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Manage and work with cloud documents in Photoshop

Get to know the common workflows available with cloud documents in Photoshop.

Cloud document is Adobe's new cloud-native document file type that is optimized for a seamless online or offline work experience across devices. With cloud documents, you can enjoy the security of knowing that your edits get saved and synced to the cloud all the time.

Read the full article below to learn more about common workflows associated with cloud documents in Photoshop.

Cloud documents in Photoshop

Create a cloud document and save

iPad

Any document you create with Photoshop on mobile is automatically saved as a cloud document by default. Use the Create new option in the app home screen to create a cloud document.

To learn more about creating and explicitly exporting a cloud document to other file formats, see Create, open, and save documents.

Desktop

You can create a document with Photoshop on desktop and save it as a cloud document to work anytime, anywhere, and across devices.

To save a file, go to the File menu and select any of the Save commands: Save, Save As, or Save a Copy. On selecting a save command, you will be presented with the cloud document picker— Save to cloud documents and Save on your computer.

Note:

Save as cloud documents by default: Some of you will be able to see a potential update to the save workflow that you know today as we gradually roll out the changes to everyone. With this update, in the new cloud document picker dialog where you can see the benefits of saving your files to Creative Cloud, the option to save as a cloud document is selected by default. Like today, you can still decide to save locally on your computer. 

To revert to the existing 'Save As' behavior, you can select the Default File Location as On your computer to see the local path while creating or saving the new documents from any of the below locations:

  • Windows: Edit > Preferences > File Handling
  • macOS: Photoshop > Preferences > File Handling

If you have a question to ask or want to share your issue with this setting, notify us on the Adobe Photoshop community. We'd love to hear from you!

Web

You can access your cloud documents from Creative Cloud web but cannot create, open, make edits, or save from the Creative Cloud website.

Access your cloud documents within Photoshop

iPad

Navigate to Files > Your files tab in the app home screen on your iPad.

Under the Cloud documents section, you can:

  • Sort your cloud documents by Date CreatedDate Modified, or Name in ascending or descending orders.
  • You can switch between the list view () and the grid view (). 
  • You can create a folder () to organize your cloud documents.

Desktop

Go to Files > Your files in the app home screen on your desktop to view your cloud documents. Cloud documents owned by you and accessed or shared with you recently will also show up under Recents in the home screen.

Moreover, with Photoshop 23.2 and later, you can filter cloud documents with a keyword. When offline, you can still filter cloud documents using a keyword but the cloud documents available online only will appear to be greyed out.

  • You can enable the check box to select multiple cloud documents simultaneously.
  • Sort your cloud documents by Date Modified, or Name in ascending or descending orders.
  • You can switch between the list view () and the grid view (). 
  • You can create a folder () to organize your cloud documents.

Web

Open  Creative Cloud web. Navigate to Creative Cloud > Files > Your work > Cloud documents.

Under the Cloud documents section, you can:

  • You can enable the check box to select multiple cloud documents simultaneously.
  • Sort your cloud documents by Modified, or Name in ascending or descending orders.
  • You can switch between the list view () and the grid view (). 
  • You can create a folder () to organize your cloud documents.

Invite others to edit

You can seamlessly collaborate on your Photoshop work by inviting others to edit your cloud documents. Also, easily find all cloud documents you have been invited to under the Shared with you tab in the home screen from within the Photoshop app on your desktop, iPad, or web, or access them from the Creative Cloud web or Creative Cloud desktop app.

To learn more, check out Share access and edit your cloud documents.

View version history

You can view and manage the version history of your Photoshop cloud documents in-app or on the web.

iPad

Follow these quick steps to view the version history:

  1. In the app home screen, either navigate to Home > Recent or Files > Your files/Shared with you in the left navigation panel.
  2. Tap the three-dots icon below a cloud document for which you want to access previous versions. In the menu that opens, select View version history
  3. In the Version History mode that opens, tap the Timeline () icon.

You can easily browse and view thumbnails of saved versions of your cloud document and perform various operations like Rename your cloud document or Revert to an earlier version.

Desktop

Updated in the October 2022 release of Photoshop 24.0

You can quickly check your version history in Photoshop desktop by following the simple steps below:

  1. Open a cloud document and choose either File > Version History or Window > Version History to open the Version History panel.
  2. In the Version History panel that opens, you can easily browse and view thumbnails of saved versions of your cloud document.
    • Click the three dots () icon and select Name this version to give a name to the selected version and add it to the Marked versions list. You can also Rename this version at another time.
    • Click the Mark version () icon to save that version of your cloud document, and easily access your saved cloud document versions under the Marked Versions section at the top of the Version History panel.
    • Click the Mark version icon again to remove a saved cloud document version from the Marked Versions section and undo any version naming.
    • To convert a previous cloud document version into a new document, click the three dots () icon and select Open in a new tab.
Version History panel

With the October 2022 release of Photoshop 24.0, you can also:

  • Add a name and a description to bookmarked versions.
  • Search for a specific version from the list of versions for that cloud document.
  • Filter out versions based on the time they were created, marked status, etc.

Web

To view the version history on the web, do the following:

  1. Go to Photoshop on the web beta > Recent and browse through your cloud documents.
  2. Open a cloud document and click the downward arrow beside the filename of your open cloud document at the top bar in the workspace.
  3. Select the Version history option from the drop-down to open the version history panel.
  4. In the version history panel that opens, you can find auto-saved versions of your cloud document. 
    1. Click the three dots () icon and select Name this version to give a name to the selected version and add it to the Marked versions list. You can also Rename this version at another time.
    2. Click the Mark version () icon to save that version of your cloud document, and easily access your saved cloud document versions under the Marked Versions section at the top of the timeline panel.
    3. Click the Mark version icon again to remove a saved cloud document version from the Marked Versions section and undo any version naming.

Revert to a previous version

Hover over any cloud document's Marked version and click the three dots () icon.

In-app (Desktop/iPad/Web beta): In Photoshop's Version History panel, select Revert to this version. The chosen version will move to the top of the version stack and allow you to edit from there. 

Make available offline

You can easily make your cloud document available offline for the times when you're are unable to access your internet connection,  for example, while traveling or flying. Making available offline locally on your device might take longer with slow internet connectivity and large cloud documents. 

iPad

To make a selected cloud document available for offline use while using Photoshop on the iPad, do the following:

  1. In the app home screen, navigate to Your work > Cloud documents in the left navigation panel.
  2. Tap the three-dots icon below a cloud document that you want to make available locally. In the menu that opens, select Make available offline.
  3. Tap to open the document and begin editing. 

When you're back online, your updated cloud document is automatically synced across all your devices.

When you want to work with your locally stored cloud document online, simply tap the three-dots icon and select Make online only.

  • If your cloud document thumbnail shows  icon, your cloud document has been downloaded and is available when you go offline.
  • If your cloud document thumbnail shows  icon, your cloud document is available online only and will not be available if you go offline.

Desktop

  1. Click the Cloud documents tab in the app home screen on your desktop.
  2. Click the three dots () icon visible below the cloud document thumbnail and select Make available offline always.
  3. Click the document and start editing offline.

When you're back online, your updated cloud document is automatically synced across all your devices.

When you want to work with your locally stored cloud document online, click the three-dots icon and select Make available online-only.

Rename, delete, and move

Rename your cloud documents

Once you have accessed your cloud documents from within the Photoshop home screen on your device, or on the Creative Cloud website, you can rename your cloud documents. 

Tap the three dots () icon visible below a cloud document thumbnail and select Rename. Simply type in a new name for your cloud document to rename it.

Delete your cloud documents

Open the three dots () menu visible below a cloud document thumbnail on your device (desktop or mobile), or on the Creative Cloud website and select Delete

The documents you delete from within the app or from the web, get archived and stored under the Deleted section in the app home screen or Creative Cloud > Your work > Deleted.  Tap or click the three dots menu that appears below a cloud document in the Deleted section and choose to Restore or Permanently Delete your cloud document. You can find the restored cloud documents again under the Cloud documents section. Delete your cloud documents permanently to clear your cloud storage.

To learn more about storage quota, see File storage and quota.

Move and organize your cloud documents

iPad

Under the Cloud documents section in the app home screen, simply drag and place a cloud document to an available folder or create a folder (). You cannot multi-select your cloud documents while on the ipad.

Desktop

Tap the three dots () icon visible below the cloud document thumbnail and select Move To. In the panel that opens, you can select from available folders or use the Add folder () option to create a folder. Tap Move to place your selected cloud documents in a folder or Cancel to exit the move operation.

To move multiple cloud documents simultaneously, you can enable the check box below the Cloud document section to enter multi-select mode.

Create a duplicate

iPad

Tap the three dots () icon visible below a cloud document thumbnail under Cloud documents in the app home screen. Select Duplicate to create a copy of your cloud document.

Desktop

You cannot Duplicate a cloud document while working with Photoshop on desktop.

Share a link to your creative work

You can easily share your assets with your teammates and collaborators by generating a shareable link in-app. To learn how to do it in quick steps, see Share files and comment in-app.

While you are away from your iPad, desktop, or laptop, you can simply visit the Creative Cloud website and login with your Adobe ID to access your creative work. 
On the Creative Cloud website, tap the three dots () icon visible below the cloud document thumbnail and select Share to generate a public link. Anyone with the link can view your creative work and post comments.

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