Resizing and Shape Conversion

Talk about Pixelmator Pro, share tips & tricks, tutorials, and other resources.
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2018-01-16 16:59:32

I'm still trying to get used to the workflow in Pro. Really loved the original, but Pro has a learning curve. I'd love some help.

1. Is there currently (or will there be in the future) a way to resize text by dragging the text box handles? That's a huge feature!

2. How do I convert selections into shapes? This used to be possible in the original by making a selection, right-clicking, then hitting "convert selection into shape". That functionality seems to be missing. When I go to the Format tab, I see "convert into shape", but that seems to convert the entire layer.
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2018-01-16 19:41:19

Hi! Let me try to answer your questions.

1) For now you cannot resize text using handles as long as the layer in question is a type/text layer. I'd recommend converting the type layer to a shape layer first. Then you can use the Arrange tool to resize your text. Also note that converting text into a shape will create a group layer with each character on a separate layer. This allows for editing each character separately.

2) Indeed it is not possible to make shapes out of selections in Pixelmator pro yet.
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2018-01-16 21:49:47

Thanks for the reply. That was really helpful!

Unfortunately that method won't work for me as I frequently switch between fonts—and fonts are rarely universally sized for some reason.

Is text resize with handles in the works for future updates?
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2018-01-17 09:32:05

by iamarmor Is text resize with handles in the works for future updates?
For now, because the Arrange tool is nondestructive, there isn't really a major need for a 'transform' mode like in the original Pixelmator — having said that, we are, of course, planning to fix text resizing when resizing a layer group that contains text. So you'll definitely be able to resize text using handles if the text is in a group (even if it's the only layer in a group). As for a separate mode for resizing text itself rather than the text line or box that contains it, we'll have to think about that separately. 😉
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2018-01-17 19:44:43

Thanks again! Super helpful.
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2018-10-26 12:47:16

by Sebastiaan 2018-01-16 19:41:19 1) For now you cannot resize text using handles as long as the layer in question is a type/text layer. I'd recommend converting the type layer to a shape layer first. .
But then you can't edit/rephrase the text anymore :-( Even if you just want to change one letter you'll have to do all the work again.

An advanced text tool as in Photoshop CS3 (released in the year 2007) would be awesome! Basic width/height character transform, also change size by dragging the corners, being able to chose alternative letters, etc. Thank you

(or am I just doing it wrong? Still learning...)
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2022-04-27 18:11:57

Is the facility to change character width without having to convert to a shape available yet? Would be really handy right now ;0)
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2022-04-28 14:23:45

Hi, resizing text with handles is possible by grouping the text layer, but unfortunately this will not allow you to resize the text with unconstrained proportions. For that, you'd still need to convert it to a shape.