Macro Monday: Shelby's QuickFill/Outline

Today's macro, Shelby's QuickFill/Outline doesn't just have one function, it has a number of different functions related to fills and outlines. You can select all objects with the same fill color easily and you can even move them all to the same layer. The same can be done with outlines. It can also convert outlines to objects while also deleting the original object.

It also has a number of functions that works with both outlines and fills at the same time. Those include converting them to black and white, converting them to wireframe, deleting all objects with no fill or outline, swapping fill and outline colors and selecting all objects with same fill and outline as the currently selected object. In short, lots of productivity enhancing features. If you are a coder, the macro is also unlocked so that you can modify the code if needed.

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Macro Monday: Jeff's Text to Curves

One of the most frustrating things that can happen when you pass your design to another user is that font substitution will change the font you've chosen to something that just isn't right. One option is to embed the fonts inside the drawing. Unfortunately not all fonts allow embedding and there are times it just doesn't work. The other option is to go through your project and convert each piece of text to curves. If there are only 8-10 pieces of text, this isn't a big deal. But what happens when you have hundreds of pieces of text?

That's where today's macro will come to the rescue. Jeff's Text to Curves will find all text in your document, even if it is inside of a PowerClip, and convert it to curves. So let's say you do have exactly 100 pieces of text in your drawing. It takes you 20 seconds to select each piece and press Ctrl + Q to convert it to curves. That's over half an hour. Even if you are really fast, it still takes over ten minutes. This macro will accomplish the same task in mere seconds. So while it isn't free, it will only need to be used 2-3 times for it to pay for itself.

How much would it cost you to reprint a job if there was font substitution? Yet another reason this macro should be part of any designer's arsenal. Give Jeff's Text to Curves a look, I think you'll find it is really useful!

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