Photoshop Styles File Format

Contents

This document provides information about the (undocumented yet) format of styles files in Photoshop.

Note: all multi-byte values, i.e., integer numbers (including C-style 4-character constants), floating-point (double) numbers, and Unicode characters are coded in big-endian format.

File format

Styles palette file

Name Type Kind Description
Styles.psp '8BPF' Styles palette file Adobe Photoshop preferences file containing all the styles listed in the Styles Palette.
Warning: like most preferences files, the styles palette file is not updated in real-time: it is read by the application only once at start-up (launch) time and written back at shut-down (quit) time.

Styles palette file header

Length (in bytes) Description Comments
Variable Styles Styles format.

Styles file

Name Type Kind Description
*.asl '8BSL' Styles file Adobe Photoshop styles file; generally produced by saving a selected set of styles from the Preset Manager, or all styles from the Styles Palette.

Styles file header

Length (in bytes) Description Comments
2 Styles file version (= 2) 16-bit integer.
Variable Styles Styles format.

Styles

Length (in bytes) Description Comments
4 Magic number (= '8BSL') C-style 4-character constant.
Variable Set of embedded patterns Patterns format.
4 Number of styles 32-bit integer.
Variable Sequence of styles Each in Style format.

Patterns

Set of patterns referenced by styles contained in the file, more precisely by three kinds of layer effects:
Length (in bytes) Description Comments
2 Sub-version (= 3) 16-bit integer.
4 Length (in bytes) of remaining patterns data 32-bit integer.
Variable Sequence of patterns Each in Pattern format.

Pattern

Length (in bytes) Description Comments
4 Length (in bytes) of remaining pattern data 32-bit integer.
4 Pattern version (= 1) 32-bit integer.
4 Image mode 32-bit integer:
  • 0 (Bitmap)
  • 1 (Grayscale)
  • 2 (Indexed)
  • 3 (RGB)
  • 4 (CMYK)
  • 7 (Multichannel)
  • 8 (Duotone)
  • 9 (Lab)
2 Pattern height 16-bit integer.
2 Pattern width 16-bit integer.
Variable Pattern name Unicode string format.
1 + 36 Pattern ID (UUID) Pascal-style string format.
Variable Image data Image data format (opaque for the time being).
0 to 3 Extra null padding The total number of bytes, i.e., the above-mentioned length of remaining pattern data plus the length of this padding, must be a multiple of 4.

Cf. Additional Layer Information of the page Adobe Photoshop File Formats Specification for more details about the way patterns are stored in a Photoshop document.

Unicode string

Length (in bytes) Description Comments
4 Number of Unicode characters 32-bit integer.
Variable String of Unicode characters Two bytes per character; includes terminating null.

Pascal-style string

Length (in bytes) Description Comments
1 Number of characters 8-bit integer (unsigned).
Variable String of characters One byte per character; no terminating null.

Style format

Style

Length (in bytes) Description Comments
Variable Style identification: name and ID Style identification format.
Variable Style information: document mode, layer effects, blending options Style information format.

Both style identification and style information are actually serialized action descriptors that match the serialized format expected by the ActionDescriptor.fromStream method (in JavaScript), or the HandleToDescriptor routine of the ActionDescriptor suite (in C/C++), i.e. prefixed by a 32-bit integer equal to 16. They will be described below by detailing the structure of their respective action descriptors.

Style identification

Key Type Value Comments
'Nm  ' String Style name Unicode string.
'Idnt' String Style ID (UUID) Unicode string.

Style information

Key Type Value Comments
"documentMode" Object Document mode (color space and depth) Document mode object format.
'Lefx' Object Layer effects Layer effects object format.
"blendOptions" Object Blending options Blending options object format.

Document mode format

Document mode object

Class Descriptor
"documentMode" Key Type Value Comments
'ClrS' Enumerated Color space:
  • 'ClrS', 'ECMY'
  • 'ClrS', 'Gryc'
  • 'ClrS', 'LbCl'
  • 'ClrS', 'RGBC'
 Color Mode:
  • CMYK Color
  • Grayscale
  • Lab Color
  • RGB Color
'Dpth' Integer Depth 8 or 16.

Layer effects format

Layer effects object

Class Descriptor
'Lefx' Key Type Value Comments
'Scl ' Unit double Scale (in '#Prc' units) 100% by default.
"masterFXSwitch" Boolean Master FX switch Enable All Layer Effects.
'DrSh' Object Drop shadow effect Drop shadow object format.
'IrSh' Object Inner shadow effect Inner shadow object format.
'OrGl' Object Outer glow effect Outer glow object format.
'IrGl' Object Inner glow effect Inner glow object format.
'ebbl' Object Bevel emboss (Bevel and Emboss) effect Bevel emboss object format.
'ChFX' Object Chrome FX (Satin) effect Chrome FX object format.
'SoFi' Object Solid fill (Color Overlay) effect Solid fill object format.
'GrFl' Object Gradient fill (Gradient Overlay) effect Gradient fill object format.
"patternFill" Object Pattern fill (Pattern Overlay) effect Pattern fill object format.
'FrFX' Object Frame FX (Stroke) effect Frame FX object format.

Drop shadow object

Class Descriptor
'DrSh' Key Type Value Comments
'enab' Boolean Enabled Apply Drop Shadow effect.
'Md  ' Enumerated Blend mode Among Blend modes
'Clr ' Object Color object:
  • Book color object
  • CMYK color object
  • Grayscale object
  • HSB color object
  • Lab color object
  • RGB color object
 Among:
'Opct' Unit double Opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'uglg' Boolean Use global angle Use Global Light.
'lagl' Unit double Local lighting angle (in '#Ang' units) Angle: -180° to 180°.
'Dstn' Unit double Distance (in '#Pxl' units) 0 to 30000 pixels.
'Ckmt' Unit double Choke matte (in '#Pxl' units) Spread: 0 to 100.
'blur' Unit double Blur (in '#Pxl' units) Size: 0 to 250 pixels.
'Nose' Unit double Noise (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'AntA' Boolean Anti-alias Anti-Aliased.
'TrnS' Object Transparency shape (Contour) Shaping curve object format.
"layerConceals" Boolean Layer conceals Layer Knocks Out Drop Shadow.

Inner shadow object

Class Descriptor
'IrSh' Key Type Value Comments
'enab' Boolean Enabled Apply Inner Shadow effect.
'Md  ' Enumerated Blend mode Among Blend modes
'Clr ' Object Color object:
  • Book color object
  • CMYK color object
  • Grayscale object
  • HSB color object
  • Lab color object
  • RGB color object
 Among:
'Opct' Unit double Opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'uglg' Boolean Use global angle Use Global Light.
'lagl' Unit double Local lighting angle (in '#Ang' units) Angle: -180° to 180°.
'Dstn' Unit double Distance (in '#Pxl' units) 0 to 30000 pixels.
'Ckmt' Unit double Choke matte (in '#Pxl' units) Choke: 0 to 100.
'blur' Unit double Blur (in '#Pxl' units) Size: 0 to 250 pixels.
'Nose' Unit double Noise (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'AntA' Boolean Anti-alias Anti-Aliased.
'TrnS' Object Transparency shape (Contour) Shaping curve object format.

Outer glow object

Class Descriptor
'OrGl' Key Type Value Comments
'enab' Boolean Enabled Apply Outer Glow effect.
'Md  ' Enumerated Blend mode Among Blend modes
'Clr ' Object Color object:
  • Book color object
  • CMYK color object
  • Grayscale object
  • HSB color object
  • Lab color object
  • RGB color object
 Among:
'Grad' Object Custom stops gradient object
or
Color noise gradient object		 Custom stops gradient object format
or
Color noise gradient object format.
'Opct' Unit double Opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'GlwT' Enumerated Glow Technique:
  • 'BETE', 'PrBL'
  • 'BETE', 'SfBL'
 Technique:
  • Precise
  • Softer
'Ckmt' Unit double Choke matte (in '#Pxl' units) Spread: 0 to 100.
'blur' Unit double Blur (in '#Pxl' units) Size: 0 to 250 pixels.
'Nose' Unit double Noise (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'ShdN' Unit double Shading noise (in '#Prc' units) Jitter: 0% to 100%.
'AntA' Boolean Anti-alias Anti-Aliased.
'TrnS' Object Transparency shape (Contour) Shaping curve object format.
'Inpr' Unit double Input range (in '#Prc' units) Range: 1% to 100%.

Note: Color ('Clr ') and Gradient ('Grad') are mutually exclusive.

Inner glow object

Class Descriptor
'IrGl' Key Type Value Comments
'enab' Boolean Enabled Apply Inner Glow effect.
'Md  ' Enumerated Blend mode Among Blend modes
'Clr ' Object Color object:
  • Book color object
  • CMYK color object
  • Grayscale object
  • HSB color object
  • Lab color object
  • RGB color object
 Among:
'Grad' Object Custom stops gradient object
or
Color noise gradient object		 Custom stops gradient object format
or
Color noise gradient object format.
'Opct' Unit double Opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'GlwT' Enumerated Glow Technique:
  • 'BETE', 'PrBL'
  • 'BETE', 'SfBL'
 Technique:
  • Precise
  • Softer
'Ckmt' Unit double Choke matte (in '#Pxl' units) Choke: 0 to 100.
'blur' Unit double Blur (in '#Pxl' units) Size: 0 to 250 pixels.
'ShdN' Unit double Shading noise (in '#Prc' units) Jitter: 0% to 100%.
'Nose' Unit double Noise (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'AntA' Boolean Anti-alias Anti-Aliased.
'glwS' Enumerated Inner glow source:
  • 'IGSr', 'SrcC'
  • 'IGSr', 'SrcE'
 Source:
  • Center
  • Edge
'TrnS' Object Transparency shape (Contour) Shaping curve object format.
'Inpr' Unit double Input range (in '#Prc' units) Range: 1% to 100%.

Note: Color ('Clr ') and Gradient ('Grad') are mutually exclusive.

Bevel emboss object

Class Descriptor
'ebbl' Key Type Value Comments
'enab' Boolean Enabled Apply Bevel and Emboss effect.
'hglM' Enumerated Highlight blend mode Among Blend modes
'hglC' Object Highlight color object:
  • Book color object
  • CMYK color object
  • Grayscale object
  • HSB color object
  • Lab color object
  • RGB color object
 Among:
'hglO' Unit double Highlight opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'sdwM' Enumerated Shadow blend mode Among Blend modes
'sdwC' Object Shadow color object:
  • Book color object
  • CMYK color object
  • Grayscale object
  • HSB color object
  • Lab color object
  • RGB color object
 Among:
'sdwO' Unit double Shadow opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'bvlT' Enumerated Bevel Technique:
  • 'bvlT', 'SfBL'
  • 'bvlT', 'PrBL'
  • 'bvlT', 'Slmt'
 Technique:
  • Smooth
  • Chisel Hard
  • Chisel Soft
'bvlS' Enumerated Bevel style:
  • 'BESl', 'OtrB'
  • 'BESl', 'InrB'
  • 'BESl', 'Embs'
  • 'BESl', 'PlEb'
  • 'BESl', "strokeEmboss"
 Style:
  • Outer Bevel
  • Inner Bevel
  • Emboss
  • Pillow Emboss
  • Stroke Emboss
'uglg' Boolean Use global angle Use Global Light.
'lagl' Unit double Local lighting angle (in '#Ang' units) Angle: -180° to 180°.
'Lald' Unit double Local lighting altitude (in '#Ang' units) Altitude: 0° to 90°.
'srgR' Unit double Strength ratio (in '#Prc' units) Depth: 1% to 1000%.
'blur' Unit double Blur (in '#Pxl' units) Size: 0 to 250 pixels.
'bvlD' Enumerated Bevel direction:
  • 'BESs', 'In  '
  • 'BESs', 'Out '
 Direction:
  • Up
  • Down
'TrnS' Object Transparency shape (Gloss Contour) Shaping curve object format.
"antialiasGloss" Boolean Anti-alias gloss Anti-Aliased.
'Sftn' Unit double Softness (in '#Pxl' units) Soften: 1 to 16 pixels.
Only if "useShape" is true:
"useShape" Boolean Use shape Apply Contour.
'MpgS' Object Mapping shape (Contour) Shaping curve object format.
'AntA' Boolean Anti-alias Anti-Aliased.
'Inpr' Unit double Input range (in '#Prc' units) Range: 0% to 100%.
Only if "useTexture" is true:
"useTexture" Boolean Use texture Apply Texture.
'InvT' Boolean Invert texture Invert.
'Algn' Boolean Align Link with Layer.
'Scl ' Unit double Scale (in '#Prc' units) 1% to 1000%.
"textureDepth" Unit double Texture depth (in '#Prc' units) Depth: -1000% to +1000%.
'Ptrn' Object Pattern Pattern object format.
"phase" Object Phase (Snap to Origin, or drag to position with mouse down) Phase point object format.

Chrome FX object

Class Descriptor
'ChFX' Key Type Value Comments
'enab' Boolean Enabled Apply Satin effect.
'Md  ' Enumerated Blend mode Among Blend modes
'Clr ' Object Color object:
  • Book color object
  • CMYK color object
  • Grayscale object
  • HSB color object
  • Lab color object
  • RGB color object
 Among:
'AntA' Boolean Anti-alias Anti-Aliased.
'Invr' Boolean Invert Reverse effect.
'Opct' Unit double Opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'lagl' Unit double Local lighting angle (in '#Ang' units) Angle: -180° to 180°.
'Dstn' Unit double Distance (in '#Pxl' units) 1 to 250 pixels.
'blur' Unit double Blur (in '#Pxl' units) Size: 0 to 250 pixels.
'MpgS' Object Mapping shape (Contour) Shaping curve object format.

Solid fill object

Class Descriptor
'SoFi' Key Type Value Comments
'enab' Boolean Enabled Apply Color Overlay effect.
'Md  ' Enumerated Blend mode Among Blend modes
'Opct' Unit double Opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'Clr ' Object Color object:
  • Book color object
  • CMYK color object
  • Grayscale object
  • HSB color object
  • Lab color object
  • RGB color object
 Among:

Gradient fill object

Class Descriptor
'GrFl' Key Type Value Comments
'enab' Boolean Enabled Apply Gradient Overlay effect.
'Md  ' Enumerated Blend mode Among Blend modes
'Opct' Unit double Opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'Grad' Object Custom stops gradient object
or
Color noise gradient object		 Custom stops gradient object format
or
Color noise gradient object format.
'Angl' Unit double Angle (in '#Ang' units) -180° to 180°.
'Type' Enumerated Type:
  • 'GrdT', 'Lnr '
  • 'GrdT', 'Rdl '
  • 'GrdT', 'Angl'
  • 'GrdT', 'Rflc'
  • 'GrdT', 'Dmnd'
 Style:
  • Linear
  • Radial
  • Angle
  • Reflected
  • Diamond
'Rvrs' Boolean Reverse Reverse direction of gradient.
'Algn' Boolean Align Align with Layer.
'Scl ' Unit double Scale (in '#Prc' units) 10% to 150%.
'Ofst' Object Offset (drag to position with mouse down) Offset point object format.
'Dthr' Boolean Dither Only from CS6.

Pattern fill object

Class Descriptor
"patternFill" Key Type Value Comments
'enab' Boolean Enabled Apply Pattern Overlay effect.
'Md  ' Enumerated Blend mode Among Blend modes
'Opct' Unit double Opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'Ptrn' Object Pattern Pattern object format.
'Scl ' Unit double Scale (in '#Prc' units) 1% to 1000%.
'Algn' Boolean Align Link with Layer.
"phase" Object Phase (Snap to Origin, or drag to position with mouse down) Phase point object format.

Frame FX object

Class Descriptor
'FrFX' Key Type Value Comments
'enab' Boolean Enabled Apply Stroke effect.
'Styl' Enumerated Style:
  • 'FStl', 'OutF'
  • 'FStl', 'InsF'
  • 'FStl', 'CtrF'
 Position:
  • Outside
  • Inside
  • Center
'PntT' Enumerated Paint type:
  • 'FrFl', 'SClr'
  • 'FrFl', 'GrFl'
  • 'FrFl', 'Ptrn'
 Fill Type:
  • Color
  • Gradient
  • Pattern
'Md  ' Enumerated Blend mode Among Blend modes
'Opct' Unit double Opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'Sz  ' Unit double Size (in '#Pxl' units) 1 to 250 pixels.
Color Fill Type only:
'Clr ' Object Color object:
  • Book color object
  • CMYK color object
  • Grayscale object
  • HSB color object
  • Lab color object
  • RGB color object
 Among:
Gradient Fill Type only:
'Grad' Object Custom stops gradient object
or
Color noise gradient object		 Custom stops gradient object format
or
Color noise gradient object format.
'Angl' Unit double Angle (in '#Ang' units) -180° to 180°.
'Type' Enumerated Type:
  • 'GrdT', 'Lnr '
  • 'GrdT', 'Rdl '
  • 'GrdT', 'Angl'
  • 'GrdT', 'Rflc'
  • 'GrdT', 'Dmnd'
  • 'GrdT', "shapeburst"
 Style:
  • Linear
  • Radial
  • Angle
  • Reflected
  • Diamond
  • Shape Burst
'Rvrs' Boolean Reverse Reverse direction of gradient.
'Scl ' Unit double Scale (in '#Prc' units) 10% to 150%.
'Algn' Boolean Align Align with Layer.
'Ofst' Object Offset (drag to position with mouse down) Offset point object format.
'Dthr' Boolean Dither Only from CS6.
Pattern Fill Type only:
'Ptrn' Object Pattern Pattern object format.
'Scl ' Unit double Scale (in '#Prc' units) 1% to 1000%.
'Lnkd' Boolean Linked Link with Layer.
"phase" Object Phase (Snap to Origin, or drag to position with mouse down) Phase point object format.

Offset point object

Class Descriptor
'Pnt ' Key Type Value Comments
'Hrzn' Unit double Horizontal (in '#Prc' units) Horizontal offset.
'Vrtc' Unit double Vertical (in '#Prc' units) Vertical offset.

Phase point object

Class Descriptor
'Pnt ' Key Type Value Comments
'Hrzn' Double Horizontal Horizontal phase.
'Vrtc' Double Vertical Vertical phase.

Shaping curve object

Class Descriptor
'ShpC' Key Type Value Comments
'Nm  ' String Name Contour name.
'Crv ' List List of curve points Each in Curve point object format.

Curve point object

Class Descriptor
'CrPt' Key Type Value Comments
'Hrzn' Double Horizontal 0 to 255.
'Vrtc' Double Vertical 0 to 255.
'Cnty' Boolean Continuity Non-Corner (true by default).

Blending options format

Blending options object

Class Descriptor
"blendOptions" Key Type Value Comments
'Opct' Unit double Opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
'Md  ' Enumerated Blend mode Among Blend modes
"fillOpacity" Unit double Fill opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.
"blendClipped" Boolean Blend clipped Blend Clipped Effects as Group
"blendInterior" Boolean Blend interior Blend Interior Effects as Group
"knockout" Enumerated Knockout:
  • "knockout", 'None'
  • "knockout", "shallow"
  • "knockout", "deep"
 Knockout:
  • None
  • Shallow
  • Deep
"transparencyShapesLayer" Boolean Transparency shapes layer Transparency Shapes Layer
"layerMaskAsGlobalMask" Boolean Layer mask as global mask Layer Mask Hides Effects
"vectorMaskAsGlobalMask" Boolean Vector mask as global mask Vector Mask Hides Effects
'Blnd' List List of blend ranges Each in Blend range object format.
"channelRestrictions" List List of enumerated channels Each among Channels.

Blend range object

Class Descriptor
'Blnd' Key Type Value Comments
'Chnl' Reference Channel reference Channel reference format.
'SrcB' Integer Source minimum black 0 to 255.
'Srcl' Integer Source maximum black 0 to 255.
'SrcW' Integer Source minimum white 0 to 255.
'Srcm' Integer Source maximum white 0 to 255.
'DstB' Integer Destination minimum black 0 to 255.
'Dstl' Integer Destination maximum black 0 to 255.
'DstW' Integer Destination minimum white 0 to 255.
'Dstt' Integer Destination maximum white 0 to 255.

Channel reference

Desired Class Type Value Comments
'Chnl' Enumerated Channel Among Channels.

Channels

EnumType EnumValue Comments
'Chnl' 'A   ' A
'B   ' B
'Blck' Black
'Bl  ' Blue
'Cyn ' Cyan
'Dtn ' Duotone
'Gry ' Gray
'Grn ' Green
'Lght' Lightness
'Mgnt' Magenta
'Mntn' Monotone
'Qdtn' Quadtone
'Rd  ' Red
'Trtn' Tritone
'Yllw' Yellow

Color format

Book color object

Class Descriptor
'BkCl' Key Type Value Comments
'Bk  ' String Book name Unicode string.
'Nm  ' String Color name Unicode string.
"bookID" Integer Book ID Signed number.
"bookKey" Raw data Book key Byte string.

CMYK color object

Class Descriptor
'CMYC' Key Type Value Comments
'Cyn ' Double Cyan 0% to 100%.
'Mgnt' Double Magenta 0% to 100%.
'Ylw ' Double Yellow 0% to 100%.
'Blck' Double Black 0% to 100%.

Grayscale object

Class Descriptor
'Grsc' Key Type Value Comments
'Gry ' Double Gray 0% to 100%.

HSB color object

Class Descriptor
'HSBC' Key Type Value Comments
'H   ' Unit double Hue (in '#Ang' units) 0° to 360°.
'Strt' Double Saturation 0% to 100%.
'Brgh' Double Brightness 0% to 100%.

Lab color object

Class Descriptor
'LbCl' Key Type Value Comments
'Lmnc' Double Luminance 0 to 100.
'A   ' Double A -128 to 127.
'B   ' Double B -128 to 127.

RGB color object

Class Descriptor
'RGBC' Key Type Value Comments
'Rd  ' Double Red 0 to 255.
'Grn ' Double Green 0 to 255.
'Bl  ' Double Blue 0 to 255.

Gradient format

Custom stops gradient object

Class Descriptor
'Grdn' Key Type Value Comments
'Nm  ' String Gradient name Unicode string.
'GrdF' Enumerated Gradient form: custom stops
(= 'GrdF', 'CstS')		 Solid gradient.
'Intr' Double Interpolation 0 to 4096 (Smoothness: 0% to 100%).
'Clrs' List List of color stops Each in Color stop object format.
'Trns' List List of transparency stops Each in Transparency stop object format.

Color stop object

Class Descriptor
'Clrt' Key Type Value Comments
'Lctn' Integer Location 0 to 4096 (0% to 100%).
'Mdpn' Integer Midpoint 0% to 100%.
'Type' Enumerated Color stop type:
  • 'Clry', 'UsrS'
  • 'Clry', 'BckC'
  • 'Clry', 'FrgC'
 Type:
  • User stop
  • Background color
  • Foreground color
'Clr ' Object Color object:
  • Book color object
  • CMYK color object
  • Grayscale object
  • HSB color object
  • Lab color object
  • RGB color object
 Key present only if color stop type is user stop:

Transparency stop object

Class Descriptor
'TrnS' Key Type Value Comments
'Lctn' Integer Location 0 to 4096 (0% to 100%).
'Mdpn' Integer Midpoint 0% to 100%.
'Opct' Unit double Opacity (in '#Prc' units) 0% to 100%.

Color noise gradient object

Class Descriptor
'Grdn' Key Type Value Comments
'Nm  ' String Gradient name Unicode string.
'GrdF' Enumerated Gradient form: color noise
(= 'GrdF', 'ClNs')		 Noise gradient.
'RndS' Integer Random seed Randomize.
'ShTr' Boolean Show transparency Add Transparency.
'VctC' Boolean Vector color Restrict Colors.
'Smth' Integer Smoothness 0 to 4096 (Roughness: 0% to 100%).
'ClrS' Enumerated Color space:
  • 'ClrS', 'RGBC'
  • 'ClrS', 'HSBl'
  • 'ClrS', 'LbCl'
 Color Model:
  • RGB
  • HSB
  • LAB
'Mnm ' List of Integers Four minimum values Three color components (0% to 100%) + transparency (0%).
'Mxm ' List of Integers Four maximum values Three color components (0% to 100%) + transparency (100%).

Pattern format

Pattern object

Class Descriptor
'Ptrn' Key Type Value Comments
'Nm  ' String Pattern name Unicode string.
'Idnt' String Pattern ID (UUID) Unicode string.

Blend modes

EnumType EnumValue Comments
'BlnM' 'Nrml' Normal
'Dslv' Dissolve
'Drkn' Darken
'Mltp' Multiply
'CBrn' Color Burn
"linearBurn" Linear Burn
"darkerColor" Darker Color
'Lghn' Lighten
'Scrn' Screen
'CDdg' Color Dodge
"linearDodge" Linear Dodge (Add)
"lighterColor" Lighter Color
'Ovrl' Overlay
'SftL' Soft Light
'HrdL' Hard Light
"vividLight" Vivid Light
"linearLight" Linear Light
"pinLight" Pin Light
"hardMix" Hard Mix
'Dfrn' Difference
'Xclu' Exclusion
'Sbtr' Subtract
"divide" Divide
'H   ' Hue
'Strt' Saturation
'Clr ' Color
'Lmns' Luminosity

Parsing styles files

A practical set of JavaScript functions for parsing styles files is contained in the module jamStyles, which is part of the JSON Action Manager scripting library.

It uses the following simplified formats:

Three utility scripts are available:

All files are open-source and licensed under GPLv3; the utility scripts have been successfully tested in Photoshop CS4 on Mac OS X, but should be platform agnostic.

Doc version: 1.6
Date: 2018-04-16
Copyright: © 2013-2018 Michel MARIANI
Disclaimer: this information is provided 'as is' without warranty of any kind, express or implied; use it at your own risk.