Technical data
30 Manipulating Images
Adding a caption
Finally, we’ll venture into uncharted territory. Adding a caption to the
photo is easy, but it will introduce several new operations: choosing a
color, using the Text tool, and working with more than one layer. Don’t
worry—it will be a very mild introduction!
q Locate the Color tab, which is
probably still open at the right
side of the screen—but if it’s
hidden, check its item on the
View menu to display it. Click the
tab so it comes to the front and
you can see all of it.
The Color tab includes (among other things) two color swatches that
show the current foreground and background color (another of those
“Key Concepts”), and a spectrum box that lets you change them.
q Move the cursor over the spectrum box and you’ll see a preview
swatch (not shown in the illustration) appear, showing the exact
color under the cursor. Find a very light color that you like, and
left-click. You’ll see the foreground swatch update. If you want to
choose a different color, move the cursor and click again.
q Now choose the Text tool from the Tools toolbar. Notice there
are two text tools on the flyout. Pick the first one, which is for solid
text (the other is for creating selections in the shape of text).
q Once your cursor has changed to an “A,” click it on the picture in
the approximate position where you want the text to be. This opens
the Add Text window.
q Type the caption text (on two lines, if you’re using our example)
and choose a font, pointsize, and style (we used Arial 14pt Bold).
Note that the formatting is applied to all the text in the window (no need
to select it first), and that the text is black (for visibility) rather than the
foreground color at this point. The dialog also has an Adjust Color
button—but let’s leave that for later.
q Click OK to insert the caption.