Expand or collapse panel icons

Last updated on Oct 27, 2025

Learn how to expand or collapse panels to compact icons and efficiently manage space in Adobe Photoshop.

Collapsing panels into icons maintains a clean workspace and keeps tools accessible, especially on smaller screens. In Photoshop, you can expand panels fully or collapse them with or without labels, and the default workspace often shows some panels collapsed to icons.

Select a single panel icon to expand only that panel.

Select the double arrow at the upper-right of the dock to collapse all panels into icons.

To show only the icons, adjust the dock width until the labels disappear.

Widen the dock to display the labels again.

Photoshop workspace with expanded Layers, Channels, and Paths panels for detailed editing, while Character and Paragraph panels are collapsed.
Customize your workspace by expanding key panels and collapsing others for quick access.

Select the double arrow in the panel’s title bar to collapse it back to an icon.

Tip

You can also collapse the panel by selecting its tab or icon.

Drag a floating panel or panel group into the icon dock using its title bar. The panel collapses to an icon in the dock.

Drag the panel icon up and down to reposition it within the dock or move it outside to float.

Move icons to other docks, where they will adopt that dock's style.