?

[mantramedia.ca]

Hey folks! Migrating from Illustrator, and loving it so far!

I have many lines in a project. Most of these lines need a label. I would love to make the labelling process as easy as I can.

The photo attached shows two methods. I would love to figure out how to replicate the bottom result automatically. For it, I added an appropriately sized box and boolean subtracted that from the expanded stroke.

The middle is just the two layers untouched. The top layer is what I am unable to get past. Thank you!!!

[loukash]

Interesting challenge!  

Designer might be even the less suitable tool here.
Publisher gives you a few more typographical options because it has the Text Frame panel. (The combination of the "Affinity trinity" is the killer feature anyway.)

Here's a possible solution in Publisher (v1) that gives you a single freely editable object:

The trick here is to make the actual curve stroke visible via the Text Frame panel (not available in Designer), make it a dash stroke, with gaps and phase fine tuned so that it leaves the gap in the middle. 

Of course, if you change the text, you'll have to readjust the dash gap and phase.

To edit the curve, select it with the Node tool.

The confusing part here is that if you attempt to edit the stroke via the Stroke panel, it will affect the text stroke, i.e. the outline. The curve stroke is only editable in the Text Frame panel.

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If you have a solid background fill anyway, then instead of using dash stroke, you can add character background fill that would match your background color.

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More flexible, interactive, but also more complex constructions might maybe be possible in Designer with the help of partially synced Symbols. I'll try…

[loukash]

Alright, in Designer 2, you can put the text in a simple text frame, centered, add paragraph decorations on each side of the text to mimic the stroke, then use the Warp Group Horizontal Arc to distort it to your liking. The actual text frame remains fully editable, but again, the fake strokes need to be readjusted if you change the text.
I'm not at my desktop installation of Designer v2 at the moment, but on iPad it looks like this:

[loukash]

1 hour ago, loukash said:

to make the actual curve stroke visible 

Speaking of which, this is also possible in Designer without the Text Frame panel if you create your stroke first, then convert it to Text Path. But you can't adjust the stroke width afterwards without the Text Frame panel.

[mantramedia.ca]

Amazing! Thanks so much for the expertise, and hope you enjoyed the interesting challenge . 

I'll have to give the publisher solution a go tomorrow, looks like exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks again and happy holidays !

[Komatös]

@mantramedia.ca

Maybe this video is another inspiration!

 

[loukash]

4 hours ago, Komatös said:

Maybe this video is another inspiration!

Interesting as far as the new Compound Masks feature in Photo v2 is concerned (which I personally haven't even explored yet), but in the given context I don't think it's an appropriate solution. Since @mantramedia.ca wants to work with text and vector objects, there no need to even begin with pixel masking. Vector compound masking is already available, and as noted, has been even used in mantramedia.ca's example #3. Besides, masking adds complexity either way.