Hello Tiggs; the Handles are for shaping or sizing as Harry is saying. There have been a hole lot of post about text on the Forum here, you could search and read some of them. but yes it does make a difference if the text has been converted to curves or not in the size that is shown, and don't forget about the extenders like a y or g. If I need something that will fill a exact space I'll draw a rectangle the size I need and fit the text in it. And to send someone a message you can click on there Avatar, and see a place to send a message.( But you can't attach anything.) You can post what you want to show someone here just save it as a raster file and post it as shown in the screen shot below.
George