Add Text to Closed Shapes with Adobe CS5
Adobe Creative Suite 5 (AdobeCS5) Illustrator allows you to place text inside or on the path of a closed shape. These options are a significant addition to your text formatting toolbox.
Creating text in a closed shape
Putting text inside a shape can add spunk to a layout. This feature allows you to custom-create a closed shape with the shape tools or the Pen tool and flow text into it. Follow these steps to add text inside a shape:
Create a closed shape — a circle or oval, for example.
Select the Type tool and cross over the path of the closed shape.
When you see the I-bar swell or become rounded, click inside the shape.
Start typing, and the text is contained inside the shape.
Text on the path of a closed shape
Perhaps you want text to run around the edge of a shape instead of inside it. Follow these steps to have text created on the path of a closed shape:
Create a closed shape, such as a circle.
Select the Type tool and cross over the path of the circle.
Don’t click when you see the I-bar swell up; hold down the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) key instead. The icon changes into the squiggle I-bar you see when creating text on a path.
When the squiggle line appears, click.
Start typing, and the text flows around the path of the shape.
To change the origin of the text or move it around, use the alignment options in the Paragraph panel or switch to the Selection tool and drag the I-bar to a new location on the path.
You can drag the I-bar in and out of the shape to flip the text so that it appears on the outside or inside of the path.