Text Help Please

[WindyDayGal]

I've been using PDN for a few years now and, needless to say, I love it.. I do a lot of graphics, though I'm hardly a professional, and I recommend PDN to all my friends.. I find it far easier to use then PSP, which boggles the mind with it's over-the-top features and complexity..

However, I do find that PDN seems very limited in it's ability to create unique text which I feel it should be able to do.. I have a good 150 fonts used for my cards and scrapbooking loaded onto my computer and I would like to be able to do more with them using PDN.. When I create a name I often overlay a couple of different colors for an outline effect but then find, when I use the magic wand tool to make the BG transparent, the edging on the letters are very ragged.. Not very attractive on a card for sure.. Why can't I place text over a transparent BG? I've tried doing this by making my first BG transparent and then try to make a second layer with my text, but it hasn't worked.. The text just disappears..

I'd also like to create transparent text that I can then overlay on a solid or textured BG and have not been able to figure out how to do this either..

I would sure appreciate any help on these 2 problems.. I do have an old copy of Microsoft's Picture It, which allows me to create some nice effects with text, but I just feel as though I could use PDN more for creating unique text if I knew what I was doing..

Thanks in advance for any help you could give me on this..

[Sarkut]

Always put your text on transparent layers.

When you overlay the text, put each new text overlay on a new layer of its own.

If you copy/paste, always paste into a new layer.

Don't paste into a layer with pre-existing content.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

This:

Always put your text on transparent layers.

[mountnman]

When I create a name I often overlay a couple of different colors for an outline effect but then find, when I use the magic wand tool to make the BG transparent, the edging on the letters are very ragged.. Not very attractive on a card for sure.. Why can't I place text over a transparent BG? I've tried doing this by making my first BG transparent and then try to make a second layer with my text, but it hasn't worked.. The text just disappears..

assuming that you have the latest version od PDn and that your comp is not totally obsolete, i dont understand why the text would vanish...

you are putting the overlay colors on a different layer then setting the layer properties to overlay yes? but trying this i cant create an "outline effect"

do you have an example of what you are trying to make?

and this tranparent text you want to make- do you mean a semi transparent text that you can see thru? or are you wanting to 'skin' your text with the background texture?

[WindyDayGal]

assuming that you have the latest version od PDn and that your comp is not totally obsolete, i dont understand why the text would vanish...

you are putting the overlay colors on a different layer then setting the layer properties to overlay yes? but trying this i cant create an "outline effect"

do you have an example of what you are trying to make?

and this tranparent text you want to make- do you mean a semi transparent text that you can see thru? or are you wanting to 'skin' your text with the background texture?

Yes, I may be old but my computer and PDN is the latest and greatest.. lol And you just solved both my problems with this one bit of information.. What I was doing was forgetting to set my first layer to transparency by un-checking the visible box.. Then I was able to add the text as my second layer and it worked beautifully.. No frayed edges this time.. Hooray! I'll play around with it now and see what I can create.. I'd love to be able to shade in more colors on the font, but I think I can do that with just using a BG of preferred colors.. Thanks all of you for your quick and timely help..

[thehalflifedude]

Unchecking the visible box doesn't do anything other then just that, make a layer invisble. What are you talking about?

So, your problem was selecting the second layer before adding text?

[mountnman]

if text is your thing, there is a whole section in the tutorials forums devoted to it

[WindyDayGal]

Unchecking the visible box doesn't do anything other then just that, make a layer invisble. What are you talking about?

So, your problem was selecting the second layer before adding text?

Well, I just know when I tried to write text on a transparent BG the print never showed up, but after reading what Mountainman wrote, I searched for, and found, under layers, a prompt I had never used before called layer properties and there I saw that on the first BG I had 'visible' checked, so I unchecked it, added a second layer and was able to see my text.. What I had been doing was choosing a new BG, simply making it transparent and then trying to write on it, which didn't work.. See?

Edited March 28, 2011 by WindyDayGal

[Ego Eram Reputo]

There is a 'visible/hidden' checkbox beside each layer in the layer window. You don't need to search for it