How to convert text to outlines

Converting text to outlines turns each letter into an ordinary vector shape. In Vectornation by Zaweba, select the text and use Create outlines; it works for every kind of text, including area text and text on a path. Afterwards the words no longer need the font to display or print, which is why printers and cutting machines often ask for it.

It is the last step before sending many jobs out, and one to do on a copy, since outlined text can't be edited as text any more.

Why outlines matter

A file with live text depends on the font. If the printer, the sign maker or the cutter's software doesn't have the same font, it substitutes another and the lettering changes. Outlined text is just shapes, so it looks the same everywhere.

Cutting machines also need shapes. A vinyl cutter, laser cutter or plotter follows paths, and live text means nothing to it until it has become outlines. Vectornation exports G-code for laser cutters, pen plotters and drag knives, and DXF and HP-GL for other machines, and in each case outlined text is what you want in the file.

Converting step by step

Finish the text first. Check the spelling, which Vectornation's UK English spell checker helps with, and settle the spacing and size.

Save a copy of the file with live text. This is the version you'll come back to if the wording changes.

Select the text you want to convert, or all the text in the file, and choose Create outlines. Each letter becomes a shape, with the same fill and size the text had.

Zoom in and check. Look for letters that overlap, which is common in script fonts, and decide whether to merge them.

Tidying outlined text for cutting

Script and connected fonts often have letters that overlap where they join. On screen that is invisible; on a cutter it means the blade cuts through the joins. Select the outlines and use the Pathfinder panel or the Shape builder to merge them into a single shape.

Counters, the holes inside letters like O, A and e, should stay as holes. After any merge, check by giving the outlines a solid fill and looking for holes that have filled in.

Very fine text may be too thin for a cutter or engraver. Check the smallest letters at actual size before sending.

When to keep text live

Keep text live while a design is still changing, and in files you send to people who will edit them. If someone needs to change a word on outlined text, they have to redraw it.

For PDFs to a commercial printer, live text is often fine, because PDF export can carry the look of the text with it. Ask your printer what they prefer. If in doubt, outlines are the safe choice for a final print file.

Related tidying tools

Edit > Find and replace attributes changes fonts, colours and stroke weights across a whole file, useful for swapping a missing font before you outline. Find and replace and Change case work on the words themselves. Do all of that first, since none of it works once the text is shapes.

Converting text to outlines takes a moment, and doing it at the right time saves a reprint. Vectornation by Zaweba handles every kind of text, so the file you send looks exactly like the one you designed.