Selecting and formatting text


    Before you can format or change type, you must select it. To change a range of characters, a word, or paragraph within a text block, you select the text using the text tool. To change all the characters in the text block, you can select the text block using one of the selection tools or the Layers palette. To transform text as you would any other object in the menu, you select the text block with the selection tool or Layers palette, not the text tool. You can drag, scale, align, and distribute a text block.

    You use the Character palette to change the font and other text attributes.

To select individual characters, words, or paragraphs:

  1. Open the menu you want to edit.
  2. Select a type tool from the toolbox and do one of the following actions:
    • Drag-select the type. (Shift-click to extend or reduce an existing selection.)
    • Double-click a word to select it.
    • Click an insertion point and press Shift+Ctrl+Right Arrow to select one word to the right.
    • Click an insertion point and press Shift+Ctrl+Left Arrow to select one word to the left.
    • Triple-click a line within a paragraph to select just the line.
    • Quadruple-click within a paragraph to select the entire paragraph.
    • Click an insertion point at the beginning of a paragraph, and press Shift+Ctrl+Up Arrow to select the previous paragraph.
    • Click an insertion point at the end of a paragraph, and press Shift+Ctrl+Down Arrow twice to select the next paragraph.

To change the attributes of characters, words, or paragraphs:

  1. Open the menu you want to edit.
  2. Select the characters, words, or paragraphs you want to change.
  3. Click the Character tab to activate it (or choose Window > Character).
  4. Select the type attributes you want for the text. (See Understanding type attributes in the Character palette.)

To change the attributes of all the text in a text block:

  1. Open the menu you want to edit.
  2. Do one of the following actions:
    • Click an insertion point within the text block using the appropriate text tool, and choose Edit > Select All.
    • Using the selection tool selection tool , click the text block or button containing the text block.
    • Click the Layers tab to activate it (or choose Window > Layers), and click the text's layer or the layer set containing the text.
  3. Click the Character tab to activate it (or choose Window > Character).
  4. Select the type attributes you want for the text. (See Understanding type attributes in the Character palette.)

To select a text block to transform it like an object

  1. Open the menu you want to edit.
  2. Select the text block using one of these techniques:
    • Click the text directly in the Menu Editor window using the selection tool selection tool .
    • Click the Layers tab to activate it (or choose Window > Layers), and click the text layer.
  3. Transform the text block as you would any other object. (See Manipulating menu objects.)