Select from CC Library Colors in Layer Style dialogue

Forum|Forum|5 months ago
December 19, 2025
2 replies
434 views

Currently, there appears to be no way to select/eyedrop a color from the CC Libraries panel when the Layer Style dialogue is open. For example, if I want to apply a color to my Stroke, or Color Overlay layer styles, I'm not able to eyedrop a color from within my CC Library. (MacOS)

In some earlier versions, you could "drag" the eydropper across the screen and over to the desired color in your libraries panel, but this no longer works (Photoshop 2026). Doing this only pans your artboard off the screen.

The only workarounds I've found are 1) sorting the Library swatches in descending order so that their HEX codes are displayed to the right, then I manually type the color into the color picker (but this is incredibly inefficient, and frustrating since the colors are RIGHT THERE, just a click away) or 2) before I open the dialogue, I pre-select the color so that it is loaded into my foreground color on the toolbar, which IS an area of the screen I can eyedrop while the layer styles panel is open.

Solution: allow the Layer Styles eyedropper to sample the colors from within the CC Libraries panel at all times.

macOS

Jeff Arola

Community Expert

~~It works here on macOS Tahoe 26.2 with Photoshop 2026 (ps version 27.2) if you do the Enable Eye Dropper outside Photoshop on macOS PSUserConfig as Sameer K suggested:~~

~~https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/enable-optional-extensions-photoshop-cc.html~~

Actually it turns out that even after doing the Enable Eye Dropper outside Photoshop on mac OS, the colors are sampled correctly and show in the Color Picker, but are not applied to the Stroke or Layers Styles dialog after clicking OK on the Color Picker.

cp.jpg

CShubert

Community Manager

Hi @VoiceOfClayton something went wrong and we cannot see the file you added. Please try again or send it directly to me, shubert@adobe.com so we can make sure we understand your request.

Thanks,

Cory - Photoshop Product Manager

Sameer K

Community Manager

Hey, @VoiceOfClayton. Thanks for bringing this up. There was a recent change on macOS with Photoshop's Color picker.

Please follow the conversation here to explore options to restore the ability to do so: https://adobe.ly/4j5eVpL

Let me know if this helps. Thanks!

Sameer K
(Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

V

VoiceOfClaytonAuthor

Participant

Thanks @Sameer K , but that thread appears to be about using the color picker outside of Photoshop. What I'm referencing is a UI panel INSIDE Photoshop that I'm not able to eyedrop from when using the Layer Styles dialogue. I can eyedrop from the image I'm editing, the foreground/background colors on the tool bar, and even from the swatches panel within the app. But eyedropping doesn't work when the mouse moves over the Library's panel, inside the app. I don't think the issue is related to MacOS permissions.

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