How can I edit the colors in an already-placed, custom gradient in Photoshop?

Here's a basic list of what I did to the document before I sat down at the computer tonight:

• Customized a gradient


• Applied the gradient to the image in the usual way (mouse stroke), in its own layer


• Saved the file (as a .psd)

Now, it is sometime later. I'm opening it up on a different computer and what I'm trying to do is edit the way that gradient appears on the photo. I tried selecting the layer with the gradient in it and then selecting the gradient tool to attempt to edit it, but the gradient tool does not show me the current gradient (what with all my customizations), as I would have expected.

I'm trying to avoid re-creating this gradient again from scratch since all I really want to do is change the color and orientation slightly. It's not the most complicated of gradients, but starting over would lead to me spending an hour tweaking things to get them just right again. I've got other things to work so, in the meantime, I thought I'd see if any of you guys knew what to do.

Answer

In Photoshop, the only way to retrieve gradient color data is to...

A) use a Shape/Vector layer which has a gradient fill.

B) Save a gradient in the Gradient Editor dialog window.

C) Apply the gradient as a Gradient Overlay Layer Style.

D) Use a gradient fill layer via Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient

If you did none of these, then the specific gradient data is not stored anywhere directly. You can use the eyedropper tool to sample colors at the end of the gradient and rebuild it, but you can't directly access the gradient data.