Text tricks: why do some fonts start with @, how do I make vertical text, and how do I fit text to an exact area?

The @ fonts

Fonts whose name starts with @ are drawn vertically downward and are always left justified. They are the vertical-layout variants of a font that Windows installs alongside the normal one. For ordinary sign work you usually want the normal font, so if your text comes in running down the page, you picked the @ version of a font.

Vertical (stacked) text that reads top-to-bottom

Do not rotate a word 90 degrees unless you WANT sideways reading. For stacked upright letters:

1. In the text tool, press Enter after each letter so each gets its own line.
2. Set the alignment to Center.
3. Tighten the line spacing until the stack looks right (place the cursor between lines with the Text Selection tool and click to close them up).

That is the classic vertical-sign look ("O-P-E-N"), with the letters upright. An @ font also stacks letters vertically, but it is always left justified.

Fitting text to an exact area

• Use Text in a Box (a mode in the Create Text form). Set the Bounding Box Dimensions, a Margin Size (None, Normal or Wide) and the Vertical and Horizontal Stretch options, and the text is scaled to fit. This suits plaques where the name changes.
• Manual method: type at any size, then use Set Size or the Scale form (T) with the proportional lock on to set the exact width, or scale interactively with the corner handles against a drawn guide box.
• Batch name plates: pair the fitted text block with Plate Production or Document Variables so each name sizes into the same slot.

Two supporting habits

1. Keep text LIVE as long as possible. It stays editable and the software handles overlaps in live text (see the script-font entry). Convert to curves only for node editing, and save a new version of the file first.
2. Installing new fonts: install the font in Windows (right-click the font file, Install), then restart the software. It reads the font list at startup, so a font that is missing after install usually means the software was not restarted.

Pro tips

• Preview fonts quickly: with the text selected, step through the font list and watch the result in the 2D view.
• For lost-font detective work on an old design, an online font-identifier site (upload a screenshot) usually names it. See the font-carveability entry before committing to the match.