Adding and Editing Text

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Last updated: Nov 13, 2024 by Peter Means
5 min read

At first glance, using text in your Photoshop project may seem like a daunting task. However, with a basic understanding of the methods and possibilities for creating and manipulating text, it becomes an integral and powerful part of Photoshop.

This tutorial covers the following areas: creating a text box, the character palette, the paragraph palette, and text as a layer.

Creating a Text Box

To create a text box, simply select the Type Tool on the tool bar (left arrow) and click and drag the mouse inside your project window. If you want to type vertically, hold down the Type Tool to get the Type Tool Palette to appear and release above the Vertical Type Tool (a T with an arrow next to it).

Sometimes, a text box may not be large enough to deal with all the text contained within. In these cases, a + sign will appear in the lower right hand corner of the text box, indicating that the text box must be enlarged or the font size must be decreased in order to display all of the text (right arrow). This problem can be dealt with by clicking corner of the text box and dragging it outwards.

Once all of the text has been entered into a text box, it can be exited by choosing another tool or clicking on the Commit Current Edits check mark in the Tool Options bar as shown below:

If you select another layer, you will have to re-select your text if you wish to make additional changes. To return to editing your text, select the Type Tool and click on the layer your text appears in then click inside your text box. When you have the Type Tool selected you can also click directly on your text from another layer as long as you're not already in another text layer.

Editing Text: The Character Palette

All of the familiar text editing options from Microsoft Word can be found in Photoshop's character palette. If your Photoshop's default workspace doesn't show the character palette, you can open it by going to Window > Character.

Text editing options include:

TIP: To enlarge or reduce the size of your type by 2 points, highlight the text, hold down Command+Shift and press the <or > keys on your keyboard. To enlarge or reduce size by 10 points, highlight text, hold down Command+Shift+Optionand press the < and > keys on your keyboard.

Leading

Leading allows you to adjust the spacing between individual lines. You can change leading by highlighting the text and manipulating the leading point size in the character palette. You can also change the leading by 2 points at a time by highlighting the text and holding down Option while pressing the up or down arrow on your keyboard. To change it by 10 points at a time, hold down Command+Option while pressing the up or down arrow.

Tracking

Tracking allows you to adjust the spacing between groups of characters or entire lines of text. You can change tracking by highlighting the text and manipulating the tracking size in the character palette. You can quickly change the tracking by 20 em at a time by highlighting the text, holding down Option and pressing the left and right arrows on your keyboard. You can change it by 100 em at a time by highlighting the text, holding down Command+Option and pressing the left and right arrows on your keyboard.

Baseline Shift

Baseline shift allows you to adjust how high or low your characters (or group of characters) sit with relation to each other. To adjust your baseline, highlight the text and manipulate the baseline point size in the character palette.

You can quickly change the baseline by 2 points at a time by highlighting the text, holding down Shift+Option , and pressing the up and down arrows on your keyboard.

To change the baseline by 10 points at a time, highlight the text, hold downCommand+Shift+Option and press the up and down arrows on your keyboard.

Editing Text: The Paragraph Palette

The paragraph palette can be accessed by clicking on the Paragraph tab on the Character Palette:

Some of its functions are also available on the Tool Options Bar:

The main use of the paragraph palette is to adjust the justification of text.

To change the justification of text, highlight it and select the alignment you want in the paragraph palette or Tool Options Bar.

Text as a Layer

When a text box is created, that text is automatically transferred into a new text layer. This opens up a world of possibilities because text layers can use different styles and adjustments and are easily editable.

Some prefabricated styles can be found in the Styles Palette (usually in the top right-hand corner of screen). If the Styles Palette is not visible, select Window > Styles. Have your text layer selected and browse through the different options.

There's also a lot to play around with in the Blending Options. Right click your layer in the layers window and clickBlending Options: A dialogue box will pop up in which you can add drop shadows, inner shadows, inner/outer glows, and a lot more by checking the box next to each option on the left. Whatever you apply will appear in a list beneath your layer. If the list isn't showing up, click the arrow next to the fx icon to the right of your text layer.

Here are some examples of what you can do:

You can also warp your text by right clicking your layer and clicking Warp Text. Under the Style drop down menu, you can change the options to arc text, bulge it, etc. The options below allow you to change the direction and amount of the Warping.