Aligning centre bracket precisely in type on a path

[sPretzel]

Is there a way to align the centre bracket precisely for text in type on a path? Even for a circle and text at 12 o'clock, I am unable to get the centre bracket to be exactly vertical; it either tilts very slightly to the left or to the right.

[Bobby Henderson]

I'm not sure I understand what you're describing. Do you have a visual image of the problem?

I have plenty of complaints about the limitations of how text objects that are not columns of body copy can be sized, positioned and aligned in relation to other objects. I have to do a bunch of stupid work-arounds just to OPTICALLY center-align a single line piece of text on an object, be it a small label or a big sign. Illustrator won't let users easily do it based on the cap-height of the lettering.

I'm not a big fan of text on path effects due to how wacky and crooked the text can look. I only seem to get the best results by setting the type small, using compressed typefaces and with really loose tracking. That's one way to get around the usually crooked looking results when wrapping text along a circle in a seal-style emblem.

Another solution is converting the text to outlines and turning it into an art brush. It takes a bit of a picky approach to get the right results. I'll go so far as getting the path length of the segment where I want the text to flow and creating a text object that fills that same exact length on a horizontal line before turning it into an art brush. Just to ensure the vertical alignment is dead-on I'll include a dummy object in the lettering that is taller than anything else yet centered along the cap height line. When I apply the art brush to the desired target path it comes out pretty much perfect. There are pros and cons to this approach. The pros side of it: all of the horizontal elements of the text will follow the curve of the path perfectly. No wacky, crooked, unpredictable letters. The con side is some warping of the lettering will occur since all of the vertical lines of lettering will be 90 degrees from that point on the curve. Different typefaces stand up to that warping better than others. 

[sPretzel]

Hello Bobby. It has nothing to do with what you described. I have attached a picture. The red vertical line is centred on the circle. I can't get the centre bracket of the type on path to align to it. It will always tilt to the left or to the right of the vertical line.

The text is also aligned to the middle point of the circle at 12 o'clock. But even that, I have to eyeball it as I can't align that precisely to the middle point (where the red line crosses the circle).

My questions:

1- Does anyone know if there is a way to align the centre bracket with the vertical line?

2- Can the text centre bracket be precisely positioned or snapped to the middle point?

Thanks.

[meganchi]

In my opinion, I think centering of any font must be based on a mathematical calculation and en or em spaces. The center line would somehow have to appear at an angle instead of straight up and down. But all text boxes begin with a bounding box, so it seems that to apply a font to a circular shape would mean the ibeam would not be perfectly straight up and down. If you note the bottom tail of your "t", it looks to be touching the centerpoint of the circle, whereas the crossed part of the "t" falls short.

[tromboniator]

As nearly as I can figure it, it's about ±.75°. It can be annoying, yes, but I've never encountered a situation when the alignment of letters was that critical. No, I haven't found a way to overcome that particular quirk, but it is real, and it's not just you.

Peter

[sPretzel]

Nobody has any workarounds?

[Monika Gause]

It's my experience with typography that any mathematical alignment will look bad.

You always have to align them visually.

[sPretzel]

Hi Monika. Are you saying that Illustrator is doing me a favour?  😄

Even if I simply type on the path without any character, I can't align the centre bracket vertically! I even tried all the Smart Guides and Snap to Points of this world but alas, had no luck. I take it from your reply that you are not aware of a workaround either.

[Monika Gause]

No. I'm saying that most likely no one cared to implement this because you have to adjust it manually anyway.