In this quick tip I will show how a simple and very likely unused tool can be so useful: the Convert to Shape tool. So here's who this tool is and what does it do.
At a glance, it simply converts shapes to squares, rounded rectangles and ellipses. So your question might be: "Why not just delete the damn thing and draw a circle?". Well, this tool not only converts it to a shape, but it adds an Appearance setting to it. This is pretty awesome when you want to create graphic styles for various texts or shapes.
How it works
Simple. Select the desired shape, go to Effect - Convert to Shape and add your settings.
Take it further
Don't leave this as it is, take it to the next level and add a few more effects! Below, i added a Roughen effect to the converted shape and obtained a nice, torn paper effect with editable text.
Below, I added a rounded rectangle effect to a basic text.
Note: When you create the text, don't click-drag to create a text box, just click on the canvas and type your text.
To do this, open the Appearance panel (Window - Appearance) and open the menu and add a new Fill. With that Fill selected, apply a Convert to Shape with a Rounded Rectangle setting. Also change the color to a light gray.
Select the text and double-click the "Content" text in the Appearance panel to expand it. Select the Bottom-most fill and go to Effect - Distort and Transform - Roughen. Use a 2% setting and 17 Detail. Hit OK.
Duplicate the same setting and only change the Fill colors: white and dark gray.
To make it stand out more, I wanted a Drop Shadow effect. But here's the trick: apply it to the entire group, not just to a fill.
With the text selected, click the "Group" text in the Appearance panel and go to Effect - Stylize - Drop Shadow. Use a 0 px setting for the "x" value.
