Text in a shape problem

[Phil_rose]

Hi all, I have just recently come to realise that designer does not include a wrap feature which blows my mind. I can't believe that something so basic has been left out. I mean, I know that this is primarily an illustration program but DrawPlus certainly had the ability to wrap text around an object. Anyway, as a workaround I created a box (see screenshot attached) I then skewed it and then filled it with some text. As you see, the text is now sloping. Is there a way to make this not be the case? I just want to fill it with text that is normal and upright.

Thanks very much for any help.

Phil

[dutchshader]

Convert the shape to curves, that should do it.

[toltec]

Don't shear the shape using the shear handles. Converting it to curves wont help (sorry dutchshader)

 

Draw the shape, convert it to curves and use the corner nodes to "shear" it.

 

 

or draw it with the pen tool in polygon mode.

 

 

 

 

 

[Phil_rose]

47 minutes ago, toltec said:

Don't shear the shape using the shear handles. Converting it to curves wont help (sorry dutchshader)

 

Draw the shape, convert it to curves and use the corner nodes to "shear" it.

 

 

or draw it with the pen tool in polygon mode.

 

 

 

 

 

Perfect! Thanks!

[gdenby]

Hey, Phil_rose,

 

18 hours ago, Phil_rose said:

 I have just recently come to realise that designer does not include a wrap feature which blows my mind. I can't believe that something so basic has been left out.

 

You make me smile. I'm old, and forgetful, but you remind me of when there was no "something so basic."

[Phil_rose]

You mean before computers? Not sure if I'm following you! 

[R C-R]

3 hours ago, gdenby said:

You make me smile. I'm old, and forgetful, but you remind me of when there was no "something so basic."

I am old enough to remember when very "basic" software, adjusted for inflation, cost upwards of $150 & anything claiming it included "pro" features cost several times that much. If you were lucky, you might see one or two free updates with a few bug fixes before the next paid upgrade was released.

[gdenby]

2 hours ago, Phil_rose said:

You mean before computers? Not sure if I'm following you! 

 

No, just back before flowing text around shapes was available. 1st there was text. Then, in a rectangular box. And!, get this,  one could move the box on the page and the text would move too! Getting text to flow in simple irregular rectangular shapes was a minor miracle. Getting it to flow around voids in the box, who'da thunk? 

 

This is a way of saying that the Serif crew is writing modern code to do something that has been around for decades, and took decades to implement. Like building a house from ground up, if you will.

 

[gdenby]

1 hour ago, R C-R said:

I am old enough to remember when very "basic" software, adjusted for inflation, cost upwards of $150 & anything claiming it included "pro" features cost several times that much. If you were lucky, you might see one or two free updates with a few bug fixes before the next paid upgrade was released.

 

My wife wrote a lot, and eventually taught literature at the college level. The 1st word processor I bought for her that was worth anything, adjusted for inflation, cost $240, and only crashed about once per session. But the output was pretty good WYSIWIG, even on a 9-pin dot matrix printer.

[Phil_rose]

Ah. I see. Well, as a fifty year old (my profile pic was taken in about 1991) I remember a lot of that. I've been with Serif since 1994 when I got my first PagePlus. But I have to say, there was a time when seat belts were a luxury on a new car but we're not wrong to expect them as a minimum today!

But Serif have always managed to put wrap into their other products and so they should be able to do it now and, IF THEY DON'T I WILL SCREAM AND SCREAM AND SCREAM UNTIL I'M SICK. AND I CAN. 

Edited May 13, 2018 by Phil_rose
Fun

[gdenby]

I agree, the Affinity suite needs lots of stuff. Myself, would like to see lots more of Designer features. From what I can gather from forum postings, Serif isn't using any of the earlier code in the Affinity apps, so there is a huge amount of new programming. Also wish they could move faster. But I can't imagine that aren't moving as quickly as they can. 

 

 

 

[MikeW]

As far as drawing applications go, I was wrapping text around objects in 1992 using Professional Draw. Linked text boxes, extrusions, flowcharts and connectors between any object that remain linked to them if one or more of the objects are moved, drawing modifier keys that were live while drawing, many alignment options, pages, quality fonts, etc., etc.. And this was a first release version. It was a better applicaiton than CorelDraw, which I have also used since v.1.

 

I was using Ventura Publisher in the later 1980s, wrap was there, too. Along with many things not possible yet today in a layout application.

 

Now, Professional Draw listed at $500 if I recall and VP was, well, really expensive especially if one bought the several companion products like I did. But hey, RAM was just over $100 per meg, too. Adjusted for inflation I think the prices I (and every other person making a living doing this stupid stuff) paid would give others heart attacks.

 

There is little (to nothing) new under the sun. New ways of doing certain work, sure. Nice changes for certain aspects, sure. But if the guys & gals that made up Professional Draw could do certain things for a first release, I certainly hope Serif can by version 3...

[R C-R]

45 minutes ago, MikeW said:

There is little (to nothing) new under the sun.

Unless you count the ever increasing, almost mind-numbing complexity of modern operating systems & the need to make them as secure as possible against ever more sophisticated malware attacks. I doubt 1992 developers had to deal with that or the limitations it put on application programming.

 

52 minutes ago, MikeW said:

But if the guys & gals that made up Professional Draw could do certain things for a first release, I certainly hope Serif can by version 3...

I hope & expect we will see flowing text around shapes & text linking in version 1 of Publisher. I am not sure if we ever will or even should expect to see those features in Designer (or Photo) -- Serif clearly intends the Affinity line to be a suite of apps, each one with a low enough price that the entire suite should be much more affordable for those that need all of their features than one 'mega' app would be.

 

BTW, to put the prices in perspective, the 2018 $50 price per Affinity app works out to about $28 in 1992 dollars, or about $34 in 2000 dollars.

[MikeW]

Dunno if Serif needs to explicitly guard against malware, etc. I might be surprised but I don't think so.

[R C-R]

4 minutes ago, MikeW said:

Dunno if Serif needs to explicitly guard against malware, etc. I might be surprised but I don't think so.

With maybe a few exceptions, I don't think so either. But they do need to contend with the growing complexity of developing apps for operating systems that restrict what apps can do directly, like using memory, reading or writing files, getting data from other apps or processes (sandboxing), or accessing low level hardware features or drivers. It is a very different & more demanding programming environment than developers had to deal with in the 1990s.

[MikeW]

More involved/demanding? Possibly, maybe even probably. I dunno.

 

I do know of some applications using largely assembly code. Use to do the documentation for 4 of them (same company). Still in business churning out new versions. That's involved work.

 

In any case, time will tell what all gets rolled into the Affinity products.