Text frequently is "invisible."

[TomTom]

I've had this problem frequently over the years. 

 

I'll go to put text into a picture, having selected the text color, I start typing, and the cursor moves as I type, apparently recording my keystrokes, but it's invisible.  Selecting a different color for the text doesn't make the text appear.  The only "fix" I've found is to close Paint.net, start it up again, bring in the file and use the text tool again.

 

It seems like a silly bug of some sort, but maybe it's user error or some sort?

[Tactilis]

You most likely have a selection active when you try to type your text but you are typing outside the selection.

Try this:
1. Create a new white canvas.
2. Create a rectangular selection (smaller than the canvas).

3. Click the Text tool and start typing inside the selection.

4. Keep typing characters until the text cursor crosses the right hand boundary of the selection. See what happens?
5. Now, without deselecting the text tool, move the text using the corner handle so that it is now fully inside the selection. See what happens?

So before typing, use Ctrl+D to Deselect any selection. Unless, of course, you are actually wanting to use a selection to clip the text.
 
See this page https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/SelectionTools.html of the Documentation; specifically the section headed Making Selections and the Warning therein.
 

Edited June 25, 2023 by Tactilis
Added a link to the Documentation

[Pixey]

2 hours ago, TomTom said:

but maybe it's user error or some sort?

 

Hello @TomTom and welcome to the forum  

 

It's just possible you have the colors in the color window, Primary and Secondary, mixed up.

It's usually easier to make a new, transparent layer and type on that.

[Tactilis]

7 minutes ago, Pixey said:

It's just possible you have the colors in the color window, Primary and Secondary, mixed up.

TomTom said: "Selecting a different color for the text doesn't make the text appear", so it's not a Primary/Secondary mix up making the text invisible against the background.

 

Quote

It's usually easier to make a new, transparent layer and type on that.

Agreed.

It's always a good idea to put text on a separate layer so that it can be moved, erased, etc. without affecting the picture below.
 

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Usually the cause is a small selection somewhere. Try pressing Ctrl + D to deselect before using the text tool.

[TomTom]

Thanks to all that responded.  Sorry for the late acknowledgement but  I just received notification that there were any replies at all to my question.

 

I'm just an occasional user of Paint.net so I've never taken a deep dive into the program, but I now see that having some sort of selection "away" from the text I'm trying to type does indeed re-create my issue.  And the advice to type into a separate layer solves another problem I've had where I've typed directly on a photo, saved the file, and then realize I've got a typo in my text!

 

[DLCooper52]

Non-appearing text seems to be a long-term chronic problem and the suggestions to fix it (including deslecting an area or adding a transparent layer) resolve the problem only occasionally.

 

Adept PaintNET users have surely solved the problem and have then continued on their way.  However, many Newbies probably get discuraged in trying to correct the problem and either live with it or abandon the site.

 

Shouldn't PaintNet apply a vigorous fix, one that is reliable and easy to use, if only in their self-interest?

[toe_head2001]

2 hours ago, DLCooper52 said:

Shouldn't PaintNet apply a vigorous fix, one that is reliable and easy to use

 

Can you elaborate on this "magic bullet" solution?

[Tactilis]

13 hours ago, DLCooper52 said:

Non-appearing text seems to be a long-term chronic problem and the suggestions to fix it (including deselecting an area or adding a transparent layer) resolve the problem only occasionally.

@DLCooper52 You are misrepresenting the situation. This is not a 'problem' in paint.net that needs to be 'fixed'.

 

paint.net is operating exactly as designed - and for good reason:

1. A selection may be any shape, potentially a complex one (consider a selection made by the Magic Wand tool) and with several disconnected regions; we are not just concerned about rectangles here.
    
2. All operations (drawing, painting, filling, gradient, text, effects, adjustments, etc) are clipped by the selection boundary, i.e. they are constrained to appear only inside the selection. Without this, it would be impossible to use paint.net to create many of the images that people currently do.

 

The paint.net Documentation explains this clearly in the Tools | Selection Tools section here https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/SelectionTools.html#6
 

"Making Selections
 ...

Once a selection has been created, editing operations (including effects and adjustments) are confined to the active selection.  This can be used to limit drawing to a specific area of the layer.
 

To edit an area outside the current selection it is necessary to either add the new area to the selection or to deselect the active selection.

 

Warning: Editing operations are confined to the active selection. It is not possible to edit outside an active selection."

 

Also, could you explain please in what sense do the "suggestions to fix it (including deselecting an area or adding a transparent layer) resolve the problem only occasionally"? I'm genuinely puzzled by this. Could you give a specific example please?

 

 

If you need more help understanding the interaction between the editing tools (including the Text tool) and selections, then please ask and people will be happy to step you though it. We are here to assist and don't want you to get discouraged.