Creating and Saving Layer Comps in Photoshop

Creating and saving layer comps in Photoshop is not as difficult as most consumers may think. Layer comps have been said to be one of the greatest inventions in the digital world. If you’re creating several designs, the design variations can be saved using different combinations of layers within the same file as layer comps. Layer comps can record whether the layer is visible, how the layer is positioned in an image, the opacity and blending mode of the layer, and whether a layer style is applied to the layer. Creating a layer comp is simple, even for the inexperienced Photoshop user. New layer comps are created in the layer comps palette and to create a new layer comp, users must first click the Create New Layer Comp button at the bottom of the palette. The layer comp palette can be accessed from the window menu.

Once the new layer comp is created, it must be named. The new layer comp created in the layer comps palette will contain a dialog box, which allows the user to name the comp, add descriptive comments, and choose options to apply to the layers. Once the new layer comp is named the visibility, position, and appearance controls should be set. Once the settings are intact, then the user should click “OKâ€, and try moving around a few layers, or should try to change the opacity of an existing layer. When moving existing layers users will notice that the layer comps palette returns to the Last Document State. If the user wants to record a new comp that shows the changes they’ve made to the existing layer comps, then they should click the Create New Layer Comp button at the bottom of the Layers Comp palette.

To apply a layer comp, click the Layer Comp icon next to the layer comp currently on the screen. Clicking the name of a specific layer comp selects it, and clicking to the left of the comp applies it to the palette. Cycling through the layer comps is as simple as clicking the Previous and Next buttons at the bottom of the layer comps palette. If the user wants to view specific selected layer comps, they must select the specific comps in the layer comps palette, then click the Next and Previous buttons at the bottom of the palette. Making changers to a comp requires users to first select the comp layer, then make the necessary changes, and then click the Update Layer Comp button at the bottom of the comps palette. There are several ways to save layer comps. Users may save layer comps on Photoshop as a PDF Slide Show by choosing File> Scripts> Layer Comps to PDF.

Saving the layer comps as a PDF file also allows users to share their comments on the comps with others as well. Viewers of the layer comps may also switch between design variations and add their own comments. Comps may also be saved as a Web Photo Gallery (WPG); to save layer comps as a WPG file requires the user to choose File> Scripts> Layer Comps to WPG. With a Web Page Gallery layer comps can be posted to a website. When your document is saved, the layer comps are automatically saved as a part of the document. Saving a layer comp. in Photoshop is as simple as clicking in the Save New Layer Comp button, which allow the user to name and save their current view of layer visibility and editing state as a layer comp. The user can make as many layer comps as possible without substantially expanding their saved file size. A layer comp can also be recalled instantly with one click. The instant recall function notes your viewing state, never trashes layers, and is saved to your file. For example, instead of having to save different versions of each viewing of the layers, users can save one file with all of the different layer comp views.

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