The type tools include the Horizontal Type tool, the Vertical Type tool, the Horizontal Type Mask tool, and the Vertical Type Mask tool. These can be seen in Figure 9-1.
The type tools can be selected from the toolbox or by pressing T on the keyboard to access the tool that’s showing on the toolbox or Shift+T to toggle through the four available tools. The Horizontal Type tool places type on the page horizontally and the Vertical Type tool places type vertically.
Figure 9-1: The type tools
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Tip:You can switch from horizontal to vertical after the text is added. I think it’s easier to type horizontally first, check spelling, grammar, and capitalization, and then switch to vertical.Each time you choose, use, and commit your work with the type tools in the manner described in this section, a new layer is created. This type layer lies “on top of” the other layers in your image so that it can be seen and edited independently of the others. (You wouldn’t want to change the color of the text and have that color affect the image or file you are add-ing text to!) When addadd-ing text you can set the font style, size, color, and more. These settings can also be edited after the text has been added and even after changes have been made to other layers in the image. In the following example, you’ll learn to add horizontal text (which is virtu-ally the same process as adding vertical text) and change the type’s attributes while working. Later, in the “Editing Type” section, we dis-cuss editing the text after it’s already been added.
To add horizontal text to a file and choose a font, color, and size and set other basic attributes, perform the following steps (later you’ll use this knowledge in a project to create a design for a client):
1. For this exercise, choose File>New and create a file that is RGB Color, 1024 x 768 or larger, and has a white background. You could follow these same steps to add text to any image or file or to a new file with a transparent background. When creating artwork for burn-ing screens, you’ll want to choose the transparent background. For now, we choose a white background until we get the hang of adding and manipulating text, and so that you can see what’s shown in the figures more clearly.
2. Choose Window>Workspace>Reset Palette Locations to con-figure the palettes to their default state.
3. Click and hold on the Type icon in the toolbox and choose the Hori-zontal Type tool (you can also right-click). Notice that the options bar changes. Figure 9-2 shows the options bar after you’ve chosen the Horizontal Type tool.
Figure 9-2: The options bar after choosing the Horizontal Type tool
4. Click with the mouse in the top-left corner of the new canvas. Wait a second or two until the line appears that signifies text is ready to be added. The flashing horizontal line is the same size as the type when it is added. In my experience, the type’s default size is generally too small, but if you’ve been working through this book from the begin-ning, it’s probably still set to 90 pt! From the options bar then, click the down arrow by the font size and change the font size to 48 pt.
5. Type in your name or your company’s name. The text is added using the settings in the options bar. Notice in the Layers palette that a new layer has been added, and the History palette has a new level.
6. From the options bar, click the down arrow for the font, and choose another font. Repeat step 5 and continue to experiment with differ-ent fonts. See Figure 9-3. Press Enter when reaching the end of the canvas so the letters don’t fall off the page! Pressing Enter also keeps the text in the same layer (which is good for right now).
7. When changing the font you can also choose a font style. Common styles are Bold, Regular, and Italic, although different fonts offer dif-ferent style options, including Roman and Faux Bold. Click the down arrow to change the font style before typing it.
Figure 9-3: Experimenting with fonts
8. The color of the text can be changed from the options bar as well.
Click on the colored square in the options bar to bring up the Color Picker. Note that changing the color doesn’t change text that’s already been added; it only changes the color of text that is going to be added. The same is true of styles and font size.
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Tip:Choose the color, font, size, and other attributes before you start to type.It’s easier to do it right the first time than it is to go back and make changes!
9. Click the Commit button ( ) on the options bar to commit your text to the page. All of the text that you’ve added so far should be on a single layer, and this layer will have a name applied to it in the Lay-ers palette based on the first few words of text that you added (see Figure 9-3). Once you’ve committed the text, the next time you add text you’ll be adding another layer.
10. Choose the Horizontal Type tool again (if it isn’t still chosen) and add another line of text. Notice in the Layers palette that a new layer has been added. Click the Commit button to commit the text and notice that the layer has been named.
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Tip:Click the Commit button often while working on a complex file with lots of text. This will allow you to create separate layers for different lines of text.Having the text as different layers makes it easier to edit and manipulate the text later.
This example walked you through the most basic aspects of adding text, and you learned skills that you’ll need for the upcoming projects. There are many other things to learn about text though, and most likely you won’t get the text exactly right the first time you add it. In the “Editing Type” section, we discuss correcting these problems by moving the text, changing orientation, changing color, rotating, and more. For now, the objective is to get you familiar with the four type tools. If you have a few more minutes, work through the steps in the above exercise with the Vertical Type tool.
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Note:This is the easiest way to add type to an image or file. However, you can click and drag with the mouse to create a “bounding box” for the text prior to typing if you like. This process will be introduced briefly in the section
“Typing in Paragraph Form.”