Home > Build > Software > Photoshop

by Don Herion

Creating outlined text in Photoshop means using the 'Type Mask Tool' with the 'Stroke' command. It works well but the resulting text can not be edited because the layer has been rendered. I found a better way to create outlined text that can be edited with font, size, style, and color. It involves using the 'Outer Glow' effect.

1) First create a white canvas 400 x 100 pixels. Now enter a line of 'text.' For this tutorial make it big. I used 'Arial' and 'Bold.'

Create text using the 'text tool'

2) Now right click the 'text' layer and select 'Effects.'

3) The 'Effects' window opens. Uncheck the 'Drop Shadow' apply check box. Now open the drop down menu and select 'Outer Glow.' For mode - select 'Normal.' Pick a color for your text outline. I chose 'black.' Slide the 'Opacity' to 100%. Reduce the 'Blur' to 2 or 3. The final setting is maximizing the 'Intensity' slider to 600.

Use these 'Outer Glow' settings to outline your text

4) Here is the final result. The big advantage on using this method is you can still edit the text font, size, style and color (fill and outline) without having to render the layer

This text can still be edited