What is the purpose of a Layer Style and how do you apply a Drop Shadow?

• A. Layer Styles apply effects non-destructively; apply by double-clicking the layer or choosing Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow and configure settings.
• B. Layer Styles permanently alter pixel data.
• C. Layer Styles are only visible in grayscale.
• D. Drop Shadow can only be applied to text layers.

Answer: (A)

Layer Styles add effects to a layer without changing the actual pixels, so you can edit or remove them later without permanent edits. To apply a drop shadow, open the layer’s style options by double-clicking the layer (on its name area, not the thumbnail) or by choosing Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow. The dialog lets you set a drop shadow’s angle, distance, spread, size, opacity, color, and blend mode, giving precise control over its appearance. This approach is non-destructive because the shadow is stored as a style, not baked into the image data. Drop shadows aren’t limited to text and can be applied to many layer types, and you can always tweak or remove the effect later. The other statements aren’t accurate: layer styles don’t permanently alter pixels, aren’t restricted to grayscale, and aren’t limited to text layers.