Creating Layers from Styles

Photoshop also allows you to convert “live” layer style effects into individual rasterized layers, thereby rendering them uneditable with the Layer Style dialog box. In most cases, it’s best to leave your effects editable and not convert them. However, to prevent another artist from changing your effects—let’s say for an advertising piece that you’re sending to another publication—you can always apply the Create Layers command.

The Create Layers command is accessible only from the Layers --> Layer Style submenu. Select the layer you’d like to convert and then choose Layer --> Layer Style --> Create Layers. Photoshop displays a warning dialog box to let you know that some of the effects (usually combinations of multiple effects) cannot be reproduced by using layers—another downside to creating layers from styles.

After clicking OK to bypass the warning dialog box, the Layer Style icon disappears from the layer in the Layers palette and each effect is converted into a rasterized layer, and when necessary, a clipping mask or group. From this point forward, the effects are  no longer editable by using settings in the Layer Style dialog. You can use the History palette to toggle back and forth between states to determine whether something changed.