Learn how to use the Type Tool effectively in Adobe applications by understanding the differences between horizontal and vertical type modes, formatting options, and layer behavior. This article explains how to format text using the Properties panel or Character and Paragraph panels, as well as how layer selection affects new type placement.
Key Insights
- Use the Character and Paragraph panels to set text formatting before creating a text layer; the Properties panel becomes available only after the layer is created.
- When adding a new layer, it will be placed above the currently highlighted layer, or at the top if no layers are selected—important for maintaining layer organization.
- Noble Desktop emphasizes the importance of selecting the correct type tool (horizontal or vertical) and shows how formatting changes affect individual characters versus entire layers based on what is selected.
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One, I'm going to fit this back in the window. So option slash or ALT slash, if you're a Windows user, it had no effect whatsoever. I need my timeline highlighted.
Option slash or ALT slash is fit in a window. If you don't like the keyboard shortcuts, that's the menu command. There, fit up to is the command I used.
That's what option slash is the keyboard shortcut for, okay? So whatever layer you have highlighted when you add a new layer, that's where it goes. If you have no layers highlighted, your new layer goes to the top. This is the type tool.
Okay, look, the instructions tell you to open two panels, character and paragraph, which is fine. Window, character, window, that's what it tells you, window paragraph. Okay, now there are two places where you can format text, character and paragraph can format text before you make the text layer.
Properties panel can only format it after you make the text layer. So the instructions tell you to go to character and paragraph and make some changes, okay? No problem at all. I'm going to ignore those two panels and I'm just going to do it in properties.
Take the tool, type tool. I'm going to click and I'm going to type, rockin' guitar picks. I can't type by the way, sorry.
P-R-C-K-S. So by the way, there are two type tools. This is the horizontal type tool.
If you press and hold on it, you have a choice. You got to be careful. The vertical type tool would literally make text like this.
And I don't know a way to swap that for the record, okay? You have to use the right type tool. When you press and hold on a tool, if it has other options, they'll show up here. So it's the regular type tool.
It's that one, look at T. And then you click and when you start typing, it should be horizontal. Yeah, be careful. Because whatever type tool you had active last is what it's going to use.
Now, by the way, the one rule where I said, don't double click, does not apply to type layers. Here's what happens when you double click on a text layer. It's named, it highlights the text and you can then adjust its properties in the properties panel.
The instructions give you a font that we used just because the font is on Windows and Mac. Do whatever you want, okay? They gave you a size, do whatever you want. Get some text that says rock and guitar picks or whatever you choose, I suppose.
And you're cool, okay? So again, I can adjust the size. That's the paragraph alignment. Although that's the color if you want to change it, that sort of thing.
More in the properties panel shows you more options. It just gets longer and then you scroll, okay? However, if I want to physically move a layer at the top of the properties panel, when the text layer is active, you've got position properties like this and you can move the layer. Okay, I'm lying.
It doesn't let me do that. It doesn't let me change that, okay? I'm going to go to my selection tool and I'm going to physically move the layer. So you can format text layers, either the properties panel or character and paragraph panels.
The character and paragraph panels are under window, which is all where the panels, the windows of the program are. The main difference, character and paragraph can be set before you make the layer. Properties can only be set after you make the layer.
The program doesn't care which one you do, okay? It's irrelevant. It's fine, it's up to you. Once the layer is active, highlighting the layer and making changes changes the formatting, okay? But this works exactly like any other program.
If I highlight only the R, my changes and properties affecting only the letter R. If I click on the layer name, my changes affect the entire layer. This is color change, for example. Or that's a font change.
What's the horrible font? Oh no, Rosewood. Rosewood, that's the horrible font, Rosewood. Wait, do I not have Rosewood? I don't have the bad font? I don't have the bad font.
Comic Sans. Okay, Comic Sans. Do I have Comic Sans? I have Comic Sans.
Okay, I'll do that. I'll do that, I'll do that. Yes, I'll do that, I'll do that.
Comic Sans. Okay. I thought I had Rosewood.
Rosewood looks like a fricking like carnival font. I thought I had to edit something. But yeah, the instructions say Arial black, use whatever you want, it's fine.
Once you've got it, you've got the text. And again, it's like any other layer that you can move around or pull around.