Imported jpegs/pngs won't save as smart objects

Question

I think I'm a bit confused on the right way to work with external bitmap files.

Usually I just drag them into my PSD and photoshop appears to automatically create a smart object.

However, if I want to edit the bitmap, ie, do some cloning or such like but still retain it's smart object features it seems this is not the best way. When I click into the bitmap to edit it and add a layer or so, when I save I'm told I need to flatten all the layers which is not what i WANT.

So what is the best way to put jpegs and pngs into my photoshop file? or am I missing something

D Fosse · Answer

You do know that you can open a jpeg or png directly? You don't have to "import" into an existing file.

If you still want to do that, however, but don't want a smart object, just copy/paste. Don't drag.

Smart objects can't be directly edited. To do that, you have to open it by double-clicking in the Layers panel, edit the embedded file that opens, save and close.

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