How to Make Sure Text Is Centered in Photoshop

In this tutorial, you will learn how to type text in a circle in Photoshop.

These examples will teach you how you can type text in a circular path. It may seem simple, but they're a few tools and techniques that you must know to work efficiently in Photoshop.

Table of contents

• Tutorial Image
• Document Explanation
• Add Guides to Your Document
• Create an Elliptical Path
• Type on a Circular Path
• How NOT to Rotate Text on a circle
• Use the Control Points to Align, and Rotate the Text Around a Circle
• Type on The Bottom Half of The Circle
• Invert the Text on The Circle
• Adjust the Baseline Shift
• Type on a Path

Tutorial Image

292-Type-in-a-circle-Starter.zip (2827 downloads)

Document Explanation

On the workspace is a document with a Background layer and a circular design element. You can also work with the same files if you want to follow this tutorial step-by-step.

Add Guides to Your Document

Choose View > New Guide Layout.

On the New Guide Layout window, set the Columns and Rows' Number value to 2 and press OK.  That will help you visualize the center of the document and align the text.

For earlier versions of Photoshop, you can also use the Ruler by pressing Ctrl R (Windows) or Command R (macOS) and enable the Snap feature by choosing View > Snap.

 Then, click-and-drag a vertical and horizontal ruler and bring it to the center until it snaps in place.

To double-check and make sure that your rulers are in the right place, right-click on the Ruler and select Percent.

Both vertical and horizontal guides should be at 50%.

Create an Elliptical Path

click on the Ruler and select Percent.

On the Options bar, click on the drop-down menu and set to Path.

Hover the mouse right on the center where the guides meet and hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) as you click-and-drag to create a circle with the Ellipse tool.

Hold the Shift key to constraint the path into a perfect circle. Then, release the mouse button to complete the path.

Type on a Circular Path

On the Toolbar, select the Text tool.

On the Options bar, On the Options bar, click on the drop-down menu and set to Path.

With your Text tool, hover it above the path until you see a curved line appear on the cursor and click to start typing your text.

From there, you should be able to type along the circular path and apply the changes by pressing the Enter (Windows) or Return (macOS) key.

How NOT to Rotate Text on a circle

Transform the Text layer by pressing Ctrl T (Windows) or Command T (macOS) and move the Reference Point to the center of the horizontal and vertical guides.

Then, rotate the Text layer.

However, this may not be the most efficient way of rotating your texts as this can obstruct the way a Character Style is applied if your plan on integrating it into your work. Click here to learn more about why you shouldn't scale your texts.

Use the Control Points to Align, and Rotate the Text Around a Circle

On the Toolbar, select the Path Selection tool and hover over your text until you see the cursor switches to a Text cursor with a right-pointing black arrow.

Then, you can click anywhere on the path to set your new starting point.

You can also click-and-drag to see the text adjust along as you move around the path and set the starting point. By clicking-and-dragging on the opposite end is also a way for you to set the endpoint of your text.

If you wish to have the text above the horizontal guide, set the starting point by clicking on the center-left horizontal guide to set it as your starting point.

Then, set the starting point by clicking on the center-left horizontal guide to set it as your starting point.

If your text is too long or too big, the text may be cut off. Then, reduce the font size to fit everything between the starting and endpoints.

Type on The Bottom Half of The Circle

Duplicate the original Text layer by pressing Ctrl J (Windows) or Command J (macOS).

Then, click on the Eye icon to hide the original Text layer.

On the Toolbar, select the Path Selection tool.

Click-and-drag the starting point to the opposite side of the circle.

Then, click-and-drag the endpoint to the opposite left side.

The recent steps may place your text upside down but flip it by clicking on either of the start or the endpoint and dragging it inward.

Invert the Text on The Circle

Create a copy of the layer and disable the original text layer.

With the duplicate layer, select the Path Selection tool then click-and-drag your starting point towards the center-right horizontal guide and click-and-drag the endpoint towards the center-left horizontal guide.

Your text will appear upside down, but you can flip it by clicking the starting or the endpoint and dragging it inwards.

Adjust the Baseline Shift

Enable the original Text layer.

Then, double-click on the bottom text to highlight it and open the Character panel by choosing Windows > Character.

Go to the Baseline input box and match the baseline of the Text layer above by pressing the up or down arrow key on your keyboard to adjust it.

Type on a Path

Create a path of any shape with the Curvature Pen tool.

Then, select the Horizontal Type tool and click on the path.

Always watch out for the endpoint icon and place it at the end of the path so it doesn't cut the rest of your text.

To set the text above or below the baseline, go back to the Character panel, and adjust the Baseline value.

Set it at default by setting the value as 0 and press the Enter (Windows) or Return (macOS) key to apply the change.

If the curved path causes the letters in your text to be too close to each other, just select the space in between the letters and hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) as you press the left or right arrow keys to adjust the kerning.

How to Make Sure Text Is Centered in Photoshop

Source: https://photoshoptrainingchannel.com/type-text-circle-photoshop/

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