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davidvb77
Participating Frequently
April 28, 2011
Released

P: Externally Linked Smart Objects

  • April 28, 2011
  • 95 replies
  • 2135 views

I'm a UI designer and some of my PSD's become very complex over time which makes it extremely hard for our developers to find what they are looking for.
A search-tool in the layers palette would be helpful as well but what would be at least as welcome is a "reference" tool where i can add URLs (to Jira tickets for example) but more importantly add reference links to actual layer groups or layers. (After effects' way of linking layers would be perfect for that)

An example: if a developer is looking for a certain design they just need to click a link I provided for let's say "Login UI - final step - updated" and they simply go there in the layers panel by clicking a reference link.

This way others can use my complex ui psd's without problems.

    95 replies

    Show previous replies
    D
    davidvb77Author
    Participating Frequently
    January 16, 2014
    It works with anything! I just tested it by moving a "liked" icon (a heart) into it's own PSD, and then placed it back as the "linked" version, replacing the old "inline" layers.

    Animated screenshot: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5...

    This will make updating a breeze from now on! =D
    SG...
    Adobe Employee
    SG...
    Adobe Employee
    January 16, 2014
    Hi Chris – The feature includes support for PSD, PSB, TIFF, PNG, camera raw proprietary, DNG, etc. It basically includes formats that Ps can read, vector or raster images.
    C
    Chris Besett
    Participating Frequently
    January 16, 2014
    Haven't got the update installed yet -- but from the video it seems like it only works on illustrator files and pdfs (meaning not PhotoShop smart objects.)

    Is that true? Or is there a way to save a PSD smart object out into a file I'm not aware of?

    I'll hold off on the applause until knowing that -- love that this has been done but unless it includes objects created in photoshop it's pretty limited.
    D
    davidvb77Author
    Participating Frequently
    January 16, 2014
    Thanks so much for this! This will have a huge impact on peoples workflow and collaboration!
    N
    ninohoglund
    Participant
    January 16, 2014
    Fantastic news! Thank you!
    powal1234
    powal1234
    Participating Frequently
    January 16, 2014
    Yessir. Thank you.
    J
    Journeyman05
    Known Participant
    January 16, 2014
    I love you guys!~ ❤️
    SG...
    Adobe Employee
    SG...
    Adobe Employee
    January 16, 2014
    Hi,

    Please check out the new 14.2 update for Photoshop CC:
    http://blogs.adobe.com/photoshopdotco...

    Julieanne Kost gives a really nice walk thru of the Linked Smart Object feature here:
    http://youtu.be/PVvhR5Yj_ag

    regards,
    steve
    zarrdave
    zarrdave
    Known Participant
    November 18, 2013
    +1 to all the above - would love to see this feature
    J
    Journeyman05
    Known Participant
    November 2, 2013
    Ah, I see this sort of thing has been wanted in the past! (I didn't search far back enough I guess)

    It looks like we're discussing, on the whole:
    1) An option/checkbox to cause the "Place" command to establish a link to a file, rather than embedding a copy

    2) A links panel like InDesign's to notify us of changes to a linked file and to allow us to refresh from disk

    3) "Link sets" saved as presets in order to drop commonly used design elements into place

    4) Methods by which Adobe staff may be bribed with moneys or coffees
    Show more replies
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