Text on a Vector Path

In Paint Shop Pro 6 text on a path has new meaning. Actually until version 6 creating text on a curve or anything else was more than tedious. It was possible but very time consuming and frustrating. With version 6, text on a path or shape is pretty simple.

There are lots of images on this page to explain in detail how to create text on a path so the page may load slowly. Please be patient. 

There are several different things you will learn in this tutorial along with creating text on a path. You will learn how to use layers and move them around. You will learn to use some image tools such as flip and rotate.

The first screenshot shows you the basic tools we will be working with. There are four tools surrounded by a red box. The tools are named in order from left to right, the vector shape tool, the line tool, the text tool, and the paint bucket or flood fill tool.

Next we want to take a look at the original layers palette before we start working. Each time you open Paint Shop Pro you will see the layer palette and the tools palette by default unless of course you've turned them off. If you don't see these two dialogs when you open Paint Shop Pro you can turn them on from the views menu.

The next dialog we will be using is the text tool dialog and it looks like the screenshot below. This dialog opens when you select the text tool and click on an image. In the text dialog box you can choose your font style, the size, and the color. You can choose whether you want the text left aligned, centered, or right aligned. (TIP): Another nice feature of Paint Shop Pro 6 (also valid for version 5) is that if you have fonts that are not installed on your system that you want to use, you can open that font by double clicking on the font file and minimizing it to your task bar. The font will then become available to you in Paint Shop Pro for using in your images.

Ok, let's get started. For the purposes of this tutorial I created a new file 300x300 pixels with a white background. I will note here that as soon as I create a new image I almost always create a new layer over the background before I start work. Because we are going to be working with vector objects, I won't be creating my "extra" layers until later because vector objects are automatically created on their own layers.

One of the neat new features of Paint Shop Pro 6 is the freehand line. You access this from the line tool. Usually I set the width to 2 so I can see the line easily and I also draw my lines and shapes in red.

Very quickly I'll show you how to use a vector line. The rest of the tutorial will cover vector shapes. After you have selected the line tool, and set the tool options similar to the above, making sure to check the box next to create as a vector, you can draw a line on your image as I have done below.

That is pretty simple and pretty quick. Now, take a look at your layers palette. You will see that a vector layer has been created for you. You can click on the plus sign next to the layer to open it up to show you what is on that layer.

The next thing you'll do is select the text tool and place the cursor over the line anywhere. The normal text cursor which usually looks like an "A" with a crosshair will change to a letter "A" with a curve underneath it. When you see that curve you know you are aligned to the vector line. Click on the line and the text dialog box will open. Type the text you want on the line in that box and click ok. The text is automatically placed on the line following it. For the rest of the tutorial we will cover vector shapes and the techniques applied there are valid for text on a vector line.

Ok, let's start a new image 300x300 with a white background. Select the vector shapes tool and choose circle as the shape type, stroked as the style, and line width of 1. Be sure that the box create as a vector is checked.

Create a circle on your canvas. Maybe not as large as mine so you can fit the text in the image.

If you take a look at your layer palette you will see that a new vector layer has been created. You know it's a vector layer by the box image next to the layer name.

Now, I usually create a new layer which is placed just above the vector layer. We'll have to move it in a minute, but for now just click on the icon to create a new layer in the layer palette. You can name the layer or just accept the default.

Now, select the text tool and as we did with the line example above, place the cursor over the circle until you see the cursor change to the "A" with a curved under it. Click on the line and enter the text into the text dialog box when it opens. Click ok. Below is what I did. Hmmmmm...we don't like where the text has put itself. I really wanted the text to be on the top of the circle.

If you look at your layer palette you see that you now have a floating selection. That is the text you just added and it will be below the new layer you created. We don't want it below, we want it above. Click on the new layer you created. If you accepted the default name it should be named "layer 2". While holding your left mouse button down, drag "layer 2" below the layer named "Floating Selection". We do this because when we add new text or something else to the image, the text will be "floated down" to a different layer. Since it is always easier to have everything on it's own layer when the text is floated down, it will be floated down to layer 2. This makes it easy to move it around on our image without moving the whole image around. I do this as soon as possible so I don't forget and end up with what I want to manipulate later on a layer with something else.

To place the text on the top of the circle I need to be sure that the "Floating Selection" layer is highlighted and then I go to the Image menu and choose rotate. For this particular job I need to change the direction to rotate to the right and I want to rotate 90 degrees. Make sure that "All layers" is not checked then click ok.

Now look what happened. That's easy enough to fix. Move your cursor over the text until you get the move cursor (a bold 4 arrowed cursor) and move the text to the top of the circle.

Now, from the Selections menu click on "Select None". Your layers palette will now look like the one below. You text has been placed on layer 2.

Now I want to add my text to the bottom of the circle. I will need to select the vector layer, layer 1, and you will see that the "handles" become visible again and signify that I am ready to add more text to my vector shape. You have another choice here for creating a separate layer for this text to be on or you can place it with the first text on the second layer. For the purposes here I am going to let it go onto the second layer with the other text.

Before I move on I need to "flip" the vector object so my text will be created inside the circle as I want it. From the Image menu, and making sure your vector layer is selected, click on flip.

I selected the text tool and added the text I wanted. Again, it did not go where I wanted it to go except that it is inside the circle just as I wanted it to be.

We use the same procedure as we did when moving the first text. From the image menu, being sure that your "Floating Selection" layer is highlighted, click on rotate. This time instead of rotating to the right we will rotate 90 degrees to the left. Our text alters accordingly and we can move it to where we want it by placing the cursor over it and dragging it.

Since I am placing this on the same layer with the first text I won't create a new layer for it and I will de-float it by using the Selections menu and clicking on "Select None".

My layer palette now looks like below.

That's about all there is to creating text on a path or shape. Now, just for fun I'll finish off this image using gradients and more layers. I select the paint bucket tool and choose a sunburst gradient. On the same dialog in the gradient tab I will choose a Metallic gradient. 

Before I go farther I need to create another layer and place it under my text layer. I'll also be sure that the new layer is highlighted before I use the paint bucket tool. To use the tool I simply place the cursor over my image and click once. That fills the new layer with the gradient style and color I chose.

Of course you can see that the Metallic gradient is pretty dull and plain. To fix that I create another layer above the metallic gradient layer and below the text layer. I then choose whatever color I want and use the paint bucket tool to fill the layer making sure that I have changed my tool options back to solid fill. When the flood fill occurs you won't be able to see the gradient layer through it. On the layers palette you will need to move the transparency slider until you like the results.

I didn't like the color I had chosen so I changed back to the sunburst gradient in the paint bucket tool palette and chose and different gradient to fill the layer with. You can see the changes in the image below. You'll notice in the above image that my text is pretty close the surrounding the sunburst gradient. I achieved that by having my text on a different layer than the gradient. I was able to select the move tool and place the text exactly where I wanted it.

When I am all finished with my image I add a "Picture Frame" from the Images menu and my layer palette now looks like below. Notice that layer 4 has a transparency value of 34 which allows my metallic shading to show through the colored layer.

I could have named the layers if I wanted to so that what was on each layer was reflected in the layer name. The Background layers is plain white and the original that we started with when we created a new image. Layer 3 contains the Metallic sunburst gradient. Layer 4 contains the colorful sunburst gradient. Layer 2 contains all the text, and when you create a Picture Frame with PSP6 it names it's own layer. That's pretty much all there is to it.

(TIP):  You can easily see which layer is selected on your image by looking at the image title bar. That makes is easy to be sure you are working on the correct layer.