can i place a text box anywhere with the updated preview?

You will need to send product feedback to Apple regarding this 'feature'

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

click the edit toolbar button

click the text tool button

click on the image where you want the text to appear

Unless I misread the question I think the poster was referring to the placement of the text box, or the arrow, or the rectangle when you select it as being always in the middle when you annotate a .png or pdf.

The question is about the text tool, nothing else.

Once the text tool is selected from the tool bar, you must click on the image to locate the text in the image, then start to type text.

Clicking on the text tool button alone, does nothing.

I must be mistaken then, I thought the OP was referring to this issue:

Preview Text Annotation

From there

It seems that the flow of adding text annotations to pdf files on preview has changed on Yosemite. Instead of allowing the user to place a text box with the cursor and then begin editing, the behavior has been updated with placing the textbox automatically

Or this thread

The Markup Extension in Preview

From that thread

Now when you want to draw a text box, you have to click the text box button, which puts a placeholder box in the center of the page. You can then start typing, and then you have to put the box where it should go. To type another one, you have to click the toolbar text box button again. Same with arrows, you click the button and it puts an arrow right in the center of the screen. Then you have to move it and resize it to fit where it is supposed to be.

FWIW, I cannot do this "then click your document where you want to place a text box" on My Preview (see this clip from Apple)

Mac Basics: Preview app views and edits images and PDFs - Apple Support

Text tool

Use the Text tool to add text to your image. Select the text tool, then click your document where you want to place a text box. You can then type text in the text box.

Thanks, I thought I was going crazy.

😉

When I first started using Preview I had almost checked in to Bellevue. I kept wondering, where did my arrow, or text box, or rectangle go.

Hi, jhbphd

that is why I had offered the original post to you right off the bat. Complain/tell Apple. Check the subtle use of 'feature' 😉

You will need to send product feedback to Apple regarding this 'feature'

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

The more people that do give constructive feedback on the product(s), the more likely Apple is to respond. At least, that is the current theory.

that is not actually true - when you press the text tool it automatically places the text box in the middle of the screen,

If thats happening on your system that is not normal behaviour.

From the Preview help system, see point 2:

Hi, Gary,

Thanks for the directions above if jhbphd's mac has an issue, so does mine with Preview.

To illustrate what current release of Preview does:

open a png and select add text, the block goes to the center:

If I follow the directions that you posted and

(1) drag over an area within Preview (see the pic below) and then

(2) add Text it still pops right in the center. This happens whether I add an arrow, a rectangle, a balloon.

Try resetting Preview:

in Finder, click the Go menu

press the option Key on the Keyboard

select Library

navigate to Library > Preferences > com.apple.Preview.plist

delete the plist file

close, then re-open Preview

I will give that a try, thanks, Gary.

No change. Text still gets dropped in the middle.