How to convert text to letter outlines and outlines

As a designer or graphic designer, working with text is an important part of your job. However, sometimes you want to edit text in a way that is not possible with the standard text tool. In that case, it may be useful to convert the text to letter outlines or outlines. In this article, we explain how to do that in different design software.

What are letter outlines and why would you want to create them?

Before we explain how to convert text to letter outlines, it’s helpful to know exactly what it means. Letter outlines are the edges of a letter, or outlines of the shape. By converting text to letter outlines, the letters are actually converted into shapes that you can edit. The advantage of this is that you can now use and edit the letters as individual objects. This can be useful if, for example, you want to place text in a particular shape or transform a text in a way that is not possible with the standard text tool.

Creating letter outlines in Illustrator

Illustrator is a widely used design software known for its powerful drawing tools. Converting text to letter outlines is therefore easy to do in Illustrator.

• Step 1: Select the text you want to convert to letter outlines.
• Step 2: Go to the Type menu and select the Create Outlines option.
• Step 3: The text is now converted to letter outlines and ready for editing.

Convert text to outlines in Illustrator

It is also possible to convert text to outlines in Illustrator. The difference with letter outlines is that when converting to outlines, all text is converted to a compound path.

• Step 1: Select the text you want to convert to outlines.
• Step 2: Go to the Type menu and select the Create Outlines option.
• Step 3: Next, go to the Object menu and select the Compound Path option and then the Make option.

Creating letter outlines in InDesign

InDesign is another popular design software widely used in the graphics industry. You can also easily convert text to letter outlines in InDesign.

• Step 1: Select the text you want to convert to letter outlines.
• Step 2: Right-click on the text and select the Create Outlines option.
• Step 3: The text is now converted to letter outlines and ready for editing.

Convert text to letter outlines in CorelDraw

Finally, it is also possible to convert text to letter outlines in CorelDraw.

• Step 1: Select the text you want to convert to letter outlines.
• Step 2: Go to the Text menu and select the Convert to Curves option.
• Step 3: The text is now converted to letter outlines and ready for editing.

Conclusion

Converting text to letter outlines or outlines can be useful if you want to edit text in a way that is not possible with the standard text tool. In this article, we explained how to convert text to letter outlines and outlines in different design software such as Illustrator, InDesign and CorelDraw. By using this feature, you can easily transform text into shapes and edit them in a variety of ways.