Point type is a horizontal or vertical line of text that begins where you click and expands as you enter characters. Each line of text is independent—the line expands or shrinks as you edit it, but doesn’t wrap to the next line. Entering text this way is useful for adding a few words to your artwork.
Note:
For more information about working with type in Illustrator, see the Working with Type white paper at www.adobe.com/go/learn_ai_type_en.
Area type (also called paragraph type) uses the boundaries of an object to control the flow of characters, either horizontally or vertically. When the text reaches a boundary, it automatically wraps to fit inside the defined area. Entering text this way is useful when you want to create one or more paragraphs, such as for a brochure.
Select the Type tool
or the Vertical Type tool 
, and drag diagonally to define a rectangular bounding area.Draw the object you want to use as the bounding area. (It doesn’t matter if the object has stroke or fill attributes, because Illustrator automatically removes them.) Then select the Type tool
, the Vertical Type tool , the Area Type tool 
, or the Vertical Area Type tool 
and click anywhere on the object’s path.
Creating a type area by dragging (top) compared to converting an existing shape to a type area (bottom)
Note:
If the object is an open path, you must use the Area Type tool to define the bounding area. Illustrator draws an imaginary line between the endpoints of the path to define the boundaries.
- When you finish entering text, click the Selection tool
to
select the type object. Alternatively, Ctrl‑click (Windows) or Command-click
(Mac OS) the text.If you enter more text than can fit within an area, a small box containing a plus symbol (+) appears near the bottom of the bounding area.
Example of overflow text
You can resize the text area or extend the path to display the overflow text. You can also thread the text into another object.
For a video on creating point and area type, see www.adobe.com/go/vid0045. For more information about working with type in Illustrator, see the Working with Type white paper at www.adobe.com/go/learn_ai_type.
You can resize text in different ways, depending on the whether you are creating point type, area type, or text along a path.
There is no limit for the amount of text that can be written using point type, so resizing of the text box is not required in this case.
When using the area type tool, you drag an object and type inside the selected area. In this case, the text resizes when you resize the object using the Direct Selection tool.
When you type text along a path, you can thread text between objects (see Threading text between objects), if the text does not fit in the selected path. In this case also, the text is resized if you resize the path using the Direct Selection tool.
Make sure that the bounding box setting is set to Show Bounding Box. If you are not able to see the bounding box, then click View > Show Bounding Box.
Select the type object using the Selection tool or Layers panel, and drag a handle on the bounding box.
Resizing a text area with the Selection tool
Select the edge or corner of the type path with the Direct Selection tool
. Then drag to adjust the shape of the path.Tip: Adjusting the type path using the Direct Selection tool is easiest when you’re in Outline view.
Resizing a type area with the Direct Selection tool
When working with an area type object, you can control the margin between the text and the bounding path. This margin is referred to as the inset spacing.
When working with an area type object, you can control the alignment of the first line of text with the top of the object. This alignment is referred to as the first baseline offset. For example, you can make text stick up above the top of the object or fall a specific distance below the top of the object.
Type with First Baseline set to Cap Height (left) compared
to type with First Baseline set to Leading (right)
Fixed
Determines what happens to the span of rows and columns if you resize the type area. When this option is selected, resizing the area can change the number of rows and columns, but not their width. Leave this option deselected if you want row and column widths to change when you resize the type area.
Options for resizing rows and columns
or
By Columns 
.To thread (or continue) text from one object to the next, you link the objects. Linked type objects can be of any shape; however, the text must be entered in an area or along a path (not at a point).
Each area type object contains an in port and an out port, which enable you to link to other objects and create a linked copy of the type object. An empty port indicates that all the text is visible and that the object isn’t linked. An arrow in a port indicates that the object is linked to another object. A red plus sign in an out port indicates that the object contains additional text. This remaining unseen text is called overflow text.
Ports on linked type objects
You can break threads and have the text flow into either the first or the next object, or you can remove all threads and have the text stay in place.
Note:
When working with threaded text, it can be useful to see the threads. To view threads, choose View > Show Text Threads and then select a linked object.
To link to an existing object, position the pointer on the object’s path. The pointer changes to a
. Click
the path to link the objects.To link to a new object, click or drag on an empty part of the artboard. Clicking creates an object of the same size and shape as the original; dragging lets you create a rectangular object of any size.
Another method for threading text between objects is to select an area type object, select the object (or objects) you want to thread to, and then choose Type > Threaded Text > Create.
.To break the thread between two objects, double-click the port on either end of the thread. The text flows into the first object.
To release an object from a text thread, choose Type > Threaded Text > Release Selection. The text flows into the next object.
To remove all threads, choose Type > Threaded Text > Remove Threading. The text stays in place.
You can wrap area text around any object, including type objects, imported images, and objects you draw in Illustrator. If the wrap object is an embedded bitmap image, Illustrator wraps the text around opaque or partially opaque pixels and ignores fully transparent pixels.
Wrapping is determined by the stacking order of objects, which you can view in the Layers panel by clicking the triangle next to the layer name. To wrap text around an object, the wrap object must be in the same layer as the text and located directly above the text in the layer hierarchy. You can drag contents up or down in the Layers panel to change hierarchy.
Text wrapped around objects
A. Wrap objects B. Wrapped text
It is area type (typed in a box).
It is in the same layer as the wrap object.
It is located directly under the wrap object in the layer’s hierarchy.
Note:
If the layer contains multiple type objects, move any that you don’t want to wrap around the wrap object either into another layer or above the wrap object.
To align text according to the bounding box of the actual glyphs instead of the font metrics, do the following:
After applying these settings, you get exactly the same alignment as outlined text, while keeping the text live.
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