Word Wrap

[scotwllm]

How do you wrap words in Photoshop? It's a short paragraph, but it must stay within the margins of the design. If you don't know what word wrap is, do you see how at the end of the first line of this message the text jumps down a line automatically? I didn't put that line break in there. It was automatically added because the text exceeded the width of its confining container. That's word wrap.

Scott

[Ged_Traynor]

Hi

Have you tried paragraph text, see section 3 in the below link

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/add-edit-text.html

[scotwllm]

Many times, it behaves differently each time. Yesterday, the text was above the box. Later, it was below the box. It's always formatted with way too much whitespace. It looks like there are a couple of carriage returns before the first line of text and double-spaced after that. I resent having to undo so much unrequested formatting. I never asked for it to put in Lorem Ipsum text. Is there a way to make Photoshop allow me to enter text like I do in these Community form fields and then format it how I want after I'm done typing or pasting?

[Jumpenjax]

Can you post a picture so we can see what is happen?

[jane-e]

The Lorem Ipsum text is dummy text. It's selected and you can type over it — or disable it in Preferences.

The other issues sound like problems with baseline shift, leading, tracking, and paragraph spacing.

Select some of your text share a screenshot that includes the Character and Paragraph panels (Window menu). We should be able to spot the issues quickly.

The options for all tools are sticky — meaning if you once you set them they stay across time and documents until you change them again or reset the tool.

To get paragraph text that wraps, drag the Type tool first to create a frame, then type. The frame can be resized and the text will re-wrap.

~ Jane

[jane-e]

@scotwllm 

Include your Layers panel in the screenshot. Another possibility is that your text is on multiple layers. We won't know exactly what's going on until we see the screenshot.

Jane

[jane-e]

Hi @scotwllm 

This could be:

• leading
• paragraph spacing above and / or below
• enter pressed after each line
• separate layers

We cannot tell from this screen shot. What we can see is the "I have never in my " is in its own frame and is not connected to other text.

Here's what we need to see:

• Type tool, select some text
• Open the Character and Paragraph panels from the Window menu. We need to see them.
• Open the Layers panel from the Window menu. We need to see it, too.

Jane

[Scott236663862gc8]

The full text of what I typed in the "I have never" frame is in the white box to the left. I followed the same workflow a second time in the second text frame. 

[Scott236663862gc8]

I don't know why my handle changed to Scott236663862gc8

[jane-e]

Hi

I see a couple of things:

• There is a + sign in the lowest left of the text frame, meaning there is more text inside that cannot be shown. Use the Type tool and resize the frame to the full height of the page to reveal more text. You can also resize it wider.
• Select all of the text with Control+A (Type tool) and change the leading from 115 to 30 for right now. If you can see all of the text, change the leading again if needed. It's a character setting, so text has to be selected.
• Your layers panel says "Layer 1" which is not normal. It should pick up the first few words unless you changed it on purpose.
• Resize the frame smaller again (Type tool) after you can see all the text. Confirm that there is not a plus showing overset text.

You have two Adobe IDs and signed in with a different login. Thanks for letting us know it is you.

• @scotwllm has 124 posts
• @Scott236663862gc8 has 3 posts

Click on your name to go to your page to see previous posts. You can also click your avatar in the upper right.

Please report back if it's working or if you need more assistance.

Jane

[Scott236663862gc8]

Is it always going to be that much work to get words to wrap? With every other program, you just select the text tool, draw a box, and start typing. The words automatically wrap.

I don't know how I ended up with two Adobe IDs. I don't want this new one.

[jane-e]

Hi Scott,

The options for tools are sticky, meaning they stay across time and documents until they are changed again or they are Reset. To fix this, select the text first, then change the leading. Standard leading is typesize plus two, as defined by Gutenberg, but can be varied. In your case, the leading of 115 is too high for your small text frame. Your text does not fit.

Here are three examples. All are 25/115. The canvas is 7" x 5". The first fits three lines of text.

.

In the second, the frame is shorter and narrower. Two lines fit.

In the third, the frame is shorter and one line fits.

In this fourth screen shot, the text is 25/30. All of the text now fits the frame.

Once again: select your text and give it a reasonable leading so it will fit in the frame. This is the fourth time I've mentioned leading. Please humor me and try it.

Jane

[Scott236663862gc8]

I don't know why, but this time it worked. I did everything the same way as the first two times. 

I started to receive notices of Community postings at a different email address and the handle I think changed at the same time. I don't think I did that on purpose.

[jane-e]

Hi Scott,

The text has to be selected because (as was said earlier), it's a Character setting. Ctrl+A with the Type tool is Select All, or resize the frame to see the hidden text.

Is it working now then? I hope so, but your screenshot is the old one...

As for your two logins, try asking on the "Using the Community" forum. 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/using-the-community/ct-p/ct-Using-the-Community

You could also log out, then log in with the one you want.

Jane

[jane-e]

Also, it's late in my time zone, so I'll check back in the morning.

Cheers,

Jane

[Scott236663862gc8]

That's an updated screenshot. Look at the third paragraph.

It worked the third time. I did everything the same way. This has happened before -- I try doing it the same way as I described earlier three or four times and eventually it works for some unknown reason. I want it to work the first time, every time.

[jane-e]

Hi Scott,

I'm glad it's working for you now. If it happens again, post screen shots with the text selected and those two panels, and we will be able to assist.

Jane

[Scott236663862gc8]

How do you pronounce "leading?"

[rayek.elfin]

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leading

Click on the noun audio icon to hear it pronounced correctly.

Think of the word "lead" when using it.

In the early days of printing and typesetting, all typography was typeset by hand, using individual characters made of wood or metal. To adjust the space between the lines so that the design could breath more, typesetters added thin strips of lead. The term stuck around and while the olden days of typesetting by hand are long gone, the terminology and principles still remain!

[Scott236663862gc8]

As in "You can lead a horse to water...", Rayek?

[jane-e]

Good question, Scott!

Gutenberg used strips of lead to separate the lines of type. The typesize is the size of the metal block, which includes the ascenders of some letters (b, f, h) and descenders of others (g, j, p). He measured the metal blocks in points, and we still do. He added two points of lead so the ascenders and descenders wouldn't touch.

Leading in typography is pronounced "led-ing" like the metal, not "leed-ing" — like when you are leading a group of people.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leading

Jane

[Scott236663862gc8]

Thanks, Jane. I've known about leading since the early 90s when I desktop published with PageMaker. That's why I kept saying "I have never in my life assigned this much leading in paragraph text" in response to your assertion that the options for tools are sticky.  How did the leading get set at 115? I didn't do it.

In my second post, I asked about how to set the defaults to something reasonable. In the Adobe products I use regularly (such as Acrobat) the default settings are always something like Minion Pro 6 points with 115 leading. Adobe must know that no one in their right mind would ever think, "Oh! Goody! That's exactly what I wanted!" 

[jane-e]

Hi Scott,

Ah, if I had known your experience, I could have just said: "led-ing", not "leed-ing" 😊 !

I don't know how your leading got set to 115, but now that it's been reset it will stay at the new number. One thing you can do in Photoshop to start with reasonable settings is to reset the Type tool:

• Right-click the Type tool in the options bar (not Tools panel) and Reset Tool (or Reset All Tools) to go back to the default settings.
  https://photoshoptrainingchannel.com/tips/reset-tools-default-state/

Photoshop has limited type controls, as its core focus is image editing. Both InDesign and Illustrator have far better controls for type. Acrobat, on the other hand, is the absolute worst. The first few versions of Acrobat had no text editing whatsoever, and it wasn't until Acrobat XI that text edits were less than a nightmare. While I do a lot of editing in Acrobat — more than I would like to admit to — it is always frustrating. The best method remains to make the edits in the original file, then make a new PDF. Whenever I have the original file, that's what I do.

Jane

[Scott236663862gc8]

I couldn't agree more about editing Acrobat documents, but dynamically creating them can be a rewarding challenge. I was integrating ColdFusion, Dreamweaver, Acrobat, and a database to create custom reports for my clients' employees. Adding javascript forms controls was fun, too.