Adobe Illustrator question: Editing text that's a compound path [Resolved:"Outlined"]

[11thHour]

I am new to Illustrator. I've been given a file containing text and graphics to edit. However each of the letters are individual items and not a large editable text areas, and in the layers panel each letter is displayed individually as a "compound path."

Here are my questions:

1) Is there any way to easily edit this text without retyping the entire paragraphs?

2) If this text is not easily editable (as I suspect), how should I ask for the text in this file to be designed/displayed so that when they give me these files, I can use them as a future template for easily editing the text?

TIA

 

[11thHour]

I think I found it. It seems "Outlines" have been created for this text, so that it can be printed on systems that don't have the fonts installed. I'm I'm not mistaken, I need to request these files to have text that's not outlined.

 

[11thHour]

Whenever designer sends file for print he needs to put text in outlines. If you need editable text option you need font which is used in design file, before text was put in outlines.

If text in outlines was modified in any way - transforming the way it looks, you cant reproduce original text, unless you work with paths.

If you request text which is not in outlines, there is option you wont see exact design(if you dont have those fonts installed). You need to install fonts on your sistem to solve this issue.

Your best bet is to get fonts which they used and to get not outlined file if you wonna to change something.

Second option is time consuming and you need to work with paths and outlined text.

Thanks for taking the time to explain it, huskystafford. That's my take on it after finding a few links on the topic, and I went and asked for the fonts that I don't have as well. Illustrator is a cool program, but definitely a different animal with it's own learning curve.