How to Adjust Letter Spacing and Position in eXPerience 8

In eXPerience 8 embroidery software, while you can apply standard transformations like rotate, slant, scale, and stretch to text objects, you also have precise control over the placement of individual letters and the spacing between them. This guide covers two primary methods for fine-tuning your text.

Method 1: Using the Text Handles and Properties

This method is ideal for quick, interactive adjustments directly on the design screen.

1. Select the Text: Create or select a text object. When the text is active for editing, you will see red handles appear on each individual character.
2. Move an Individual Letter: Click and drag the red handle of any character to move it freely in any direction. This is useful for creating custom artistic layouts.
3. Set Uniform Spacing: To adjust the distance between all characters at once, locate the “Spacing” or “Distance” field in the Text Properties panel and type in a specific numerical value.

Method 2: Advanced Control with the Node Editor

For the most precise control over character position and spacing, use the Node Editor.

1. Activate the Node Editor: With your text object selected, start the Node Editor tool. You will now see nodes corresponding to each character.
2. Move an Individual Letter: Click the node associated with a single character and drag it to a new position.
3. Adjust Overall Spacing (Tracking):
   • Click and drag a selection box around the nodes of all the characters you wish to adjust.
   • With the nodes selected, click and drag any one of them to the left or right. All the selected letters will move together, increasing or decreasing the space between them uniformly.
4. Pro Tip: Adjust Spacing from the Center Point:
   • To adjust the letter spacing while keeping the entire block of text anchored to its center point, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard while you click and drag the selected nodes. This will expand or contract the spacing symmetrically from the middle of the selection.

By using these tools, you can move individual letters or adjust their spacing to make every text design in eXPerience 8 perfectly suited to your needs and uniquely your own.