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A
Anonymous
June 7, 2009
Answered

How does one add a background color to a text box in Illy?

  • June 7, 2009
  • 4 replies
  • 78966 views

I can't figure this out. In FH I could have an auto expanding text box whose attributes included say: black text on a white ground which would expand as one types, for the life of me I can not seem to achieve this seemingly simple procedure in Illustrator, what am I missing?

Les

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer JETalmage

    Illustrator's textFrame objects are far inferior to FreeHand's. Instead of the horizontal and/or vertical auto-fit controls in FreeHand, Illustrator's interface provides two cumbersome kinds of textFrames: so-called AreaType and PointType.

    An AreaType object (usually created by clickDragging with the Text tool) cannot be set to auto-fit, neither horizontally nor vertically. A PointType object (usually created by just clicking with the Text tool) has no containing path and does not wrap. So it is effectively like a text object in FreeHand set to auto-expand in both directions. Its auto-fit behavior cannot be changed either.

    There is an awkward (frankly, downright bizarre) workaround suitable in some instances: You can add an extra fill or an extra stroke to the text object in the Appearance Palette, position it below the Characters listing, and then apply the Convert To Shape Effect to the added fill. The dialog for the Effect has options for "absolute" or "relative" dimensions of the "fake" shape. So this Effect-ed fill or stroke thereby appears like a frame around the text that resizes as the text is edited (if the Effect is set to Relative size).

    Welcome to the awkward interface and archaic features of Illustrator. You'll find many things that are straightforward and taken-for-granted in FreeHand that have to be accomplished by tedious and unintuitive workarounds in Illustrator.

    JET

    4 replies

    G
    gregl25337732
    Participant
    November 10, 2020

    An easier fix:

    Using the Direct Selection Tool, carefully click one of the corner boxes of the text box. Then you can use the properties panel to change the color.

    W
    Wade_Zimmerman1
    Inspiring
    June 30, 2012

    To some users this is becasue Illustrators ways are archaic…they might have a point in some cases but if one has followed the forum for as long I have one would recall that improvements to the the type input mechanism was not something that too many ILlustrator users ever approved of and the main reason was that they though of Illustrator as an art creation tool and not a layout program. For instance any form of multiple page or multiple artboard feature was fought against vigorously, even though it seems to be a popular feature now.

    Improvement to the text engine was even less enthusiastic and Adobe was just listening to the users and not spending as much time on the developement of the Type engine.

    You might not see this a logical or even believe it is possible but that was the case and might still be and the onl waay to change it is to make it known that you want the type engine upgraded and tell the team why. Here are the two criterias that will convince them if  presented well.

    1.How will this feature save you time

    2.How will this improve your work flow with (Application's name)

    If you give a strang straight forward agrument, by argument I mean a strong rational explaination, you have a strong chance of gaining acceptance.

    One approach I know will not work and that is to argue that you could do it in FreeHand, that is not a compelling reason or even a reason.

    I have tried myself to to sumit this feature request several times in the past but you see they will not change the type engine for one user I submitted this proposal even before I have ever heard the complaint by former FreeHand users, so I think it is a good feature as it is useful as long as it can be done without causing issues.

    And if non of the users who come to this forum do not make this a feature request quite frankly I agree with Adobe if they do not care enough to take a few minutes to make such a feature request than they really don't need it.

    It is a good feture.

    There is one thing that always helps the team it seems if you can describe how you might think that several of the existing features in Illustrator can be combined to create such a feature that is helpful.

    And what is important about that aspect of your feature request is you don't have to be right just as long as it gets the team to think that hey this might be possible.

    I have seen users come to the forum with such an approach and be successful, or at least those features have been implemented after the user made the feature request.

    Here try it.

    https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

    JETalmage
    JETalmageCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    June 7, 2009

    Illustrator's textFrame objects are far inferior to FreeHand's. Instead of the horizontal and/or vertical auto-fit controls in FreeHand, Illustrator's interface provides two cumbersome kinds of textFrames: so-called AreaType and PointType.

    An AreaType object (usually created by clickDragging with the Text tool) cannot be set to auto-fit, neither horizontally nor vertically. A PointType object (usually created by just clicking with the Text tool) has no containing path and does not wrap. So it is effectively like a text object in FreeHand set to auto-expand in both directions. Its auto-fit behavior cannot be changed either.

    There is an awkward (frankly, downright bizarre) workaround suitable in some instances: You can add an extra fill or an extra stroke to the text object in the Appearance Palette, position it below the Characters listing, and then apply the Convert To Shape Effect to the added fill. The dialog for the Effect has options for "absolute" or "relative" dimensions of the "fake" shape. So this Effect-ed fill or stroke thereby appears like a frame around the text that resizes as the text is edited (if the Effect is set to Relative size).

    Welcome to the awkward interface and archaic features of Illustrator. You'll find many things that are straightforward and taken-for-granted in FreeHand that have to be accomplished by tedious and unintuitive workarounds in Illustrator.

    JET

    A
    Anonymous
    June 7, 2009

    Thanks Bert & James

    Bert, thanks for explaining how to at least get a colored background in to a text frame (that was driving me spare), but it only seems to work with area type which means manually resizing each frame to fit it's respective text.

    and James, thank you for that extraodinary work around which does give me the functionality I require (allbeit, using a technique no self-respecting illustrator could have ever been expected to know or deduce).

    Cheers

    Les

    W
    Wade_Zimmerman1
    Inspiring
    June 8, 2009

    There is another way actually might not suite your way of doing things, Simply draw a rectangle fill it with a color and then place it behind the text frame.

    you can then turn that into a symbol now any of the other methods can be turned into a symbol but the other methods would lend themselves less to being made into a symbol as you loose some control over them.

    The thing about this is that it gives you lots of control as to position in relationship to the text.

    B
    Bert_Philippus-Vf91WV
    Participating Frequently
    June 7, 2009

    Using the Group Select tool (White arrow with + sign), carefully click exactly on the box edge, and you can add a fill/stroke to it.  Look into learning to use the Appearance palette to control fills and strokes once you start getting more advanced, with multiple strokes, fills, and effects aplied to them.

      MC Peko
      MC Peko
      Participant
      November 13, 2022

      Very nice. Did not know that. Now using it. Thanks! 

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