Type Tool in Photoshop 5.5
Adobe made significant changes to the Type Tool in Photoshop 5.0. This version adds little, but it does kill a few type display bugs, especially in the PC version. Here are some tips on using this tool for Web site design.

Instant Editing
If your design layout has the same text that will be used in the final HTML page, you can update and alter the text on the fly, as long as the file isn't saved as a bitmap graphic. This feature saves a lot of time, especially when you're presenting to clients who keep making changes but who want to see a design layout that accurately reflects what the end product will look like on the Web.

  1. Select the layer containing the text element that requires editing. 
  2. Double-click the image, and the text dialog box will appear. 
  3. Edit the text and click OK.

Accurate Typesetting
Utilizing the Type Tool's powerful kerning, leading, and sizing parameters, Photoshop can easily represent HTML text. For instance, Photoshop's size 11 in Arial is comparable to the HTML font size of 1. This feature will help designers create layouts that accurately reflect how HTML text appears in a browser.

If you want to be even more precise, you can also address cross-browser and cross-platform issues. With the use of Cascading Style Sheets on the rise and the 4.0 browser community growing, an HTML font size standard to consider is pixel units, rather than point units. Pixel units are supported across browsers and computer platforms, but they can only be manipulated in CSS--and in the Type Tool for Photoshop.

To change the size units from point to pixel:

  1. Click the Type Tool icon in the Tool Box. 
  2. Click your image to create a new type layer and bring up the Type Tool dialog box. 
  3. Before typing any letters, change the size units from points to pixels. 
  4. Type in your text and click OK.

Applying Dynamic Effects
Dynamic effects provide quick ways to apply drop shadows, bevels, and glow to text. These effects can provide attractive details to graphic titles and typography. We recommend that you use dynamic effects sparingly, since it's very easy to get carried away and compromise the integrity of design and legibility of the text. Further, we recommend using dynamic effects only on display or title text, since some results will make copy text unreadable.

To use dynamic effects, text must already be generated in a layer:

  1. Select the text layer in which the dynamic effect will be applied.
  2. Right-click (Mac users, hold down the Option key while double-clicking) the layer and select Effects.
  3. Choose the desired effect from the main drop-down menu.
  4. Explore and adjust the parameters.
  5. Click the Apply check box to see a live preview of the effect.
  6. Click OK to finalize.

To remove an effect, right-click on the small effects icon in the layer and select Clear Effects; Mac users, hold down the Option key while double-clicking.