Creating type on a path is a great feature of Illustrator and is quite handy when sprucing up your typography or experimenting. Annoyingly, the Path Type object always seem to have inconsistent spacing and just doesn’t look right. Luckily, Illustrator has some Text On A Path Options! With these options, you can change the Effect, Alignment, Spacing, and Flip.

Type On A Path Options Dialog

Select the Path Type object and go Type > Type on a Path > Type on a Path Options to bring up the Type on a Path dialog.

Effect

Chose from Rainbow, Skew, 3D Ribbon, Stair Step and Gravity to control the orientation of the type relative to the path.

Align To Path

Chose from Baseline, Ascender, Descender and Center to determine what part of the type lines up with the path.

Spacing

Chose a spacing value to create consistent spacing between characters on a curved path. A higher spacing value brings the characters closer to each other and helps with spacing issues.

Flip

Flip the side of the path which the text appears.

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