Before you begin to create and manipulate text in Photoshop , you should know some of the basic typographic terminology that some of the options in Photoshop use.  Examine the following example.

Typeface
A typeface is a full set of characters (uppercase, lowercase, numerals, special characters, etc.) designed in a specific Style .  For example, the same word, presented using different typefaces, can look quite different:

Typeface          Typeface          Typeface   Typeface

Typefaces are also often referred to as fonts .  The look of your text is very much a key in the design of your images.

Baseline
The Baseline  in text is an imaginary line that the characters effectively sit upon.  Lower case text, such as the “p”, has a descender, which descends below the Baseline.

Kerning
Kerning  is the space between a particular pair of characters.  Each typeface may have particular kerning values so that some characters are closer to each other than others, depending on their shape.  For example, the capital letters A and V, when placed together, have complimentary shapes and are often placed closer together than A and N.

Tracking
Tracking is the space between characters in a line of text.  The space between characters, regardless of the particular characters, is uniform when using Tracking.  It can easily be confused with Kerning .  Remember that Kerning is a very specific measurement of spacing between particular pairs of characters, whereas Tracking is the measurement of spacing between all characters.

In Photoshop  you adjust a types Style , kerning, leading, tracking, etc. by selecting options from either the Options  Bar or the Character /Paragraph  Palette .   Simply highlight the text that you want to change and select an option from either the Options Bar or the Palette.

The Options  Bar

The Character Palette

Font
Use the drop-down menu to select the Font  you want to use.  Photoshop  will list all the fonts  installed on your system.

Style
Use the drop-down menu to select Styles  such as Bold, Italic, Underline, and Regular.  Available Styles differ depending on the font you’ve selected.  However, you can {Click} on Underline, Faux Bold, or Faux Italic to add these Styles to fonts  that do not have them.

Size
Input Font  Size to scale  your text.  Size is measured in either points or pixels.  Use pixels for web development.  If you highlight your text by {Clicking} and dragging over it, any changes you make to the font size changes the size of the font.  Alternately you can highlight your type and the font size value and use [SHIFT] Arrow-Up or Arrow-Down to increase or decrease the size value in increments of 10.

Anti-Alias
Select from None, Crisp, Strong, and Smooth to control the level of Anti-alias ing of your text.  You’ll find that Crisp is particularly useful for small text.

The Paragraph  Palette  allows you to modify Paragraph Text.  Paragraph text is that which occupies a pre-defined Paragraph Block.  To create a Paragraph Block you must {Click} and drag in the Image Window  with the Text Tool .  A Paragraph Block looks somewhat like a Selection Marquee  with handles to resize it along all sides and a blinking text cursor in the top right hand corner to input text.  Use the Alignment , Justification , and Indentation Controls in the Palette to modify the positioning of text in the Paragraph Block.

Text Warp 
The ability to edit text has increased greatly in Photoshop  6 with the introduction of Text Warping.  Text Warping allows the user to customize the appearance of text and still maintain the ability to edit it at all times.  Input the word “Photoshop” in your Image Window , select it, and {Click} on the Text Warp button in the Options  Bar.  A dialog box appears on your screen.  Select the type of warp that you’d like to create from the Style  drop-down menu.

The Bend, Horizontal, and Vertical sliders allow you to further customize the appearance of your text.  {Click} OK when you are happy with your settings.  If, in the future, you want to change the appearance or the wording of your text you need only select it with the Text Tool  and type.  You will still be able to edit your text as text no matter what kind of warp you have applied to it.  Below you will find some examples of what Text Warping can do.