Smart Objects - overview and benefits

Smart Objects store image data from various image types, including those created in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. They preserve the original image content and quality, allowing you to modify it without permanently altering it.

You can embed an image directly into a document or create Linked Smart Objects that reference an external file. When the source file changes, Photoshop automatically updates the linked content. Linked Smart Objects differ from duplicate instances in the same document. With linked objects, you can share one source file across multiple Photoshop documents, which many web designers find familiar and useful.

Advantages of Smart Objects

• Resize or reshape without losing quality: Scale, rotate, skew, distort, apply perspective, or warp a layer without losing image quality because these changes don’t affect the original content.
• Keep vector artwork sharp: Use vector data, such as Illustrator artwork, which would otherwise be converted to pixels in Photoshop.
• Edit filters without losing quality: Apply filters to preserve the original image and edit them whenever you need.
• Update all linked copies: Edit one Smart Object to automatically update all linked instances.
• Use flexible layer masks: Apply a linked or unlinked layer mask to the Smart Object layer.
• Test with placeholders: Try various designs with low-resolution placeholder images, then replace them with final versions.
• Reduce file size with Linked Smart Objects: Linked Smart Objects link to an external file rather than embedding it, which can make documents smaller. This helps keep projects lighter and faster, especially when using large images.
  

Limitations of Smart Objects

• Avoid converting to pixels: You can’t paint, dodge, burn, or clone on a Smart Object layer until you change it to pixels. To work around this, edit its contents, add a new layer over it, duplicate the object, or create a layer for pixel-based edits.
• Watch file sizes: High-resolution images or multiple linked assets in Smart Objects can increase file size and slow down large projects.
• Expect variable file savings: Linked Smart Objects store a flattened and scaled version of the image for display, and in some cases, this data can be larger than the original file, making any space savings negligible.