Working with Layer Comps in Photoshop

Without a doubt, the layer comps feature is my favorite in the entire Creative Suite. When it comes to print design, there is no other tool that gives you more creative control over your overall page layout designs. What makes this feature so attractive to designers is that it allows you to store all your layout ideas in one file and access them later in Photoshop, InDesign, or Illustrator. I find layer comps especially useful when developing initial design concepts for single-page (or single-spread) advertisements and cover designs (magazines, feature articles, brochures, and books) that include a predominant number of bitmap graphics, such as a full-bleed background image or montage.

The Layer Comps Palette
You can think of the Layer Comps palette as a sort of hybrid between the History palette and the Layers palette. It allows you to save the current state of a document’s Layers palette and then return to it later. Layer comps allow you to store three types of layer information in the file:
- Layer visibility (hidden or shown)
- Position of items on each layer as controlled by the Move tool (not the stacking order of the layers)
- Appearance attributes (including blend modes, opacity, and layer styles)

Layer comps do not track any changes made to pixels, such as applied brushwork, gradients, or cloning. They also do not track edits made to type layers. Working with layer comps eats up significantly less system memory than taking snapshots with the History palette, plus layer comps can be saved with the document even after it is closed (unlike snapshots). Also, saving layer comps adds very little to your overall file size. To create layer comps, choose Window --> Layer Comps to display the Layer Comps   palette, and then click the Create New Layer Comp button. You can also choose New Layer Comp from the Layer Comps palette menu.

Enter a descriptive name for the comp in the New Layer Comp dialog box and specify which settings you’d like Photoshop to save (visibility, position, and appearance). The more descriptive the name that you give each comp, the easier it will be to identify it  later. You may also want to get into the habit of inserting comments. Your comments can serve as simple reminders to yourself about what’s going on with each comp, or they can offer explanations to anyone else that you send the file to, such as a coworker, art director, or even a client.  Sometimes having to stop and add info into a dialog box can interrupt your creative process. Although adding descriptive names and comments is always a good thing to do, don’t let it stop your creative juices from flowing. Instead, create your layer comps the “down and dirty” way by Option/Alt+clicking the Create New Layer Comp button in the Layer Comps palette. You can then add names and comments afterward by double-clicking the area surrounding each layer comp’s name in the palette. Doing so allows you to access the Layer Comp Options dialog box, where you can enter more descriptive information.

After all your layout ideas are recorded, you can display any one of them by clicking in the column to the left of its name in the Layer Comps palette. You can compare layer comps by selecting them (F/Ctrl+clicking each one) and then clicking the two arrow buttons (Next Layer Comp/Previous Layer Comp) at the bottom of the Layer Comps palette. With no layer comps selected in the palette, the arrow buttons allow you to cycle through them. The comp labeled Last Document State is there by default and represents the state of your document before displaying any of the other comps in the palette. For example, at some point you may decide to take a break from your work in order to review your layer comps and evaluate your progress. Displaying each layer comp in the palette can help you make some decisions about where to take your design ideas next. When you’re ready to jump back into your design, you can pick up where you left off by clicking in the column to the left of Last Document State.

To save any changes made to a layer comp, click the Update Layer Comp button at the bottom of the Layer Comps palette. Doing so updates the currently selected layer comp in the palette. Note that Photoshop will display a warning icon in the Layer Comps palette for any changes that are destructive to comps, such as merging or deleting layers. As you present layer comps to clients, I suggest keeping the Layer Comps palette organized and up-to-date by deleting any comps that get rejected. You can delete a layer comp (or multiple layer comps) by selecting them and clicking the trash icon at the bottom of the palette; or if you prefer, you can also drag them to the trash icon.