Formatting text
The text formatting options in PaintShop Pro let you control the appearance of text. You can set these options when you create vector, raster, or selection text. If you create vector text, you can reformat the text at any time by changing your text formatting settings. You cannot change the characters or formatting of raster text. You can modify raster text only by using the Pick tool.
You can use the following text options to format your text:
•
Font, Size, Units, Font Style, and Text options — let you choose a typeface, type size, units based on intended output (print or Web), type style (bold, italic, underline, or strikethrough), and text options (Superscript, Subscript)
•
Font color — lets you set the font fill color
•
Stroke width and Stroke color — lets you set a font outline width and the color of the outline
•
Alignment — lets you center multiple lines of text or align them on a left or right margin and apply justification
•
Direction — lets you set the horizontal or vertical direction of the text
•
Kerning — lets you change the space between characters
•
Leading — lets you change the line spacing
•
Tracking — lets you set equal spacing between characters
•
Anti-alias — lets you smooth the edges of text characters
You can customize which controls display on the Tool Options palette and which controls are hidden in the More Options drop-list.
For information about using the Materials palette to choose colors for the text outline and fill, see Using the Materials palette.
How can you identify vector text?
Vector text, like other vector objects, can be identified by the vector icon 
that appears next to the text in the Layers palette.
To change font attributes
1
On the Tools toolbar, choose the
Text tool
.
2
Select the vector text characters you want to change by dragging over them.
Note: You can also select the entire text by pressing
Ctrl + A.
3
On the Tool Options palette, perform a task from the following table, and click the
Apply changes button
.
|
|
|
|
|
Choose an option from the Font drop-list. |
|
|
Choose an option from the Size drop-list. |
Change the units of measurement for the font |
From the Units drop-list, choose Points for print output or Pixels for Web output. |
Apply bold formatting to text |
Click the Bold button  . |
Apply italic formatting to text |
Click the Italic button  . |
|
|
Click the Underline button  . |
Apply a line through text |
Click the Strikethrough button  . |
Apply superscript or subscript |
In the Text options area, click the Superscript  or Subscript button  . |
|
|
Click the Font color swatch and choose a color. |
|
|
In the Stroke width box, type a value for the font outline. Type 0 for no outline. |
Set the font outline color |
Click the Stroke color swatch and choose a color. |
To change text alignment
1
On the Tools toolbar, choose the
Text tool
.
2
Select the text object you want to align by dragging over it.
Note: You can also select the entire text by pressing
Ctrl + A.
3
On the Tool Options palette, choose one of the following buttons:
•
— aligns the left edge of each text line to the initial cursor position
•
— centers each text line on the initial cursor position
•
— aligns the right edge of each text line to the initial cursor position
•
—
Justify extends the text to the edges of the text, without changing inter-character spacing
•
—
Force Justify extends the text to the edges of the text box, including the last line by adjusting inter-character spacing if required.
4
On the Tool Options palette, click the
Apply button
.
To set text direction
1
On the Tools toolbar, choose the
Text tool
.
2
Select the text object you want to reposition by dragging over it.
Note: You can also select the entire block of text by pressing
Ctrl + A.
3
On the Tool Options palette, choose one of the following options from the
Direction drop-list:
•
Horizontal and Down 
— positions text horizontally, with subsequent lines below the top line
•
Vertical and Left 
— positions each character vertically, with subsequent lines to the left of the top line
•
Vertical and Right 
— positions each character vertically, with subsequent lines to the right of the top line
4
On the Tool Options palette, click the
Apply button
.
To change horizontal spacing between characters
1
On the Tools toolbar, choose the
Text tool
.
2
Select the text characters whose spacing you want to change by dragging over them.
Note: You can also select the entire text by pressing
Ctrl + A.
3
On the Tool Options palette, type or set a value in the
Kerning control.
Note: If you don’t see the control on the palette, click
More Options 
.
Positive values increase the spacing; negative values decrease the spacing.
4
On the Tool Options palette, click the
Apply button
.
Kerning values are expressed as 1 being equal to one em space — the width of capital letter M for a given font and font size.
You can use the built-in kerning values for the current font by marking the Auto Kern check box.
To change vertical spacing between lines of text
1
On the Tools toolbar, choose the
Text tool
.
2
Select the text lines whose spacing you want to adjust by dragging over them.
Note: You can also select the entire block or text by pressing
Ctrl + A.
3
On the Tool Options palette, type or set a value in the
Leading control.
Note: If you don’t see the control on the palette, click
More Options .
Positive values increase the spacing; negative values decrease the spacing.
4
On the Tool Options palette, click the
Apply button
.
To set equal spacing between characters
1
On the Tools toolbar, choose the
Text tool
.
2
Select the text characters whose spacing you want to adjust by dragging over them.
Note: You can also select the entire text by pressing
Ctrl + A.
3
On the Tool Options palette, type or set a value in the
Tracking control.
Note: If you don’t see the control on the palette, click
More Options .
4
On the Tool Options palette, click the
Apply button
.
To smooth jagged edges in text
1
On the Tools toolbar, choose the
Text tool
.
2
Select the text object whose edges you want to adjust by dragging over it.
Note: You can also select the entire text by pressing
Ctrl + A.
3
On the Tool Options palette, choose an option from the
Anti‑alias drop-list:
•
Off — applies no anti-aliasing (edges appear jagged)
•
Sharp — applies a slight degree of edge smoothing
•
Smooth — applies a stronger degree of edge smoothing
4
On the Tool Options palette, click the
Apply button
.
Anti-aliasing may increase the number of colors in an image, which may cause stray colors to appear along the edges of text. Anti-aliasing may also make it difficult to reduce the file size and to maintain image quality.
To customize the Text Tool Options palette
1
On the Tools toolbar, choose the
Text tool
.
2
On the Tool Options palette, click
More Options .
3
Click
Customize, and in the
Show/Hide Options dialog box, mark the check boxes for the controls that you want to see on the palette. Unmark the check boxes for the controls that you want to display only in the
More Options drop-list.