This one is long overdue.
We need to be able to scale letters in Paragraph text. Sometimes you need just that little to fit a lot of text in small space.
I think most designers would say you should be using a condensed font for that purpose.
But if you really need to do that, you can ... just convert the paragraph to curves and then you can stretch it in either direction.
Not every job you do in CorelDRAW is "designer" job. You have a lot of mundane everyday jobs like making labels with product ingredients and such.
On the other hand, you can have a product label with tons of text in three or four languages (some Latin, some Cyrillic) in Paragraph text with irregular shape in size 4.5pt or smaller, with every font style you can imagine applied. No narrow, condensed or compressed font can help you here like font scaling can. I know, because I've been doing it in Illustrator for years. But then, doin' it in Illustrator is called "industry standard"
Back on topic. I've been waiting for this option since ver. 4 of CorelDRAW. It's simple and productive thing to have.
I'm intrigued by this "horizontal font scaling" subject. I'm not familiar with the term at all. I've only used kerning and highlighting certain lines of text and adjusting the size etc. to get it to fit. Perhaps if I could see a sample side by side with a killustrator version and a cd version.
Squishing text shouldn't be able to be done on paragraph text in my opinion. Not even as an option.
One can convert paragraph text and change the horizontal aspect independent of the vertical. That's what it's for in my opinion...
Thank you for your interest in this matter, but it seems that nobody understood the question. As I said, this option exists in Illustrator for ages, but I want to be able to do it in my favorite environment.
You have a defined space in which you have to squeeze certain amount (to say a lot is an understatement) of text. You can use Fit Text To Frame but you'll get 2.5pt sized text. So you make it at least 3.5pt (bare minimum that can be printed in flexo), use condensed font if you have it in all languages and styles, Line spacing 80%, Before paragraph 90% or 1pt. Now you have just 10 more lines to squeeze in. So you make Character spacing -10% and Word spacing 50%. You can barely discern text from background anymore, and there are two more lines that won't fit in. Wouldn't it be nice to have an option to Scale the font by -10% and relax spacing a bit, so that we have a little of white space between letters to be able to read it? And when the customer order the labels again with modifications to text, wouldn't it be nice that some other operator can open this file and find editable Paragraph text to make the small modifications?
Below you can see some examples of labels with text that is "squished" in Illustrator. They are not my work, so you can express your abomination at me as much as you like. Almost all merchandise sold in eastern Europe is plastered with text like this in every language imaginable. If you think these are too much you should see a package of "Allways maxi pads". There is barely room for logo on these. Typography, with it's rules is a wonderful thing, but sometimes you don't have the luxury to follow the rules.
Igor Jeremijev said:They are not my work, so you can express your abomination at me as much as you like.
There is probably no need to express an opinion -- they are both clearly intended to be as illegible as possible
But I am intrigued by your two comments ...
Paragraph text already has the options to change spacing,. But if you start with a 3.5pt font and scale it down by 10%, you have a 3.2pt font. So either you would be creating something that flexo cannot print, or 3.5pt is not the bare minimum and you could have simply use 3.2pt for the paragraph.
I need separate horizontal and vertical scale. So, if I have 3,5pt size, I want to keep the height but to slim it a little.
Maybe I've been a little vague with my request.
Unless I am mistaken, you are asking for something similar to what I show in the rather extreme case below. For those unfamiliar with the tool, note how the second line is compressed to 47% of its length, while retaining the same height. And, yes, both lines are one paragraph.
The funny thing is I have never noticed the lack of this ability in CD. Perhaps because I spend so much time bouncing between software and platforms as the customer's files demand.
What I find really odd is that CD does not have this function (at least, I can't find it now that I look). Yet I am able to do this in Adobe, in Quark, heck, even in MS Word and Open Office. It really does seem to be a feature whose time is overdue.
--OB
OldBob said:...The funny thing is I have never noticed the lack of this ability in CD. Perhaps because I spend so much time bouncing between software and platforms as the customer's files demand. --OB
Hey, Bob, howzit going?
Is the reason you haven't noticed this in CD because of bouncing around in various software? Or the number of times you've used it in any software?
Personally, I don't even do fliers in CD, XDP, AI, DP, etc. I use QXP, PP or ID. I do create the assets in vector applications and/or image editing applications. But I don't do any layout in a vector drawing application. Even so, I cannot remember ever disproportionate scaling in even a layout application that is capable.
I do see what the OP wants, and yes, it is available in, well, about every other vector and layout application. It is solvable by using artistic text or, god forbid, converting text to curves (I hate that option in general).
But face it, CorelDraw has about the worse text engine in any vector application. I know people have done even books in CD, but I would gouge my eyes out if I had to use it for such things.
Actually, the need to do so comes up quite frequently. We do a lot of entire office building projects (ADA-compliant, etc.), and you wouldn't believe the number of times this comes up in a building directory list. And entering each tenant as a separate individual line, instead of a properly indexed (for line spacing) paragraph, would slow us down immeasurably.
Though now that I think on it, that may be why we quit using CD for such projects ages ago.
As for layout, if I am setting it up myself, QXP or ID would be my first choice for anything text-heavy as well. But I have to (try to) deal with what the customer brings us, or requires in return. I've even received (shudder) PowerPoint files on occasion.