# Photoshop Elements: How to highlight an image of text? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028 "2026-06-19T22:21:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/1 "2026-06-19T22:21:25Z")
I have taken a screenshot of a magazine article. I would like to highlight some text in the image. Note that the _only_ thing I know how to do in PE is to add text to an image. There aren’t any classes or anything to learn how to use it. Online instructions start with: ' **Create the Adjustment Layer:** Open your image in Photoshop, go to the bottom of the **Layers** panel, click the **Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer** icon, and choose **Brightness/Contrast** (or **Exposure** , depending on your preference). I don’t know what any of that means. If I click Layer on the toolbar, all options are greyed out. Normally, when I try to find instructions for things online, they’re for a different version of whatever I’m trying to use, I can’t find what they’re talking about, or whatever. So this is a long-shot. Can anyone explain how I can do this? (I do have another option: Email it to my work address, and then cut it with Snipping Tool, and do the highlights there.) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/2 "2026-06-19T22:34:40Z")
One method: use pencil tool, adjust size and opacity and use like a highlighter. [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPy0l1X-5PEaM4d7e6V-zwPHnLgf4r5cRgKot_ZCTtmyY5ja-fcrd2mDltXx9E5btHswe2ESDGB39cQuWzC5JO2iTVadd-bxJNquCsTa5oB9tIvIVAW7oKL_PVQgV82d9T0NOkJ8LRIkTfDYyX7lFlL=w1425-h824-s-no-gm?authuser=0) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPy0l1X-5PEaM4d7e6V-zwPHnLgf4r5cRgKot_ZCTtmyY5ja-fcrd2mDltXx9E5btHswe2ESDGB39cQuWzC5JO2iTVadd-bxJNquCsTa5oB9tIvIVAW7oKL_PVQgV82d9T0NOkJ8LRIkTfDYyX7lFlL=w1425-h824-s-no-gm?authuser=0) ---
**Author:** ![Keith1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Keith1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith1)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/3 "2026-06-19T22:38:08Z")
To start with, if it’s a screenshot, it is not text. What you’re seeing as text is only a portion of the image. You can possibly select the text area if there’s enough contrast to distinguish it from the surrounding areas. Or place a rectangle over the text area on a new layer, fill it with colour (yellow highlight?), set the layers to multiply & adjust opacity to suit. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/4 "2026-06-19T22:47:16Z")
it sounds to me like he doesn’t know how to create a new layer. The directions he cited would make a new layer, but he says it’s all greyed out. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/5 "2026-06-19T22:55:29Z")
Can I suggest that you highlight the text in your web browser, just by selecting it normally, and THEN take the screenshot? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/6 "2026-06-19T22:58:27Z")
It appears to be an image of a newspaper, not text from a website. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/7 "2026-06-19T22:59:05Z")
Oh, I wasn’t sure about that because the OP said “screenshot of a magazine article”. Maybe they just meant a regular picture. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/8 "2026-06-19T23:00:13Z")
oops. I saw the image in the second post, and connected it with the first. Then I scrolled up to confirm my memory and did the same thing. Brain fart on my part. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/9 "2026-06-19T23:10:48Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > use pencil tool, adjust size and opacity and use like a highlighter. If you have to do it in an image editor, this is how I’d do it too. (Or you can use the brush tool and select a highlighter-looking stroke). I don’t have Photoshop Elements handy, but here’s how you’d do it in the free [photopea.com](http://photopea.com) (which is basically Photoshop but online… no account or purchase needed or anything): [https://fightingignorance.org/a5eff9dd-7115-4369-b028-b26d94c5fa8a-2026-06-19-000192.mp4](https://fightingignorance.org/a5eff9dd-7115-4369-b028-b26d94c5fa8a-2026-06-19-000192.mp4) 1. Open image 2. Choose the brush tool 3. Choose a brushstroke — I chose a vertical one that looks like a highlighter stroke 4. Set a size, probably around 15-20px but adjust as needed 5. Set the opacity to 40-50% 6. Set a color if you don’t like the default 7. Go to town highlighting 8. Save and send ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/10 "2026-06-19T23:36:41Z")
I have no idea how to use Photoshop Elements. When I need to do what you’re trying to do, I use Greenshot (freeware open source PC screenshot program), take a screenshot, and use the highlighting tool to draw the highlighting. Simple. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/11 "2026-06-19T23:52:32Z")
Been a good longs time since I came into contact with Photoshop Elements, but I recall that you couldn’t create new layers in a document whose format doesn’t support saving layers. So JPG, bitmaps, GIF, like that. If that’s the case, gotta save the doc, as a PSD then start the process of adding the adjustment layer. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/12 "2026-06-19T23:57:47Z")
Ah. That makes sense of the somewhat cryptic stuff I found when just checking Google to help the OP. What an odd way to do things. Every other app I know with layers lets you use them within the app, then flattens upon saving to layer-free formats. This just seems to add an unnecessary step to be able to use the features of the program. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/13 "2026-06-20T00:05:29Z")
Nobody ever accused Adobe of being user-friendly 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/14 "2026-06-20T00:07:17Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > One method: use pencil tool, adjust size and opacity and use like a highlighter. That’s what I run into all the time when I want to do something in an unfamiliar program. The illustrations don’t match what I see. Here’s what I see: [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/dI8QI6K.png "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/dI8QI6K) > [@Keith1](#): > > To start with, if it’s a screenshot, it is not text. Yes. > [@BigT](#): > > it sounds to me like he doesn’t know how to create a new layer. Exactly. The _only_ thing I know how to do in Photoshop Elements is put text on pictures. I can’t even take two pictures and put them side-by-side to make one picture. Nowadays, kids are born with the innate ability to do anything on a computer. By the time I need to or want to do something, nobody’s teaching it anymore. (And yes, I’ve checked the community college catalogues.) > [@BigT](#): > > It appears to be an image of a newspaper, not text from a website. > [@Reply](#): > > Oh, I wasn’t sure about that because the OP said “screenshot of a magazine article”. Maybe they just meant a regular picture. Yes, it’s a picture of an article. > [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > gotta save the doc, as a PSD PSD does not appear to be an option in Preview (my viewer). > [@Reply](#): > > Nobody ever accused Adobe of being user-friendly 😉 If it were easy and intuitive, I would probably have picked up some things by now. As it is, the last pre-Photoshop-like editor I used was Ulead PhotoImpact. That was almost 30 years ago on a PC. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/15 "2026-06-20T00:11:44Z")
Wait… is that a _toothbrush_ tool? 🪥 I can’t tell if that’s a joke or you found someone else’s AI screenshot or something, lol. Or apparently it’s a portrait correction tool for people’s photos… What you need is a pencil or PAINTbrush tool, lol. I think you might need to switch to “Expert” mode at the top? Or just use [Photopea.com](http://Photopea.com) and follow my video above for the exact way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/16 "2026-06-20T00:27:20Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The illustrations don’t match what I see. Here’s what I see: Probably because you’re in “Quick Mode”. My illustration is showing the “Advanced Mode”\* with the full selection of tools down the left side. (\*the same as “Expert Mode” in your image, they changed the name a few versions ago) My image was a screen shot that I saved as a jpeg. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/17 "2026-06-20T00:27:54Z")
PS since you’re on a Mac, you can also open the image in Preview (just double-click on it). Then you can highlight the text — _even though it’s a picture_ (because Apple automatically recognizes the text inside pictures). Then take a screenshot _of your highlighted picture_ and share that instead. [https://fightingignorance.org/31c1a3e9-4ef0-4cf3-a745-208634cefa13-2026-06-19-000198.mp4](https://fightingignorance.org/31c1a3e9-4ef0-4cf3-a745-208634cefa13-2026-06-19-000198.mp4) ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/18 "2026-06-20T00:47:06Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > PSD does not appear to be an option in Preview (my viewer). PSD would only be an option in Photoshop Express. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/19 "2026-06-20T00:49:22Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > What an odd way to do things. Every other app I know with layers lets you use them within the app, then flattens upon saving to layer-free formats. Well, like I said, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Photoshop Elements. And that’s how Photoshop used to behave a good while back, it’s long since been updated to work the way you’re expecting. Photoshop Elements is just old and may still behave in crusty fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028/20 "2026-06-20T01:07:03Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Probably because you’re in “Quick Mode”. OK. I used the Rectangular Marquis Tool to select two lines of text, then the Paint Bucket Tool to fill them. (One at a time.) > [@Reply](#): > > Then you can highlight the text — _even though it’s a picture_ That’s handy. But I don’t see how to put a yellow highlighter on it. Anyway, I was able to accomplish what I wanted to do using @Blondbear’s screenshot. Thanks for the help! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-elements-how-to-highlight-an-image-of-text/1031028.md?page=2)