Text wrap issue with italic

Forum|Forum|1 day ago
October 1, 2026
9 replies
41 views

Text wrap ignores parts of the first letter in italic like the bottom part of the letter “p”. In a font like Time New Roman, the bottom of letter “p” extends outside the text box. That part of the letter just goes under the object it is wrapping around and is no longer visible. I see this problem in CS4. Any suggestion for a workaround that would not need tweaking when text reflows? Is this problem still there in CC 2026?

Correct answer Bill Silbert

Your initial question was whether this behavior with serif italic type was still the same in CC 2026. The answer is yes. I was able to replicate your screen shot and then used a text wrap of zero and the bottom of the letters did get hidden by the object. It appears to be the nature of the beast with italic serif type (I tested a couple of more faces with the same result). The only workaround that I can suggest is to use a text wrap larger than zero. Obviously, the exact amount of text wrap will need to be experimented with.

Bill Silbert

Correct answer

Community Expert

Your initial question was whether this behavior with serif italic type was still the same in CC 2026. The answer is yes. I was able to replicate your screen shot and then used a text wrap of zero and the bottom of the letters did get hidden by the object. It appears to be the nature of the beast with italic serif type (I tested a couple of more faces with the same result). The only workaround that I can suggest is to use a text wrap larger than zero. Obviously, the exact amount of text wrap will need to be experimented with.

S

sPretzelAuthor

Inspiring

Hi Bill. The problem also applies to sans serif fonts (leg of “p”). The problem with the workaround you suggest is that while it improves the issue for some characters, it would push others farther from the wrapped object. Another solution would be to adjust individual character or paragraph spacing but that will become a problem with text reflowing. In my opinion, this implementation is not the “nature of the beast” but an oversight or a bug. At least an option should be provided in Illustrator to keep it this way or compensate for it.

Bill Silbert

Community Expert

When I used the term “nature of the beast” I meant it in terms of text wrap in general. Just to explore it a bit more I tested the same thing in InDesign which has a much more sophisticated text wrap feature. The results were the same as can be seen in the screenshot below. As for san serif fonts I found that at least the one that I tested did not have a problem with losing the bottom of the “p”. In the case of san serif the results may vary depending on the particular font used.

Bill Silbert

Community Expert

To my eye the “f” and “p” of Times New Roman Italic in your screenshot look the same as they do without any Text Wrap applied. The letters do not look obscured by the yellow object. See my screenshot below for a comparison with the characters in your screenshot.

S

sPretzelAuthor

Inspiring

The “legs” of “f” and “p” cross the line into the clearance area outlined by the blue line. No part of the text should step into that area. If the offset was 0, they would be cut off by the yellow object.

Bill Silbert

Community Expert

I am not able to replicate this problem (as well as I understand what you are describing) using CC 2026. Could you please post a screen shot to show exactly what you are talking about? Also CS4 is 18 years old and completely unsupported. Depending on the age of the computer that you are using it may be time to start using an up to date version of Illustrator.

S

sPretzelAuthor

Inspiring

Hello Bill. Attached is a screenshot showing “p” and “f” in italic stepping into the clearance zone around the yellow object.

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