Photoshop cloud documents | Common questions

What are the benefits of using Photoshop cloud documents?

Photoshop cloud documents provide you with:

• Reliability:  Your edits are automatically updated and saved in Photoshop on the iPad. When working on a desktop, save your project as a cloud document so that you never have to worry about losing your work. 
• Mobility: Access your cloud documents across devices - anytime, anywhere.
• Quality: Cloud documents stored every layer, at full fidelity. 
• Access all your work: You can easily find all your cloud documents right within Photoshop whether on your desktop or iPad.

What is the difference between cloud documents and Adobe Creative Cloud Files?

Cloud document is the next generation of document files that are optimized for working on the go. You can easily work seamlessly between applications like Photoshop, XD, Fresco, and Aero using cloud documents. Your files allow you to save, store and sync any file type in your Creative Cloud. 

• While working with Photoshop on the iPad, you can save your work as a cloud document but not as Creative Cloud File directly from within the app. 
• Cloud documents and Creative Cloud Files are stored in different locations within your Creative Cloud account. 
• Unlike cloud documents, PSDs saved as Creative Cloud Files are not native to the cloud, and therefore do not have the same capabilities as cloud documents.

Can I access cloud documents from Creative Cloud Libraries?

Cloud documents can be accessed from within the Photoshop app and from on the web at assets.adobe.com, but not from Creative Cloud Libraries.

Are cloud documents supported on Windows 7?

No, cloud documents are not supported on Windows 7.

To find the complete list of supported OS versions, see Minimum system requirements for Photoshop.

Am I going to be forced to save my documents to the cloud in Photoshop?

On the desktop, you can always choose between saving documents to the document cloud or choose to save locally. Photoshop remembers how you saved or opened your most recently accessed document and will continue to present you with the same experience until you choose otherwise. 

While working with Photoshop on the iPad, cloud documents are the default experience, but you can export your cloud documents locally as other file formats, including PSD, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, to ensure interoperability with other applications.

To learn more about save and export workflows, see Create, open, and save cloud documents.

Do cloud documents in Photoshop have anything to do with Lightroom photos?

Although both Lightroom photos and cloud documents are stored in your Creative Cloud account, your Lightroom photos and cloud documents are unrelated and stored separately. For saving a file as a cloud document in Photoshop on the desktop, you require Adobe Photoshop 2020.

To work with Lightroom photos in Photoshop on the iPad, select a photo from within Lightroom Classic or Lightroom Desktop, and open the photo within Photoshop on your desktop by selecting Photo > Edit In > Edit in Adobe Photoshop from the Lightroom top menu. Once your photo is open within Photoshop on your desktop, choose Save as cloud document. Your photo will then be saved as a cloud document and available for your use on the go within Photoshop on the iPad. 

To see your Photoshop edits reflected within your Lightroom catalog, you can export your cloud document into a file format supported by Lightroom, such as a PSD or TIFF, and import your photo back into Lightroom.