Here’s a quick tip for those times when you’re experimenting with different combinations of text formatting to find the right look for a piece of type. Use the Eyedropper tool. It can make quick work of the job because it allows you to sample and apply just about any combination of text formatting options.
To choose what the Eyedropper samples, double-click it in the Tools panel.
In the Eyedropper Options dialog box, you can choose to sample and apply font, size, color, leading, kerning/tracking, scaling/skewing, baseline shift, and more.
With the right options selected, click OK to close the dialog box. Then click to sample attributes from one piece of text, and click again to apply those attributes to other text. You can also click and drag to apply attributes to a specific range of text.
I used this method when I was writing my recent post on movie poster type. I sampled scaling and baseline shift. (Yes, I know scaling type this much is considered a type crime, but it’s common practice in movie posters.)
and applied it to a few tables where I’d used different fonts and cell options.
This article was last modified on July 25, 2019
This article was first published on February 16, 2017
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“(Yes, I know scaling type this much is considered a type crime, but it’s common practice in movie posters.)”
David, David, David…. I love you and your work, but I gotta say: It’s not a crime because the type police are irrational prigs. (Though that is often true.) In this case, it’s a crime because the type gets so distorted that the thin’s don’t even have white in them anymore. (Anti-aliasing makes them grey.)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9g2dup8x45i7rsd/Screenshot%202017-02-16%2013.22.06.png?dl=0
How’s about starting with a compressed sans serif at least? Among the many to choose from, scroll to the bottom of these: https://typekit.com/fonts/titling-gothic-fb
but… how to keep the Color Theme tool from coming on at seeming random times when using the eyedropper?
I would love an answer to that one too!!!