7 Replies Latest reply: Dec 18, 2011 6:41 PM by Stan Jones RSS

    Resizing Menu Button to Fit Text Without Stretching

    Petrula Community Member

      Win7 Pro x64

      CS5 Production Suite Premium

      Premiere Pro V5.0.1

      Encore V5.0.0.508

       

      I used a canned template menu from the Library.

      I selected a chapter button.

      In the Properties tab, I changed the name to a long text string.

      Of course, the text does not fit in the button.

      When I resize the inner text layer, it stretches the text.

      Within Encore, I want to lengthen the box so the text fits.

      How do you resize the text box without having the text stretch?

      Is there a way to have Encore automatically resize the text box to fit the text?

      Thanks in advance.

        • 1. Re: Resizing Menu Button to Fit Text Without Stretching
          Stan Jones CommunityMVP

          I prefer working in photoshop (select menu, right click, edit in photoshop). But the "sync button text and name" is convenient.

           

          In Encore, I find that the box does adjust horizontally, and will also adjust vertically if you use the text tool and add a return. Of course, Encore does not change other button elements.

           

          Is that what you mean?

          • 2. Re: Resizing Menu Button to Fit Text Without Stretching
            Petrula Community Member

            I was looking for a process in Encore which was quick instead of having to go into Photoshop (which I do use when I need to make detailed changes).

             

            "Sync button text and name" works fine until the length of the text exceeds the length of the text box.

            When this occurs, Encore does not automatically expand the text box to fit but clips the text.

            One then needs to extend the length of the text box which unfortunately also stretches the text.

            I was hoping there was a way within Encore to avoid the stretching instead of having to go into Photoshop.

            • 3. Re: Resizing Menu Button to Fit Text Without Stretching
              Stan Jones CommunityMVP

              until the length of the text exceeds the length of the text box.When this occurs, Encore does not automatically expand the text box to fit but clips the text.

              That is not what is happening for me; the text box expands to the right. Tested it on CS3 and CS5.

               

              What menu are you using?

              • 4. Re: Resizing Menu Button to Fit Text Without Stretching
                Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

                If you completely remove the Text, and then start typing, the Bounding Box should now expand to fit the Text.

                 

                Like Stanley, I almost always do an Edit in Photoshop, as one has much more control.

                 

                Be aware that there cannot be any Button overlaps, even by 1 pxl. The area of the Button is defined by a rectangle, that encompasses the largest item in the Button, plus all other items. When doing long Button Names, if one does not consider the overlap, bad things will happen. When I have altered Buttons much, I always check in Encore, by doing a Ctrl+A in the Menu Editing Panel, to see the Bounding Boxes for all Buttons - just to be sure.

                 

                Good luck,

                 

                Hunt

                • 5. Re: Resizing Menu Button to Fit Text Without Stretching
                  Ann Bens CommunityMVP

                  Select the Direct Selection Tool (A), click on the button and a blue box appears. Now go to the Character Panel and set font size or whatever to your liking.

                  Select text tool and make text longer if you like.

                  When button overlap occurs a red box will appear, so don't worry.

                  Oh and update Premiere to 5.0.3.

                  • 6. Re: Resizing Menu Button to Fit Text Without Stretching
                    Petrula Community Member

                    Win7 Pro x64

                    CS5 Production Suite Premium

                    Premiere Pro V5.0.1

                    Encore V5.0.0.508

                     

                    None of the above solutions work.

                     

                    I am using the

                    General – Radiant Menu WIDE

                     

                    If I completely remove the Text, and then start typing, the inner Bounding Box remains the same size and does not expand to fit the Text.

                     

                    Thanks for the feedback.

                    • 7. Re: Resizing Menu Button to Fit Text Without Stretching
                      Stan Jones CommunityMVP

                      In the Radiant Menu, I get the same result you are: when I add longer text, it wraps in the bounding box. This is different from what I get in, for example, the Sunset menu, where it does not wrap, but goes out of the box to the side. I explored a few ideas, but did not pin down what is different about the two menus.

                       

                      But you seem to also be saying that the easiest workaround (resizing the box without distorting the text) is not working for you.

                       

                      Look at the following. I am in Encore, working with the Radiant Wide menu in the menu viewer and layers panel.

                       

                      There are 3 tools at issue. The Select Tool, the Direct Select Tool, and the Text Tool.

                       

                      With the Select Tool, if I click on one of the buttons (e.g. Chapter 3), I see only the larger bounding box with control points. If I drag these, the box changes and the text is distorted. On the other hand, if I open the Layers panel, click on the "button" layer (which selects this larger bounding box), and drag one of the control points, the box changes and the text does not distort. If I click on the text layer in the layer panel, only the text box is selected. If I then drag a control point, the text box is changed and the text is distorted.

                       

                      I believe that clicking on the button in the menu viewer with the Select Tool in essence selects both the text and bounding layers.

                       

                      With the Direct Select Tool, if I click on the text in a button (again in the menu viewer, not the layer panel) it selects the text box and dragging distorts the text. If I click in the button in an area without text, it selects the bounding box and dragging does not distort the text.

                       

                      Using the Text Tool is interesting. When you click in the existing text with the Text Tool, a text box (is it a text box?) appears that is larger than the existing text (larger than the text box that appears if you click the text layer in the layer panel), and if you drag these control points with the Text Tool selected, the text does not distort.

                       

                      I suspected an issue of a) a setting that determines whether text wraps in a bounding box (including the vector masks used as background for a button), or b) the difference between a text insert point that creates a paragraph instead of simple text (as available in the Premiere titler or in Illustrator). I was unable to sort out any of those potential  explanations.