A few tips about using the Text Panel

A recent question about the text panel set me to working with it and I thought I'd share some tips I discovered, since the help files don't explain the text panel at all.

At one time I called the text panel "useless", but I've changed my mind -- it's a nice thing to have.  Essentially it's a quick way to instantaneously

• Create a new layer with a semi-transparent layer style.
• Create a rectangular shape on that layer.
• Add a drop shadow effect to that shape.

All with a double-click!

You access the text panel from the "Effects" panel and its "Photo Effects" icon, choosing the "Frame" effect:

Double-clicking on it creates the layer and the shape.  By default, the text panel layer has a semi-transparent layer style applied to it and this has caused great grief for those who want a completely opaque background behind some text.  Not to worry, that's easily done.  To whet your appetite, here are a few effects that can be achieved with the text panel:

Let's start with the "Big text" box:

1. Create the text panel.
2. Because we want an opaque panel, right-click on the shape in the Editor and select "Clear layer style".  POOF!  Instantly you've got an opaque white shape with no drop shadow.
3. Move and resize the panel.  (It's still horizontal at this point.)
4. Add some text (which will come in on its own layer).
5. Size and position the text relative to the shape, and when you're satisfied, select both the shape layer and the text layer (using the Ctrl key) in the Layers panel and click on the "Link layers" icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.  This links the shape and text so they can be moved and rotated as one.  The layers wind up looking like this:
   

Now, let's look at the "small text" box:

1. Create the text panel.
2. Position the panel and add and position some text as before.
3. Because we want the text panel to be a dark grey (instead of the default white), with the text panel layer selected, select the "Create new fill or adjustment layer" icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and select "Hue/Saturation...".  Be sure to use the "Clip to layer" icon, and lower the "Lightness" value:
   
   This gives the nice transparent grey background so the white text shows up very well, even against the bright white of the clouds.
4. Select all three of the layers and link them together:
   

Finally, you can have some fun with the "Fancy" effects:

1. Create the text panel.
2. Position the panel, add some text, and set their positions.
3. Add a "Hue/Saturation" adjustment layer as before (clipping it to the text panel shape layer).
4. Colorize the text panel by using these settings:

5.  Don't forget to link the layers together:

6.  Double-click on the "fx" icon to the right of the text panel shape layer, which will bring up the "Layer effects" dialog box.  Here you can create the bevel and adjust the size and transparency of the drop shadow.

You can also get this nice faded effect on the text panel:

After following the steps listed above, add a mask layer to the text panel shape layer and draw a gradient fill on that mask layer to fade the layer.  I used a linear fill going from white to a dark gray because I wanted some of the text panel to always be showing:

N.B.: Make sure you always clip the "Hue/Saturation" adjustment layer to the text panel shape layer so that the H/S adjustments only affect the text panel.

That's it!  Enjoy!

Ken