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Edit text

Edit text

  1. Do one of the following to select a type layer:

    • Select the Move tool  and double-click the type layer on the canvas.
    • Select the Horizontal Type tool  or the Vertical Type tool . Select the type layer in the Layers panel, or click in the text flow to automatically select a type layer. 
    • With any tool selected, double click the the type layer thumbnail (T icon) on the Layers panel. 
  2. Position the insertion point in the text, and do one of the following:
    • Click to set the insertion point.

    • Select one or more characters you want to edit.

  3. Enter text as desired.
  4. Do one of the following to apply your changes to the type layer:

    • Select a new tool.
    • Click a layer in the Layers panel. (This action auto-commits changes and also selects the layer.)
    • Click the Commit button  in the options bar.
    • Press the Esc key. Note that the Esc key is set to commit text by default. You can change this to cancel the changes by going to Edit > Preferences > Type (Windows) or Photoshop > Preferences > Type (MacOS). Then uncheck Use Esc key to commit text. 
    • Click a place on the canvas away from the text layer you are editing. Watch the cursor become a normal pointer arrow, then click. 

    Note: If the focus is moved to other applications, your changes are committed automatically. 

    To cancel the changes, click the Cancel button  in the options bar or press the Esc key if you have changed the default setting of the Esc key function in Preferences > Type > Use Esc key to commit text.

     

Photoshop calculates the default font size based on document resolution and zoom factor. When a new document is created, or an existing document without type layers selected is opened, the font size will be reset to the newly calculated default font size. Also, the leading will be set to Auto.

Previously, the default font size was always 12 pt, and sometimes this would be too small depending on resolution and zoom factor. Disabling this option will return legacy/default functionality.

To disable this feature, check out Enable optional extensions in Photoshop.

Specify curly or straight quotes

Typographer's quotes, often called curly quotes or smart quotes, blend in with the curves of the font. Typographer's quotes are traditionally used for quotation marks and apostrophes. Straight quotes are traditionally used as abbreviations for feet and inches.

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Type (Windows) or Photoshop > Preferences > Type (Mac OS).
  2. Under Type Options, select or deselect Use Smart Quotes.

Apply anti-aliasing to a type layer

Anti-aliasing produces smooth-edged type by partially filling the edge pixels. As a result, the edges of the type blend into the background.

Photoshop Anti-aliasing
Anti-aliasing set to None (left), and Strong (right)

When creating type for display on the web, consider that anti-aliasing greatly increases the number of colors in the original image. This limits your ability to reduce the number of colors in the image and thus to reduce the size of the image file. Anti-aliasing may also cause stray colors to appear along the edges of the type. When reducing file size and limiting the number of colors are most important, it may be preferable to avoid anti-aliasing, despite the jagged edges. Also, consider using larger type than you would use for print. Larger type is easier to view on the web and gives you more freedom in deciding whether to apply anti-aliasing.

Note:

When you use anti-aliasing, type may be rendered inconsistently at small sizes and low resolutions (such as the resolution used for web graphics). To reduce this inconsistency, deselect the Fractional Width option in the Character panel menu.

  1. Select the type layer in the Layers panel.
  2. Choose an option from the anti-aliasing menu  in the options bar or the Character panel. Or, choose Layer > Type, and choose an option from the submenu.

    None

    Applies no anti-aliasing

    Sharp

    Type appears at its sharpest

    Crisp

    Type appears somewhat sharp

    Strong

    Type appears heavier

    Smooth

    Type appears smoother

Check and correct spelling

When you check the spelling in a document, Photoshop questions any words that aren't in its dictionary. If a questioned word is spelled correctly, you can confirm its spelling by adding the word to your personal dictionary. If a questioned word is misspelled, you can correct it.

  1. If necessary, in the Character panel, choose a language from the pop‑up menu at the bottom of the panel. This is the dictionary Photoshop uses to check spelling.
  2. (Optional) Show or unlock type layers. The Check Spelling command does not check spelling in hidden or locked layers.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • Select a type layer.

    • To check specific text, select the text.

    • To check a word, place the insertion point in the word.

  4. Choose Edit > Check Spelling.
  5. If you selected a type layer and want to check the spelling of only that layer, deselect Check All Layers.
  6. As Photoshop finds unfamiliar words and other possible errors, click one of the following:

    Ignore

    Continues the spelling check without changing the text.

    Ignore All

    Ignores the questioned word during the rest of the spelling check.

    Change

    Corrects a misspelling. Make sure that the correctly spelled word is in the Change To text box and click Change. If the suggested word is not the word you want, select a different word in the Suggestions text box or enter the correct word in the Change To text box.

    Change All

    Corrects all instances of the misspelling in the document. Make sure the correctly spelled word is in the Change To text box.

    Add

    Stores the unrecognized word in the dictionary, so that subsequent occurrences are not flagged as misspellings.

Find and replace text

  1. Do one of the following:
    • Select the layer containing the text you want to find and replace. Place the insertion point at the beginning of the text you want to search.

    • Select a nontype layer if you have more than one type layer and you want to search all layers in the document.

    Note:

    In the Layers panel, make sure the type layers you want to search are visible and unlocked. The Find And Replace Text command does not check spelling in hidden or locked layers.

  2. Choose Edit > Find And Replace Text.
  3. In the Find What box, type or paste the text you want to find. To change the text, type the new text in the Change To text box.
  4. Select one or more options to refine your search.

    Search All Layers

    Searches all layers in a document. This option is available when a nontype layer is selected in the Layers panel.

    Forward

    Searches forward from an insertion point in the text. Deselect this option to search all the text in a layer, regardless of where the insertion point is placed.

    Case Sensitive

    Searches for a word or words that exactly match the case of the text in the Find What text box. For example, with the Case Sensitive option selected, a search for "PrePress" does not find "Prepress" or "PREPRESS."

    Whole Word Only

    Disregards the search text if it is embedded in a larger word. For example, if you are searching for "any" as a whole word, "many" is disregarded.

  5. Click Find Next to begin the search.
  6. Click one of the following buttons.

    Change

    Replaces the found text with the revised text. To repeat the search, select Find Next.

    Change All

    Searches for and replaces all occurrences of the found text.

    Change/Find

    Replaces the found text with the revised text, and then searches for the next occurrence.

Assign a language for text

Photoshop uses language dictionaries to check hyphenation. Language dictionaries are also used to check spelling. Each dictionary contains hundreds of thousands of words with standard syllable breaks. You can assign a language to an entire document or apply a language to selected text.

Photoshop Examples of hyphenation for different languages
Examples of hyphenation for different languages

A. "Cactophiles" in English USA B. "Cactophiles" in English UK C. "Cactophiles" in French 

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To enter text using a specific language dictionary, choose the dictionary from the pop‑up menu in the lower left corner of the Character panel. Then enter the text.

    • To change the dictionary of existing text, select the text and choose the dictionary from the pop‑up menu in the lower left corner of the Character panel.

  2. In the Character panel, choose the appropriate dictionary from the pop‑up menu in the lower left corner of the panel.

    Note:

    If you select text with multiple languages or if the type layer has multiple languages, the pop‑up menu in the Character panel will be dimmed and it will display the word "Multiple."

Scale and rotate type

Adjust the scale of type

You can specify the proportion between the height and width of the type, relative to the original width and height of the characters. Unscaled characters have a value of 100%. Some type families include a true expanded font, which is designed with a larger horizontal spread than the plain type style. Scaling distorts the type, so it is generally preferable to use a font that is designed as condensed or expanded, if one is available.

  1. Select the characters or type objects you want to change. If you don't select any text, the scale applies to new text you create.
  2. In the Character panel, set the Vertical Scaling option  or the Horizontal Scaling option  .

Rotate type

  1. Do the following:
    • To rotate type, select the type layer and use any rotate command or the Free Transform command. For paragraph type, you can also select the bounding box and use a handle to rotate the type manually.

    • To rotate multiple characters in vertical Asian text, use the tate‑chu‑yoko.

Rotate vertical type characters

When working with vertical type, you can rotate the direction of characters by 90°. Rotated characters appear upright; unrotated characters appear sideways (perpendicular to the type line).

Photoshop Original type (left) and type without vertical rotation (right)
Original type (left) and type without vertical rotation (right)

  1. Select the vertical type you want to rotate or unrotate.
  2. Choose Standard Vertical Roman Alignment from the Character panel menu. A check mark indicates that the option is selected.
    Note:

    You cannot rotate double‑byte characters (full‑width characters available only in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean fonts). Any double‑byte characters in the selected range will not be rotated.

Change the orientation of a type layer

The orientation of a type layer determines the direction of type lines in relation to the document window (for point type) or the bounding box (for paragraph type). When a type layer is vertical, the type flows up and down; when a type layer is horizontal, the type flows from left to right. Don't confuse the orientation of a type layer with the direction of characters in a type line.

  1. Select the type layer in the Layers panel.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • Select a type tool, and click the Text Orientation button  in the options bar.

    • Choose Layer > Type > Horizontal, or choose Layer > Type > Vertical.

    • Choose Change Text Orientation from the Character panel menu.

Rasterize type layers

Some commands and tools—such as filter effects and painting tools—are not available for type layers. You must rasterize the type before applying the command or using the tool. Rasterizing converts the type layer into a normal layer and makes its contents uneditable as text. A warning message appears if you choose a command or tool that requires a rasterized layer. Some warning messages provide an OK button you can click to rasterize the layer.

  1. Select the type layer and choose Layer > Rasterize > Type.

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