## Adding speech and thought balloons

Speech and thought balloons let you give your pictures come alive as your characters use the balloons to communicate and provide access to their thoughts.

To add a balloon simply drag the balloon of your choice on to the page and drop it in the appropriate location.

### Editing balloon text

To edit the text in the balloon simply double-click on the balloon and the text will become editable. You can change the font, point-size and most every characteristic of the text using the Format->Font menu.
Text in balloons is always center justified. This follows the standard comic convention.

Once you're done editing hit the "Enter" key or use the mouse to click outside the editing area. Your changes will be shown in the balloon.

### Resizing a balloon

To resize a balloon select it and drag any of the resize handles on the perimeter of the balloon.

### Moving a balloon

To move a balloon simply select it and drag from within the balloon. The balloon will follow your mouse.

### Moving the tail

Once the balloon text is appropriately sized and positioned you'll want to position the tail so that balloon is associated with the right person. Mouse over the bubble and you'll see a marker handle show up that indicates the place to click. Click on this handle and drag the tail into place.
To move the balloon and its tail simultaneously click on the special center handle that shows up when you mouse over a balloon. Dragging this handle will move them both.

### Adding additional balloons

Sometimes you have more text than can comfortably fit in one balloon and need for the text to span multiple balloons. Perhaps the character is pausing for thought before continuing speaking or you need to make a thought fit a particular space. Comic Life lets you do this by adding additional balloons to the speech or thought.

#### Add an additional balloon

To add another balloon to an existing balloon simply drag the extension balloon from the well and drop it on a balloon that needs extending. The new balloon is automatically connected to the existing balloon and displayed as the same type as the original balloon.

This balloon can be manipulated in the same manner as described above. Note how the balloon smoothly connects to the previous balloon. If the two overlap their outlines are joined cleanly. If they are separate a connecting tail is drawn between automatically maintaining the visual connection for you.

### Balloon Details

The balloon details lets you adjust the type of balloon from Speech, Thought, Whisper etc. and the margins between the text and the balloon outline if needed. You can also choose the style for the balloon (you can set different styles for each individual balloon in a group of connected balloons - letting a character switch from speech to an exclamation) or override the style attributes if necessary.

#### Type

Change the type of balloon being drawn. Choose between: Speech, Thought, Exclamation 1, Exclamation 2, Whisper, Rough 1, Rough 2, Rounded, Square, Space or TV.

#### Text Margin

If the text is too close to the edges of the balloon (or not close enough) you can adjust the margins by assigning new values to the horizontal (H) and vertical (V) margins.

#### Lock

Prevents the balloon from being moved or resized.

#### Clip

Normally balloons are cut off where they intersect the edges of a panel. Unchecking this option allows the balloon to break the edge of the panel for dramatic effect.

#### Style properties

Use the Style popup menu to pick a different style. New styles can be created with the Stylesheet. Custom settings for a particular balloon can be applied by checking the "Override Stylesheet" checkbox and adjusting the parameters directly.

See Balloon Stylesheet for more information on each setting.