Work with Type layers

Adding and editing text is another important way to enhance your composites in Photoshop on your iPad. You can create a type layer, edit the text and attributes, and apply layer commands.

To access the Type tool, do any of the following:

• From the toolbar, tap the Type tool () icon to select it. 
• Simply press ‘T’ if you have a physical keyboard connected to your iPad to select the Type tool.

Cut, copy, and paste text and images to and from the iOS clipboard

Introduced in Photoshop on the iPad 4.4 (February 2023 release)

Cut, copy, and paste text between Photoshop on the iPad and apps such as Notes. Tap your selected text on the canvas to view the pop-up menu and choose from the listed actions.

For text selections, refer to this table to know more about the actions available with our improved pop-up menus.

You can also copy and paste images between Photoshop on the iPad and other apps like Notes.

To paste images in Photoshop on the iPad, you can either select Paste from the Layer actions menu or tap the + icon and choose Paste as new layer.

To copy images from Photoshop on the iPad and paste into other apps, follow these steps:

1. Use the Lasso tool to select an image or its portion. 
2. Open the Layer actions menu and choose from Cut, Copy selection, or Copy merged.
3. While on an image layer, open the Layer actions menu and choose from Cut, Copy selection, or Copy merged.

Create a Type layer

A type layer is automatically created when you create point or paragraph text. A  badge visible over the type layer thumbnail helps you distinguish the type layer from other layers in the compact or detailed layer views.

Point text

Use point text to add a few words like a heading or title to your document in Photoshop on the iPad.

To add point text, do the following:

1. Simply select Type () from the toolbar and tap anywhere in your canvas to enter the Type mode.
2. Some sample text appears surrounded by a bounding box by default, as the type layer gets created. Tap anywhere inside the bounding box and start typing your desired text.
3. Use () icon visible over the text bounding box to move your type layer around your canvas.
4. In the Layer Properties panel that opens by default in the Type mode, you can modify — Text, Paragraph, Blending options, and Add clipped adjustment.
5. Use the cut (), copy (), and paste () icons visible on the virtual keyboard that appears by default in the Type mode, and apply corresponding actions. 
6. Tap Done from the top of the Type mode to save your edits to the type layer. Tap Cancel to exit the Type mode.

Paragraph text

Use paragraph text to add a paragraph of text to your document. Click and drag the cursor on the canvas to create a bounding box in which you can type your paragraph. This helps you efficiently edit and align the paragraph later.

To add paragraph text, do the following:

1. Simply select Type () from the toolbar
2. Tap and drag the pointer on the canvas to create a bounding box in which you can type your text paragraph. As you create a paragraph you enter the Type mode automatically.
3. You can see sample text inside the bounding box. Tap anywhere inside the bounding box and start typing your desired text.
4. Use () icon visible over the text bounding box to move your type layer around your canvas.
5. In the Layer Properties panel that opens by default in the Type mode, you can modify — Text, Paragraph, Blending options, and Add clipped adjustment.
6. Use the cut (), copy (), and paste () icons visible on the virtual keyboard that appears by default in the Type mode, and apply corresponding actions. 
7. Tap Done from the top of the Type mode to save your edits to the type layer. Tap Cancel to exit the Type mode.

Also see: Use Type layers with photos in Photoshop on your iPad.

Edit text using the Type tool

In the Layer Properties panel, you can edit and modify various attributes of your active text layer:

Text

Under Text, tap font type and font style fields to view the drop-down list and select the desired option. 

Line and character spacing: You can adjust the line and character spacing in your text by either manually typing in the desired Font size, Tracking, Leading, Kerning, Baseline shift, Vertical scale, and Horizontal scale, or using the slider to set a value.

To learn more about line and character spacing, see Line and character spacing in Photoshop desktop.

Character formatting: Set a color for your text from the color box. You can also play around with character formatting options — Auto leading, All caps, Small caps, Superscript, Subscript, Underline, and Strikethrough.

To learn more about character formatting, see Format characters in Photoshop desktop.

Paragraph

Under Paragraph, you can select a suitable option to align and justify your text.

Blending options

Under Blending options, you can use the Opacity slider to change the opacity of your text. Also, you can select a Blend Mode for your text. To learn more about blending options, see Work with layers.

Add clipped adjustment

Adds a clipped adjustment layer to your type layer. To learn more about clipped adjustments, see Work with layers.

Add more Adobe or custom fonts

To view, browse, and add Adobe or custom fonts in the font picker, follow these quick steps: 

Font substitutions

In Photoshop on the iPad, not all fonts are available by default when you work with the Type tool. If there is a font in your document that is not available on your iPad and you try to edit text, the font gets substituted with another font that is available on your iPad. On attempting to transform text, the type layer is flattened to pixels without losing your font.

Auto-activate Adobe Fonts

Photoshop on the iPad automatically finds and updates any missing font in your photoshop document if the font is available in Adobe Fonts. You no longer have to worry about having missing font errors when working on a Type layer. When you open a document that contains fonts you don’t currently have installed on your device, Photoshop on the iPad automatically activates Adobe Fonts in the background without you having to close your document. 

If your Photoshop document has a font that is not available on your iPad, you will see a sync icon on the Type layer in the layer properties panel. It means Photoshop on the iPad is looking for that missing font in Adobe Fonts. If the same font is available in Adobe Fonts, Photoshop will find and download it for the current session and replace the sync icon with a 'T'. 

Also, with the free Adobe Creative Cloud mobile app for iOS, you can browse and install more than 1,300 fonts. If you have a paid Creative Cloud plan, that increases your font selection to more than 18,000 fonts.  Any fonts you install via the Adobe Creative Cloud mobile app is available for use in Photoshop on your iPad. 

Work with missing fonts and accent characters

You can also install the missing fonts on your iPad (iOS13.1 and later versions) using Adobe’s Creative Cloud mobile app for iOS.

To learn more about missing fonts and accent characters, see:

• Get missing fonts in Photoshop on the iPad
• Activate fonts on Creative Cloud Mobile
• Can't type French and German accent characters with a physical keyboard