\immediate\write18{tex pgflibraryshapes.letters.dtx}
%\documentclass[border=10]{standalone}
\documentclass{article}
\pagestyle{empty}
\thispagestyle{empty}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{
  shapes.letters,
  decorations.pathmorphing,
  decorations.pathreplacing,
  decorations.text,
  decorations.footprints,
  fadings,
}


\pgfmathsetmacro{\emcm}{1em/1cm}
\pgfkeys{
  /pgf/letter/.cd,
%  load font={stikz}{italic},
  load font={stikz}{normal},
  size=4,
  load encoding=char,
  every letter/.append style={
    fill,
  },
  sentence width=.9\textwidth,
}


\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}[every letter/.append style={path fading=west}]
\node[letter=A] (A) {};
\node[letter=b,right of previous letter,at=(A.east)] (b) {};
\node[letter=c,right of previous letter,at=(b.east)] (c) {};
\node[letter=T] (T) at (0,-3) {};
\node[letter=i,right of previous letter,at=(T.east)] (i) {};
\node[letter=k,right of previous letter,at=(i.east)] (k) {};
\node[letter=Z,right of previous letter,at=(k.east)] (Z) {};
\end{tikzpicture}


\begin{tikzpicture}
\drawword[red]{(0,4)}{TikZ}
\drawword[red,
  every letter/.append style={
    decorate,
    decoration={
      text along path,
      text={The PGF package, where ``PGF'' is supposed to mean ``portable graphics format'' (or ``pretty, good, functiona'' if you prefer ...)}
    }
  }]{(0,0)}{TikZ}
\drawword[red,
  every letter/.append style={
    decorate,
    decoration={bumps}
  }]{(0,-4)}{TikZ}
\drawword[red,
  every letter/.append style={
    decorate,
    decoration={random steps}
  }]{(0,-8)}{TikZ}
\end{tikzpicture}

\begin{tikzpicture}
\drawword[red,
  every letter/.append style={
    decorate,
    decoration={snake}
  }]{(0,-12)}{TikZ}
\end{tikzpicture}

\begin{tikzpicture}
\drawword[red,
  every letter/.append style={
    fill=none,
    draw,
    decorate,
    decoration={ticks}
  }]{(0,0)}{TikZ}
\drawword[red,
  every letter/.append style={
    fill=none,
    draw,
    decorate,
    decoration={waves}
  }]{(0,-4)}{TikZ}
\drawword[red,
  every letter/.append style={
    fill=none,
    draw,
    decorate,
    decoration={footprints}
  }]{(0,-4)}{TikZ}
\end{tikzpicture}

\drawsentence[baseline=0pt,every node/.style={fill},/pgf/letter/size=\emcm]{
Shadows seem to move around you.
There, did you see it?
}
\end{document}
Of course, it was only your imagination.
There's nothing there, really.
Being a rational scientist, you tell yourself that there cannot be anything behind you.
But just as you convince yourself that the movements are figments of your imagination, you remember the words of Nils Bohr: "I've heard that it works even if you don't believe in it."
Perhaps the shadows really are there, even if you don't believe in them.
But, no.
They don't exist.
You know they don't exist.
The question is: do they know?
Beware the Vashta Nerada.
Count the shadows.
}
\end{document}

\begin{raggedright}
\noindent\typesetsentence[baseline=0pt,letter/size=\emcm,every node/.style={fill}]{Hello world, how are you? What happens if we go on, and on, and on?}
\end{raggedright}

\begin{tikzpicture}
\node[draw,letter=y] (y) {};
\foreach \anchor in {
  north,
  south,
  east,
  west,
  base,
  center,
  mid east,
  mid west,
  base east,
  base west%
} {
  \fill (y.\anchor) circle[radius=2pt];
  \node[above] at (y.\anchor) {\anchor};
}
\typesetword[every node/.style={draw}]{(0,-5)}{TikZ}
\end{tikzpicture}
\def\insanity{0}
\madman[
  transform canvas={
    scale=\emcm/2
  },
  letter/sentence width=6\textwidth,
  letter/madman quotient=0,
  letter/every line/.style={
    increase insanity,
  },
  increase insanity/.code={%
    \pgfmathsetmacro{\insanity}{\insanity + 0.1*(1 - \insanity)^2}%
    \global\let\insanity=\insanity
    \pgfkeys{/tikz/letter/madman quotient/.expand once=\insanity}%
  }
]{%

% Local Variables:
% tex-output-type: "pdf18"
% End:
