Select Window > Character Styles.
Last updated on
Oct 4, 2026
Save time with reusable text formatting that keeps your typography consistent across documents.
Character styles let you save formatting attributes—like font, size, color, and effects—and apply them to any text with a single click. Use them when you need consistent formatting for specific elements, such as emphasized words, product names, or labels, without changing entire paragraphs.
Character styles work within Photoshop's style hierarchy. Manual formatting overrides character styles, which override paragraph styles. This gives you the efficiency of reusable styles with the flexibility to customize when needed.
You can learn more about formatting characters to understand the individual character formatting attribute.
Open the Character Styles panel
Character Style for adjusting attributes of a character
The panel displays all available styles in your document. New documents don't include character styles by default—create them as needed for your project.
Create a character style from formatted text
Select the text that has the formatting you want to save.
In the Character Styles panel, select the menu.
Character Styles
Select New Character Style.
Enter a descriptive name for the style in the Style Name field.
Review the captured formatting and select OK.
Create a character style from scratch.
Select an image layer, such as the Background, to avoid applying the style while you create it.
In the Character Styles panel, select the menu and select New Character Style.
Enter a name in the Style Name field.
Select a formatting category, such as Basic Character Formats, and specify the attributes you want to include.
Continue selecting categories and specifying attributes until the style is complete.
Select OK to save the character style.
Apply a character style
Select the text you want to format, then select a style name in the Character Styles panel.
Your text updates immediately, with all the formatting from that style.
Edit a character style
In the Character Styles panel, double-click the style you want to modify.
Select a formatting category and adjust the attributes.
Select OK to save your changes.
All text in your document that uses the edited style updates automatically.
Save default type styles
Configure your Character Styles panel with the styles you want as defaults.
Select Type > Save Default Type Styles.
Note
Default type styles are available in Creative Cloud versions of Photoshop. Saved defaults apply automatically to new documents and can be loaded into existing documents.
Load default type styles into a document
Open the document where you want to apply default styles.
Select Type > Load Default Type Styles.
If the document contains existing character styles with matching names, choose whether to replace them in the Import Character Styles dialog and select OK.
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