Robert
1) First you must type a few letters but once you do this you can click onto the font Layer then the font pull down and simply use the arrow keys. The fonts will actively change on you screen as you arrow up or down. I agree this is not as good as a pull down that has samples but it is a reasonable work around.
2) If you are a Window person you can do this too ways Alt + the appropriate ASCII number (i.e. <Alt>+ i54 = Ü) or by using the Character Map apps that comes with Windows.
3) Just type in the size of fonts you want in the Font Size pull down, you are not restricted to suggestions what Adobe offers you.
Grant
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1) The font preview doesn’t work the same in Elements, probably because it wasn’t designed to be used with a lot of text. Type a word, highlight it, and then just go through the font list until you find the font you want. As long as the word is highlighted, the font changes as soon as you scroll to a different one, and you get your ‘automatic preview’ on the canvas. And, by the way, Elements doesn’t add any fonts when it installs, but it will load all fonts installed on your computer by the OS and various applications. If you ever find Elements stalling out when it’s trying to manage fonts, that’ll be a signal you have too many active and need to move some to another folder or begin using a type manager.
2) Sorry, but I can’t answer your question about the symbols. I think there is a way to do this, but hopefully someone else will step in and explain how.
3) You can set a custom size for the font. Just go to the little window in which the font size is displayed, highlight the current setting, and type in whatever size you want.
Edit: Good morning Grant! I guess I shouldn’t have left in the middle of typing my answer to get that next cup of coffee, huh? Oh, well, at least our answers were pretty consistent, and you were able to tell him how to get the special symbols! 🙂
Dear Grant, Thanks for tossig a lifeline – as you might guessed I am new to PE, but find it a fanmtastic tool, provided one learns how.
Your advice is a big stepping stone in that direction, I shall put in in use. Yours Robert held
Dear Beth, thanks to you too for rushing to help.
I started to use the USER TO USER FORUM only yesterday – having banged my head againts the wall since I bought PE few months ago and i am floored by the decency and kindness of other fellow users to come to the help of a ‘drowning’ person.
You’re certainly welcome, Robert. Come around often. We try to be helpful to new users, because we’ve all been there!
Beth
And you didn’t bring me a coffee… pout.
Did you also know that using the Home, End , Page up and Page down also helps you navigate the font list as well. Not only that but also you can use
these trick in almost any thing that has a pull down. For example using the custom shape tool and then apply style. You can use these tricks to see the styles change on the fly. Of course this works best with styles in a list view format.
Grant
Robert,
Regarding the type, once you have the type in place and it doesn’t look quite right, try Control+T to open Free Transform. You may then drag the print to a different position, or use the handles to change size or proportions of the print.
Paul
Dear Ruizpaul, Thanks to you too. I was a dummy early this morning, now thanks to the kindness of the three of you, I feel I know something. Will try all of it when i get back from work. THANKS!
Here is something that is interesting, and it works, nice to see the actual font as you work. It is a tutorial courtesy of Gene Ledesma on one of the Yahoo PSE forums.
Jane
1. Open or create the image to which you wish to add type.
2. Select the Type tool in your vertical toolbar.
3. In the horizontal Options bar at the top of the screen, double-click on
the color well to choose the color for your text. Also make sure that the
"anti aliased" box is checked. Then click on one of the text alignment
options (left, center, right). Nine times out of ten, it’s usually best to choose the "left alignment" option.
For the moment you can either leave the font at its default setting or choose the font you think you’ll wish to use– it doesn’t matter because you’ll be scrolling through all the possibilities in just another minute. It is, however, a good idea to set a font size appropriate to what you have in mind for the final image–depending on the font you ultimately choose, the choice of font size may change, but as you scroll through the fonts you’ll want to have at least a rough idea of what the effect of each typeface.
4. With the Type tool still active, move your mouse over your image and click once where you wish your text to begin. A cursor will appear at the text’s starting point. Now type your text.
5. If, after typing your text, its positioning isn’t exactly right, select the Move tool (top right corner of your toolbar) and drag your text exactly where you want it in your image.
6. Now once again select your Type tool. Move the cursor to the beginning of your text, click once and, with your mouse button depressed, drag the cursor across the text to select it.
7. In order to properly preview the effects of the various fonts you’ll want to view your text without the visual interference of the selection mode. With the text selected, go to your keyboard and key in Ctrl H (Command H for Mac users). The text will remain selected, but the visual effects of the selection will be hidden and the text will *appear* to be unselected.
8. Now, with the Type tool still active, go to your font list in the horizontal options bar at the top of the screen. DO NOT click on the list’s down arrow. Instead, click once on the CURRENTLY VISIBLE FONT NAME. This will select the font list.
9. With the font list selected, go to your keyboard and use your Up/Down arrows to scroll through your installed fonts. The text you’ve typed on your image will appear in each font in turn.
But the possibilities extend far beyond just previewing fonts in their plain, unadorned state!
After adding one or more Layer Styles to your text (such as a bevel, a dropshadow, and an outer glow), and adjusting the settings as you wish (Layer/Layer Style/Style Settings), you can go right back to scrolling through the fonts– only this time, the fonts will be previewed with the special effects you’ve added.
You might also wish to warp the text to a specific shape (the "Create Warped Text" option in the horizontal Options bar)– just choose your preferred warp style, and go back to previewing the fonts.
And with the text warped, beveled, dropshadowed, and glowed, you might decide that you’d prefer it a different color– just double-click on the color well in the horizontal Options bar, choose a new color for your text, and, yes, go right back to scrolling through your fonts! (You can change your font size, as well.)
After making any change, such as color, or adding a warp effect or layer style, just remember to click once on the currently visible font name– this will re-select the fonts, and allow you to continue scrolling.
If, somewhere along the line, your text becomes unselected, just return to step #6 and continue on from there.
Dear Jane, thanks for your detailed, meticulous advice – I printed it and will put to use, when I gent back form work. Very kind of you to have taken the time and the trouble to share yor know-how. Yours Robert Held
Jane, this would make a perfect FAQ entry!
Alexander.
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Athlon XP 1800+, 1 GB, Windows XP pro, PSE v2.0.2 + PSA v2.0 (German retail)
