In most cases, you wouldn’t need to convert your text to outlines because you could save your file as a PDF with embedded fonts. Converting text to outlines is easy in Illustrator. Hi, my name is Michael Chow, and in today’s tutorial, we will learn how to convert text to outlines in Illustrator.
Save A Copy of Your Work, Save Some Time
Before you convert to text to outlines, make sure you save a copy of the file. Always have an editable copy of your document as an AI file so you can come back and edit it non-destructively later, instead of having to recreate the artwork with text again.
The “PRO” text in the graphic shown below (left) has a blue line underneath it. This shows that the text is made up of a typeface, not a graphic. The little blue square at the left end of the line indicates that the text is ranged left. If the type were centred, the little square would be in the middle of the line.
Selection Tool
Select the text that needs to be outlined with the Selection Tool (or the black arrow). If you noticed, the text is still editable.
If all the text needs to be outlined, Select – Select All
Keyboard Shortcuts:
Command-A (Mac)
Control-A (PC).
Convert Text to Outlines
Go to the menu, Type > Create Outlines
Keyboard Shortcuts:
Command Shift O (Mac)
Control Shift O (PC).
Now, you can see that you can’t edit it as text anymore.
Edit or Manipulate Letters
- You can now manipulate the letters and shapes in Illustrator.
- You can add anchor points
- Drag anchor points
- Delete points to shrink
- Stretch parts of the letter.
- By converting the text to outlines, it does make the type slightly heavier.
- Or to colour certain parts of the text graphic.
And outline text can be helpful if you need to reuse the design in other applications such as a business card, letterhead, or website.
To watch this video in action, please check this video on YouTube