Find and Replace text with graphic

[WAZZAJ]

I have just transferred from InDesign to Affinity.

A feature of InDesign is that I can search and replace text with an inline graphic. I have a document with hundreds of arrows and to replace each one at a time is too laborious. The cog on the replace field only has Style options—no special character option.

Is there a way to do this as it makes this program unusable for me without that feature.

[walt.farrell]

Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums, @WAZZAJ.

I don't know InDesign, so I'm not sure if you're saying that you need to replace a character with a graphic (e.g., replace a → with a picture) or if you are seeing you need some way to replace a tag of some kind with a → or similar glyph.

If you need to replace a tag with something like a → glyph, then it can be done through Find/Replace, but not as easily as having the character directly selectable in that dialog. On the other hand, if you want a a special glyph such as → you can enter it directly in your text via the Glyph panel, with no need to use Find/Replace.

For either approach, you would first access the Glyph Browser via the main menu using either View > Studio > Glyph Browser or Text > Show Glyph Browser. Then:

1. Find the character you want. In the Search field of the Glyph Browser you can specify part of the character name. For example, I searched for arrow and the → was one of the characters that it returned.
2. Find the first place you want to insert that character, set the text cursor there, and double-click on the character in the Glyph Browser. Publisher will insert it into your Text Frame.
3. You could simply do that for each place you want to insert that character, with no need to insert a tag and use Find/Replace later.
4. However, if you want to use a tag that you will replace later, once you've put one copy of the character into the text, highlight/select that character in the Text Frame and press Ctrl+C to copy it.
5. In the Find/Replace panel, click in the Replace field and press Ctrl+V to paste the glyph.
6. Perform your Find/Replace to handle the other places in your document that need the character.

Does that help?

 

[WAZZAJ]

Hi Walt

I want to replace a Wingdings text character with an Illustrator Vector Graphic (a circle with an arrow in it) so using the Glyph Browser doesn't do the job. In InDesign there is an option to replace a character with the contents of the clipboard. I can import a graphic (in this case the Illustrator Vector illustration) as an inline graphic so it's just like a text character, then copy it to the clipboard and replace all occurrences of a text item with that vector graphic. In a document with hundreds of these instances it makes the job significantly faster.

If this can't be done at the moment I'll use InDesign until it's available for this job only. Other jobs I'll do in Affinity as I'm impressed with the App. I would really love it if you could put this function on the wish list for future releases. Also being able to place the cursor in the text and press CMD 2 to zoom to that point would be great. Makes editing text really quick.

BTW well done taking on Adobe with this App. 

Edited August 14, 2019 by WAZZAJ

[walt.farrell]

I'm afraid you can't do that yet.

I recommend you create a topic in Feedback for Affinity Publisher on Desktop with your suggestions for new features. That way they'll be properly tracked.

[thomaso]

1 hour ago, WAZZAJ said:

I want to replace a Wingdings text character with an Illustrator Vector Graphic (a circle with an arrow in it) so using the Glyph Browser doesn't do the job.

No, although inline graphics can be pinned into text unfortunately they can not be used in the Find & Research panel, which accepts/understands text only.

But since a .svg file can kind of be understood as text you might think about a workaround: Create a font from your AI vector graphic and use it as text in AfPublisher. That way your icon will work with find and replace in AfPublisher, too. There are various tools doing such a conversion, for instance:

Upload .SVG –> download font:  https://glyphter.com/
Or offline: https://help.fontlab.com/fontlab-vi/Making-a-Font-From-Color-Vector-Graphics/

 

[WAZZAJ]

Thanks Thomas... I'll have a look at that.

Thanks also Walt, I have posted as per your link. I hope the team includes this function as the FIND/REPLACE feature can be a very powerful tool.