Layer

An object within a document that contains visual elements of the image, equivalent to a layer in Photoshop.

You can access layers in a document using Document.layers collection.

If the object is representing a group layer, you can access it's children layers using Layer.layers property.

group.layers.forEach((layer) => {
  layer.visible = true;
})

Properties

Name

Type

Access

Min Version

Description

allLocked

boolean

R W

22.5

When set to true, prevents edits to pixels and properties of this layer.

blendMode

BlendMode

R W

22.5

The blend mode of the layer. Fixes in Photoshop 24.2: - Now it will throw error when passing non-existent blend mode - Also will throw error if combination of document color mode, bit depth and blend mode is not possible instead of failing silently - Prior this version it was possible to set blend mode for background layer which turned it into regular layer as a side effect and also changed its ID. Not it will throw error instead since these side effects are not expected to happen

bounds

Bounds

22.5

Bounds of the layer, including the effects.

boundsNoEffects

Bounds

22.5

Bounds of the layer excluding effects.

document

Document

23.0

The document that contains this layer.

fillOpacity

number

R W

23.0

The fill opacity of the layer, in percentage.

filterMaskDensity

number

R W

23.0

The density of the filter mask, in percentage.

filterMaskFeather

number

R W

23.0

The feather of the filter mask between 0.0 and 1000.0.

number

22.5

ID of the layer, can be used for making batchPlay calls.

isBackgroundLayer

boolean

22.5

True when the layer is the special Background layer.

isClippingMask

boolean

R W

23.0

Whether the layer is being used as a clipping mask. Releasing a clipping mask will also release the layers above.

kind

LayerKind

22.5

The kind of the layer.

layerMaskDensity

number

R W

23.0

The density of the layer mask, in percentage.

layerMaskFeather

number

R W

23.0

The feather of the layer mask between 0.0 and 1000.0.

layers

Layers

23.0

The layers inside this group layer.

linkedLayers

Layers

22.5

Layers linked to this layer. See Layer.link

locked

boolean

22.5

True if any property of this layer is locked.

name

string

R W

22.5

Name of the layer.

opacity

number

R W

22.5

The master opacity of the layer, in percent.

parent

Layer

22.5

The group layer that contains this layer. It will return null if the layer is a top layer in the document.

pixelsLocked

boolean

R W

22.5

When set to true, prevents the pixels of this layer from being edited.

positionLocked

boolean

R W

22.5

When set to true, prevents the layer from being moved.

textItem

TextItem

24.2

The object that contains properties and methods related to Text for Layers whose `kind` is equal to `LayerKind.TEXT`

transparentPixelsLocked

boolean

R W

22.5

When set to true, prevents the transparent pixels from being edited

typename

string

23.0

The class name of the referenced object: "Layer".

vectorMaskDensity

number

R W

23.0

The density of the vector mask, in percentage.

vectorMaskFeather

number

R W

23.0

The feather of the vector mask between 0.0 and 1000.0.

visible

boolean

R W

22.5

True when the layer is visible.

Methods

applyAddNoise

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Add Noise filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

amount

number

Percentage of noise applied [0.1,400].

distribution

NoiseDistribution

Distribution method to use.

monochromatic

boolean

Adds black and white noise if true.

applyAverage

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Average filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

applyBlur

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Blur filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

applyBlurMore

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Blur More filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

applyClouds

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Clouds filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

applyCustomFilter

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Custom filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

characteristics

number[]

Square matrix (5 x 5) used to perform filter operation.

scale

number

The value by which to divide the sum of the pixel values included in the calculation

offset

number

The value to be added to the result of the scale calculation.

applyDeInterlace

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the De-Interlace filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap, CMYK 8 bits, CMYK 16 bits, Duotone 8 bits

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

eliminateFields

EliminateFields

Eliminate EVENFIELDS or ODDFIELDS field order.

createFields

CreateFields

Create fields by either DUPLICATION or INTERPOLATION.

applyDespeckle

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Despeckle filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap, RGB 32 bits, Grayscale 32 bits

applyDifferenceClouds

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Difference Clouds filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap, Lab 8 bits, Lab 16 bits

applyDiffuseGlow

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Diffuse Glow filter.

Supported color modes: RGB 8 bits, Duotone 8 bits, Grayscale 8 bits, Multichannel 8 bits

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

graininess

number

The amount of grain [0,10].

glowAmount

number

The glow amount [0,20].

clearAmount

number

The clear amount [0,20].

applyDisplace

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Displace filter using the specified horizontal and vertical scale, mapping type, treatment of undistorted areas, and path to the distortion image map.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

horizontalScale

number

How much to scale in the direction of width [-999,999].

verticalScale

number

How much to scale in the direction of height [-999,999].

displacementType

DisplacementMapType

Describes how the displacement map fits the image if the image is not the same size as the map.

undefinedAreas

UndefinedAreas

The method used to treat undistorted areas or areas left blank in an image to which the filter in the Distor category has been applied.

displacementMapFile

File

Path to the distortion image map.

applyDustAndScratches

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Dust & Scratches filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap, RGB 32 bits, Grayscale 32 bits

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

radius

number

The radius of the filter in pixels [1,100].

threshold

number

The lower the amount, the stronger the effect [0,255].

applyGaussianBlur

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Gaussian Blur filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

radius

number

The radius of the filter in pixels [0.1,250].

applyGlassEffect

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Glass filter.

Supported color modes: RGB 8 bits, Duotone 8 bits, Grayscale 8 bits, Multichannel 8 bits

Parameters

Name

Type

Default value

Description

distortion

number

Change the amount the glass distorts the image [0,20].

smoothness

number

Change the smoothness of the glass [1,15].

scaling

number

The percentage value to scale by [50,200].

invert

boolean

false

Invert the glass (default: false).

texture

TextureType

The type of glass texture. This argument is ignored if "textureFile" is provided. (default: TextureType.CANVAS)

textureFile?

File

Mapping for glass distortion (optional).

applyHighPass

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the High Pass filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

radius

number

The width of high pass filter (pixels) [0.1,1000].

applyImage

24.5

async : Promise<void>

The applyImage method lets you blend one image’s layer and channel (the source) with a this layer (the target). This will change pixels contained in this layer. Performs Image > Apply Image on the document. See the ApplyImageOptions object for more info and examples.

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

applyImageOptions

ApplyImageOptions

Option object for applyImage.

applyLensBlur

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Lens Blur filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap, RGB 32 bits, Grayscale 32 bits

Parameters

Name

Type

Default value

Description

source

DepthMapSource

The source for the depth map (default: DepthMapSource.NONE)

focalDistance

number

The blur focal distance for the depth map [0,255] (default: 0).

invertDepthMask

boolean

false

True if the depth map is inverted (default: false)

shape

Geometry

The shape of the iris (default: Geometry.HEXAGON)

radius

number

The radius of the iris [0,100] (default: 15)

bladeCurvature

number

The blade curvature of the iris [0,100] (default: 0)

rotation

number

The rotation of the iris [0,360] (default: 0)

brightness

number

The brightness for the specular highlights [0,100] (default: 0)

threshold

number

The threshold for the specular highlights [0,255] (default: 0)

amount

number

The amount of noise [0,100] (default: 0)

distribution

NoiseDistribution

The distribution value for the noise (default: NoiseDistribution.UNIFORM)

monochromatic

boolean

false

True if the noise is monochromatic (default: false)

applyLensFlare

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Lens Flare filter.

Supported color modes: RGB 8 bits, RGB 16 bits, RGB 32 bits

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

brightness

number

Percentage of brightness applied [10,300].

flareCenter

object

The flare center {x: number, y: number}.

flareCenter.x

number

The horizontal coordinate in pixels.

flareCenter.y

number

The vertical coordinate in pixels.

lensType

LensType

The lens type used to produce the effect (default: LensType.ZOOMLENS).

applyMaximum

23.5

Promise<void>

Applies the Maximum filter

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

radius

number

The radius of the filter in pixels. Integer in the range [1,500] when using SQUARENESS. Float in the range [0.2,500] when using ROUNDNESS.

preserveShape

PreserveShape

Favor hard corners or smooth curves around the edges (default: PreserveShape.SQUARENESS)

applyMedianNoise

23.5

Promise<void>

Applies the Median filter

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap, RGB 32 bits, Grayscale 32 bits

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

radius

number

The radius of the filter in pixels [1,500]

applyMinimum

23.5

Promise<void>

Applies the Minimum filter

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

radius

number

The radius of the filter in pixels. Integer in the range [1,500] when using SQUARENESS. Float in the range [0.2,500] when using ROUNDNESS.

preserveShape

PreserveShape

Favor hard corners or smooth curves around the edges (default: PreserveShape.SQUARENESS)

applyMotionBlur

23.5

Promise<void>

Applies the Motion Blur filter

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

angle

number

The angle the blur effect will be applied at (degrees) [-360,360]

distance

number

The amount of blur [1,2000]

applyNTSC

23.5

Promise<void>

Applies the NTSC Colors filter

Supported color modes: RGB 8 bits, RGB 16 bits, RGB 32 bits

applyOceanRipple

23.5

Promise<void>

Applies the Ocean Ripple filter

Supported color modes: RGB 8 bits, Duotone 8 bits, Grayscale 8 bits, Multichannel 8 bits

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

size

number

The Ripple size [1,15]

magnitude

number

The Ripple magnitude [1,20]

applyOffset

23.5

Promise<void>

Applies the Offset filter

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

horizontal

number

The horizontal offset [-2 * doc.width, 2 * doc.width]

vertical

number

The vertical offset [-2 * doc.height, 2 * doc.height]

undefinedAreas

OffsetUndefinedAreas

Method to use to fill the empty space left by the offset (default: OffsetUndefinedAreas.WRAPAROUND).

applyPinch

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Pinch filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

amount

number

The pinch amount. Negative value creates effect of expansion and positive creates effect of contraction. [-100,100]

applyPolarCoordinates

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Polar Coordinates filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

conversion

PolarConversionType

The conversion type.

applyRipple

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Ripple filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

amount

number

The ripple amount. [-999,999]

size

RippleSize

The ripple size.

applySharpen

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Sharpen filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

applySharpenEdges

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Sharpen Edges filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap, RGB 32 bits, Grayscale 32 bits

applySharpenMore

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Sharpen More filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

applyShear

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the the Shear filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

curve

{ x: number ; y: number }[]

Specification of the shear curve in points as coordinates object with x, y properties e.g.in the format [{x:-20, y:1}, {x:30, y:128}]. Any number higher than 2 of coordinate objects can be specified. For "x" coordinate it is recommended to use range [-63,64] and for "y" coordinate use range [1,128]. For bests results please make sure that first point has 0 at "y" axis and last point has 128 at "y" axis. Also sort points by "y" value in ascending order. Follow these rules to ensure that curve will be shown correctly in dialog UI.

undefinedArea

UndefinedAreas

The treatment of areas left blank by the distortion.

applySmartBlur

24.0

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Smart Blur filter.

Supported color modes: RGB 8 bits, CMYK 8 bits, Duotone 8 bits,

Grayscale 8 bits, Lab 8 bits, Multichannel 8 bits

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

radius

number

The blur radius [0.1,100].

threshold

number

The blur threshold [0.1,100].

blurQuality

SmartBlurQuality

The smoothness or graininess of the blurred image.

mode

SmartBlurMode

The smart blur mode.

applySpherize

24.0

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Spherize filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

amount

number

The amount of distortion [-100,100].

mode

SpherizeMode

The distortion mode.

applyTwirl

23.5

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Twirl filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

angle

number

The amount of twirl to apply (degrees) [-999,999]

applyUnSharpMask

24.0

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Unsharp Mask filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

amount

number

The amount of sharpening (as a whole number percentage) [1,500].

radius

number

The radius in pixels [0.1,1000].

threshold

number

The contrast threshold [0,255].

applyWave

24.0

async : Promise<void>

Applies the Wave filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

generatorNumber

number

The whole number of generators [1,999].

minimumWavelength

number

The minimum wave length [1,(maximum wave length - 1)] (whole number).

maximumWavelength

number

The maximum wave length [(minimum wave length + 1),999] (whole number).

minimumAmplitude

number

The minimum amplitude [1,(maximum amplitude - 1)] (whole number).

maximumAmplitude

number

The maximum amplitude [(minimum amplitude + 1),999] (whole number).

horizontalScale

number

The amount of horizontal scale (as a percentage) [1,100] (whole number).

verticalScale

number

The amount of vertical scale (as a percentage) [1,100] (whole number).

waveType

WaveType

The wave type (optional).

undefinedAreas

UndefinedAreas

The treatment of areas left blank by the distortion (optional).

randomSeed

number

The random seed (optional).

applyZigZag

24.0

async : Promise<void>

Applies the ZigZag filter.

Unsupported color modes: Indexed Color, Bitmap

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

amount

number

The amount of zigzag [-100,100].

ridges

number

The number of ridges [0,20].

style

ZigZagType

The zigzag style.

bringToFront

23.0

void

Moves the layer to a position above the topmost layer or group.

clear

23.0

async : Promise<void>

Clears the layer pixels and does not copy to the clipboard. If no pixel selection is found, select all pixels and clear.

copy

23.0

async : Promise<void>

Copies the layer to the clipboard. When the optional argument is set to true, a merged copy is performed (that is, all visible layers are copied to the clipboard).

await layer.copy(true)
await layer.copy()

Parameters

Name

Type

merge?

boolean

cut

23.0

async : Promise<void>

Cuts the layer contents to the clipboard. If no selection is found then select all the pixels and then cut.

delete

23.0

void

Deletes this layer from the document.

const layers = document.layers
layers && layers[0] && layers[0].delete()

duplicate

23.0

async : Promise <Layer>

Duplicates the layer, creating a copy above it in layer stack, and returns the newly created layer.

// duplicate a layer
const copyLayer = await layer.duplicate()

// extract to a new document
const exportDoc = psApp.documents[1]
const exportedLayer = await layer.duplicate(exportDoc)

Parameters

Name

Type

relativeObject?

Document | Layer

insertionLocation?

ElementPlacement

name?

string

flip

23.0

async : Promise<void>

Flips the layer on one or both axis.

// flip horizontally
await layer.flip(constants.FlipAxis.HORIZONTAL);

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

axis

FlipAxis

Which axis (or both) to flip the layer on.

link

23.0

Layer[]

Creates a link between this layer and the target layer if not already linked, and returns a list of layers linked to this layer.

// link two layers together
const linkedLayers = strokes.link(fillLayer)
linkedLayers.forEach((layer) => console.log(layer.name))
> "strokes"
> "fillLayer"

Parameters

Name

Type

targetLayer

Layer

merge

23.0

async : Promise<Layer>

Merges layers. This operates on the currently selected layers. If multiple layers are selected, they will be merged together. If one layer is selected, it is merged down with the layer beneath. In this case, the layer below must be a pixel layer. The merged layer will now be the active layer.

move

23.0

void

Moves the layer relative to the layer specified in parameters. "placeAfter" places the layer below relativeObject. "placeBefore" places the layer above relativeObject. "placeInside" places the layer inside relativeObject if relativeObject is a group layer. ElementPlacement.PLACEINSIDE is only valid when relativeObject.kind === LayerKind.group

Parameters

Name

Type

relativeObject

Layer

insertLocation

ElementPlacement

rasterize

23.0

async : Promise<void>

Converts the targeted contents in the layer into a flat, raster image.

Parameters

Name

Type

target

RasterizeType

rotate

23.0

async : Promise<void>

Rotates the layer.

// rotate 90 deg counter clockwise
await layer.rotate(-90)

// rotate 90 deg clockwise relative to top left corner
let anchorPos = require('photoshop').constants.AnchorPosition
await layer.rotate(90, anchorPos.TOPLEFT)

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

angle

number | AngleValue

Angle to rotate the layer by in degrees

anchor?

AnchorPosition

Anchor position to rotate around

options?

object

options.interpolation?

InterpolationMethod

Interpolation method to use when resampling the image

scale

23.0

async : Promise<void>

Scales the layer.

Renamed from resize in ExtendScript.

await layer.scale(80, 80)

// Scale the layer to be a quarter of the size relative to bottom left corner
let anchorPos = require('photoshop').constants.AnchorPosition
await layer.scale(50, 50, anchorPos.BOTTOMLEFT)

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

width

number | PercentValue

Numeric percentage to scale layer horizontally

height

number | PercentValue

Numeric percentage to scale layer vertically

anchor?

AnchorPosition

Anchor position to rotate around

options?

object

options.interpolation?

InterpolationMethod

Interpolation method to use when resampling the image

sendToBack

23.0

void

Moves the layer to the bottom. If the bottom layer is the background, it will move the layer to the position above the background. If it is in a group, it will move to the bottom of the group.

skew

23.0

async : Promise<void>

Applies a skew to the layer.

// parellelogram shape
await layer.skew(-15, 0)

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

angleH

number | AngleValue

Horizontal angle to skew by

angleV

number | AngleValue

Vertical angle to skew by

options?

object

options.interpolation?

InterpolationMethod

translate

23.0

async : Promise<void>

Moves the layer (translation).

// Translate the layer to the left by 200px
await layer.translate(-200, 0)

// move the layer one height down
let xOffsetPct = {_unit: "percentUnit", _value: 0};
let yOffsetPct = {_unit: "percentUnit", _value: 100};
await layer.translate(xOffsetPct, yOffsetPct);

Parameters

Name

Type

Description

horizontal

number | PercentValue | PixelValue

Numeric value to offset layer by in pixels or percent

vertical

number | PercentValue | PixelValue

Numeric value to offset layer by in pixels or percent

unlink

23.0

async : Promise<void>

Unlinks the layer from any existing links.

// detach layer from any existing links
await layer.unlink()