About layer comps
Designers often create multiple compositions or comps of a page layout to show clients. Using layer comps, you can create, manage, and view multiple versions of a layout in a single Photoshop file.
A layer comp is a snapshot of a state of the Layers panel. Layer comps record three types of layer options:
Layer visibility—whether a layer is showing or hidden.
Layer position in the document.
Layer appearance—whether a layer style is applied to the layer and the layer’s blending mode.
- A.
- Apply Layer Comp icon
- B.
- Last Document State
- C.
- Selected comps
- D.
- Layer Comp Cannot Be Fully Restored icon
Create a layer comp
- Click OK. The options you chose are stored as defaults
for your next comp.
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
In
the Layer Comp panel, do any of the following:To view a layer comp, you first need to apply it. Click the Apply Layer Comp icon
next
to a selected comp.To cycle through a view of all layer comps, use the Previous
and
Next 
buttons
at the bottom of the panel. (To cycle through specific comps, first select
them.)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 panel.
Change and update a layer comp
If you change the configuration of a layer comp, you need to update it.
Select the layer comp in the Layer Comps panel.
Make changes to the layer’s visibility, position, or style. You may need to change the layer comp’s options to record these changes.
To change your comp options, select Layer Comp Options from the panel menu and select additional options to record layer position and style.
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.
Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the caution icon to see the pop‑up menu that lets you choose either the Clear Layer Comp Warning or the Clear All Layer Comp Warnings command.
Delete a layer comp
Do
one of the following:Select the layer comp in the Layer Comps panel and click the Delete icon
in the
panel, or choose Delete Layer Comp from the panel menu.Drag it to the Delete icon in the panel.
Export layer comps
You can export layer comps to individual files.
Choose File > Scripts > Layer Comps
to Files and then choose the file type and set the destination.