Applying gradients to live text

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
November 12, 2020
5 replies
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I've learned that the way to apply a gradient to live text is to assign no fill at the character level, then add a second fill and apply a gradient to it. I never knew I could achieve the same effect by converting live text to a compound shape, then applying the gradient directly. Has this option always existed unbeknownst to me, or did it become a new feature somewhere along the way? And is there any reason not to use this compound shape method instead of the (slightly more cumbersome) new fill technique?

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Correct answer Monika Gause

It exists in earlier versions, but I wouldn't consider it obvious either. Making a compound shape out of a single object is rather unintuitive and the command to do so is rather hidden.

I've never seen this method advertised. So maybe in some communities it is a widely used alternative, but not in the ones that I frequently take part in.

DougKatz17096006Author

Inspiring

Once again, Ms. Gause, a genuinely informative pleasure.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

My pleasure!

And thank you for your kind words.

DougKatz17096006Author

Inspiring

Thanks for the confirmation, Monika. Has this Compound Shape method always been an alternative to the Add New Fill method? I stumbled on it by accident just before I posted this question and had never heard of it before.

In my little tests, I notice that the original fill color of text (the color assigned before type is converted to a Compound Shape and given a grdient) is not nearly as insistent on being seen as the Character level fill when a new fill is applied to create the gradient. In fact, the only way I've been able to tell that the original fill survives when the text is converted to a Compound Shape is to release the shape. When it's released, the original color is restored.

Monika Gause

Correct answer

Community Expert

It exists in earlier versions, but I wouldn't consider it obvious either. Making a compound shape out of a single object is rather unintuitive and the command to do so is rather hidden.

I've never seen this method advertised. So maybe in some communities it is a widely used alternative, but not in the ones that I frequently take part in.

Jacob Bugge

Community Expert

Doug,

And the original fill takes less kindly to its being covered and tries hard to show (that it is still there), so it is always safer to take it out (or ouch).