CorelDRAW Help | Choosing typefaces and fonts

Quick links to procedures on this page:

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Choosing typefaces and fonts

Text is an important element in the design and layout of documents. In CorelDRAW, you can choose the typeface that is best suited to your project. You can specify the font size and style. In addition, you can use an OpenType font to achieve a unique and distinctive style. For more information, see Working with OpenType features. The default unit of measure for text is points; however, you can change the unit of measure for the active drawing and all subsequent drawings. For information about previewing fonts, see Viewing fonts.

Fonts vs. typefaces

"Font" and "typeface" are two typography terms that are often used interchangeably, but they do not have the same meaning. A font is a collection of characters that includes letters, numbers, and symbols of one variation of a typeface, such as bold or italic. A typeface, which is also known as a font family, is made up of several fonts that share similar design characteristics. In other words, a font is the mechanism that allows you to render the characters onscreen or in print, whereas the typeface, which embodies the style and visual distinctiveness of the characters, refers to the design and style of the type.

The following table lists a few examples of typefaces and fonts.

Typeface (Font family)	Font
Helvetica	Helvetica Bold-Italic
Times New Roman	Normal
Verdana	Verdana Bold-Italic

Choosing a typeface

Typefaces come in different shapes and sizes and have unique characteristics and expressive qualities. Choosing the right typeface is an important design consideration because it can set the tone of the project. Moreover, it can help, or hinder, effective communication. For example, if you design a poster with a typeface that is difficult to read, or sets the wrong tone, your message may not effectively reach your intended audience.

The typeface applied to the word "Menu" on the left is more suitable for an upscale restaurant menu than the typeface on the right.

Here are a few basic tips for choosing the right typeface:

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Choose a typeface that best suits the tone of your design.

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Choose a typeface that is appropriate for the final output of your design (e.g. web or print).

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Use less typefaces in your document. The general rule is not to exceed three or four typefaces in a document.

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Make sure the typeface characters are easy to read and recognize.

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Choose a typeface that is appropriate for the age of your target audience.

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Make sure the typeface of headings stands out and looks good when displayed at larger sizes.

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Make sure the typeface of body text enhances readability.

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Choose a typeface that supports multiple languages if you’re working on multilingual documents.

To change the font

1 .

Using the Text tool

, select a character or a block of text.

If the Object properties docker is not open, click Window

Dockers

Object properties.

2 .

In the Object properties docker, click the Character button

to display the character-related options.

3 .

In the Character area of the Object properties docker, perform one or more tasks from the following table.

To	Do the following
Choose a typeface	Choose a typeface from the Font list box. For information about finding fonts more easily, see Filtering fonts and Searching for fonts.
Set font size	Type a value in the Font size box.
Change the font style	Choose a style from the Font style list box.
Use lines to represent text that is smaller than a specific font size	Click Tools Options, click Text in the Workspace list of categories, and then type a value in the Greek text below box.

The method of "greeking" text helps increase the redraw speed, which is useful for creating prototypes of documents or drawings. You can make text readable again by reducing the greeking value or by zooming in on the text.

You can also change the font and font size from the property bar.

You can also change the font style of selected text by clicking the Bold button , Italic button , or Underline button on the property bar.

To resize text

1 .

Using the Text tool

, select a character or a block of text.

2 .

On the property bar, choose a size from the Font size list box.

You can also
Resize artistic text using the Pick tool	Click the Pick tool , and drag one of the corner handles.
Resize paragraph text using the Pick tool	Click the Pick tool , press Alt, and then drag one of the corner handles.
Increase the size of text	Press Num Lock to activate the number pad on your keyboard, and use the Text tool to select the text. Then, hold down Ctrl, and press 8 on the number pad.
Decrease the size of text	Using the Text tool , select the text. Then, hold down Ctrl, and press 2 on the number pad.
Set an increment for resizing text	Click Tools Options. In the Workspace list of categories, click Text, and type a value in the Keyboard text increment box.
Change the default unit of measure	Click Tools Options. In the Workspace list of categories, click Text, and choose a unit from the Default text units list box.

You can also resize the text from the Character area of the Object properties docker, by choosing a size from the Font size list box.

Not all suite components documented in this Help are available in our Trial, Academic, and OEM versions. Unavailable components may include Corel applications, product features, third-party utilities, and extra content files.

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