How do I add an inner border/outline to text in Affinity designer?

[ASee]

Hello, 

I'm trying to create an inset outline or inner border on text in Affinity Designer — basically, I want the outline to appear inside the letters, not outside or centered. I've tried using the Stroke and Outline effects, but neither gives me the result I want.

What I’m aiming for is: the main letter stays visible underneath, and the outline sits just inside the shape of the letter, creating a uniform inner border all the way around.

I tried duplicating the text layer and using a smaller stroke on the top one to simulate the inner border, but when I scale it down to fit inside the bottom letter, the proportions go off — the border ends up uneven and not equally spaced around the edges.

I attached a photo to show what I mean: I want the effect that appears on the left side of the letter (where the blue fill is visible and the black outline sits within it) to be consistent all the way around. Is there a way to achieve that in Affinity Designer?

[NathanC]

Hi @ASee,

Are you looking to achieve something like the below?

 

This was achieved after converting the Art text to Curves using the Appearance panel to add two inner aligned strokes, the first black stroke was set to the desired inner border value, and the second stroke overlaid on top with the same colour as the inner fill. I've attached the file below for reference.

Inner border.afdesign

[GarryP]

I know that what I’m suggesting doesn’t meet the requirements but using multiple Effects to create the ‘offset outline’ is something that can give some interesting results.

I’ve attached an image and example document so you can see some examples. Look at how the Effects have been used differently in each version with different offsets/angles/colours. (The two on the right might not work well with a non-solid-colour background.)

Note: The text is still editable as text but the effect might not work nicely with all fonts.

Note: Because Effects have been used, the text will be rasterised upon export.

strange effect outlines.afdesign

[MEB]

Hi @ASee,
Welcome to Affinity Forums
One easy way to do this is duplicating the letter, setting a stroke width and removing the fill from the duplicate, then using the Contour tool and drag the corner of the bounding box to inside.

[ASee]

7 hours ago, MEB said:

Hi @ASee,
Welcome to Affinity Forums
One easy way to do this is duplicating the letter, setting a stroke width and removing the fill from the duplicate, then using the Contour tool and drag the corner of the bounding box to inside.

Oh my gosh, thank you! That’s exactly what I needed. You have no idea how much I appreciate you posting a video of this