How to Add Text in Photoshop (Point vs Paragraph Text)

Adding text in Photoshop takes seconds, but there's one choice at the very start that decides how your text behaves: whether you click or drag. Get that right and the rest is just fonts and colours.

Point text or paragraph text?

	Point text	Paragraph text
How you make it	Click once with the Type tool	Click and drag a box
How it behaves	One line that grows as you type	Wraps inside the box
Best for	Headings, labels, logos, short captions	Longer copy, quotes, descriptions
Align and justify	No	Yes

How to add text in Photoshop

1. Choose the Horizontal Type tool from the toolbar, or press T.
2. In the Options bar, choose your font, style, size and colour.
3. Click on the image for a single line, or click and drag to draw a text box.
4. Type your text.
5. Click the tick in the Options bar to commit it, or press Esc to cancel.
6. To move it, switch to the Move tool and drag the text.

Photoshop creates a new type layer each time, shown with a T in the Layers panel. That's what keeps the text editable: double-click the T thumbnail any time to select all the text and change it.

Why menus stop working while you type

If menus are greyed out and shortcuts don't respond, you're still in text editing mode. Adobe's help is clear that you have to commit your changes to the type before you can do anything else, like choosing menu commands. Click the tick, press Ctrl and Enter on Windows or Command and Return on a Mac, or click another layer, and everything comes back.

The catch when converting a text box

You can switch any type layer between the two kinds with Type, then Convert To Point Text or Convert To Paragraph Text. Be careful going from paragraph to point text. If your text box has more words than it can show, the hidden overflow is deleted during the conversion, and you won't get a warning in the text itself. Resize the box so every word shows before you convert.

How to add vertical text

Press and hold the Type tool in the toolbar and choose the Vertical Type tool. It works exactly like the horizontal one, but the letters run down the page. It's useful for spine-style labels and narrow banners.

How to style text

• Font and size: select the text and change them in the Options bar or the Character panel.
• Line and letter spacing: use the Character panel, which you can open from the Window menu.
• Alignment: left, centre, right and justify. Justify only works on paragraph text.
• Effects: double-click the layer to add a drop shadow, stroke or glow with layer styles.
• Curved text: click the Create Warped Text button in the Options bar.

Making text readable on a busy photo

• Put the text over the plainest part of the picture, like sky or a wall.
• Add a subtle drop shadow so light text stands out on a light area.
• Place a semi-transparent shape layer under the text as a band behind it.
• Keep to one or two fonts per image.

How to fit text inside a shape or area

Paragraph text isn't limited to rectangles you drag out. If you want text to fill a circle or follow a curve, draw a shape or path first with a shape tool or the Pen tool, then click inside it with the Type tool. The text wraps within the shape. Click on the edge of a path instead and the text runs along the line, which is how curved badge-style text is made without warping.

Fonts that don't look right

• A missing font warning: the file uses a font you don't have installed. Photoshop swaps in a default until you install it or choose another.
• Blurry text when exported: check the anti-aliasing setting in the Options bar and export at the size it'll be seen.
• Text too small on mobile: design social images at their real size and view them zoomed out before exporting.

It's worth picking a small set of brand fonts and sticking to them. Every image you make then looks like it belongs to the same business, which does more for recognition than any single clever effect.

Editing text later

Because text sits on a type layer, you can come back to it whenever you like. Double-click the T thumbnail, change the words, then commit. The one thing that ends this flexibility is rasterizing the layer, which turns the letters into plain pixels. Some tools, such as Edit, then Stroke, need a rasterized layer, so duplicate the type layer first and rasterize the copy. Then you've still got an editable version if you spot a typo.

If you're adding text to social images regularly, a template-based graphics tool can save time on the layouts you repeat every week.

My verdict

Press T, click for a heading or drag for a paragraph, and commit with the tick. Those three moves cover nearly everything. Use paragraph text when you need alignment or justification, and resize the box before converting it to point text so no words are lost. Keep the type layer live for as long as you can, because editable text is worth more than any effect. For more on making images that look finished, see my guide to picking colours that work together.

Frequently asked questions

What's the shortcut for the Type tool in Photoshop?

Press T. Press Shift and T to cycle through the other type tools.

Why can't I use menus while typing in Photoshop?

You need to commit the text first. Click the tick in the Options bar.

How do I make text wrap in Photoshop?

Click and drag with the Type tool to create a paragraph text box, then type inside it.

How do I edit text I've already added?

Double-click the T thumbnail on the type layer, make your changes, then commit.

Why did some words disappear when I converted my text?

Converting paragraph text to point text deletes any words overflowing the box.

Can I justify point text in Photoshop?

No. Alignment and justification only apply to paragraph text.