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Am_I_Lame?
Inspiring
January 26, 2018
Answered

Is it possible to save an adjustment layer?

  • January 26, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 17658 views

I've made some adjustments to a photo via an adjustment layer.  I'd like to apply these adjustments to some other photos.  Is it possible to save the layer and reopen it in another file to accomplish this?  I'm using Photoshop CC on Windows 10.  Thanks.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Conrad_C

    Thanks, Dave (and Semaphoric).  This has made me realize that, in addition to saving a single adjustment layer, it would be nice to save a stack of them to apply multiple adjustments to other photos.  Since some adjustment layers don't let you save them, is there another way to do this?  I realize I could use actions, but I usually iterate a lot, so I'd prefer a solution that let's me save the final saturation setting, brightness, setting, curve, etc. rather than having the action repeat my meandering with each image I apply it to. 


    https://forums.adobe.com/people/Am_I_Lame%3F  wrote

    ...it would be nice to save a stack of them to apply multiple adjustments to other photos.  Since some adjustment layers don't let you save them, is there another way to do this?...I'd prefer a solution that let's me save the final saturation setting, brightness, setting, curve, etc.

    The closest you will probably get is with a layer group.

    Set up all the adjustment layers you'll need, then group them (put them in a folder in the Layers panel). You can drag that layer group to another document, and when you do that, all the layers inside the group are added to the destination document in that single drag. You’ll probably have to tweak the stack of adjustment layers for individual images, but at least they're already present with initial values.

    If you want to keep this layer group around for easy access, drag the layer group into a blank Photoshop document and save that. Whenever you want to apply that stack of adjustment layers, open this document and drag the layer group into the document the needs it.

    If you want to apply the layer group to many images, you can probably build an action that would do that, and it would probably run faster than an action that recorded a series of steps.

    1 reply

    D Fosse
    Community Expert
    D FosseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 26, 2018

    You can save the adjustment as a preset for future use. I often do this.

    Also, if you have both files open, an adjustment layer can simply be dragged over from the Layers panel.

    A
    Am_I_Lame?Author
    Inspiring
    January 27, 2018

    Thanks.  How do you save it as a preset?  If I try to save it as a style, the Styles panel won't let me create a new style (the mouse pointer changes to a circle with a slash through it when it gets near the new style icon).  I AM able to drag the layer to another image, though.

    Conrad_C
    Community Expert
    Conrad_CCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    January 29, 2018

    Thanks, Dave (and Semaphoric).  This has made me realize that, in addition to saving a single adjustment layer, it would be nice to save a stack of them to apply multiple adjustments to other photos.  Since some adjustment layers don't let you save them, is there another way to do this?  I realize I could use actions, but I usually iterate a lot, so I'd prefer a solution that let's me save the final saturation setting, brightness, setting, curve, etc. rather than having the action repeat my meandering with each image I apply it to. 


    https://forums.adobe.com/people/Am_I_Lame%3F  wrote

    ...it would be nice to save a stack of them to apply multiple adjustments to other photos.  Since some adjustment layers don't let you save them, is there another way to do this?...I'd prefer a solution that let's me save the final saturation setting, brightness, setting, curve, etc.

    The closest you will probably get is with a layer group.

    Set up all the adjustment layers you'll need, then group them (put them in a folder in the Layers panel). You can drag that layer group to another document, and when you do that, all the layers inside the group are added to the destination document in that single drag. You’ll probably have to tweak the stack of adjustment layers for individual images, but at least they're already present with initial values.

    If you want to keep this layer group around for easy access, drag the layer group into a blank Photoshop document and save that. Whenever you want to apply that stack of adjustment layers, open this document and drag the layer group into the document the needs it.

    If you want to apply the layer group to many images, you can probably build an action that would do that, and it would probably run faster than an action that recorded a series of steps.

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