Shade 10 TextEffector

From ShadeCamp

TextEffector is used to enter and transform 3D text in Shade.

To open TextEffector, choose TextEffector from the Create tool.

Contents 1 Text Input Text Box 2 Font Pull-down Menu 3 Notes on using Postscript fonts 4 Style 5 Spacing Slider and Text Box 5.1 Extrude Checkbox and Text Box 5.2 Bevel Checkbox 5.3 Set Button 6 Bevel Settings Dialog 6.1 Extrude Text Box 6.2 Reset Button 6.3 Bevel Position and Extrude Position Display 6.4 Snap Checkbox 6.5 Flip Direction Checkbox 6.6 Editing Area Adjustment Slider 6.7 Open Button 6.8 Save Button 7 Editing Bevel Lines 8 Set Point Position Dialog 8.1 Adding a Point 8.2 Deleting a Point 8.3 Selecting Multiple Points 8.4 Add Lateral Handle 8.5 Editing Handles 8.6 Connecting Handles 8.7 Deleting Handles 8.8 Regenerating a Deleted Handle 8.9 Changing the Extrude Distance 8.10 Zoom Pull-down Menu 8.11 Vertical Checkbox 8.12 OK Button 8.13 Cancel Button 8.14 Reset Button 9 Guideline 10 Grid 10.1 Show Checkbox 10.2 Snap Checkbox 10.3 Open Button 10.4 Save Button 10.5 Undo and Redo Buttons 10.6 Size Button 10.7 Text Size Setting Dialog 10.8 Set Button

Text Input Text Box

The outline of the text you enter in the Text Input text box is displayed in the Preview area at the bottom of the window. The view in the Preview area might be automatically zoomed, depending on the number of characters entered.

You can enter up to 36 two-byte characters (like Japanese) and up to 72 one-byte characters. Two-byte characters cannot be entered when a roman font is used (such as Helvetica or Times).

Font Pull-down Menu

Choose a font from the Font pull-down menu. The text outlines in the Preview area will be updated to use the chosen font.

Japanese characters can only be displayed using a Japanese font.

• Because the width of each character varies with the font, the apparent size of the text may change in the Preview area when you change the Font setting. This is because the view in the Preview area is automatically zoomed depending on the total width of the text string you have entered.

Fonts which can be used with TextEffector are: TrueType fonts, Postscript Type 1 fonts, and OpenType fonts (ttf format).

Notes on using Postscript fonts

TextEffector does not support PostScript CID fonts, Type 2 fonts, or Type 3 alphanumerical fonts.

The current TextEffector supports Type1 fonts. To use Type1 fonts on a Windows system, Adobe ATM should be installed in your system. When two-byte fonts such as Japanese are used, ATM 3.2 is required. If only Roman fonts are used, ATM 3.02 or 4.0 is required.

The fonts supported by the current TextEffector are as follows:

Type1 fonts (including two-byte fonts such as Japanese) and Type1 Multiple Master fonts (which require Adobe ATM on Windows systems). Only the Plain style can be used for Type 1 fonts. To use styles other than Plain, choose a font with Bold or Italic appended to the name.

Style

This pull-down menu is used to change the style of the text. The possible choices (Plain, Bold, Italic, etc.) depend on the chosen font.

Spacing Slider and Text Box

The Spacing slider determines the spacing of the text. You can enter a numerical value in the text box.

The Spacing setting does not affect the size or form of the outline of each character. Only the spacing between characters varies.

If text is spaced out, the width of the entire text string is extended, and the displayed size of each character is automatically reduced according to the width of the Preview area. Therefore, each character may appear smaller if you space out the text.

Extrude Checkbox and Text Box

Switching on the Extrude checkbox will create text as extruded line objects. The distance to be extruded is set by entering a numerical value.

If Extrude is off, the text will be created as line objects. The Hole setting is applied to holes in the text, in either case.

Bevel Checkbox

If you turn on the Bevel checkbox, you can extrude as well as Bevel the edges of the text.

The shape of the Bevel can be freely set in the Bevel Settings dialog, which is displayed by clicking the Set button. Each beveled solid character is a combination of a front line object, a back line object, and a side curved surface.

Notice that the default Bevel is generated toward the outside of the side view of the solid character, so as to make the character thicker. When you add a Bevel, additional closed line objects at the front side and back sides of the character overlap the original line objects representing the front and back of the solid character (extruded object) created without a Bevel.

If Extrude is turned off, the Bevel checkbox will be automatically turned off too. If the Extrude distance is set to zero, the Bevel Settings dialog will not appear.

Set Button

Click this button to display the Bevel Settings dialog, where you can edit the Bevel.

Bevel Settings Dialog

This dialog is used to edit the Bevel Line.

Extrude Text Box

By default, the Extrude distance set in the TextEffector main window is shown in this text box. You can edit the numerical value here.

If the Extrude distance is altered in this dialog, the value in the Extrude text box in the TextEffector window will also be changed.

Reset Button

Returns to the Default Bevel Line. All changes made to the Bevel Line are thrown out.

Bevel Position and Extrude Position Display

Shows the coordinate values of the crisscross cursor when it is located on a point on the Bevel Line or on a tangent handle. The coordinate values will also be displayed while a point or tangent handle is being dragged.

The Bevel Position is the vertical coordinate, and the Extrude Position is the horizontal coordinate. The fixed Bevel Point at the lower left is the origin.

Snap Checkbox

This causes dragged points to snap to the grid lines within the Bevel Line editing area. The positions the points snap to are the grid-line intersections, and halfway between the points of intersection.

Flip Direction Checkbox

Some fonts may end up with the Bevel reversed (concave, as opposed to the normal convex bevel). In such cases, turn on the Flip Direction checkbox to flip the Bevel Line vertically. Note that flipping the direction will not change the Bevel Line displayed here. It only affects the text objects when viewed in the Figure Window.

Editing Area Adjustment Slider

You can zoom the view in the Bevel Line editing area using the slider at the lower right of the Bevel Setting window.

If the slider is moved to the right, the view is zoomed out; if it is moved to the left, the view is zoomed in. Drag the slider while holding down the Space to move the display area.

Click the slider while holding down the Shift to set the slider to the default position (center).

Open Button

This button is used to open a Bevel Line file, also called a “Bevel Profile” file. The extension for this type of file is “.bev.” The Open File dialog opens. Choose a Bevel Profile file and click the Open button to load the Bevel Line into the Bevel Settings dialog.

Save Button

Click this button to save the Bevel Line as a Bevel Profile file.

Editing Bevel Lines

Points on the Bevel Line, including the endpoints on both sides, can be moved freely by dragging. Place the mouse pointer on the point. You will see a small square appear at the lower right corner of the crisscross cursor, indicating that the point can be dragged.

Set Point Position Dialog

When you double-click a Point, the Set Point Position dialog appears so that you can enter numerical values for the Point position.

• The Set Point Position dialog can also be displayed using the contextual menu that appears when you click the right mouse button (Win) / control+click (Mac) on a point. The contextual menu can be used to perform various operations on points.

Adding a Point

Click the mouse anywhere on the Bevel Line while pressing the Ctrl (Win) / option (Mac) to add a point.

When you press the Ctrl (Win) / option (Mac) on a Bevel Line, a plus-sign (+) appears at the lower right of the crisscross cursor to indicate that a point will be added when you click.

Deleting a Point

Click on a point while holding down the Ctrl + Shift (Win) / option + Shift (Mac) to delete the point.

When you press the Ctrl + Shift (Win) / option + Shift (Mac) over a point, a minus-sign (-) appears to the lower right of the crisscross cursor to indicate that the point will be deleted when you click.

Selecting Multiple Points

If you click a point, it will change into a solid box (■). Such a point is called a selected point. With a point selected, if you click another point while pressing the Shift, multiple points can be selected. If you click a selected point while pressing the Shift, the point will be deselected. Multiple points can also be selected by dragging a selection box around them. You can move multiple selected points together by dragging any one of them.

You can move all selected points by dragging any one of them.

Add Lateral Handle

If you select a point and choose Add Lateral Handle from the contextual menu, Bezier line handles are added to the point. Drag these handles to create a curved Bevel Line.

The handles are joined immediately after they are added so as to smoothly curve the two line segments.

Editing Handles

If a point with handles is selected, the handles are displayed. Drag one of the handles to edit the curved Bevel Line. Since the handles are no longer joined, they can be dragged independently.

When the Snap checkbox is on, the snap function applies to the handles too.

Connecting Handles

If you drag a handle while holding down the Shift, you can edit both handles in the Joined Mode. In this mode, the point and its handles on both sides are aligned along a straight line, and the handles always remain the same length.

Deleting Handles

Click a handle while holding down the Ctrl + Shift (Win) / option + Shift (Mac) to delete the handle.

Regenerating a Deleted Handle

With one handle deleted, drag the other handle while holding down the Shift, and the deleted handle will be regenerated. This is the same operation as is used to join the handles.

Changing the Extrude Distance

If you change the value in the Extrude text box, the Extrude Position (horizontal direction of the Bevel Line area) of a point extends or contracts automatically according to the Extrude distance, while the Bevel Position (vertical direction) does not change. Therefore, if the Extrude distance is modified, the length-to-width ratio of the Bevel Line will also change.

Zoom Pull-down Menu

The Zoom pull-down menu allows you to adjust the size of the Preview area. This function only affects the view within the Preview area of TextEffector, and does not affect the actual size of the text outlines created in Shade.

Vertical Checkbox

If the Vertical checkbox is turned on, the text will flow vertically. The text in the Preview area is also displayed vertically.

To create vertical text properly, only two-byte fonts (such as Japanese) should be used.

If you use a Roman font, the whole text string is rotated 90 degrees (or, you may just get an error message). Even with a two-byte font such as Japanese, one-byte characters included in the font are rotated 90 degrees. To display Roman letters and numbers vertically, use only two-byte characters.

OK Button

When you press the OK button, solid characters or text outlines are generated according to the settings in the window.

At the same time, the TextEffector settings are automatically recorded. Each time you open TextEffector, the settings window will remember the previous settings.

The shapes of the text outlines are grouped in one part per character, and those text parts will also be grouped in one parent part.

Each of the text parts will have a part name corresponding to the entered text. If a name contains a special character used for controlling pseudo set operations and surface subdivision levels, a singlebyte space will be added to the beginning of the part name to avoid the effects of those characters.

The Hole checkbox of the Object Info window will automatically be switched on for line objects which correspond to a hole in the text.

Cancel Button

This button terminates the TextEffector and returns control to Shade without creating any objects.

Reset Button

The Reset button resets the Guideline settings. The text entered in the Text Input dialog will not be reset.

Guideline

The type of guideline can be selected here.

The red lines at the top and bottom (or both sides when in vertical mode) of the Preview area are called guidelines. In TextEffector, text is shaped by these guidelines.

You can select from three types of Guidelines: Line, Polyline, and Curve. How text is transformed depends on the attributes of the control points on the guidelines.

From top to bottom: Texts transformed by means of Line, Polyline, and Curve guidelines

Grid

Show Checkbox

You can display a grid in the Preview area by switching this checkbox on.

Snap Checkbox

If the Snap checkbox is on, the control points will snap to the intersections of grid lines, and to the halfway points between the intersections. If a control point is dragged, it will automatically snap to the closest snap position.

Open Button

This button is used to open a guideline file, and load the guidelines from that file into the Preview area. The guideline type will automatically change to the type set in the guideline file.

Save Button

This button is used to save the type of guideline and the control point positions currently displayed in the Preview area as a guideline file.

Undo and Redo Buttons

These buttons are used to undo or redo operations performed on guidelines.

Size Button

If you click the Size, the Text Size Setting dialog appears.

Text Size Setting Dialog

This is used to set the size of the text outlines or solid characters to be created in the Figure window.

By default, the Proportional Ratio checkbox is on, so the height is automatically set with reference to the width. If the Proportional Ratio checkbox is turned off, the Height text box becomes active, which allows you to set the values independently.

Set Button

Clicking this button displays the Preference dialog.

This dialog is used to select how an outline object created with TextEffector is loaded into the Shade Figure window, as a Curved Surface or a Polygon Mesh. |