Work with Smart Objects

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Smart Objects are layers that contain image data from raster or vector images, such as Photoshop or Illustrator files. Smart Objects preserve an image's source content with all its original characteristics, enabling you to perform nondestructive editing to the layer.

In Photoshop, you can embed the contents of an image into a Photoshop document. In Photoshop, you can also create Linked Smart Objects whose contents are referenced from external image files. The contents of a Linked Smart Object are updated when its source image file changes.

Linked Smart Objects are distinct from duplicated instances of a Smart Object within a Photoshop document. With Linked Smart Objects, you can use a shared source file across multiple Photoshop documents which is a familiar and welcome concept for web designers.

Smart Object benefits

With Smart Objects, you can:

• Perform nondestructive transforms. You can scale, rotate, skew, distort, perspective transform, or warp a layer without losing original image data or quality because the transforms don't affect the original data.

• Work with vector data, such as vector artwork from Illustrator, that otherwise would be rasterized in Photoshop.

• Perform nondestructive filtering. You can edit filters applied to Smart Objects at any time.

• Edit one Smart Object and automatically update all its linked instances.

• Apply a layer mask that's either linked or unlinked to the Smart Object layer.

• Try various designs with low-resolution placeholder images that you later replace with final versions.

You can't perform operations that alter pixel data—such as painting, dodging, burning, or cloning—directly to a Smart Object layer, unless it is first converted into a regular layer, which will be rasterized. To perform operations that alter pixel data, you can edit the contents of a Smart Object, clone a new layer above the Smart Object layer, edit duplicates of the Smart Object, or create a new layer.

Create embedded Smart Objects

You can create embedded Smart Objects using several methods: by using the Open As Smart Object command; placing a file (Photoshop CS6) or placing a file as embedded (Photoshop, and Photoshop CS6), pasting data from Illustrator; or converting one or more Photoshop layers to Smart Objects.

Create linked Smart Objects

In Photoshop, you can create Linked Smart Objects. The contents of Linked Smart Objects are updated when the source image file changes. Linked Smart Objects are particularly useful for teams or in cases where assets must be reused across designs.

Follow these steps to create a Linked Smart Object:

1. Choose File > Place Linked.
   
2. Select an appropriate file and click Place.

The Linked Smart Object is created and is displayed in the Layers panel with a link icon ().

File size savings using Linked Smart Objects

Since Linked Smart Objects maintain a dependency on an external file rather than embedding a source file within the containing document, they often result in significantly smaller file sizes. While Linked Smart Objects do not store the original file in the containing document, they still store a flattened and scaled version of the image data from the original file. In some cases, the size of this data may be much larger than the size of the original file, making the file size savings seem negligible.

Update Linked Smart Objects

If an external source file changes while a Photoshop document referencing it is open, the relevant Linked Smart Object is automatically updated. However, when you open a Photoshop document containing out-of-synch Linked Smart Objects, you can update the Smart Objects:

• Right-click a Linked Smart Object layer and choose Update Modified Content.
• Choose Layer > Smart Objects > Update Modified Content.

Linked Smart Objects whose source images have changed are visually highlighted in the Layers panel:

Resolve a broken Smart Object link

To resolve a Linked Smart Object with a missing external source, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the Linked Smart Object layer icon and choose Resolve Broken Link.
2. Navigate to the new location of the missing object.
3. Click Place.

View Linked Smart Object properties

With a Linked Smart Object layer selected in the Layers panel, choose Window > Properties.

The following properties are displayed:

• The path of the external source file for the Linked Smart Object
• The Linked Smart Object size and positional coordinates (X, Y)

You can perform the following actions directly from within the Properties panel:

• Edit the contents of the external image file. If necessary, Photoshop opens an external application that can handle the source image file. For example, Photoshop opens Adobe Illustrator if the external source image is a .ai file.
• Embed the Linked Smart Object within the current document.

Embed Linked Smart Objects

Do one of the following:

• Right-click a Linked Smart Object layer in the Layers panel and choose Embed Linked.
• Choose Layer > Smart Objects > Embed Linked.
• In the Properties panel, click Embed.

Package Linked Smart Objects

You can package the Linked Smart Objects in a Photoshop document, such that their source files are saved to a folder on your computer. A copy of the Photoshop document is saved along with the source files in the folder.

1. Choose File > Package.
2. Select a location where you want to place the source files and a copy of the Photoshop document.

Any audio or video Linked Smart Objects in the document are packaged as well.

How Photoshop locates linked files

Photoshop always looks for linked files in the last-known relative location. If the linked file is not found in that location, Photoshop looks for it:

• In the last-known absolute location
• Using a saved alias (Mac OS only)
• In the same folder as the containing document

This behavior allows you to move, copy, and share project folders and files with minimal risk of encountering broken links.

Convert an embedded Smart Object to a linked Smart Object

You can convert an embedded Smart Object to a Linked Smart Object. Transforms, filters, and other effects applied to the embedded Smart Object are preserved when it is converted.

Do the following:

1. Select an embedded Smart Object layer in the Photoshop document.
2. Choose Layer > Smart Object > Convert To Linked.
3. Select the location on your computer where you want to save the source file. Enter a name for the file, including a supported extension. For example, link_file.jpg.

Filter the Layers panel by Smart Objects

1. In the Layers panel, select Smart Object from the filtering pop-up menu.

2. Click one of the following icons:

•     Filter for up-to-date Linked Smart Objects
  
•     Filter for out-of-synch Linked Smart Objects
•     Filter for missing Linked Smart Objects
  
•     Filter for embedded Smart Objects
  

Duplicate an embedded Smart Object

Edit the contents of a Smart Object

When you edit a Smart Object, the source content is opened in either Photoshop (if the content is raster data or a camera raw file) or the application that handles the placed format by default (for example, Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Acrobat). When you save changes to the source content, the edits appear in all linked instances of the Smart Object in the Photoshop document.

Replace the contents of a Smart Object

You can replace the image data in one Smart Object or multiple linked instances. This feature lets you quickly update a visual design, or replace low-resolution placeholder images with final versions.

Convert an embedded or linked Smart Object to layers

Introduced in Photoshop 21.0 (November 2019 release)

You can convert an embedded or linked smart object back into its component layers directly into a Photoshop document. If there are multiple layers in the Smart Object, the layers are unpacked into a new layer group within the Layers panel. Transforms and Smart Filters on Smart Objects containing more than a single layer are not retained when you unpack. 

Rasterize an embedded or linked Smart Object

You can rasterize the contents of a Smart Object to a regular layer if you no longer need to edit the Smart Object data. Transforms, warps, and filters applied to a Smart Object are no longer editable after the Smart Object is rasterized.

Select the Smart Object, and choose Layer > Smart Objects > Rasterize.  

Export the contents of an embedded Smart Object

Reset Smart Object transforms

If you've transformed a Smart Object, you can reset all transformations you've previously applied by doing one of the following: 

• Right-click the Smart Object layer and choose Reset Transform
• Choose Layer > Smart Objects > Reset Transform