Select the “type tool” in the toolbar, which has an icon of a capital “T.” You can also use the keyboard shortcut “t” to select the tool. To create a single word or line of text, simply click on the stage. A blinking cursor will note you can now type. Type anything you like, which will create a new type layer in your document. Switch to the “selection tool” (keyboard shortcut “v”) and the type layer will automatically be selected. You can now adjust the typeface, size, leading, kerning, tracking and alignment of the text using the palettes we opened earlier. You can also change the type color by selecting a color in the swatches or color palettes (both available through the “window” menu). These palettes and settings apply to all of the type tools we will use in this lesson.
In addition to selecting a font size in the character palette, you can manually resize type by dragging any of the white squares on the corners and sides of the box surrounding the type, with the selection tool. Hold down shift to keep the type proportions correct.
You can also use the type tool to create a block of text constrained within a box. To do this, hold down the left mouse button when you click the type tool on the stage and drag a box to the size of the text area you would like. Holding down the shift key will create a perfect square. When you let go of the mouse button, you can then type within the box. This feature is perfect for setting up columns of text. Unlike with a single line of text, dragging the white resize boxes of a text area will change the size of that area, not the text itself.
