Hi,

Is there any fast & easy way to strecth text? I mean to stretch a text expression in a way that the start could be taller than the end, something like this:

Potatoe

Thanks a lot in advance,

That particular example looks (to me) like text in 4 different sizes. It looks like the "P" is maybe size 16, the "o" maybe 14, the "tat" smaller, and the "oe" smaller. So you could do it by changing the font size of individual letters. That way it remains editable as text.

Another way to do it might be with Envelope Deformation. There are both an extension for that, and an LPE (path effect). Personally I find the LPE easier to use. However, it will make the whole word gradually smaller at one end and larger at the other, so that if you look very closely, actually each letter will be smaller on one side and larger on the other. You'd have to convert the text to path to do this, though, so that you will no longer be able to edit the text as text.

You can find instructions in the manual under "Live Path Effects (LPE)" (or if you want to learn about the extension, look under "Extensions").

Hi brynn,

I use different char sizes here just to ilustrate the ideas, as they are available in this forum, but it is not exactly what I want, since to fit my real needs the same character may be wider at the start than at its end. I do not care too much if I cannot edit the text anymore, so converting it to a path is ok.

I have seen something on envelope deformation and seems to fit my needs.

I will try and told you.

Thanks a lot again,

Envelope does not work on my Inkscape, it gives an error and does nothing.

I am using 0.48 on an Ubuntu 11.10.

Regards,

I have tried another approach, using node sculpting, but it did not work neither at least for me. I think this may be a problem with all Ubuntu instalation also: if I try to drag the mouse while presing ALT key to "sculpt" nodes, inkscape does nothing and after a while moving the mouse, the inkscape window is restored, I mean that I have it maximized for working but when doing that it gets to its normal size instead of maximized.

Ubuntu uses ALT + Mouse Drag itself for moving windows, so I think it should be some conflict. I will search the manner to disable that Ubuntu behaviour, perhaps this may solve the problem.

Regards,

Hhhmmm.... There IS a problem with the Alt key on some systems. I'm really tired right now though, and I can't remember if it's Linuxes or Macs. Somewhere there's a topic about the Alt key issue. However, I can't imagine that Node Sculpting would do what you want to do. ....Well I guess you could do it, but I think it would be very tedious. But it really isn't ideal in this situation.

Which Envelope Deformation did you try? The extension or LPE (path effect)? Also please tell us what the error message said. That will be a clue as to what you might have done wrong, and/or what you can do to fix it. Also, the status bar usually contains a wealth of info at every step you take with Inkscape.

I suspect that you have already read the manual info on using Envelope Deform, but I will write some very brief steps for you anyway.

-- Type the text.
-- Path menu > Object to Path
-- Path menu > Path Effects Editor > Envelope Deform > Add
-- After you click Add, you will see some additional options appearing below the Add button. Check both boxes to enable control paths (called "bend paths" in the dialog).
-- Let's start with Top Bend Path. Click this icon and you will see a green colored path with 2 nodes along the top of the text. You can edit that path just like a regular path. Just grab a node and move it around to get an idea how it works. You have to edit each "bend path" one at a time, by clicking the icon for top, bottom, left and right (personally I find it annoying, and wish they could all be displayed at the same time, but I'm happy just to have this tool )

Now with a little practice, you should be able to do what you want. But please feel free to post again, if you still have trouble