Photoshop: how to record action to change layer style using foreground color

Question

Is it possible to record an action that sets the current color overlay (layer style) to the foreground color? Meaning, adding a layer style of type color overlay with the foreground color (without touching other layer style options).

If not possible, how to be faster in editing color overlays, since it's in my opinion the most flexible way of coloring pretty much everything (work with layer comps)?

Answer 1

Luca, it is not hard:

1. Turn off all layers

2. Select the layer you want to process

3. Open Action palette

4. Create New Action and press Record in the dialog window.
5. Select Eyedropper I
6. Click at some corner (I assume your layer have solid color due Color Overlay)
7. Fill up your layer (Alt+Backspace)
8. Stop the recording via Stop button

Now you can make visible any layer you need. Select it and start the recorded action. After all layers will be processed you can select them all and remove Layer Style.

Answer 2

I don’t think it’s possible to use actions to do what you’re after. It is probably possible to write a script though.

In addition to the answers above, here’s another manual way to do it, but using one click + drag per layer.

1. Place a layer with the layer overlay you’d like to copy to other layers (the new colour).
2. Use the search popup buttons to choose Effect and Overlay. This will filter the layers panel to just show layers with Overlay layer styles.
3. Now you can option-drag the Overlay layer style from the top layer to the other layers to copy it to other layers, without overriding anything.

Answer 3

I don't know how to do what you have in mind with Actions because if you apply a Layer style to a Layer with Actions, it clears-out any other styling on that Layer.

If you want to color multiple Layers all at once, you can put them all in one Group. Then apply a Color overlay to the Group. The trick is to set the overlay to only affect Hue so it doesn't ruin the other styling.

Ideally Adobe should make Graphic Styles editable so we could update them after applying them to layers ... but that hasn't happened yet. :)