Text Tool (Horizontal Type)

The Horizontal Type Tool is Photoshop's primary text tool, allowing you to add text to your designs with extensive typographic control. You can create point text (for headlines and short phrases) or paragraph text (for longer bodies of text within a bounding box).

Photoshop's text engine supports advanced features like character and paragraph styles, kerning, tracking, leading, and text on a path. Text is created on separate Type layers, which remain editable and can have layer styles, blending modes, and transformation applied to them non-destructively.

Where to Find It

The Horizontal Type Tool is located in the toolbar, represented by the T icon. Press T to activate it. It shares the group with the Vertical Type Tool, Horizontal Type Mask, and Vertical Type Mask tools.

How to Use

• Select the Type Tool: Press T or click the T icon in the toolbar.
• Choose font settings: In the Options bar, select a font family, style, size, color, and alignment.
• Create point text: Click anywhere on the canvas and start typing. Point text is great for titles and short text elements.
• Create paragraph text: Click and drag to draw a text box, then type or paste your text. The text wraps within the box boundaries.
• Commit the text: Click the check mark in the Options bar, press Enter on the numeric keypad, or Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter) to confirm.

Settings & Options

• Font Family & Style: Choose from installed fonts and their variants (Regular, Bold, Italic, etc.).
• Font Size: Set in points (pt), pixels (px), or other units. Drag the size label in the Options bar for interactive scaling.
• Text Color: Click the color swatch to set the text fill color.
• Character Panel: Access advanced typography: kerning, tracking, leading, baseline shift, and character scaling.
• Paragraph Panel: Control alignment, indentation, spacing before/after paragraphs, and hyphenation.
• Warp Text: Apply preset distortions (arc, flag, wave, etc.) to text for creative effects.

Pro Tips

• Convert text to a shape (Type > Convert to Shape) to edit individual letter outlines with the Direct Selection Tool for custom typography designs.
• To place text along a path, first create a path with the Pen Tool, then select the Type Tool and click directly on the path to start typing along it.
• Use the Character panel (Window > Character) for precise typographic control — it gives you access to features not available in the Options bar, like kerning and baseline shift.

Common Mistakes

• Rasterizing text prematurely: Avoid rasterizing Type layers unless absolutely necessary. Keeping text as a vector layer ensures it remains editable and scales cleanly.
• Not using paragraph text for long content: Point text does not wrap automatically, making it unsuitable for paragraphs. Always use paragraph text (drag a box) for body copy.