Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Manual (Page 329)

322 USING PHOTOSHOP CS4
Layers
Last updated 1/10/2010
Create a layer comp
1 Choose Window > Layer Comps to display the Layer Comps panel.
2 Click the Create New Layer Comp button at the bottom of the Layer Comps panel. The new comp reflects the
current state of layers in the Layers panel.
3 In the New Layer Comp dialog box, name the comp, add descriptive comments, and choose options to apply to
layers: Visibility, Position, and Appearance.
4 Click OK. Any new comp preserves the options you chose for the previous one, so you don’t have to make these
choices again if you want the comps to be identical.
To duplicate a comp, select a comp in the Layer Comps panel and drag the comp to the New Comps button.
Apply and view layer comps
❖ Do any of the following:
• To view a layer comp, you first need to apply it in the document. In the Layer Comp panel, click the Apply Layer
Comp icon
next to a selected comp.
• To cycle through a view of all the layer comps, use the Previous and Next buttons at the bottom of the
panel.
• To cycle through a view of selected comps, select the comps in the Layer Comps panel, and then click the Next
and Previous buttons at the bottom of the panel. This cycles through only the comps you selected.
• To restore the document to its state before you chose a layer comp, click the Apply Layer Comp icon next to
Last Document State at the top of the Layer Comp panel.
Change and update a layer comp
If you change the configuration of a layer comp, you need to update it.
1 Select the layer comp in the Layer Comps panel.
2 Make changes to the layer’s visibility, position, or style. You may need to change the layer comp’s options to record
these changes.
3 To change your comp options, select Layer Comp Options from the panel menu and select additional options to
record layer position and style.
4 Click the Update Layer Comp button at the bottom of the panel.
Clear layer comp warnings
Certain actions create a state where the layer comp can no longer be fully restored. This happens when you delete a
layer, merge a layer, or convert a layer to a background. In such instances, a caution icon
appears next to the layer
comp name.
❖ Do one of the following:
• Ignore the warning, which may result in the loss of one or more layers. Other saved parameters may be preserved.
• Update the comp, which results in the loss of the previously captured parameters, but brings the comp up to date.
• Click the caution icon to see the message explaining that the layer comp can’t be restored properly. Choose Clear
to remove the alert icon and leave the remaining layers unchanged.