Export files in Photoshop

Updated in August 2021 (v22.5)

You can use Quick Export As and Export As options to export a Photoshop document, artboards, layers, and layer groups in PNG, JPG, and GIF file formats.

Quick Export As

Use the Quick Export As option when you want to quickly export your work based on the settings you've specified in the Quick Export preferences.

To access the Quick Export As option, do either of the following:

• Navigate to File > Export > Quick Export As [image format].
• Go to the Layers panel. Select the layers, layer groups, or artboards you want to export. Right-click your selection and choose Quick Export As [image format] from the context menu.

Quick Export preferences

Quick Export preferences for format, location, metadata, and color space

By default, Quick Export generates assets as PNG with transparency and prompts you every time to select an export location.

To change the Quick Export settings, do either of the following:

• Go to Edit > Preferences > Export 
• Select File > Export > Export Preferences

You can specify the following options in the Preferences dialog:

Quick Export Format: Select an image file format for export — PNG, JPG, and GIF. You can further set format-specific parameters. For example, for PNG, you can specify if you want to export assets with Transparency enabled (32-bit) or export Smaller Files (8-bit). For JPG, you can set the export Quality. 

Quick Export Location: Choose this option to select the location for images exported using Quick Export. Select one of the following:

• Ask where to export each time: Prompts you to select a location every time you export assets.
• Export files to an assets folder next to the current document: Places the image asset in a subfolder named Assets within the folder containing the source Photoshop document.

Quick Export Metadata: Use this option to include metadata — Copyright and Contact info in the exported assets.

Quick Export Color Space:  Choose whether you want to convert the assets to the sRGB color space.

Export As Location: See the Export As section below.

Export As

Use the Export As option to fine-tune your export settings every time you export layers, layer groups, artboards, or Photoshop documents as images. Each selected layer, layer group, or artboard is exported as a separate image asset.

To launch the Export As dialog, do either of the following:

• Navigate to File > Export > Export As to export the current Photoshop document. If your document contains artboards, all artboards in it are exported through this dialog.
• Go the Layers panel. Select the layers, layer groups, or artboards you want to export. Right-click your selection and select Export As from the context menu.
  

Export As Dialog setting and location preference

Export As dialog settings

You can set the following options in the Export As dialog:

Format: Choose PNG, JPG, or GIF.

Format-specific setting: For PNG, specify whether you want to export assets with Transparency enabled (32-bit) or export smaller-sized images (8-bit). For JPEG, specify the desired image quality slider (1–7). GIF images are transparent by default. While exporting PNG assets, remember the following:

• Selecting Transparency generates 32-bit PNG assets
• Selecting Smaller File generates 8-bit PNG assets
• Leaving the above options deselected generates 24-bit PNG assets

Size: Specify the width and height of the image asset. Width and height are locked together by default. Changing the width automatically changes the height proportionately. If you want to specify the canvas bounds of the exported asset, see Canvas Size.

Scale: Choose how big the exported image should be. This option is useful for exporting larger- or smaller-resolution assets. Changing the scale impacts image size.

Resample: Choose a resampling method. Resampling refers to changing the amount of image data as you change either the pixel dimensions or the resolution of an image, typically while resizing an image.

• Bilinear: Adds pixels by averaging the color values of the surrounding pixels. This method produces medium-quality results.
• Bicubic: A slower but more precise method based on an examination of the values of surrounding pixels. Using complex calculations, Bicubic produces smoother tonal gradations than the Bilinear or Nearest Neighbor resampling methods.
• Bicubic Smoother: Good for enlarging images based on Bicubic interpolation, but designed to produce smoother results.
• Bicubic Sharper: Good for reducing the size of an image based on Bicubic interpolation while enhancing sharpening. This method maintains the detail in a resampled image. If Bicubic Sharper oversharpens some areas of an image, try using Bicubic.
• Bicubic Automatic: Automatically chooses the Bicubic sampling method appropriate for the image.
• Nearest Neighbor: Fast but less precise method that replicates the pixels in an image. This method is for use with illustrations containing edges that are not anti-aliased. It preserves hard edges and produces a smaller file. However, this method can produce jagged effects, which become apparent when you scale an image or perform multiple manipulations on a selection.
• Preserve Details: While resizing the image, this method places primary importance on the preservation of image details and sharpness.

Canvas Size: If your asset needs to occupy a certain width and height, specify those values as the Canvas Size. The Export As dialog updates the preview to center the image within those bounds. This option is useful in several scenarios, such as the following:

• You're exporting icons that have various sizes, but that need to be centered within 50x50 px boxes.
• You're exporting banner images that are smaller or larger than the required dimensions.

If the image is larger than the canvas size, it is clipped to the width and height values set for the canvas. If the canvas size is larger than the image, the new space will be filled depending on the content of your image. If you have a background layer, it will fill with white color. If you do not have a background layer and your format settings support transparency, the background layer will be transparent. If your file is using the Index color mode, it will fill with the final swatch in the color table. You can click Reset to revert the values to those set in Image Size.

Metadata: Specify whether you want to embed metadata—copyright and contact information—in the exported assets.

Color Space: Specify the following options that are selected by default:

• Whether you want to convert the exported asset to the sRGB color space.
• Whether you want to embed the color profile in the exported asset.

Export As LOCATION PREFERENCE

To change the Export As location preference, do either of the following:

• Go to Edit > Preferences > Export 
• Select File > Export > Export Preferences

In the Preferences dialog, choose an option under Export As Location. 

• Export assets to the location of the current document.
• Export assets to the last location specified.

Export files in different sizes

You can export the selected layers, artboards, or documents as assets in multiple sizes using the Export As dialog.

To do so, follow these steps:

1. In the left pane of the Export As dialog, select a relative asset size—for example, 1.25x.
2. Choose a suffix for the asset exported at the relative asset size. For example, @1,25x. Suffixes help you easily manage the exported assets.
3. Click the '+' icon to add more sizes and suffix for the exported assets.
   

The scaling options you choose is applied to all of your selected layers or artboards.

Export layers as files

You can export and save layers as individual files using a variety of formats, including PSD, BMP, JPEG, PDF, Targa, and TIFF. Layers are named automatically as they are saved. You can set options to control the generation of names.

To export layers as files, do the following:

1. Choose File > Export > Export Layers To Files.
2. In the Export Layers To Files dialog box, under Destination, click Browse to select a destination for the exported files. By default, the generated files are saved in the sample folder as the source file.
3. Enter a name in the File Name Prefix text box to specify a common name for the files.
4. Select the Visible Layers Only option if you want to export only those layers that have visibility enabled in the Layers panel. Use this option if you don’t want all the layers exported. Turn off visibility for layers that you don’t want to be exported.
5. Choose a file format from the File Type menu. Set options as necessary.
6. Select the Include ICC Profile option if you want the working space profile embedded in the exported file. This is important for color-managed workflows.
7. Click Run.

Export artboards as files

Export artboards as PDF

Export As SVG deprecation 

Export As SVG support in Photoshop has always been experimental. With the August release of Photoshop 22.5, this feature has been discontinued due to low usage and limitations. 

If you still want to export your Photoshop document as SVG, you can follow any of these workarounds:

• Navigate to Preferences > Export and enable Use Legacy "Export As". Quit and relaunch Photoshop.
• SVGs can be handled better in vector apps like Illustrator and XD, since Photoshop is primarily pixel-based work. Open your PSD in Adobe XD or Illustrator and use their export as SVG functionality. To learn more about exporting files from XD or Illustrator, check out:
  • Save artwork | Illustrator
  • Export design assets | XD

SVG export limitations in Photoshop

• Text may not render as expected. For best fidelity, convert the text layer to a shape before exporting it to SVG.
• Layer masks and clipping masks aren’t rendered as expected. Consider using vector masks instead for SVG export.
• The background layer exports as transparent to SVG. Duplicate the background layer in the Layers panel to make it visible in the exported SVG image.

Common questions

Which color space is the best to export my Photoshop document?

sRGB is recommended when you prepare images for the web, because it defines the color space of the standard monitor used to view images on the web. sRGB is also a good choice when you work with images from consumer-level digital cameras, because most of these cameras use sRGB as their default color space. 

To learn more about color spaces and settings, see Color settings.

What are export slices?

Slices divide an image into smaller images that are reassembled on a web page using an HTML table or CSS layers. By dividing the image, you can assign different URL links to create page navigation, or optimize each part of an image using its own optimization settings. You export and optimize a sliced image using the Save for Web (Legacy) option. Photoshop saves each slice as a separate file and generates the HTML or CSS code needed to display the sliced image.

To learn more, see Slice web pages.

Can I export my Photoshop document using Save for Web?

Yes. You can still use Save for Web (Legacy) option to export your assets. To export your document using the legacy export option, select File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy). 

Common errors

Error: Adobe Save for Web

When you are using Photoshop on macOS 10.15.x and select File > Export > Save for Web, you get an error "Adobe Save for Web Error: Could not complete this operation. An unknown error has occurred."

To learn about the workaround, see Photoshop and macOS Catalina (10.15).

Error: Render video starts but never completes

When you select File > Export > Render Video... the process never completes. 

To learn about the workaround, see Photoshop and macOS Catalina (10.15).

Error: 'There is a problem with Generator' occurs when launching Photoshop

The error: "There is a problem with Generator. Please quit Photoshop and try again. If the problem persists, remove any third-party plug-ins or try to reinstalling Photoshop." may occur when launching Photoshop or using Generator-related functions. 

To learn about the workaround, see Error 'There is a problem with Generator' occurs when launching Photoshop.

Error: Layer is empty

Layers that are empty or are not capable of rendering images cannot be rendered in the Export As dialog. These layers can be clipping masks, adjustment layers, or just layers that have no pixels in them.

Error: Image is outside of the document bounds

The Export operation was unable to render the image, because it bleeds off the canvas. Move the image such that it fits within the canvas