Layer style presets

Layer style presets are pre-made combinations of layer styles that you can apply to automatically customize your selected layer with one or multiple styles. Pixelmator Pro comes with a number of presets for you to choose from and you can easily create and save your own.

Apply a layer style preset#

  1. Choose the Style tool by doing one of the following:
    • Click the Style tool in the Tools sidebar.
    • Choose Tools > Style from the Tools menu at the top of your screen.
    • Press the S key on your keyboard.
  2. Select the layer or layers you would like to edit.
  3. Select a style from the list of presets at the top of the Tool Options pane. Click the Collection pop-up menu to browse different style preset collections.

Save a combination of layer styles as a preset#

With the help of presets, you can save the specific layer styles and their settings applied to one layer and instantly apply them to others in the same or a newly created document.

  1. Choose the Style tool in the Tools sidebar.
  2. Apply and customize any number of layer styles.
  3. Do any of the following:
    • Click More next to the Collection pop-up menu and choose Add Preset.
    • Click Add in any layer style collection to save the style preset to that collection.

Create a custom style presets collection#

  1. Choose the Style tool in the Tools sidebar.
  2. Click More next to the Collection pop-up menu and choose New Collection.

Manage style presets and preset collections#

Once you've created a preset or a preset collection, you can rename, redefine them, or share them with others.

  1. Choose the Style tool in the Tools sidebar.
  2. Control ⌃ – click an individual preset or More next to the collection you want to manage.
  3. Do any of the following:
    • Redefine a style preset: If you’d like to overwrite or update an existing preset with new settings, you can redefine it.
    • Add a style preset to favorites: To quickly access your favorite and most-used presets, save them to the special Favorites collection.
    • Rename a style preset or preset collection: You can give individual style presets or preset collections distinguishable names or rename the default presets and collections that come with Pixelmator Pro.
    • Remove a style preset or preset collection: If you’ve accidentally duplicated a layer style preset or would simply like to delete a preset collection you no longer use, you can remove it from the presets bar.
    • Import layer style presets or preset collections: In the Collections pop-up menu, choose import and browse your Mac for a .layerstyles file to import. You can also drag and drop a preset or a preset collection to the Pixelmator Pro icon in the Dock.
    • Share a style preset: To share a style preset with others or use it in Pixelmator Pro on another Mac, drag and drop a preset from the list of layer style presets onto the desktop or into a Finder window, then share the .layerstyles file with someone else via email or any other way you like.
    • Share a style preset collection: In the Collection pop-up menu, choose Export to export a single preset collection or press and hold the Option ⌥ key on your keyboard and choose Export All to export your entire presets library.
    • Reset all layer style presets to default: Resetting all the layer style presets to default removes any custom presets and returns all the default presets that come with Pixelmator Pro. In the Collection pop-up menu, press and hold the Option ⌥ key on your keyboard and choose Reset All.

Show or hide the preset browser#

  1. Choose the Style tool in the Tools sidebar.
  2. Drag the line that separates presets from the Add Style button up to hide the presets, or drag it down to reveal or expand the presets section.