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Text Transformation Matrix

In addition to |
|, |
| and |
| a
, you can also directly modify the transformation matrix using Edit->Text->Transformation Matrix.... The transformation matrix for a text area is applied relative to the top left corner of the
. The transformation matrix for a
is applied relative to the point along the underlying path where each character should be positioned.

Once a text area has been combined with a
to form a text-path, the text can only be transformed by editing the transformation matrix. For example, Figure 9.19 shows a text-path in edit mode (so that you can see the underlying path) with different values of the transformation matrix. In Figure 9.19(a), the transformation matrix is set to the identity matrix, shown in Figure 9.19(b). In Figure 9.19(c), the transformation matrix is set as shown in Figure 9.19(d), (the vertical translation has been set to 10). The text is no longer flush against the path. In Figure 9.19(e), the transformation matrix has been set as shown in Figure 9.19(f), (the horizontal shear element has been set to -1).

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
Figure 9.19: Text-path transformation matrix: (a) the text-path with transformation matrix shown in (b); (c) the text-path with transformation matrix shown in (d); (e) the text-path with transformation matrix shown in (f).

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