7 Styles
Groups
of layer effects applicable with one click
Available as an option for several tools, or via the Layers, and Styles
palettes
Please note that information about editing style components is
on the Editing Styles page. See the Reference: Effects
section for extensive descriptions of each of the layer effects, as well
as advanced blending modes.
Layer effects can be combined, and saved as a style in the Styles palette.
You can also save a single effect with particular settings as a style.
A preview of the style will appear as an icon, or name in the Styles palette,
according to the way you choose to have items listed there.
Layer effects include Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Outer Glow, Inner Glow, Bevel and Emboss, Satin, Color Overlay, Gradient Overlay, Pattern Overlay, and Stroke. Any of these can be combined and edited and then be saved as a style. These are particularly handy for making buttons, and banners for Web sites.
Styles can be applied to the pixels in entire layers, in active selections, to masks, and in shapes created with the Shape tools. Styles cannot be applied to a background layer, to layer sets, or to locked layers.
To apply a style, select an area or layer, and click on the style in the Style palette, or if available, in the Style pop-up menu on the options bar. You can also drag the thumbnail of the style you want from the Styles palette to the layer you wish it applied to in the Layers palette.
You can copy layer styles from one layer to another by dragging individual
layer effect names from one layer to the other, or the entire style by
dragging the effects bar (see illustration below). You can also drag the
effects name, or effects bar onto the image itself, and that effect or
style will be applied to the uppermost layer in the image that contains
pixels.
Above is the layer effects logo which appears next to each applied layer
effect, as well as on the title layer to which the style has been applied.
Each ingredient in a style can be extensively edited. To see the dialog box, and options available for editing layer effects, please go to the next page.
Please note that this entire palettes section has been updated from a Photoshop 6 version (which was updated from a 5.5 version). Wherever the palette is essentially the same as it was in 6, I have continued to use the screen capture illustrations made using that version. So if you notice cosmetic discrepancies in the illustrations (such as the absence of the Fill slider in the Layers palettes shown below), that’s why. In all instances where relevant features were added or changed, I have made new screen captures.
On the left below, is what you will see in the Layers palette
when a layer effect has been applied to a layer. You can see that the
style applied in this case is comprised of four layer effects. Numbers
have been added to the side to indicate the following:
1) The active layer, Layer 2, which shows the layer effect icon, and a
downward pointing arrowhead which indicates that the effects contents
are shown.
2) Effects bar.
3) One effect, Inner Glow, which is part of the applied style.
4) Another effect which is part of the applied style, but which has been
taken out of the style by clicking the eye icon to make it not visible.
The illustration at right below shows the same menu with the style’s contents hidden. By clicking the little arrow at the far right of the parent layer, you can either expand or collapse the contents of the style. Note that the little arrow is now pointing to the right. It points downward when the contents are shown, see the illustration at left.
The illustration on the left, below, shows the Styles
palette with the default styles shown as small thumbnails. The three
numbers, which have been added to the bottom to identify the buttons are:
1) Clear, or remove all applied styles in the active layer or selection
2) Add New Style
3) Delete style, aka trash, or garbage pail
On the right, is the Styles palette menu, found by clicking the little arrow in the top right corner of the palette.
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