Editing text where it stands in Vectornation by Zaweba
How typing in place works in Vectornation by Zaweba: caret and selection on the artboard, click and multi-click selection, and reshaping a text frame.
Editing text in some design apps means typing into a separate box and hoping the artwork updates as you expect. In Vectornation by Zaweba text is edited where it stands. The caret and the selection are drawn on the artwork itself, at the right size and in the right font, so what you see while typing is what you will get.
Placing the caret and selecting
Click inside text to place the caret at that point. Double-click to select a word. Triple-click to select a whole paragraph. These are the same habits most people already have from word processors, so editing a headline or fixing a typo in a caption is immediate.
Because the selection is drawn on the text in its real position, you can see exactly which letters will change, even when the text is rotated, on a path or styled with effects.
Reshaping the frame
With one text box selected, its handles reshape the frame, and the text inside rewraps to fit. Make the box narrower and the lines get shorter and more numerous. Make it wider and the paragraph spreads out. This is how you fit copy to a layout without retyping or adding manual line breaks.
Scaling the letters instead
Sometimes you want the letters themselves to get bigger or smaller, not the frame. Hold Ctrl while dragging a handle and the text scales with the box. That is handy for fitting a heading to a space by eye. For exact sizes, the Character panel is the place to set the point size by number.
Knowing the difference between a plain drag and a Ctrl drag saves confusion. If text rewraps when you expected it to grow, you need Ctrl. If it grows when you wanted it to rewrap, let go of Ctrl.
Editing text that has effects
Text in Vectornation can carry live effects, sit on a path or be warped, and still be edited in place. This is one of the main reasons to keep text as text for as long as possible. A drop shadow on a heading, or an arc on a badge, follows the new wording as you type.
Words first, then styling
Get the words right first, then style them. Typing in place makes it easy to keep changing wording, but every change can shift line breaks, so a final check of how each paragraph wraps is worth doing once the copy is settled.
When fitting a paragraph to a space, reshape the frame before you reach for a smaller font size. Readability usually suffers more from small type than from a slightly different line length.
Use double and triple-click selections to restyle quickly. Select a word to make it bold or a different colour, or a paragraph to change its alignment, without dragging carefully across the text.
Slips when editing text
The most common slip is clicking on text with the Pointer when you meant to edit it, and moving the whole text object by accident. If the text moves, undo, then switch to the Text tool or double-click into the text to edit it.
Another is scaling area text with Ctrl and ending up with an odd point size. If you need consistent sizes across a document, set them with the Character panel or with paragraph and character styles.
Typing in place makes the text in Vectornation feel direct and natural, and it keeps the design and the words in one view.
