Understanding Type and Text in Photoshop, Part 2: Type Layers and Tools

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Type Basics: The Type Tools

Photoshop offers four related tools for adding type to an image (see Figure 5). The Horizontal Type tool (usually referred to as simply the Type tool), the Vertical Type tool, the Horizontal Type Mask tool, and the Vertical Type Mask tool are shown in their fly-out palette. To open the fly-out palette, click and hold on whichever Type tool icon is visible in the Toolbox.

Figure 5 Not one, not two, but four type tools.

The Horizontal and Vertical Type Tools

The only difference between the Horizontal Type and Vertical Type tools is the orientation of the characters added to the image. Note in Figure 6 the difference between vertical type and horizontal type that has been rotated.

TIP Consider vertical and horizontal to be references to the relationship among letters, rather than to the page.

Figure 6 Vertical type might be used for a sign or a chart.

Both the Horizontal and Vertical Type tools create type layers when used. Unless you rasterized the type, and as long as the file remains in Photoshop’s native format (.psd) or the Tiff format with layers, the type remains editable. You can change the font, size, or other attributes as well as change the content of the text. You can click with either tool anywhere in an image window to create a new type layer and add point type. You can also drag with either tool to create a type layer and add paragraph type.

TIP To make changes to an entire type layer such as font, font size, color, or alignment, don’t select any type. Instead, merely select the type layer in the Layers palette. You can change any attributes in the Options Bar or the Character and Paragraph palettes, and the change is applied throughout the type layer.

To edit existing type, click and drag with either tool to make a selection of the characters or words that you want to change. Changes are restricted to the selected type. There are a few shortcuts available when selecting type:

Click twice in a word with the Type tool to select the whole word.

Click three times to select the entire line of type.

Clicking four times selects the entire paragraph.

After clicking in existing type with the Type tool, hold down Shift and use the left and right arrow keys to add letters to the selection. The up and down arrow keys select all characters to the same location in the next line above or below the blinking cursor.

Shift-Cmd (Mac) Shift+Ctrl (PC) and the right and left arrow keys add or subtract adjacent words from a selection.

Clicking at one point and Shift-clicking at another selects all characters in between.

TIP To better evaluate changes being made to selected type, especially color changes, use Cmd-H (Mac) Ctrl+H (PC) to hide the selection highlighting.

The Type Mask Tools

Also available for horizontal and vertical type, the Type Mask tools do not create type layers. Rather, they create masks in the shape of the letters. (A regular non-type layer must be active in the Layers palette.) These masks become selections when you change tools or press Cmd-Return (Mac) Ctrl+Enter (PC).

Using the Type Mask tools is comparable to using Photoshop’s Quick Mask mode. Like Quick Mask, the temporary mask that is created is not retained after the selection is made. You’ll see the translucent red overlay while adding the type, but the mask itself is lost when converted to a selection (see Figure 7).

Figure 7 Like Quick Mask mode, type selection tools add a red mask.

At the top, the mask is visible while the text is being added. Below, the type is a selection and the mask is discarded. This happens automatically when you change tools or otherwise accept the type.

TIP If you want to save the type mask, choose Select, Save Selection immediately after changing tools or otherwise accepting the type mask input.

Type masks are often used to create layer masks in the shape of letters. It is usually not the tool of choice for creating large amounts of text and is especially inappropriate for small type sizes.

Mastering the Marquee Tool in Photoshop

While designing, designers will inevitably be faced with the need to select and extract specific elements from an overall graphic. Do you need to remove an image’s background or cut out a specific portion from a photo? Well, have no fear… the Marquee Tools Selections are here!

There are so many ways to make selections and in this tutorial, I will try to show you the majority of them. You might not think some of the tools are important but eventually, you will see how beneficial they can be when combined with other selections and masking tools.

Let’s stop talking the talk, and get to it!

Marquee Tool

Marquee Tool are one of the simplest Selection Tools that Photoshop can offer. If you open the Marquee Tool from the Toolbar, you will see four different tool options:

Rectangular

Elliptical

Single Row

Single Column

Note: you can quickly select the Marquee Tool by pressing M then, you can switch between the Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee Tool by pressing SHIFT+M.

Let’s select the Rectangular Tool then click on our canvas and drag. As you might have expected, it makes a rectangular selection. There are two important keys you want to keep in mind when using Marquee Selections. First, if you press and hold the SHIFT key, you will get a square selection. If you press and hold the ALT key, your selection will be created from the center of where you clicked. Of course, if you press SHIFT+ALT, you can make a square from the center of your click.

When you select a tool in Photoshop, notice that the option bar under the menu changes depending on the tool you’ve selected. This is the option for the Marquee Tool:

By default, New selection is checked in the options bar which means every time you click and drag with this Marquee Tool, a new selection will be created.

Let’s explore the other three button options:

Add to selection

Make a selection on your canvas, then click on the Add to selection button from the option bar. Now, create another selection over the left corner of the current selection. You will notice that the existing selection did not disappear and the new selection is added.

Play around with this option and have some fun.