To add some horizontal type to your image canvas, first select the Horizontal Type tool from the toolbox. This tool is grouped with the other type tools under the capital T icon in the toolbox.

 

 

Once you choose the Horizontal Type tool, you can specify options for the type in the options bar before you begin typing. You can specify the font type, font size, font style, and colour before you begin to type, or you can create your text, select it, and then format it as you wish.

 

If you plan on typing a paragraph, drag your mouse pointer to create a rectangle on the image. When you type, the text will be confined inside this rectangle. If you type past the boundary of the rectangle, the type will wrap to the next line within the rectangle. You can modify the justification, alignment, and indentation of your paragraph with the paragraph palette. (When you select a type tool, a button will appear in the far right of the options bar that will allow you to toggle the character and paragraph palettes on and of the screen.)

 

If you wish you can just start typing, without creating a paragraph box first, but your text will not wrap to the next line at the edge of the image. You must press the Enter key to place your text cursor on a new line.

 

 

 

In the image above, the large font horizontal type was added by just placing the cursor in the image and typing. The smaller font horizontal type was added by dragging out a rectangle, clicking in it, and then typing the paragraph.

 

(Keep in mind, that every time you add text to an image using a type tool, a layer is created for the text. The text is not typed directly on to the underlying background.)

 

You will also notice a horizontal type mask tool in the type tool group.

 

 

This Tool can be applied in pretty much the same way as the regular horizontal type tool. The difference is that the letters that you type will create a selection. (The outline of the letters will be the dashed selection border). Potentially, you can use this selection just like any other type of selection (apply transformations, copy the selection, make an inverse selection, etc).

 

It is also important to note that the type mask will not be created on its own layer as with the regular type tools. It is best to avoid using the type mask on a layer created for regular type. This is because the regular type on the layer will have to be rasterized (converted from a vector graphic to a bitmap image) before you can perform certain actions with the selection you create with the type mask. When the regular type is rasterized, you cannot go back and edit it as type (i.e. change the font, change the size, delete letters) because it has been converted to a bit map image.