Convert text to outlines problem

[Guest]

Hello all,

I open an older version indesign document in 2019, and try to convert text to outlines, and it deforms, changes the adjustments of the text, changes the text frame width, leaving the outlined text with kerning errors. I have checked the fonts for any error, they seem to be fine. Anyone having the same problem?

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[Derek Cross]

Why are you converting text to outlines; this is not a reccommended workflow for a number of reasons.

[Guest]

Thanks, yes Acrobat converts the text to outlines as well but we also convert texts to outlines before exporting to PDF and sending to the printing house in order to prevent any errors such as font conflicts etc.

[Eugene Tyson]

You wont have font conflicts if you output to pdf and then create outlines.

Its a different workflow...but what do you want me to do? I cannot fix indesign.

[Abambo]

I never saw font conflicts... At the very beginning I saw sometimes characters missing... as the printer could not handle my PDF file correctly.

[aennie · Accepted solution]

yes, I noticed this error yesterday for the first time. it has never appeared in earlier versions of ID.

derek: this is essential e.g. if you do logo designs. at some point of logo developement you will always render text to outlines. and of course there are other situations in which rendered text is useful.

horrible new bug among others that appeared with the update!

[Derek Cross]

Obviously there are certain situations where you might do this, but not normally.

[Eugene Tyson]

Why are you creating logos in InDesign? Illustrator is the preferred programme, and it's also best as .ai files are better than .eps files.

Right tool for the job.

Agreed, the text to outlines needs to  be fixed, but please see my previous post.

Another very legiitamate reason is signmakers need outlines to plot the letter shapes.

[aennie]

thanx for letting me do my job as i prefer!  😉

and as you said, there are lots of other situations for one needs outlines. it used to work fine in all ID versions during the last years until the update to CC2019.

so, what means „it‘s a known issue“? is it known for the new version or is it known for years and not answered?

[Eugene Tyson]

And you might prefer to create logos in indesign...but its not the right way. Youre doing your client a disservice by creating logos in file formats not recognised worldwide as the standard. An eps from indesign is not the same as an eps from illustrator.

Honestly trying to help.

[aennie]

So you can sleep well tonite: I use Illustrator and InDesign. And I do know the difference between file types. Thanx. But my workflow is not topic of this thread - we should end this discussion. It‘s pointless. I won’t do what you might find „correct“ anyways. There are million ways to use the Creative Suite and I‘m using it for 20 years now. So definitly have a successful way to use different programs for different tasks or combine them. 😉

Nobody expected you personally to solve the problem. This thread totally went off topic because everbody told us that text should not be rendered, but that was not the point.

The point is: There is a possibility to do so. It’s called „render text“ (or maybe different - I use the German version). It’s in the menue and supposed to be clicked (cmd+shift+o). It used to work from the early versions on until CC2018.

So if nobody has a clue, then we only can accept that it‘s broken in CC2019. But maybe someone‘s coming along who knows how to fix the bug. Maybe an Adobe pro. That‘s why we‘re in an Adobe forum.

And I especially did not come here to argue. I just hoped to find an answer just like edat59658840 . So good night everbody.

[Eugene Tyson]

You are taking great offence when there is no need to.

Outlining fonts in indesign is only supported by Adobe for legacy workflows and thats just a fact.

Legacy means workflows that are archaic in a modern workflow.

I can only advise. Its up to you. Hope it helped.

[Derek Cross]

You need to understand that when volunteers try and answer questions on this forum we are aware that other users will be viewing the questions and suggested answers and be hopefully helped. So please don't get on your high horse as if it's all about you.

[Abambo]

aennie  wrote

The point is: There is a possibility to do so. It’s called „render text“ (or maybe different - I use the German version). It’s in the menue and supposed to be clicked (cmd+shift+o). It used to work from the early versions on until CC2018.

So if nobody has a clue, then we only can accept that it‘s broken in CC2019. But maybe someone‘s coming along who knows how to fix the bug. Maybe an Adobe pro. That‘s why we‘re in an Adobe forum.

Das Problem ist, dass Vektorisieren von Schriften eine veraltete Technologie ist und dass Adobe rät diese nicht mehr einzusetzen.

Die meisten Leute, die hier ihre Antworten abgegeben haben sind hochprofessionell und sehr wissend im Umgang mit den Adobe Produkten. Die 20 Jahre professionelles Design mit Adobe und anderen Produkten kann sich praktisch jeder hier auf seine Fahnen schreiben. Wenn Eugene Tyson schreibt, eine Methode sei veraltet, dann tut er das aufgrund seines enormen Wissens wie auch Steve Werner und Derek Cross.

Und Diskussionen hier sind das A und O der Foren. Und dazu gehört auch mal, dass jemand fragt wieso man dieses und jenes so löst und dass diese oder jene Lösung besser sei. Dafür müsste man in der Regel teuer einen Berater bezahlen.

[aennie]

Hallo Abamo,

Danke für Deine Antwort. Die "Logos", an denen sich nun jeder aufhängt, waren doch nur ein Beispiel. Ich hatte keine Ahnung, dass das derart eskaliert und bereue total, überhaupt geantwortet zu haben.

Es ging doch ganz grundsätzlich darum, dass man immer wieder mal Text in Pfade umwandeln muss, weil man damit gestalten möchte – vielleicht ist ein anderes Beispiel besser: Wenn ich (ich schreibe der Einfachheit halber "ich" – ich möchte mich hier nicht als Maßstab ansetzen oder in den Mittelpunkt stellen, sondern nur ein Beispiel nennen, das ich kenne und nutze, ok?) ein mehrseitiges Projekt wie z.B. ein Magazin gestalte und mal ein Gestaltungselement aus Text benötige, das ich verändern, umgestalten, einfärben, oder in das ich ein Bild oder eine Grafik laden kann, dann konnte ich bisher... die oben erwähnte Tastenkombination bzw. den Befehl "Text in Pfade konvertieren" verwenden.

Der Befehl hat dann Zeichen, ein einzelnes Wort oder mehrere Worte 1:1 so gerendert wie sie als Zeichensatz vorher aussahen. Das ist nun nicht mehr der Fall. Der Text verspringt. Die Funktion ist also gestört.

Momentan drehen sich viele Forenbeiträge um Funktionen, die seit dem Update gestört sind oder nicht mehr funktionieren. Darum ging es auch dem Fragensteller. Die Diskussion verlief nur in eine gänzlich andere Richtung und statt des ursprünglichen Problems wurde erklärt, dass man Text grundsätzlich nicht rendern soll. Das kann ich für Mengentext unterschreiben und habe selbst den Tipp mit dem Rendern via Acrobat als "hilfreich" markiert. Dieser trifft aber nicht den Kern des Problems / der Funktion.

Ich hoffe, ich konnte das jetzt besser erklären. Vielleicht war es ja ein sprachliches Problem.

[Laubender]

Hallo aennie ,

die Entwickler schauen sich derzeit den Bug an.

Siehe hier:

InDesign CC 2019 (v14.0) is adding spaces between words when outlining type – Adobe InDesign Feedbac...

Also: Falls jemand die Funktion in gewohntem Umfang braucht, dann sollte eben InDesign CC 2018.1 benutzt werden.

Gruß,
Uwe

[aennie]

Hallo Uwe,

vielen, vielen Dank für den Link! Das freut mich gerade total!

[Abambo]

I know of someone who did word-processing in Lotus 123. Indesign is not a tool for creating Logos, but if Indesign is the only tool you have, feel free to use it. However Illustrator is better armed for this task.

[dvalev]

Hello all. I had a similar issue - working on a packaging project in Illustrator, but I had some complex multilanguage paragraphs that Illustrator couldn't handle well (English - Arabic text). I created the tables/paragraphs in InDesign (they contain paragraph rules) and then pasted them to Illustrator without converting them to outlines in Illustrator. InDesign informed me that to preserve the appearance, the paragraphs were converted to outlines, but, O MIRACLE, the rules were kept and look fantastic!  So, this can be the "cheat" - copying forth and back from InDesign to Illustrator to preserve the paragraph rules; It worked for me. Cheers 🙂

[dvalev]

Sorry, I meant - without converting them to outlines in InDesign, and Illustrator informed me that to preserve the appearance, the paragraphs were converted to outlines.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @dvalev,

Thanks for sharing your workaround! It’s great to hear that you found a solution that worked for you. Copying and pasting text from InDesign to Illustrator while preserving appearance without converting to outlines is indeed a clever approach to maintain complex formatting, including paragraph rules.

For anyone facing similar issues, this method can be a useful "cheat" to ensure your formatting stays intact when working between these applications. If you encounter any further problems or have more questions, feel free to reach out!

Thank you,  
Abhishek Rao

[Eugene Tyson]

It's a known issue.

Also, InDesign won't convert underlines, strikethrough, paragraph rules, or other adornments to outline, it simply removes them.

A more accurate way is using Acrobat https://indesignsecrets.com/outlining-fonts-the-2016-edition.php

Hope that helps.

[aennie]

the last step in the post sounds good. I will give it a try for print productions. thanx for sharing.

[Steve Werner]

Just a reminder that InDesign is NOT the best way to outline fonts—it's Acrobat:

Outlining Fonts, the 2016 Edition - InDesignSecrets.com ...