Arched text vs Curved text. Distinction and difficulties.

[EvilTessmacher]

I am having difficulty finding any information in the forum (or any of the sub-forums for that matter) on creating Arched text.   

I first have to make a significant and important distinction between Arched text, and Curved text. In the attached graphic, the red text at the top is Arched, and the blue text at the bottom is Curved. The green lines are identical, and are displayed to demonstrate just one of the many differences between the two. 

I've been using variants of Paint Shop Pro from JASC for a number of years now, and have some minor experience with Corel, but I simply cannot figure out how to begin attempting to create Arched text in Inkscape. There are no tutorials that I can find, the information on creating text is somewhat lacking in depth, and I'm starting to get a little frustrated at my inability to use the program to do what I need to do.

Is there anyone familiar with this procedure that would be willing to spend a little time guiding me through the process to create arched text? I have a few specific things in the graphic I'm trying to accomplish, and I literally have no idea how to get where I need to go.

Many thanks.

[Lazur]

Hi.

With the pattern along path extension in ribbon mode you can achieve that.
pattern along path

Here was a topic of a similar problem.

[EvilTessmacher]

Hi.

With the pattern along path extension in ribbon mode you can achieve that.
pattern along path

Here was a topic of a similar problem.

Sorry, not remotely the same effect. You did not answer the question I asked.

Please look at the graphic. Nowhere in it is the top line of the text straight.

As I said, a very specific text effect.

[Lazur]

Set path segments curved then.

in detail

[EvilTessmacher]

Set path segments curved then.

in detail

I can already see this is going to go badly.

Clearly, you are so good at this, that you can't remember what it's like to not have the experience you do.

You remind me of a high school algebra teacher I once knew. She'd write the problem on the board, and then write only the answer. Turn to the class and say "everyone get that?" Whenever a student would respond "No, there are steps in the middle you left out, I don't see how to get from one to the next" this teacher would say, "Not my problem. You should know that before you get in here."

You're doing the same thing. You might as well have said "What you want is impossible in Inkscape" and it would have been  just as helpful.

Don't worry, I won't upset your sensitive sensibilities any further. The program has been deleted. I'll find another community where the users are less arrogant and more helpful.

[Lazur]

Fine, next time I'll direct you to a donate button for spoon feeding.
Though that won't be mine, no price can pay me accepting your arrogance.

[brynn]

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry for the confusion.

I understand what you're asking.  And I think I might know how to do this, but I'll have to try it myself, first.  After I have it sorted out, I'll be glad to write it out step by step.

Try to be calm.  Sometimes it's hard to communicate by reading and writing (as opposed to speaking in person).  I couldn't tell you how many times I've read messages which 3 different people have 3 different understandings.  Also, sometimes we just have a bad day.  We're only human, right?

There's a chance Inkscape can't do this.  I don't know for a fact, but I think there is.  I'll post back shortly with what I learn 

[brynn]

Oh, I found it faster than I thought!

You need an extension which does not come packed with Inkscape.  Here's a download link: 

https://github.com/lemasney/Bezier-Envelope-for-Inkscape/archive/master.zip

It's called Bezier Envelope.  And there's an extra file which has some convenient shapes you can use:

https://app.box.com/s/2y3orec08i53vgjay6ehzohclasiz5s2

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working.  (A lot of extensions have needed to be re-written for the last 2 new versions of Inkscape, as there have been many major changes recently.)  I know someone who provides the links and resource for this extension.  (http://cleversomeday.com/textwarpink/)

So I'll contact her and ask if she knows.  Oh, or even better, the author of the extension!  After a little research, I see this current version is forked from something made by an Inkscape developer.  Maybe he'd be willing to fix it?  I think I should be able to find him fairly quickly on IRC.

I'm going to try posting on the github account of the current version.  There must be a way to post bugs, I'm not all that familiar with github.  But if no response, I'll contact the original author.  I might even find an answer today, although I doubt they can fix it so fast.

But just a little patience 

[brynn]

Ok, problem solved!

I was installing the extension in the wrong place.  If you need instructions for doing that, let me know, and I'll give steps 

[Lazur]

Off-Topic: show

The program has been deleted. I'll find another community where the users are less arrogant and more helpful.

There's a chance Inkscape can't do this.  I don't know for a fact, but I think there is.  I'll post back shortly with what I learn

At this point it seems you are beating a dead horse.

Also the mentioned pattern along path extension with even a screen capturing added does show how exactly to get there.
What's the difference between the strait and the curved segments?
First off it can hardly be seen by  the small image attached by our generous new member.
But even if the original intention was to bend all horizontal segments too, by the first "erroneous" results one could see exactly how the tool works although it may not be documented well in the linked page of the manual. 

The Pattern along Path is a very useful extension but it does have a few quirks. One is that if the pattern is moved before use, the results may be less than ideal. Another is that different parts of the pattern can be distorted in different ways as seen in figures that follow.

Even the manual suggest to add many nodes before the extension!

Add nodes with Add Nodes extension.

May have not emphasised that fact out here.
BUT if you actually followed the link to the other topic AND scroll down to my second reply, there was an actual svg file linked with all the steps described, with every steps depicted.
Again, might not had it written with big bold letters, BUT the result of that file shows the same extension DID the same result as by the "request".

Why?
Let's see -it wasn't asked, so all the links and efforts went way over his head.


You know that I'm not a developer or that I couldn't code a slight bit of extension so my insight is nothing more than from a regulat users point of view.
Extension depicted in the manual shows how the nodes are placed in a geometrically correct way.
Does it do the same with path handles? Yes, those coordinates can be visualised by paths and they can be bent accurately too.
So the effect places each graphical representation of a path with a definite coordinate right, only misses the point it "should" make all path segments curved before.

Note again that the manual page already linked did suggest to add many nodes for a curved result on a previously linear segment.

I am having difficulty finding any information in the forum (or any of the sub-forums for that matter)

Although all pointers were given, even to a discussion of that really similar problem,  all response I got was personal.
Call that me having a bad day that the poster didn't even take the time to read all the answers.

No, I don't want to satisfy the evil the slightest bit further on.

[brynn]

First off it can hardly be seen by  the small image attached by our generous new member.

You must not have clicked on the thumbnail, to get the bigger version.

Actually it can't be done with Pattern Along Path.  It distorts the text.  Correcting the distortion with a lot of node editing is extemely time consuming - and I would say not a very satisfying solution.....especially when there's an extension that does it automatically.  The other topic you linked isn't the same thing.  It just arches the bottom or the top of the text, not both. 

As far as I know, it can only be done with the Bezier Envelope extension.

Although all pointers were given, even to a discussion of that really similar problem,  all response I got was personal.
Call that me having a bad day that the poster didn't even take the time to read all the answers.

I didn't mean to say that either one of you were having a bad day.  I was just offering an occasional bad day as a way for one or both of you to save face and get over it and move on.

[Lazur]

Haven't you checked my video or sample svg either?

[brynn]

Yes, I looked at them.  I can see that with a lot of node editing, you managed to get a good result in the SVG file.  But with certain fonts, node editing isn't a reasonable solution.  If it's a nice square-ish or sharp-corner font, then yes node editing could reasonable be done.  But I was testing on my canvas with a font called Cooper Black, which has some really particular curves and "serifs", etc. and hard to get back in the correct position.

I didn't get all the way through with the video, because I thought it was going to be the same thing as in the SVG file.  But if it's different, I'll watch all the way through.

Edit
now watched through

[Lazur]

All the node editing was selecting nodes and make segments curved.
It could only be easier if there was a spinbox option in the extension dialog to bend straight segments.*

In the svg file the font didn't have linrear segments horizontally, converting linear segments curved wasn't even necessary there.
If the font used by the original poster would have had curved segments instead, he would get the desired result straight away too.
Not saying it is an intuitional step but there was a chance of getting the exact result with no additional steps whatsoever.

*Ok, bug reported

[Lazur]

You must not have clicked on the thumbnail, to get the bigger version.

Even in "full size":


Linear segments on the top of the top row are so short that the actual difference from a bent segment is only a few pixels from a straight one.
Which is obstructed by the low quality jpeg compression.
Judged by that image without the text description I cannot tell if we were looking for bent or linear segments after the transformation.

And that was not part of the description either.
Only to not look like the bottom "curved" row.
(Which by the way is also not bent or curved but the characters are rotated with straight segments like with a text on path effect. And can tell that only because the aliased edges makes it more distinguishable than the top row...
If that was supposed to be curved than straight segments were spot on.)

[brynn]

EvilTessmacher, unfortunately, that extension doesn't work for me.  It does seem to work for other people.  I'll try to find the author and let them know, but there's nothing else I can do, at this point.

Lazur, I was about to show a comparison of arching the text both ways, but I can't get Bezier Envelope to work.

Linear segments on the top of the top row are so short that the actual difference from a bent segment is only a few pixels from a straight one.
Which is obstructed by the low quality jpeg compression.
Judged by that image without the text description I cannot tell if we were looking for bent or linear segments after the transformation.

I wasn't even thinking of those areas, because the op didn't mention it, and he seemed more interested in the overall arched design.  Maybe later he would have wanted to consider that detail, but I was focussed only on achieving the arch, while keeping the text upright or vertical, and not too distorted.

But I will be very interested to make a comparison, if we can get that extension fixed.  Maybe there's not as much difference as I thought, but I'll just to have to wait and see.

FYI - if anyone is interested, this is the traceback:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "bezierenvelope.py", line 381, in <module>
    e.affect()
  File "C:\Program Files\Inkscape\share\extensions\inkex.py", line 283, in affect
    self.effect()
  File "bezierenvelope.py", line 101, in effect
    raise Exception, "axes[%i] is None" % i
Exception: axes[1] is None

The traceback is slightly different in version 0.91, but I think they are essentially the same.

[Lazur]

I wasn't even thinking of those areas, because the op didn't mention it, and he seemed more interested in the overall arched design.

Please look at the graphic. Nowhere in it is the top line of the text straight.

[brynn]

The way I interpretted that, was a response to the link you gave to the IF topic.  That op wanted to keep the top of the text (the whole text, not the letters) straight-horizontal, and only have the bottom curved (LEGEND).  The op here (EvilT) didn't read down that topic far enough to see that the design he wanted was addressed further down.  He just looked at the first couple of screenshots and assumed you weren't paying attention.

This is what I mean about it being hard to communicate by reading and writing.  You miss subtle clues (in voice or vocal cues or body language) that can prevent different people from interpretting something in different ways.  You remember those times when I accuse you of mind-reading, because you somehow knew what the person was asking and gave them the correct answer, while I couldn't make heads or tails of what they were even asking?

Maybe this time I was the one who understood, and you didn't?  But in any case, that's why I always urge people to be patient.  Because otherwise the simplest (and sometimes silliest) things can get blown up into a nightmare.

[Lazur]

Guess you are right, maybe that part was about interpreting my words "similar problem" as an "exact one click solution".
Although right above the link to the discussion the link is leading to the exact solution.

[brynn]

Yes, I realize that you gave a good solution.  (I still think it introduces certain distortions into certain fonts, but we can't really have a decent discussion until the extension gets fixed.) 

I don't know if the op was just in a hurry, or why he didn't look closely enough to see it.  To me, his reaction (uninstalling the program) seems out of proportion.  So maybe something else was going on with him.  Who knows?