To make all of this even more complicated, I can combine several different layer styles and do it all at once. For instance, I can take a plain circular shape and then add a bevel to the edge, emboss it, give it a shiny finish and add a drop shadow. The result would be a piece of flair that looks like a pin, or button.
- A piece of flair.
- Arethahouse_copy.png (21.44 KiB) Viewed 377 times
When I get a kit that includes styles, I have to go through a multi-step process to use them in Photoshop. Styles are saved into files with the .asl extension. Even with Photoshop installed, double clicking on an .asl file will get Windows to ask what application I want to use to open the file. I could select Photoshop, but I'd rather install it properly.
Step one, I put the .asl file into the correct location on the hard drive, so Photoshop can find it. That location changes, depending on what version of Photoshop you have. Mine are in C:\Documents and Settings\My username\Application Data\Adobe\PhotoshopCS3\Presets\Styles. Photoshop will look in that place for new styles. If I've got .asl files in other locations on my computer, I can load and use them, but it's too much work for me to bother with.
Step two. Start up Photoshop and load the styles for use. Photoshop will only check the location as part of opening up. I won't see recently added files unless I close Photoshop and then open it again. I go to the Styles palette and click on the down pointing arrow. A list will appear with the names of the .asl files that Photoshop knows about. If I click on one of those names, Photoshop will then ask me if I want to replace my current styles or append to them. I usually want to append.
The new styles will show up at the end of the list of my styles, visible in the styles palette. If I hover my mouse over one of the boxes with an image in it, a name will show up as a tooltip. This is useful when I see there are six gray squares with sort of shadows and three pink squares that might or might not have glitter or acrylic or both.
How do I actually USE a style? First I select something. I can select an object by selecting the layer that the object is on by clicking in the layers palette. Then I click on the style I want to apply in the style palette. Or, I can select using the magic wand, by drawing with the marquee tools or whatever I need to use to get my selection. Once I have my marching ants showing the selection, I just make sure I have the desired layer active and click on the style in the style palette.
But wait! There's more!
I can edit the style I just applied. All I have to do is double click on the words describing the style in the layers palette. If I added a beveled edge and I don't think it's a sharp enough bevel, I can change that. If I added a drop shadow and I don't think it has the right size and spread, I can change that. These changes are not saved. The next time I apply that style, it will not have the changes.
How do I unload styles that I have loaded? There is nothing that says 'Unload Styles' anywhere! There are several ways. I can click on the down arrow in the Styles palette and select reset styles, and go back to the default, built-in styles. Or, I can overwrite a new set of styles instead of append when I load the next set. All old styles are removed and only the freshly loaded set is available for use. I can also use the Preset Manager and delete some. I am not really deleting them. The .asl file is still going to be right where I put it and it won't be changed. I am deleting the style from the list in Photoshop, until I load that set of styles again. If I load a set of 18 styles, and delete 9 of them using the Preset Manager, I can still use the 9 styles that I left alone. When I am tired of using those 9, I can delete them, overwrite, or reset them. When I want to use them again, I just load the set again. All 18 will be there for me to use.
I change the names of the .asl files before I put them in the right place on my hard drive. What is going to show up on that list in Photoshop is the file name. I'm not going to remember that PMG_TBD_GL1 goes with anything other than a headache. Kitname Glitter tells me something I can use. So I change files names from the cryptic to the descriptive.
I feel like I should. 
