Today’s Question: The Layers panel [in Photoshop] that I always have open used to “dock” on the right side of the screen. Now it’s floating and could be dragged around. One of the nuisances of this is that the image is partially hidden by the Layers panel. How can I get the panel to dock on the right again and stay that way?
Tim’s Quick Answer: You can simply drag the floating panel (or panel group) to the edge of the Photoshop interface to dock it. In addition, if you saved a workspace in Photoshop you can reset that workspace to restore the panel configuration.
More Detail: In Photoshop it is possible to have the various panels be docked to an edge of the main interface window or floating so they can be positioned anywhere you’d like (including on a secondary monitor).
If you have a floating panel (or set of panels) you can simply drag it to the edge of the interface. If it is a single panel you want to dock you can drag on the tab that shows the name of the panel. If it is a set of panels grouped together you can drag the bar at the top of the group. This bar looks like a title bar of a small window, but without a title on it.
You can drag the panel or group to any edge of the Photoshop interface, or to be docked within an existing panel or group. Once you drag close to an edge, you’ll see a highlight line or box depending on where you have moved your mouse, which indicates the position the panel will be docked when you release the mouse.
If you had previously saved a workspace, you can also revert to the original configuration of that workspace by going to the menu and choosing Window > Workspace > Reset, which will show the name of the current workspace after “Reset”. You can also simply switch to a saved workspace by choosing it from the Window > Workspace submenu.
If you haven’t saved a workspace, you can do so after configuring all the panels to your liking by choosing Window > Workspace > New Workspace from the menu.
I covered the many options for configuring panels and other aspects of the Photoshop interface in the lesson “Configuring the Photoshop Interface”, which is Chapter 1, Lesson 4 of my “Photoshop for Photographers” video course. This comprehensive course is included in the GreyLearning Ultimate Bundle, and you can learn more about it on the GreyLearning website here:
https://www.greylearning.com/courses/photoshop-for-photographers-2024
