HELP! I must be the most retarded person in the world, but how do I change the actual TEXT in a textbox in GIMP? All tutorials cover colour, shape, size and stuff on text. I am NOT interested in that. I just want to change the letters to write other words in a textbox…
It’s not easy! Make sure you have the text tool and the correct text layer active. I honestly haven’t figured out how to reliably control the text tool because I use it so rarely. But having the text tool active is a first step.
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There is nothing complicated, make sure the text layer is a text layer, it shows a text symbol. Make sure the layer is active. Select the text tool. Click in the text somewhere.
What can go wrong ?
The “text” layer came from some other application and is not Gimp text. Nothing you can do, except delete the layer and re-create with the Gimp Text tool.
The text layer is no longer a text layer, it does not have that text icon, it is a raster layer. Maybe resized the layer or accidentally painted in it or …
Use the text tool, click in the text and hopefully you get an offer to restore it as Text. As an example of that, 40 second animation.
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Trust me lots of stuff 
I’ve used graphics software since the mid nineties, most of it whilst getting paid, and I find the Gimp text tool is a bit of a struggle. It’s fiddly to select the right object and it behaves in ways you don’t expect.
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I find that text tools in photo editing programs can be challenging but GIMP’s is fine once you get used to how it works. The important bit is to have the text highlighted to do edits
Here are some notes I give my students about the text tool. And don’t forget the GIMP online help files 5.6. Text
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At any later time, you can activate the text layer and select the text tool. To select the text run the mouse over the letters and yellow boxes will appear for each letter. You can change the font, size, colour, and justification on the selected letters.
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The text layer can be duplicated, moved, rotated, or resized to the desired position on the image as it is a separate layer. Close the Text Editor box when finished. Filters>Light and Shadow>Drop Shadow
Troubleshooting the text tool -
Once you flatten the image you will no longer be able to edit the text.
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If you cannot edit the text check that you have the text layer selected
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If the text layer is too small just grab a corner and drag it diagonally
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The text will be invisible if it is the same colour as the background.
Creating a drop shadow for text
• Have the text layer selected and go to Filters>Light and Shadow>Drop Shadow.
• The set the options for the drop shadow in the dialog box that appears.
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