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Getting started: Editing text

Jan Kabili

Jan Kabili

View the complete video series

Created:
03 Mar 2009
User Level:
Beginner
Products:
Photoshop Elements 7 or later

You can use this tutorial with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements versions 7 and 8.

Edit text in an Adobe® Photoshop® Elements file. You can change the font, color, size, or content. Learn how to select a text layer for editing and use the type tools to make your changes.

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Requirements

To complete this tutorial, install the following software:

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 or later

Formatting existing text

Once you have added text to a photo in Photoshop Elements, the text layer remains editable.

  1. Start Photoshop Elements.
  2. Open the photo with the editable text layer in the Editor workspace, and make sure that Full Edit is selected.
  3. In the Layers palette, select the text layer you want to edit.
  4. In the toolbox, select the Type tool.
  5. In the Options bar, click in the Font field.
  6. Press the Down Arrow key to cycle through each font.

    As you go from one font to the next, you see a live preview in the photo, as shown in Figure 1.

    font changes preview

    Figure 1: Live preview of font changes

  7. Using the Options bar, make other changes to the text, such as changing the font size or color.
  8. Click to open the Style menus, as shown in Figure 2, and select an effect such as adding a simple outer drop shadow.

    Note: Not all font choices include the Style menu.

    font styles

    Figure 2: Font style presets

    Note: To access different style options, click the double right-pointed arrow in the Style pop-up menu and choose a new style category.

Editing text content

To edit the content of an existing text layer, select the text layer and make your changes.

  1. Make sure the text layer is selected, click in the existing type, drag over the words you want to change, and type something else.
  2. When you have finished editing the text, go up to the Options bar and click the Commit button (green check mark).

Where to go from here

If you enjoyed this tutorial, check out these other resources to help get you started using Photoshop Elements.

About the authors

Jan Kabili is senior trainer and evangelist at lynda.com. She has authored numerous books on Adobe software, including How to Wow: Photoshop CS2 for the Web, Photoshop CS Complete Course, Photoshop Elements Complete Course, and Photoshop ImageReady Hands on Training for the Web (with Lynda Weinman). In addition to her lynda.com training videos which include Photoshop Elements 3 Essential Training, and Photoshop CS3 for the Web Essential Training, she has written many articles for leading software publications such as Macworld, Photoshop User, and Mac Design magazines. Jan has not only contributed to the Adobe Classroom, but she is a published photographer and digital artist, with a Master of Fine Arts degree from University of Colorado at Boulder, and a law degree from Stanford Law School.

In Photoshop Elements 7 for Windows Essential Training, Jan Kabili shares workflow techniques for organizing, editing, creating projects, and sharing. She also demonstrates how to enhance photos with this budget-friendly software. Jan explains the latest updates to the Organizer and Editor workspaces, and also covers new features like the Smart Brush tool and Photoshop.com integration. Elements is very well known for its project features, and Jan shows how to create books, collages, panoramas, and more. Example files accompany the course.