combing fonts

[cjk]

Is there a way to combine fonts in design shop pro?
For example: I want to puts Nic's sis in pinball font on a shirt but the pinball doesn't contain an apostrophe, so is there a way to put an apostrophe in from another font? Thanks! Cheryl K.

[signman]

It's an annoying glitch in DesignShop, unlike true graphic programs-you cannot combine different fonts in one type 'box'.
But we get around it all the time...in your pinball font, where the apostrophe should be, make sure you hit the space bar after the letter-to leave a space for it. Finish your pinball lettering, hit okay, etc. and then start a NEW lettering box, find the font with the apostrophe you want, or whatever-capital letter or something different, type that in, set your size, fill, density, and hit okay.
Now just click to highlight the 'box', and move it to where you want it to be. Sometimes you may have to click on the other lettering and move a letter to create more space but that's easy.
The only thing you have to realize is that this punctuation mark, or different letter style, etc. is not going to sew in sequence as the lettering does-you can move it in the 'tree' to sew immediately after the lettering is finished, but it won't sew right after the letter in front of it and then continue to the next one. BUT...here we go again, you can trick the Amaya to do this...do all your typing in the first font, then type in your apostrophe or capital letter, whatever you want. Now, go back and DUPLICATE the first lettering. Click the first one, and delete the letters 'after' where the apostrophe would go.
Click on your 'duplicate' line, and delete the letters in FRONT of where the apostrophe goes. Make sure everything lines up right, and in your 'tree', have the first half of the line, then the apostrophe, then the second half. IF they are all the same color-it will sew out as a continuous line. Do a similar thing if you are changing the first letter of each word to a different font, cursive, large and curly, whatever. It works!

[smt by debbie]

Remember also, if you move your lettering, to also move your "apostrophe". You can group them together, by selecting everything you want grouped and right clicking, and choosing group. That way, when you move one, you move them all. You can also, ungroup them the same way.
You would be surprised how many times you move your lettering just a smidge.