Text in Photoshop appears on its own layer (T).

Click the Type Tool, 'T', icon in the Toolbox (half way down r.h. side) - apparently nothing happens! Well, not until you do the next thing.

After selecting the Type tool, click (mouse) or touch (Wacom pen) in the image area.

The Type Tool dialogue box appears. It functions something like a rather limited word processor.

You may choose the font, the type size and whether it's Regular, Bold, Oblique, or Bold Oblique; left, right or centre justification and colour.

Tip: Tick the small 'Fit in Window' box at the bottom of the Type Tool dialogue box so that your typing stays in the window area.

As you type the text appears on the image. Moving the cursor into the image area will automatically select the Move tool and allows you to drag/position the text .

To change the text - font, colour or size, drag the cursor over the text in the text box and select colour or point size as appropriate. Note, whilst the font style of an individual letter may be changed, you cannot have different colours of text on the same Text Layer. To have different colours you need to create more Text Layers.

If you have created text in 'Word' (and the function may work with other programs) you can copy it to the clipboard (in 'Word') and paste it into the text window in the Photoshop Type Tool dialogue box.

To edit text later, double click the Text Layer box and the dialogue box reappears.

Should you need your type to be vertical - activate the Text Layer and go to Layer > Type > Vertical. (To go return to horizontal text - choose Horizontal instead).

In the drop-down 'Type' menu you'll also notice 'Render Layer' as an option - this converts the Text Layer into an Image Layer and it no longer functions as text/typing.

You can create a Layer Mask for the text and treat it accordingly.

You can also 'clip' an Adjustment Layer to a Text Layer and make further changes. See the 'Clipping Group' information above.

Text Layers may be merged with image layers or other text layers, they then function as a normal 'image layer' - this is called 'rendering'.

These are many and various and allow Drop Shadow, Glow effects and Beveling.

To access these go via Layer > Effects and choose/adjust the effect you need.

Remember that once you have selected, for instance Drop Shadow, you can alter the Blending Mode and colour as well as a multitude of other options.

Effects Layers are identifiable in the layer hierarchy as they have a ' f 'upon them.

Should you wish to move the shadow independently of the image or text - You can do this in two ways.

1. With the Drop Shadow dialogue box open, move the cursor into the image area - it immediately becomes a Move Tool (actually this happened when you opened the Drop Shadow dialogue box but you probably didn't notice).
2. After creating the drop shadow and go to Layer > Effects > Create Layer and behold - the image/text and shadow are now on independent layers and can be treated accordingly and all. Use the 'Delving Deeper Into Layers' link below for more information.