Change Background Color of Text Box in Illustrator CS5

Question

Any way to change the background color of a text box without all the workarounds such as placing another shape behind the text.

I need to have a textbox filled with color of 249, 249, 249 and a stroke of 204, 204, 204 which will be 1px. I also need to have the text keep a distance of 5px from all four sides from the stroke internally.

Currently I am doing this by having a rectangle of size say 300px X 500px, giving it a fill of 249, 249, 249 and stroke of 1px of color 204, 204, 204. Than I add a Text Box by using the Type Tool and draging to to "draw" a box of 290px X 490px and placing it in the middle of the above rectangle so that I get 5px distance from all four sides.

It does what I want but it's not elegant. Any better way to do this?

Answer 1

To make the text box a different color, select a corner of the text box with the Direct Selection tool (the white arrow). Adjust the color/stroke normally.

To create a margin between the box edge and the text itself, select the box with the regular Selection tool (black arrow), then go to Type > Area Type Options, and adjust the Inset Spacing under the Offset category.

Answer 2

Create the Area Text (text box)

Select the Area Text with the Direct Selection Tool (white arrow)

Color to your heart's content.

Answer 3

To vertically align the text within the background box you may also need to set a negative baseline in the Character > Show Options > Baseline Shift box.