Would it be possible to have a TEXT import into FF as a component?

I have seen that it is really VERY HARD AND DIFFICULT to make any kind of text or numbers inside Filter Forge and it involves a complex combination of components to get JUST ONE letter or number.

I think that it would be really useful and interesting to have in FF 4.0 a new component that could be able to import and render real text and numbers.

1 - Import text from outside FF

2 - OR if not possible you could be able to write the text yourself inside FF

I do not mean to be able to use a whole page of text, this is NOT the meaning of my suggestion, I just want a FF component to write SIMPLE LETTERS AND WORDS, or build a short phrase, not full texts.

I am NOT asking to have a full text editor inside FF, not at all, ONLY to be able to use one letter, or build one word, or one short phrase", that´s all.

It would need also a way to choose the font you want to use.

Also another suggestion is that it could be useful if the Letter or Word could be used as shapes, I mean like for example the same as "free rectangle"

Thanks very much

Thanks very much for the link CFandM

BUT THIS THREAD IS FROM 2006 !!!! 6 years ago and nothing has been already been done about this ?

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Vladimir Golovin wrote in 2006!! Actually, we considered embedding vector shapes, and text is not very different in this regard. Hovewer, to make filters look the same on different platforms, we'd have to embed the entire font into the filter, which is currently problematic.

It seems that must be really very problematic and very, very difficult to make because they have been already 6 YEARS CONSIDERING embedding vector shapes in FF

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Vladimir Golovin wrote in 2006!! Regarding the font feature -- technically, fonts are a special case of vectors, and in order to implement fonts we'll have to implement vectors first. Which means loading them from PSDs (via the plugin interface, which probably means getting a newer SDK, which has a scary license agreement) and AIs (probably the same story with the AI SDK). Vectors would involve a new kind of components (with brand-new color!) which requires propagating the support for vectors across the entire infrastructure (renderer, GUI, preview, files, filter library, website etc etc.) That's a lot of work, so I can safely say that vectors -- and therefore fonts -- won't be included in v2.0.

1 - Why is needed to convert fonts to vectors ? Why is not possible to use the fonts by itself because they are already resizable and can be enlarged without loosing quality.

Probably is the same reason as Photoshop. I know that Photoshop uses text input, BUT as said by Vladimir all the fonts are converted to vectors inside Photoshop for writing and editing, and then when finished editing you raster them and convert into a normal image.
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2 - Would you need to make the text first in Photoshop and then import it into Filter Forge ?

Would not be possible to create the text inside Filter Forge ?
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3 - Does it mean that the main problem with text and vectors is that is needed to upgrade or update to a newer SDK ?

What does it mean that "it has a scary license agreement" Why is it scary for FF ?

So the main problem that this has not been implemented inside FF in 6 years already, is because is needed to have a new SDK?
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WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO INCLUDE VECTORS COMPONENTS IN FF 4.0 ?

It was not going to be included in 2.0 because of a lot work involved, and is understandable and logical, but it has NOT been included in FF 3.0, and then I wonder if it will be probably included in FF 4.0 ?

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Morgantao wrote: In other words: DREAM ON!

YES

But I really wish and hope very much that this feature does NOT belong to the Morgantao´s future theory and will it really be available in FF 4.0.

Please, see Morgantao´s future theory below

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Morgantao wrote: Sorry, that option is to be implemented in FF 136 (Coming out September 2214). Untill then there's nothing you can do to have fonts or vectors included in Filter Forge.

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opossum wrote Every time a software company tries to be all things to all people, the software goes from being "user friendly" to "user hostile" which is why I still use older copies of Adobe Photoshop, CorelDraw and Xara which don't have all the latest "can't live without features".

THANK YOU! I have thought this very thing for years. I still use an old Jasc Paint Shop Pro program from 2005! If there are thing I need that it doesn't have I find another program to do that job. I use Inkscape for vectors. It's free, easy and just what I need. Doesn't get any better than that. LOL I think trying to jam a lot of things into Filter Forge isn't always the way to go either. It isn't an all in one program, it is a filter program plain and simple.

We never know until the day of the release

See if you think about it functionally FilterForge has basically been giving you only the things you ultimately need to produce a certain style. Plus it works with Photoshop so some of the functionality comes from that. So if you stem from those thoughts you can basically say "probably not in 4.0." as a logical answer.

If you develop functionality for software you'd understand this better. Basically there are logical steps to take and manage before you implement a specific function. In this case a text component would be better off by being part of something like a "custom shapes component" (like having a mini Illustrator) instead of a absolutist, rigid, gradient-controlled component. The transform components are mildly a pain to use if you want to rapidly edit the position of a bunch of objects. So to me it seems cooler to just add a small GUI-based component allowing for free manipulation of shapes, text, and maybe even images.

I'm not against the idea of just the text component or anything, I just think it'd be much more intuitive and creative, more functional to have a larger component encompassing more possibilities. And creatively speaking its either you ask for extremely rigid components with hard-to-control functionalities over components with lots of freedom.

That's how I'd see a software like this handling text / custom shapes. Not that I would rule out possibilities, I just think that way about stuff like this.

Great job. The font faces support Unicode (UTF-16) and I've posted an example of the symbols and diacritics you can use.

Both the Mac and Windows version can't enter Unicode in the text field of the Text component. Can this be fixed... please pleeease! Currently I have to cut and paste these characters to get them in FF14.

Hmmmmm... So now it is time to create a filter that will decorate one font character at a time to create custom fonts for gimp.

My Custom Font website

On a side note it would be nice to see a 3D component.