Topic awaiting preservation: Text Dilema

Ok, I wanna have layer that is all one color with text cut out of it. This is all simple enough. Type some text, select it, and make a layer mask. However, I'd like to not rasterize the text. I wanna keep it editable. I can't put editable text on a layer mask; it automatically gets rasterized. I tried to do it in channels and the same thing happened. Any Ideas?

Oh, and also, how can I center text that is still editable. In the past I've always rasterized, cut and pasted. But in this project I need to keep the text editable.

On the first question - I don't think you can keep the mask editable like that. You don't need to rasterize the text though - all you need to do is make a selection, and set the selection as the layer mask. The text is still editable, but you'll have to remake the mask if you edit.

As for the second question -

1) there is the set of buttons to left-align, center, right align, or justify on the text option bar (or dialogue box).

2) You don't need to rasterize, any-which-way. All you have to do is move it around with your direct select tool....

I'm confused as to why you would be rasterizing in these situations in the first place...

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all you need to do is make a selection, and set the selection as the layer mask. The text is still editable, but you'll have to remake the mask if you edit.

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Bingo! That worked!

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1) there is the set of buttons to left-align, center, right align, or justify on the text option bar (or dialogue box).

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Those buttons arn't relative to the canvas, just to where ever I clicked the text tool.

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I'm confused as to why you would be rasterizing in these situations in the first place...

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Habbit I suppose, I couldn't think of other ways to do it.

P.S. If you're wonderin' why I'm goin' through this trouble, its because I'm trying to finish up those error messages for the GN. I'll hopefully have 'em done before the weekend, But if not I'm spending the weekend moving in which case they'll be further delayed.

I know Illustrator and Flash have an Align menu that would do that in two shakes of a .. um.. well you get the idea...

If you require an object to be exactly centered just use the info window. Look at the length of the text, the size of your document and find the exact number of pixels you need it to be. Move it there. You might still be a pixel off but on anything of reasonable size it'll be impossible to tell.

If you really want the move to be exact just x or y constrain with your mouse (should be able to set this in your Control Panel).

There might be an easier way but I don't know it offhand. Generally I just eyeball it unless it is under 200 pixels wide, and then you don't generally have that much text then.

SELECT>>>ALL

LAYER>>>ALIGN TO SELECTION>>>VERTICAL CENTERS or HORIZONTAL CENTERS.

Of course that's if you want something centered to the entire document. Oddly it works if you do selections of other layers as well, centering your layer to the images from the layer you selected. Dig?

Ah, centered in the document.

For that, I generally just make a guide down the center of the document (have to make sure 'snap to document bounds' is checked and it will automatically snap to the center), and then drag my layer until it's center snaps on the centered guide.

DG's method is certainly a handy one to know as well. Never done it that way...


As for the Gurus error messages - I saw them, and they are absolutely fantastic! I love them. Thanks for taking the time =)

Anyone interested shoudl check them out over here - http://development.gurusnetwork.com/discussion/thread/2162/

For a quick and dirty layer center I've gotten into the habbit of using select all>cut>paste: Ctrl+A>X>V. Really quick and it works like a charm, but it doesn't work for vector shapes and un-rendered text.

For that, I'll use the move tool and align it to guides like DL suggested. Although, out of force of habbit I always drag out document centre guides whenever I create a new document.

^ Yeah, I always drag out the guides right away too.

And in that case, you can just click right on that center line with text tool, and click the 'center' button for the text and you'll be all set.

I too always drag out center guides. I'm gonna have to try DG's method next time though. I never knew about it either.

Three Cheers for "ALIGN TO SELECTION"

Woo hoo, Woo hoo, Woo hoo!

I created an action on an F key that does a 50% vertical and 50% horizontal guideline for me since I use it so much.

An alternative to making a mask out of the text would be to actually knock the text out completely. This way you aren't recreating a mask over and over. Simply type the text you want, then go into the advanced blending modes (double click the layer like you would to put on a bevel or drop shadow or something). In the first menu that pops up, you can set the "knockout" option to "shallow" or "deep". These have to do with how far the layer knocks out. Either to the bottom of the current set stack or all the way to the background. Sometimes it's more work than making a mask, but if you are just knocking out text and want to have it remain editable then this is a quick technique that maintains editability very well.

$0.02


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That we're free to do anything...