How to change text in an image

Replace the title in six steps

1. 1

   Open the image and duplicate its layer

   Open the sample from this page, or choose File› then Open… for your image. The sample has one Background layer: the title is part of its pixels. Choose Layer› then Duplicate Layer to make Background copy. Work on this copy so the untouched image remains underneath.

   Before covering your own text, note its letter shapes, weight, size and color. For the sample, the title is Arial, bold, 104 px, color #34382F.

   

2. 2

   Sample the panel and select the old title

   Click Eyedropper in the left toolbar and click an empty part of the cream panel, toward the top right. This sets the foreground color, the front color swatch near the bottom of the toolbar, to the panel’s color.

   Choose Marquee Select in the toolbar. It draws a sharp-edged rectangle by default (Shape: Rectangle, Feather: 0 on the options bar). Drag a rectangle around the whole title, with a little cream space on every side. Start above and left of the S, finish past the B and below the letters, and keep the smaller line outside the rectangle.

   

   

   

3. 3

   Fill the old title with the sampled color

   Choose Edit› then Fill with Foreground. The selected rectangle becomes cream, covering the title. Then choose Select› then Deselect to remove the dotted outline.

   The smaller line and the cup photo should still be there. If the whole image changed, undo with Edit› then Undo and make the rectangle again before filling.

   

   

4. 4

   Match the font, size and color

   Choose Text in the toolbar. In the options bar, the strip under the menus, choose Arial, type 104 for Size and turn Bold on. Click the color swatch near the right end of the options bar, after the alignment buttons, to open Text Color, type 34382F in the # field and click OK.

   For your own design, start with a font whose letter shapes match, then adjust its weight and size. To sample the old title’s color, hide Background copy with its eye icon in Layers before you open the picker, click inside a thick part of a letter, then show Background copy again. Avoid the letter’s soft edge, where it mixes with the background.

   

   

   

   

5. 5

   Type the new title

   Click in the cleared panel, aligned with the left edge of the smaller line and about one title line above it. The click sets the line the letters sit on, so click where the bottom of the new letters should be. Type COFFEE CLUB. Click the checkmark at the right end of the options bar (Commit text) to finish.

   If the title needs moving, choose Move, keep the new text layer selected in Layers, then drag the lettering into place. Use View› then Zoom In to compare the letters with the smaller line’s left edge. Your new title has its own text layer, so you can revise it later.

   

   

   

   

6. 6

   Export the image and keep an editable project

   Choose File› then Export› then PNG…, set File name to coffee-club.png and click Export. PNG suits a design with crisp lettering. For a photograph, JPEG is another option under File› then Export.

   Choose File› then Save As› then Lil Cactus Project… to keep the new text and the untouched original layer editable. Before a project exists, File› then Save writes the flattened result back into the opened PNG, or asks where to save it if the browser can’t write to the file. After File› then Save As› then Lil Cactus Project…, File› then Save updates the project. Export always writes a new file.

   

If the file already has a text layer

In a layered project or PSD, select the words’ text layer in Layers. Open Window› then Properties if the panel is hidden. Under Type layer, edit Text content, then click outside the field to apply the change. You can also choose Text, click the existing lettering and select the characters you want to replace.

A pixel layer, including text that was flattened before the file reached you, has no editable wording. Use the main steps for that layer.

Text over a photograph or pattern

A flat fill leaves a visible patch on wood, fabric, gradients and photographs. Repair that background first using the object-removal workflow, then add the new text. Keep the selection close enough to avoid covering neighboring details. Missing texture must be reconstructed, so a complex pattern or lettering across a face may need manual work and may not look convincing.

Fix common problems

A rectangle shows around the replacement

The sampled color does not match the whole area. Undo the fill and sample closer to the letters. If the background varies across the rectangle, use background repair rather than a solid fill.

Fragments of the old letters remain

The selection missed some edge pixels or a shadow. Undo the fill and draw a slightly larger rectangle, keeping other text outside it.

The new words do not fit

Longer wording needs more width. Reduce the font size or shorten the wording before stretching the letters: stretching changes their shapes and makes a font match harder.

Changing the font also changes another title

An existing text layer was selected. Finish the edit, select the repaired image layer, then choose Text and click the empty panel to create a new text layer.

What to do next

• Add and align more text.
• Add outlines or shadows to lettering.
• Choose between saving a project and exporting an image.

Changing text in images: questions and answers