Illustrator questions... rounded rectangles & text on a path

[Super Macho Man]

Hi, I'm using Illustrator CS2 and I have a couple of questions...

1) I know how to create a rounded rectangle (rectangle with rounded corners). But when I resize it, the rounded corners get scaled (flattened/squeezed) too. How can I resize a rectangle while keeping the corners as perfect quarter-spheres?

2) I am making a simple road map with the roads as paths. I have the stroke set to 10px. I want to label the roads with street names. But when I put text on the road's path, it partially overlaps the edge of the stroke, and looks bad.

2a) How can I make it not do this - keep the text outside the stroke of the path?
2b) If I wanted to, and if the stroke were thick enough, could I put text *inside* the stroked path? Would I have to convert the path to a poly or something, draw a path over it and put text on that?

Thanks for any help you can provide....

 

[iMeowbot]

1) I know how to create a rounded rectangle (rectangle with rounded corners). But when I resize it, the rounded corners get scaled (flattened/squeezed) too. How can I resize a rectangle while keeping the corners as perfect quarter-spheres?

Make any old rectangle or roundrect. Pick Effect->Convert To Shape from the menu. Set the extra width and height to zero, and enter the corner radius you want to have on there permanently. You will see what when you drag the shape around, the scaled corners are still there but hidden, while the fixed corner you applied is what really gets drawn. You can adjust the corners later from the Appearance palette window.

2) I am making a simple road map with the roads as paths. I have the stroke set to 10px. I want to label the roads with street names. But when I put text on the road's path, it partially overlaps the edge of the stroke, and looks bad.

This is the type on a path tool? It does do just that, type on the path, rather than the outline of the stroke.

2a) How can I make it not do this - keep the text outside the stroke of the path?

Click on the little arrow button on the top right of the Character palette, and Show Options so that all the possible adjustments are shown. In the lower left of the palette will be a control where you can adjust the baseline shift so that it clears the stroke.

2b) If I wanted to, and if the stroke were thick enough, could I put text *inside* the stroked path? Would I have to convert the path to a poly or something, draw a path over it and put text on that?

Select the text, and from the menu pick Type->Type On A Path->Type On A Path Options. Change Align To Path: to Center (or ascender, whatever works for your font). You can fine tune with the baseline adjustment as above.

 

[Super Macho Man]

Awesome. Thanks!