Adobe Illustrator for Windows - How the hell do I insert a "bullet point"?

Author

How the hell do I insert a "bullet point"?

Dave M

2006-02-12, 7:31 pm

I want to place a mid-line dot between 2 words. I can do
this by using a plain ol' period, then using the baseline
shift to raise it up, but I'd like the dot to be larger. If
I increase the font size, the word spacing changes. I know
Mac has a shortcut that inserts a nice-sized bullet point.
How do I do it in Windows?

Kdod

2006-02-12, 7:31 pm

Check the asci map...ex: ® = alt + 0174
"Dave M" <no@email.net> wrote in message
news:xA9Cf.8688$NS6.5136@newssvr30.news.prodigy.com...
>I want to place a mid-line dot between 2 words. I can do this by using a
>plain ol' period, then using the baseline shift to raise it up, but I'd
>like the dot to be larger. If I increase the font size, the word spacing
>changes. I know Mac has a shortcut that inserts a nice-sized bullet point.
>How do I do it in Windows?

Dave M

2006-02-12, 7:31 pm

> Check the asci map...ex: ® = alt + 0174

Tried that. Doesn't work.

Kdod

2006-02-12, 7:31 pm

I just did this in V9.....are holding the alt key down when you type the
0...
"Dave M" <no@email.net> wrote in message
news:rMcCf.4083$ur7.2156@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
>
> Tried that. Doesn't work.

Dave M

2006-02-12, 7:31 pm

> I just did this in V9.....are holding the alt key down when you type the
> 0...

Hmmm. Yeah, I'm holding all the keys down. What happens
here (in V10) is that the cursor advances as if a character
has been placed (and any type to the right moves over) but
the character doesn't show up. I've tried this w/several
fonts w/the same result.

OK, hold on...I was able to insert a bullet by using the
Character Map (which I had tried earlier). However, the
symbol/character that results is dependent upon the chosen
font. For example, if I try pasting a bullet point using
Arial, I get a bullet. If I do the same w/Courier New, I
get a question mark. Weird.

Thanks for the help.

Gene Palmiter

2006-02-12, 7:31 pm

Seems to me that it would be weird if that didn't happen. Doing it this way
is font dependant and not all fonts will have the same character in the same
place.

With InDesign its Alt-8 but I don't see "special characters" in Illustrator
so you might want to see it that is the same throughout the CS. Otherwise
make a space-bullet-space (or however you want it), put it in the right
font, and paste them into the spaces where you want them.

--
Thanks,
Gene Palmiter
(visit my photo gallery at http://palmiter.dotphoto.com)
freebridge design group

"Dave M" <no@email.net> wrote in message
news:JodCf.4089$ur7.3078@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
>
> Hmmm. Yeah, I'm holding all the keys down. What happens here (in V10) is
> that the cursor advances as if a character has been placed (and any type
> to the right moves over) but the character doesn't show up. I've tried
> this w/several fonts w/the same result.
>
> OK, hold on...I was able to insert a bullet by using the Character Map
> (which I had tried earlier). However, the symbol/character that results
> is dependent upon the chosen font. For example, if I try pasting a bullet
> point using Arial, I get a bullet. If I do the same w/Courier New, I get
> a question mark. Weird.
>
> Thanks for the help.

Dave M

2006-02-12, 7:32 pm

> Seems to me that it would be weird if that didn't happen. Doing it this way
> is font dependant and not all fonts will have the same character in the same
> place.

OK, here's what I've found...

In Word, for example, when you copy something from the
Character Map, it copies the character AND font info, so
that if you copy a character in one font and paste it into a
line of text of a different font, what shows up is the
character and font you've copied, it doesn't convert to the
font it's being pasted into.

But it seems that Illustrator doesn't fully support the
character map, so the behavior is unpredictable. If you
copy/paste from the CM into Illustrator, you can't be sure
what you're gonna get (though every character I've tried
that has pasted incorrectly has defaulted to a "?"). I was
wrong, though; the standard bullet DOES work. However,
there's a large bullet that doesn't paste right.

Another question: do you if there are Illustrator templates
for things like Avery labels?

>
> With InDesign its Alt-8 but I don't see "special characters" in Illustrator
> so you might want to see it that is the same throughout the CS. Otherwise
> make a space-bullet-space (or however you want it), put it in the right
> font, and paste them into the spaces where you want them.
>
>
>

Fiasko

2006-02-12, 7:32 pm

1

If you don't want to rely on the font, like if you think you might
change the font later, why not make a tiny circl and fill it with
whatever color the font is, thejn place it where you want it to go? You
can group it with the text so that it stays in place. But of course,
when reformatting the text you'll have to keep moving your bullet.

2

The other option is to find how to create a bullet in whatever font you
think the bullet looks best in, and for the rest of the text use
whatever font you want. You could do that in the same text box, but you
won't be able to alter the font of the entire text box.

3

The best bet in the long run (in terms of flexibility, is to find the
bullet for the font you are using and use that one. Most font family's
have something you could use as a bullet.

Good luck.

Gene Palmiter

2006-02-12, 7:32 pm

I wonder how hard it would be to use something like font forge to make a
bullet for the font. If its a problem that comes up a lot that might be the
way to go.

--
Thanks,
Gene Palmiter
(visit my photo gallery at http://palmiter.dotphoto.com)
freebridge design group

"Fiasko" <fiasko5k@XXXXXXXXXX> wrote in message
news:1138381191.317236.118730@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> 1
>
> If you don't want to rely on the font, like if you think you might
> change the font later, why not make a tiny circl and fill it with
> whatever color the font is, thejn place it where you want it to go? You
> can group it with the text so that it stays in place. But of course,
> when reformatting the text you'll have to keep moving your bullet.
>
> 2
>
> The other option is to find how to create a bullet in whatever font you
> think the bullet looks best in, and for the rest of the text use
> whatever font you want. You could do that in the same text box, but you
> won't be able to alter the font of the entire text box.
>
> 3
>
> The best bet in the long run (in terms of flexibility, is to find the
> bullet for the font you are using and use that one. Most font family's
> have something you could use as a bullet.
>
> Good luck.
>