Layer comps changed my life

Since I discovered Layer Comps in Photoshop, I have become a bit of an evangelist for them as its made my worklife so much easier. I tend to use photoshop about 80% of my time so anything that can make things more efficient is brilliant.  I mainly use them for designing websites, but I have also used them for iPad and iAd designs.

This is from Tutorial Blog

The Layer Comps palette certainly doesn’t replace the Layers palette, but simplifies it when working with a file with different versions. Take for instance, a mockup for several different pages of a web site. Some elements may stay the same from page to page (e.g. header, navigation…), while much of it changes (e.g. text, photos…). Turning off 15 layers and turning on a different 15 just to flip between pages can be tedious and a waste of time. Instead, you can do it once, create a Layer Comp, then always be able to flip back to that set at any time.

Some of the advantages I have found are:

• Design changes are faster if all your files are in the one document.
• Files are more accurate as you can easily flick through the compositions and compare one page to the next instead of turning the layers on and off with visibility.  This accuracy is especially relevant in navigation and how the website flows from the homepage to the sub levels of the site.
• Presenting to co-workers & clients is much quicker (once again instead of turning the layers on and off with visibility).
• Exporting all the individual compositions is automated by using: File > scripts > layer comps to files.

Granted, layer comps are a bit buggy with the alerts appearing if you modify layers (this is the main complaint I hear about them and tends to put people off), but the alerts never affect any of your actual design layers and you just need to remember to update your layer comps (in the layer comps options area) regularly when designing.

I usually start implementing them when I am at a point where I am happy to show the design to someone, and not at the start to avoid too many alerts.

Here is a sample of a PSD with 3 layer comps:

To start using layer comps just go to Window > layer Comps in Photoshop, when you are happy with the layout - add a new layer comp (the little page at the base of the options palette).  Then make a change and add another layer comp.  Flick between the 2 comps you have created and you will see how you can create different states.