How do I turn text outlines back to text?

[HK5ED897]

Hey everyone!

I'm making a design for a client and they gave me the final text to put it into the design. Once I was done they said that they wanted to change the text again, but the problem is that I outlined all the text (it was supposed to go for printing right after). 

I know the chances are slim, but is there any way that I can turn my outlines back into live text? I should have made a copy but i didn't :((((

[Mylenium]

No, unfortunately not. There's a function in one of the Astute plug-ins for that, though, based on the hidden object info AI retains even after the conversion:

https://astutegraphics.com/plugins/vectorfirstaid

Mylenium

[d0nut247]

bit of help with a work around (if you're on a mac) screen grab a text area, then use the text recognition in preview App to select the text, (which it will recognise and process into live text). Then paste into a new text frame in illustrator and line it up over the top and adjust the text formatting to match. delete the outline text for that area, and move on rinse / repeat.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @HK5ED897,

Thanks for reaching out. As pointed out by Mylenium, Illustrator currently does not have this functionality. Would you mind upvoting this UserVoice (https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/331...) and adding your comments there? Doing this will help us prioritize this feature request, and you will keep getting all the related updates.

Alternatively, you could export the document as a PDF and use Adobe Acrobat to grab/edit the text. Here's a help article to get you started: (https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/how-to/ocr-software-convert-pdf-to-text.html).

Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.

Thanks,

Anubhav