The Layers Panel In Photoshop

By default, you'll find the Layers panel in the lower right of the screen. As I
mentioned, I'm using Photoshop CS6 but regardless of which version you're using,
you'll find the Layers panel in the same general location:

The Layers panel is highlighted in the lower right.

If the Layers panel is not appearing on your screen, you can access it (along with
any of Photoshop's other panels) by going up to the Window menu in the Menu
Bar along the top of the screen and choosing Layers. A checkmark to the left of a
panel's name means the panel is currently open somewhere on the screen:

All of Photoshop's panels can be turned on or off from the Window menu in the Menu Bar.
A newly-opened image in Photoshop.

Even though I've done nothing so far with the image other than open it, the Layers
panel is already giving us some information. Let's take a closer look at what we're
seeing:

Photoshop's Layers panel.

The Name Tab

First of all, how do we know that what we're looking at is, in fact, the Layers panel?
We know because it says so in the name tab at the top of the panel:
The name tab tells us we're looking at the Layers panel.

You may have noticed that there are two other tabs to the right of the Layers tab—
Channels and Paths—both of which appear slightly dimmer than the Layers panel
tab:

The Channels and Paths tabs appear to the right of the Layers tab.

These are two other panels that are grouped in with the Layers panel. There's so
many panels in Photoshop that fitting them all on the screen while still leaving room
to work can be a challenge, so Adobe decided to group some panels together
into panel groups to save space.

To switch to a different panel in a group, simply click on the panel's tab. The tab of
the panel that's currently open in the group appears highlighted. Don't let the fact
that the Layers panel is grouped in with these two other panels confuse you, though.
The Channels and Paths panels have nothing to do with the Layers panel, other than
the fact that both are also commonly used in Photoshop, so we can safely ignore
them while we look specifically at the Layers panel.
The Layer Row
Each time we open a new image in Photoshop, the image opens in its own
document and is placed on a layer. Photoshop represents layers in the document as
rows in the Layers panel, with each layer getting its own row. Each row gives us
various bits of information about the layer. I only have one layer in my document at
the moment so my Layers panel is displaying a single row. But as we add more
layers, additional rows will appear:

The Layers panel displays layers as rows of information.

The Layer Name

Photoshop places the new image on a layer named Background. It's named
Background because it serves as the background for our document. We can see the
name of each layer displayed in its row. The Background layer is actually a special
type of layer in Photoshop which I cover in detail in our Background Layer tutorial:

The Layers panel displays the name of each layer.

The Preview Thumbnail

To the left of a layer's name is a thumbnail image known as the layer's preview
thumbnail because it shows us a small preview of what's on that specific layer. In
my case, the preview thumbnail is showing me that the Background layer contains
my image. I probably could have guessed that on my own since my document only
has the one layer, but it's nice to know that Photoshop has my back:

The preview thumbnail shows us what's on each layer.

Adding A New Layer

To add a new layer to a document, click the New Layer icon at the bottom of the
Layers panel:

Clicking the New Layer icon.

A new layer appears in the Layers panel directly above the Background layer.
Photoshop automatically names new layers for us. In this case, it named the layer
"Layer 1". Notice that we now have two layer rows in the Layers panel, each
representing a different layer:
A new layer named Layer 1 appears in the Layers panel.

If we look in the new layer's preview thumbnail, we see a checkerboard pattern.

The checkerboard pattern is Photoshop's way of representing transparency. Since
there's nothing else being displayed in the preview thumbnail, this tells us that at the
moment, the new layer is blank:

When we add a new layer to a document, it begins life as a blank slate.

If I click again on the New Layer icon:

Clicking a second time on the New Layer icon.

Photoshop adds another new layer to my document, this time naming it "Layer 2".
We now have three layer rows, each representing one of the three layers in the
document:

Three layers, each on its own row in the Layers panel.

Moving Layers
We can move layers above and below each other in the Layers panel simply by
dragging them. Right now, Layer 2 is sitting above Layer 1, but I can move Layer 2
below Layer 1 by clicking on Layer 2 and, with my mouse button still held down,
dragging the layer downward until a highlight bar appears between Layer 1 and the
Background layer. This is the spot where the layer will be placed:

To move a layer, click and drag it above or below another layer.

Release your mouse button when the highlight bar appears. Photoshop drops the
layer into its new position:
Layer 2 now sits between Layer 1 and the Background layer.

The only layer we can't move in the Layers panel is the Background layer. We also
can't move other layers below the Background layer. All other layers can be dragged
above or below other layers as needed. Again, we'll cover the Background layer in
much more detail in the next tutorial.

The Active Layer

You may have noticed that when I only had the one Background layer in my
document, it was highlighted in blue in the Layers panel. Then, when I added Layer
1, Layer 1 became the highlighted layer. And now Layer 2 is the highlighted layer.
What’s up with the highlights?

When a layer is highlighted, it means it's currently the active layer. Anything we do
in the document is done to the contents of the active layer. Each time we add a new
layer, Photoshop automatically makes it the active layer, but we can manually
change which layer is the active layer simply by clicking on the layer we need. Here,
I'll make Layer 1 the active layer by clicking on it, and we see that it becomes
highlighted:
Layer 1 is now the active layer in the document.

Deleting A Layer
To delete a layer, simply click on it and, with your mouse button still held down, drag
it down onto the Trash Bin icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. Release your
mouse button when you're over the icon. Here, I'm deleting Layer 1:

Delete layers by clicking and dragging them into the Trash Bin.

I'll delete Layer 2 as well by clicking and dragging it down into the Trash Bin:

Dragging Layer 2 into the Trash Bin to delete it.

And now I'm back to having just a single layer, the Background layer, in my
document:
The two blank layers have been deleted.

Copying A Layer
We've seen how to add a new blank layer to a document, but we can also make a
copy of an existing layer using the Layers panel. To copy a layer, click on it and, with
your mouse button held down, drag it down onto the New Layer icon. I'll make a
copy of my Background layer:

Dragging the Background layer onto the New Layer icon to make a copy of it.

Release your mouse button when you're over the New Layer icon. A copy of the
layer will appear above the original. In my case, Photoshop made a copy of my
Background layer and named it "Background copy". Notice that it also made this new
layer the active layer (it's highlighted in blue):
A copy of the layer is placed above the original.

I'm going to quickly apply a couple of Photoshop's blur filters to my Background copy
layer just so we have something different on each layer. Since Photoshop's filters are
beyond the scope of this tutorial, I'll go through these steps fairly quickly.

First, I'll apply the Motion Blur filter by going up to the Filter menu at the top of the
screen, choosing Blur, and then choosing Motion Blur:

Going to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur.

This opens the Motion Blur dialog box. I'll set the Angle of the motion blur to -45° so
that the motion runs diagonally from the upper left to the lower right. Then, because
I'm working on a large, high resolution image, I'll increase the Distance value to
around 600 pixels. If you're using a smaller image, you may want to use a smaller
value:
The Motion Blur filter's dialog box.

I'll click OK to close out of the Motion Blur dialog box, and here's the result so far:

The effect after applying the Motion Blur filter.

To soften the effect a bit more, I'll apply Photoshop's Gaussian Blur filter by going
back up to the Filter menu, back to Blur, and this time choosing Gaussian Blur:

Going to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

I'll set the Radius value at the bottom of the Gaussian Blur dialog box to around 20
pixels just to soften any harsh diagonal lines. Again, if you're using a smaller image,
a smaller value may work best:

The Gaussian Blur filter's dialog box.

I'll click OK to close out of the dialog box, and here's the final result:
The effect after applying the Gaussian Blur filter.

It may look like I've blurred the entire image, but if we look in the Layers panel, we
see that's not the case. Since the Background copy layer was the active layer when I
applied the blur filters, only the Background copy layer was affected.

We can see the blurred image in the Background copy layer's preview thumbnail.
The original image on the layer below it was not affected. Its preview thumbnail is
still showing the original, untouched image:

The preview thumbnails now show very different images on each layer.
The Layer Visibility Icon
If I want to see the original photo again in the document, I can simply turn the blurred
layer off by clicking its layer visibility icon to the left of the preview thumbnail.
When the little eyeball is visible, it means the layer is visible in the document.
Clicking the icon will hide the eyeball and hide the layer:

Click the layer visibility icon to turn a layer off in the document.

With the blurred layer hidden, the original photo reappears in the document. The
blurred layer is still there; we just can't see it at the moment:

The original image reappears in the document.

To turn the blurred layer back on, I just need to click on the empty box where the
eyeball used to be:
The layer visibility icon appears empty when a layer is turned off.

This turns the blurred layer back on the document, once again hiding the original
photo from view:

The blurring effect reappears.

Renaming A Layer
As we've seen, Photoshop automatically names layers for us as we add them, but
the names it gives them, like "Layer 1" and "Background copy", are pretty generic
and not very helpful. When we only have a couple of layers in a document, the
names may not seem very important, but when we find ourselves working with 10,
20 or even 100 or more layers, it's much easier to keep them organized if they have
meaningful names.
Thankfully, Photoshop makes it easy to rename a layer. Simply double-click directly
on a layer's name in the Layers panel to highlight it:

Renaming the "Background copy" layer.

Then, type in a new name. I'll change the name of my Background copy layer to
"Blur". When you're done, press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) on your keyboard to
accept the name change:

The "Background copy" layer is now the "Blur" layer.

Adding a Layer Mask

Layer masks are essential for much of our Photoshop work. We won't get into the
details of them here, but to add a layer mask on a layer, first make sure the layer you
want to add it to is selected. Then click the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the
Layers panel (the rectangle with the circle in the middle):
Add a layer mask by clicking the Layer Mask icon.

A layer mask thumbnail will appear to the right of the layer's preview thumbnail,
letting you know that the mask has been added. Notice that the thumbnail is filled
with white. On a layer mask, white represents the areas of the layer that
remain visible in the document, while black represents areas that will be hidden. By
default, Photoshop fills new layer masks entirely with white.

Notice also that the layer mask thumbnail shows a white border around it. This tells
us that the mask, not the actual layer itself, is currently selected and active:

A layer mask thumbnail appears.

With the layer mask added, we can paint on it with a brush to reveal part of the
original image below the Blur layer. To do that, I'll quickly select Photoshop's Brush
Tool from the Tools panel:
Selecting the Brush Tool.

To hide parts of the Blur layer, I'll need to paint on the layer mask with black.
Photoshop uses the current Foreground color as the brush color, so before I start
painting, I'll make sure my Foreground color is set to black.

We can see the current Foreground and Background colors in the color
swatches near the bottom of the Tools panel. By default, whenever we have a layer
mask selected, Photoshop sets the Foreground color to white and the Background
color to black. To swap them and set the Foreground color to black, all we need to
do is press the letter X on the keyboard:

The Foreground (upper left) and Background (lower right) color swatches.

With my Foreground color set to black, I'll paint on the layer mask to hide those parts
of the Blur layer and reveal the original image on the Background layer below it. You
can adjust the size of your brush from the keyboard. Press the left bracket key ( [ )
repeatedly to make the brush smaller or the right bracket key ( ] ) to make
it larger. To make the brush edges softer, press and hold your Shift key and press
the left bracket key ( [ ) repeatedly. To make the edges harder, hold Shift and
press the right bracket key ( ] ):
Painting with black on the layer mask to hide areas of the Blur layer.

If we look again at the layer mask thumbnail, we see that it's no longer filled with
solid white. Some areas are still filled with white, but we can also see the areas
where we've painted with black. Again, white on a mask represents the areas of the
layer that remain visible in the document, while black areas are hidden from view:

The layer mask thumbnail after painting with the Brush Tool.

If everything we just did there was brand new to you, don't worry. Layer masks are a
whole other topic, and I explain them in much more detail in our Understanding
Layer Masks in Photoshop tutorial.
Adding Fill Or Adjustment Layers
To the right of the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel is the New Fill
or Adjustment Layer icon. It's the icon that looks like a circle split diagonally
between black and white:

The New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon.

Clicking on it opens up a list of fill and adjustment layers we can choose from. Just
as an example, I'll select a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer from the list:

Selecting a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

A Hue/Saturation adjustment layer lets us easily change the colors in an image. In

Photoshop CS6 and CC, the controls for adjustment layers appear in the Properties
panel. In CS4 and CS5, they appear in the Adjustments panel. I'll quickly colorize
my image by selecting the Colorize option, then I'll set the Hue value to 195 for a
blue color and I'll increase the Saturation value to 60. Again, don't worry if anything
I'm doing here is beyond your current skill level. I'm going through some things
quickly just so we can get an overall picture of how much we can do in the Layers
panel:
The Properties panel (CS6 and CC).

Here's my image after colorizing it:

The image after colorizing it with a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

Adjustment layers are another topic that falls outside the scope of this tutorial, but
the reason why I went ahead and added one anyway was so we can see that any
adjustment layers we add to a document appear in the Layers panel just as normal
layers do. Here, my Hue/Saturation adjustment layer is sitting above the Blur layer.
I’ve dragged the Layers panel a bit wider so the name of the adjustment layer
(“Hue/Saturation 1”) will fit:

The Layers panel displays any fill or adjustment layers we've added to the document.

You can learn more about Photoshop's adjustment layers in our Non-Destructive
Photo Editing With Adjustment Layers tutorial and our Reducing File Sizes With
Adjustment Layers tutorial, both of which are found in our Photo Editing section.

Changing A Layer's Blend Mode

The Layers panel is also where we can change a layer's blend mode, which
changes how the layer blends in with the layer(s) below it. The Blend Mode option is
found in the upper left of the Layers panel directly below the name tab. It doesn't
actually say "Blend Mode" anywhere, but it's the box that says "Normal" in it by
default.

To select a different blend mode, click on the word "Normal" (or whatever other
blend mode happens to be selected at the time), then choose a different blend mode
from the list that appears. I'll select the Color blend mode from the list:
Changing the blend mode of the active layer.

By changing the blend mode of the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer from Normal to
Color, only the colors themselves in the image are now affected by the adjustment
layer. The brightness values (the lights, darks and all the shades in between) are not
affected. We can see that my image now appears a bit brighter than it did a moment
ago:

Only the colors in the image are now being changed. The brightness values are unaffected.

To learn much more about Photoshop's layer blend modes, including the Color blend
mode, be sure to read our Five Essential Blend Modes For Photo Editing tutorial.
The Opacity And Fill Options
We can control a layer's level of transparency from the Layers panel using
the Opacity option directly across from the Blend Mode option. An opacity value of
100% (the default value) means that we can't see through the layer at all, but the
more we lower the opacity value, the more the layer(s) below it will show through. I'm
going to lower the opacity of my Hue/Saturation adjustment layer down to 70%:

The Opacity option controls a layer's transparency level.

With the opacity lowered slightly, the original colors of the image begin to show
through:

The original colors now partially show through the adjustment layer.
Directly below the Opacity option is the Fill option. Like Opacity, Fill also controls a
layer's level of transparency. In most cases, these two options (Opacity and Fill)
behave exactly the same way, but there is one important difference between them
that has to do with layer styles. Again, we won't get into the details here, but to learn
the difference between Opacity and Fill, check out our Layer Opacity vs Fill tutorial.

Layer Styles
Also on the bottom of the Layers panel is the Layer Styles icon. Layer Styles are
also called Layer Effects, which is why it says "fx" in the icon:

The Layer Styles icon.

Layer styles give us easy ways to add lots of different effects to layers, including
shadows, strokes, glows, and more. Clicking the Layer Styles icon opens a list of
effects to choose from. Layer Styles are a whole other topic and beyond what we
can cover here, so we'll have a complete tutorial on Layer Styles coming up:

The Layer Styles menu.

Locking Layers
The Layers panel also gives us a few different ways that we can lock certain aspects
of a layer. For example, if part of a layer is transparent, we can lock the transparent
pixels so that we're only affecting the actual contents of the layer, not the transparent
areas. Or we can lock all of the pixels, whether they're transparent or not, to prevent
us from making any changes at all to the layer. We can also lock the position of the
layer so we can't accidentally move it around inside the document.
There's four lock options to choose from, each represented by a small icon, and
they're located just below the Blend Mode option. From left to right, we have Lock
Transparent Pixels, Lock Image Pixels (which locks all of the pixels on the layer,
including the transparent ones), Lock Position, and Lock All. To select any of the
lock options, click its icon to enable it. Clicking the same lock option again will
disable it. Note that you'll need to select an actual pixel layer (like our Blur layer) for
all of the lock options to become available:

The four layer lock options.

If any or all of these options are selected, you'll see a small lock icon appear on the
far right of the locked layer, as we can see on the Background layer which is locked
by default:

A small lock icon indicates one of more aspects of the layer is locked.
Layer effects and styles
Apply different effects, such as shadows, glows, and bevels, in Photoshop to change the
appearance of a layer's contents in a non-destructive manner.
Layer effects are linked to the layer contents. When you move or edit the contents of the
layer, the same effects are applied to the modified contents. Say, if you apply a drop
shadow to a text layer and then add new text, the shadow is added automatically to the
new text.
A layer style is one or more effects applied to a layer or layer group. You can apply any
preset styles in Photoshop or create your custom style using the Layer Style dialog box.

Use the Layer Style dialog box to create a custom style in Photoshop

The layer effects icon appears in the Layers panel to the right of the layer's name. You can
expand the style in the Layers panel to view or edit the effects that compose the style.
You can apply multiple effects in a single-layer style. Also, more than one instance of some
effects can comprise a layer style.
A. Layer effects icon B. Click to expand and show layer effects C. Layer effects

When you save a custom style, it becomes a preset style. Preset styles appear in
the Styles panel and can be applied to a layer or group with a single click.

How to use the Presets panel

Learn all about applying Photoshop's new and improved Presets panels. Julieanne Kost
explores everything from swatches to patterns, from gradients to styles and shapes.
Julieanne Kost

Apply preset styles

Styles panel in Photoshop

Go to Window > Styles to apply preset styles from the Styles panel.
The layer styles that come with Photoshop are grouped into libraries by function. So one
library would contain styles to create web buttons, while another would contain styles for
adding effects to text.
Load the appropriate library to access these styles.
For information on loading and saving styles, see Create and manage preset styles.
Note:
You cannot apply layer styles to a background, locked layer, or group.

Apply a preset style to a layer

Normally, applying a preset style replaces the current layer style. However, you can add
the attributes of a second style to those of the current style.
Do any of the following:
• Select a style from the Styles panel to apply it to the currently selected layers.
• Drag a style from the Styles panel onto a layer in the Layers panel.
• Drag a style from the Styles panel to the document window.
Note: Hold down the Shift key as you select or drag to add (rather than replace) the
style to existing effects on the destination layer.
• Choose Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options to navigate to the Layer
Style dialog box and select Styles to select your preferred style and hit OK.
• When using the Shape tool or Pen tool in shape layers mode, select a style from
the pop-up panel in the options bar before drawing the shape.
Note:
Some effects have a + icon, indicating that they can be applied more than once in a layer
style.

Apply a style from another layer

Navigate to the Layers panel and do either of the following:
• Select Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (macOS)
• Click-drag the style from a layer's effect list to move it to another layer

Change how preset styles are displayed

1. Click the drop-down in the Styles panel, Layer Style dialog box, or Layer
Style pop-up panel in the options bar.
2. Choose a display option from the panel menu:
 • Text Only to view the layer styles as a list
• Small Thumbnail or Large Thumbnail to view the layer styles as
thumbnails
• Small List or Large List to view the layer styles as a list, with a thumbnail
of the selected layer style

Layer Style dialog box

You can edit styles applied to a layer or create new styles using the Layer Style dialog box.

Layer Style dialog box. Select a checkbox to apply the current settings without displaying the effect's
options. Select an effect name to display its options.

You can create custom styles using one or more of the following effects:

Drop Shadow Adds a shadow that falls behind the contents on the layer

Adds a shadow that falls just inside the edges of the layer's
Inner Shadow
content, giving the layer a recessed appearance

Outer Glow and Add glows that emanate from the outside or inside edges of the
Inner Glow layer's content
 Bevel and Emboss Add various combinations of highlights and shadows to a layer

Satin Applies interior shading that creates a satiny finish

Color, Gradient, and

Fills the layer's content with a color, gradient, or pattern
Pattern Overlay

Outlines the object on the current layer using color, a gradient,

Stroke or a pattern. It is particularly useful on hard-edged shapes such
as type

Apply or edit a custom layer style

You can apply a layer style to a background layer by converting it into a regular layer.
Use the Layer Style dialog box to edit multiple effects. Select your desired effect from the
left panel of the dialog box to choose from the displayed options.
Follow these steps to apply or edit a custom layer style.
1. Select a single layer from the Layers panel.
2. Do one of the following:

• Double-click the layer outside the layer name or thumbnail.

• Click the Add A Layer Style icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and
choose an effect from the list.
• Choose an effect from the Layer > Layer Style submenu.
• To edit an existing style, double-click an effect given following the layer
name in the Layers panel. Select the downward arrow next to the Add A
Layer Style icon to display the effects contained in the style.
3. Set effect options in the Layer Style dialog box. See Layer style options.
4. Add other effects to the style, if desired. In the Layer Style dialog box, select the
checkbox to the left of the effect name to add the effect.

Change style defaults to custom values

1. In the Layer Style dialog box, customize settings as desired.
2. Select Make Default.
When you next open the dialog box, your custom defaults are automatically
applied. If you adjust settings and want to return to your custom defaults,
select Reset To Default.
Layer style options
For the Bevel and Emboss effect, set the height of the light source (0 is
Altitude
ground level and 90 is directly above the layer)

Determines the lighting angle at which the effect is applied to the layer.
Angle You can drag in the document window to adjust the angle of a Pattern
Overlay, Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, or Satin effect

Blends the edge pixels of a contour or gloss contour. This option is

Anti-alias
most useful on small shadows with complicated contours

Determines how the layer style blends with the underlying layers,
which may or may not include the active layer. For example, an inner
shadow blends with the active layer because the effect is drawn on top
Blend Mode
of that layer, but a drop shadow blends only with the layers beneath the
active layer. In most cases, the default mode for each effect produces
the best results. See Blending modes

Shrinks the boundaries of the matte of an Inner Shadow or Inner Glow

Choke
prior to blurring

Specifies the color of a shadow, glow, or highlight. You can click the
Color
color box and choose a color

With solid-color glows, Contour allows you to create rings of

transparency. With gradient-filled glows, Contour allows you to create
variations in the repetition of the gradient color and opacity. In beveling
Contour and embossing, Contour allows you to sculpt the ridges, valleys, and
bumps that are shaded in the embossing process. With shadows,
Contour allows you to specify the fade. For more information,
see Modify layer effects with contours

Specifies the offset distance for a shadow or satin effect. You can drag
Distance
in the document window to adjust the offset distance

Depth Specifies the depth of a bevel. It also specifies the depth of a pattern

This setting allows you to set one master lighting angle that is then
available in all the layer effects that use shading: Drop Shadow, Inner
Shadow, and Bevel and Emboss. In any of these effects, if Use Global
Light is selected and you set a lighting angle, that angle becomes the
Use Global
global lighting angle. Any other effect that has Use Global Light
Light
selected automatically inherits the same angle setting. If Use Global
Light is deselected, the lighting angle you set is local and applies only
to that effect. You can also set the global lighting angle by choosing
Layer Style > Global Light
Gloss Creates a glossy, metallic appearance. Gloss Contour is applied after
Contour shading a bevel or emboss

Specifies the gradient of a layer effect. Select the gradient to display the
Gradient Editor or the inverted arrow and choose a gradient from the
pop-up panel. You can edit a gradient or create a new gradient using the
Gradient Editor. You can edit the color or opacity in the Gradient
Overlay panel the same way you edit them in the Gradient Editor. For
Gradient some effects, you can specify additional gradient options. Reverse flips
the orientation of the gradient, Align With Layer uses the bounding box
of the layer to calculate the gradient fill, and Scale scales the
application of the gradient. You can also move the center of the
gradient by clicking and dragging in the image window. Style specifies
the shape of the gradient

Highlight or
Specifies the blending mode of a bevel or emboss highlight or shadow
Shadow Mode

Jitter Varies the application of a gradient's color and opacity

Layer Knocks
Out Drop Controls the drop shadow's visibility in a semitransparent layer
Shadow

Specifies the number of random elements in the opacity of a glow or

Noise
shadow. Enter a value or drag the slider

Opacity Sets the opacity of the layer effect. Enter a value or drag the slider

Specifies the pattern of a layer effect. Select the pop-up panel and
choose a pattern. Set the Angle selector at a certain degree or manually
type in an angle value to rotate your pattern at the desired angle. Hit the
New Preset button to create a new preset pattern based on the current
settings. Hit Snap To Origin to make the origin of the pattern the same
as the origin of the document (when Link With Layer is selected), or to
Pattern
place the origin at the upper-left corner of the layer (if Link With Layer
is deselected). Select Link With Layer if you want the pattern to move
along with the layer as the layer moves. Drag the Scale slider or enter a
value to specify the size of the pattern. Drag a pattern to position it in
the layer; reset the position by using the Snap To Origin button. The
Pattern option is not available if no patterns are loaded

Position Specifies the position of a stroke effect as Outside, Inside, or Center

Range Controls which portion or range of the glow is targeted for the contour

Size Specifies the radius and size of blur or the size of the shadow

Soften Blurs the results of shading to reduce unwanted artifacts

 Specifies the source for an inner glow. Choose Center to apply a glow
Source that emanates from the center of the layer's content, or Edge to apply a
glow that emanates from the inside edges of the layer's content

Spread Expands the boundaries of the matte prior to blurring

Specifies the style of a bevel:

Inner Bevel creates a bevel on the inside edges of the layer contents
Outer Bevel creates a bevel on the outside edges of the layer contents
Emboss simulates the effect of embossing the layer contents against the
underlying layers
Style
Pillow Emboss simulates the effect of stamping the edges of the layer
contents into the underlying layers
Stroke Emboss confines embossing to the boundaries of a stroke effect
applied to the layer. (The Stroke Emboss effect is not visible if no
stroke is applied to the layer.)

Smooth, Chisel Hard, and Chisel Soft are available for bevel and
Technique emboss effects; Softer and Precise apply to Inner Glow and Outer Glow
effects

Blurs the edges of a matte slightly and is useful for all types of mattes,
whether their edges are soft or hard. It does not preserve detailed
features at larger sizes.
Chisel Hard uses a distance measurement technique and is primarily
useful on hard-edged mattes from anti-aliased shapes such as type. It
preserves detailed features better than the Smooth technique
Chisel Soft uses a modified distance measurement technique and,
Smooth although not as accurate as Chisel Hard, is more useful on a larger
range of mattes. It preserves features better than the Smooth technique
Softer applies a blur and is useful on all types of mattes, whether their
edges are soft or hard. At larger sizes, Softer does not preserve detailed
features
Precise uses a distance measurement technique to create a glow and is
primarily useful on hard-edged mattes from anti-aliased shapes such as
type. It preserves features better than the Softer technique

Applies a texture.
Use Scale to scale the size of the texture.
Select Link With Layer if you want the texture to move along with the
layer as the layer moves. Invert inverts the texture. Depth varies the
Texture degree and direction (up/down) to which the texturing is applied.
Snap To Origin makes the origin of the pattern the same as the origin
of the document (if Link With Layer is deselected) or places the origin
in the upper-left corner of the layer (if Link With Layer is selected).
Drag the texture to position it in the layer.
Note:
You can set an angle to rotate the pattern overlay and easily change its orientation.
Modify layer effects with contours
While creating custom layer styles, use contours to control the shape of Drop
Shadow, Inner Shadow, Inner Glow, Outer Glow, Bevel, and Emboss. Use
a Linear contour on a Drop Shadow to make the opacity drop off in a linear transition and
a Custom contour to create a unique shadow transition.
Select, reset, delete, or change the preview of contours in the Contour pop-up panel
and Preset Manager.

A. Click to display the Contour Editor dialog box. B. Click to display the pop-up panel.
Create a custom contour
1. Select from the given options -- Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Inner
Glow, Outer Glow, Bevel and Emboss, Contour, or Satin effect -- in the Layer
Style dialog box.
2. Hit the contour thumbnail in the Layer Style dialog box and select the contour
to add points or drag to adjust the contour. You can also enter values for input
and output.
3. Select a point and hit Corner to create a sharp corner instead of a smooth curve.
4. Hit Save and name the contour to save it to a file.
5. Select New to store a contour as a preset.
6. Select OK to add the new contour to the pop-up panel.

Load a contour
To load a contour, select from the Layer Style dialog box and select Load from
the Contour Editor dialog box. Navigate to the folder containing your preferred contour
library and hit Open.

Delete a contour
To delete a contour, hit the inverted arrow next to the currently selected contour to view
the pop-up panel. Press Alt (Win) or Option (macOS) and select the contour you need to
delete.

Display or hide layer styles

When you apply style effects to a layer, the fx icon appears to the right of the layer's name
in the Layers panel.
To hide or show all layer styles in an image, select Layer > Layer Style > Hide All
Effects or Show All Effects.

Expand or collapse layer styles in the Layers panel

Do one of the following:
• Select the drop-down next to the Add A Layer Style icon to expand the list of layer
effects applied to that layer.
Or,
• Select the triangle to collapse the layer effects.
Or,
• To expand or collapse all of the layer styles applied within a group, hold
down Alt (Win) or Option (macOS) and select the triangle or inverted triangle for
the group. The layer styles applied to all layers within the group will expand or
collapse correspondingly.