Allow to set font-size by setting x-height and cap height
I very often create designs where I should have certain x-height.
Now I have to achieve this using long workaround (I do it very quick now, but now quick enough, and its not actionable):
1. Create copy of typed text with Ctrl+C, Ctrl+F
2. Outlining copy
3. Finding symbol with flat top an bottom (x or X or similar)
4. Choose Direct selection tool
5. Shift+click chosen letter
6. Deleting unwanted symbols from copy
7. Scale outline of chosen letter 1000%
8. Going outline mode (enlarged letter will probably take whole screen)
9. Shift+click at live text behind letter
10. Set desired x/cap-height as height of selected art multiplied ten times
11. Shift+click live text
12. Delete outlined symbol
13. Exit outline mode
Thirteen steps!
While there could be expandable fields in Character palette only where users could type desired height and apply it, because both ratios are written within the font, as far as I informed.
There is WR-captialSize script by Wolfgang Reszel which can help with this, but the feature from the box would be better.

5 comments
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Egor Chistyakov commented
The setting doesn’t stick to a text object. After the application is restarted (or even document is reopened), it falls back to Em Box for each one of them :( This is not convenient.
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Egor Chistyakov commented
Don’t forget to include these to Paragraph and Character Styles windows, please.
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Egor Chistyakov commented
The space is missing in the 'Default (Em Box)' option in the Font Height drop-down menu in Character panel
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Egor Chistyakov commented
Please add custom-assignable hotkeys for these commands (in 'Other Text' section, blank by default):
— Highlight font height using Default (Em Box)
— Highlight font height using Cap-Height
— Highlight font height using x-Height
— Highlight font height using ICF box
So pressing a hotkey would change the 'Font Height' option to the chosen one and then set the cursor to the 'Font Size' field.
This would allow to quickly set the height by the option needed from the keyboard, without changing it with the mouse. -
Anonymous commented
very useful