Adobe Photoshop Basics

The shortcut key for the type tool is T. In Photoshop 6, most of the type tool options are available from the options bar once the type tool has been selected. The first thing you'll see in the options bar is a set of four buttons.

The two buttons in the first group toggle between creating a new type layer, or creating a type mask. The two buttons in the second group toggle between horizontal text and vertical text.

To create an ordinary type layer, you would select the type tool, make sure the type layer button is depressed, then click in your document and begin typing. Alternatively, you can click and drag a rectangle shape with the type tool to create a column of text that fits the rectangle. This is useful when you need to create large blocks of text. Before you click in your document, take a moment to look at the I-beam cursor that appears when you move you mouse into the document area: Notice the small horizontal line that intersects the I-beam This line indicates the baseline of the type. It is useful when you need to align the baseline of your type with another object in your document, or for aligning type to a guideline.

Now click in your document, type some text, and we'll take a look at the Type Tool options. You can set your type options via the options bar before you begin typing, or you can use the options bar to selectively edit text while you are in type edit mode. You can change the formatting of individual words or characters by dragging over them in the preview area to select them, then changing options.

The first two menus in the options bar allow you to choose the font and style. If you're not sure what font you want to use, you can highlight the text in the document area, activate the font menu, and use the arrow keys to browse all your available fonts. The styles available will be dependent on the font selected.

The next two menus allow you to change the text size and anti-aliasing. Some common point sizes are available from the font size menu, or you can swipe over the numbers in the field and type any number. The anti-aliasing options have already been discussed.

Next up are the alignment options, color picker, text warp and the palettes button. The alignment options from left to right are: left aligned, centered, and right aligned. Additional alignment options are available through the paragraph palette which we will discuss later.

To change the type color, click on the color swatch and choose a new color from the color picker, or you can pick a color from your document by moving the cursor outside of the color picker window while it is open. Unlike previous versions, Photoshop 6.0 allows you to select individual characters and apply multiple colors to text in a single text layer.

The next button is for creating warped text. The palettes button opens the paragraph and character palettes. We'll discuss warped text and the type tool palettes later.

Next > Photoshop 6.0 Type Tool Continued