Justify Text in Premiere 12.0 / Essential Graphics / Type Tool

[brennanm22220420]

In the 12.0 update, if you use the Type Tool to create text, there are several options under Effect Controls --> Text --> Source Text. There's left align text, center text, and right align text, which all work. But next to those, there are 4 more options grayed out: justify last left, justify last centered, justify, and justify last right. I'd like to use these options, but I can't figure out how to use them.

I didn't find any templates that used these. I tried changing the size of the text box to 'limit' the text, and that didn't work. I could use the legacy title, but I'd like to use some text effects that might not play nice with the legacy title. Besides, these options must be here for a reason; there must be some use where they're not grayed out.

If anyone knows how to justify text in Premiere Pro using the type tool, I would appreciate any help.

[R Neil Haugen]

A very good question. I hope we get an answer!

Neil

[jstrawn · Accepted solution]

To justify text, it needs to reside inside a defined box so that it has fixed edged to justify to. To get Text in Box (TiB), click and drag with the text tool instead of just single clicking (which gives you Text on Point (ToP)). As long as you have a Text in Box selected (blue box) or highlighted (red box) then all of the Justify options should be applicable from within the ECP or EGP.

The difference between Text on Point and Tex in Box is not at all unique to PrPro, so it's good to understand a bit more about them. Use text on point when you care more about the size of the text than the dimensions of its bounding box. For example, if you are making a 1-2 line title you probably only care about the scale and carriage returns of the text itself. On the other hand, if you are making some kind of descriptive text box, you probably care more about that box's dimensions than the scale and flow of text within. If you resize the box around Text on Point, it scales the text. If you resize the box around Text in Box, it reflows the text. This is why Justify only works inside TiB.

[R Neil Haugen]

Thanks for that answer, James. That level of detail is certainly good to know and have here on the forum.

Neil

[brennanm22220420]

I'm sorry it took me so long to see this, I need to change my notification settings.

Thank you very much for this reply, this is extremely helpful. I did not realize that there was a difference before. This will be very helpful going forward.

[jstrawn]

brennanm22220420  wrote

I'm sorry it took me so long to see this, I need to change my notification settings.

No problem. That behavior has not changed in the past year, so my answer should still be correct.

[richardh38606576]

Is there a way to change an existing object from Text in Box (fixed-size) to Text on Point? Or, for example, a keyboard shortcut that would allow me to toggle between these modes? (E.g. CTRL + drag edges to scale box & text; normal drag to scale box only). 

[R Neil Haugen]

No, there isn't.

Neil

[Jnschoeser]

Just came here to thank you so much, 7 years after your post you just saved my life on a sunday night

[youthful_Lark5EFA]

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