Task 6 How to Set Text on a Path

Photoshop CS2 can create text with a baseline that follows a curving, directional path (or any other path you can imagine). Yet no matter how convoluted the path, the text still remains fully editable.

1. Open the Image

Select File, Open and select the image to which you want to add text on a path.

2. Create the Path

Select the Pen tool from the toolbox. Make sure the Paths icon option is chosen from the Options bar, and draw a path in the image window along which you want the text to align. See Part 9, "Using Paths," for details on creating paths.

3. Select the Type Tool

Select the Horizontal Type tool from the toolbox. Note that you can also select the Vertical Type tool or either of the Type Mask tools by selecting that tool from the Type tool pop-out menu.

4. Set Type on Path

Move the pointer over the path you drew in step 3 and click to create a text insertion point (where you click determines where the text will start). Select type parameters such as the font, font size, font color, and so on from the Character and Paragraph palettes; then type the text.

5. Edit the Text

Text on a path remains editable at all times. To edit the text effect you just created, move the pointer over the text and click to create a blinking text insertion point. Type as you normally would to edit the text. You can also drag to select a section of text for resizing or adding color.

How-To Hints

Repositioning Text

To change the text's starting point, hold down the Ctrl key (Windows users) or the key (Mac users) and move the pointer over the text insertion point (a black arrow is added to the pointer as you do this). Click and drag along the path to change where the text starts. If you drag the cursor below the path, the text inverts so that the text baseline follows the bottom of the path line.

Transforming the Path

If you hold down the Ctrl key (Windows users) or the key (Mac users), a bounding box appears around the path. Click and drag to scale, rotate, or apply other transformation changes to the path in the same way you would transform a layer. See Part 10, Task 6, "How to Transform Layers," for details on the transform options.