Photoshop: Changing Color of Text in Layers

Sounds like an easy task, but really there's a little trick to it. If you have text in a layer that's transparent all around, seems like you could just use command-option T to select the active elements, and change color that way. But try it. Notice that some of the anti-aliased edge pixels were missed and you might have a muddy edge. The best way I've found, to make sure to get all those pixels changed, is to use the "Preserve Transparency" feature:

  1. Click on the text layer, making it active.
  2. Select all.
  3. Click on "Preserve Transparency" in the Layers palette.
  4. Select your desired color, and use option-delete to fill the text with the new color.
Easy as can be. But remember to click OFF Preserve Transparency so it doesn't trip you up later when you try to move the text or something. You'll know it if it happens!

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