Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
You don't need to create a separate layer for this maneuver; the tool will automatically
put the text on its own layer.
2.
Activate the Text on Selection tool
.
Press T and then click this tool's icon in the Tool Options area, which is a T with a
dotted-line square around it.
3.
Select the object where you want the text to appear
.
When you first click the photo, you see a cursor that looks like the Quick Selection
tool's—a circle with a crosshair inside it—and it works the same way. Drag over the
area you want to select, and Elements finds the object's edges for you. Keep dragging
to add to the area, or Alt-drag/Option-drag to remove part of the selection.
4.
Adjust the size of the selection and accept it
.
You can use the Tool Options area's Offset slider to make the selection larger or smal-
ler: Drag it left to reduce the size or right to increase it. (This slider makes a visible
difference only if your image is fairly small; on large, high-resolution images, it has
no effect.) When you like the selection, click the green Commit checkmark in your
image or press Enter/Return to accept the selection. If you want to start over, click the
red Cancel icon instead or press Esc.
5.
Choose your Tool Options settings
.
Pick a font, style (regular, bold, or whatever), size, and color, just as you would with
the regular type tools.
6.
Tell Elements where you want the text to appear, and then enter some text
.
When you committed your selection in step 3, the outline changed from marching
ants to a solid line. That's the path for your text, and it's visible only when this tool is
active; click over to another tool and the line disappears. It's just a working guideline,
and it won't print, either.
When you move your cursor close to the path, it changes to the text-insertion I-beam
shown in
Figure 14-15
to let you know that you can start typing. You can click any-
where on the path and type as much or as little as you want. Just be careful not to
overrun the starting point if you type all the way around the selection, or you may lose
some of the text.
