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Links between ACR, Photoshop and associated sidecar files, xmp & acr have changed

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My workflow is as follows:

From Bridge (ver: 16.07.36), I will open a Raw file automatically into Adobe Camera Raw (ver: 18.6.0.2698) where I will make a majority of my adjustments including tone, color, masking, lens correction and maybe some object removal. Basically, as much as I feel can be achieved before I open the file as an object in Photoshop (ver: 27.10), creating a smart object. This then creates the two sidecar files, .xmp & .acr. I will continue to fine tune the file in Photoshop adding various layers. At some point I might want to make a change that I feel is best by going back to the original in ACR where at that point I double click on the original smart object to take me back into ACR. I am NOT using the Adobe Camera Raw filter. Once I make my change, either tone or a new mask, I click OK which takes me back into Photoshop with the changes, and I continue to work. Here lies my issue. Previously, changes I made in returning to ACR, would show up as updates to the Raw file. I could see them in Bridge. Currently, they do not. In fact, if I open the original Raw file a second time in ACR, I only see the first adjustments I had originally made, where as if I open the smart object in Photoshop back into ACR, I will see my new adjustments I had just made. It’s almost like there should be two ,xmp and two ,acr sidecar files. So I did a test. I opened a Raw file into ACR and made NO adjustments and then continue into Photoshop as a smart object, then double click on the smart object layer to take it back into ACR to then create masks, I notice no .acr sidecar file is created. It’s almost like taking the smart object back into ACR is acting like the Camera Raw Filter. This workflow used to affect the original Raw file.

A

abstract_navigator1fb9

Participating Frequently

I think the confusing part here is that opening the RAW as a Smart Object doesn’t actually keep it linked to the original RAW file. Once it’s embedded, any changes you make by double-clicking the Smart Object and going back into ACR are saved with that Smart Object, not written back to the original XMP.

So your idea of using Place Linked makes sense if your main goal is to keep Photoshop working with the original RAW rather than an embedded copy. It does add an extra step, though, and I can understand why you’d want a proper “Open as Linked” option in Camera Raw.

It would definitely make this workflow much less confusing.

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SheldoniAuthor

Participant

I understand how things work now. It was my total ignorance before. I thought i was seeing what i wanted to see. And as much as i want Photoshop working with the original RAW file, the problem then becomes should i want to go back to Bridge, and bring the original RAW file into ACR (not the linked layer in Photoshop) to make adjustments for an alternate version, after i’ve linked it in Photoshop, my first version contained in Photoshop will be affected. What i’ve been doing is, in ACR, i will take Snapshots of my different ACR edits. I just need to make sure I’m on the correct Snapshot should I want to work on the Photoshop file again. I know this all seems convoluted, but in my mind, if gives me the greatest non-destructive work flow and keeps my RAW file as the base from which everything is built on. Thanks abstract_navigator1fb9 for your help.

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Jay Sheldon

SheldoniAuthor

Participant

Thank you, Anshul Saini for your investigation and response.

Unfortunately, I cannot go back to where I thought it was working because I cannot remember a specific image that i saw it “work” on. I only know of recent images where it didn’t work.

(And a quick review of old files do not show a “not working” instance. Which could either mean, it had worked like I thought it should, or I never returned to ACR to make adjustments).

I’ll readily admit, though, perhaps it was only in my mind since I just assumed I knew what was happening.

That said, my question remains: how do I open a raw file from ACR into Photoshop and have it be LINKED instead of EMBEDDED so that if I return to ACR from Photoshop I am working on the original Raw file? The only way I have found is to open the file from ACR into Photoshop, either as a smart object or not, so I can create a canvas the same size as the Raw file, then in Photoshop go to FILE-PLACE-LINKED-and navigate to the original Raw file. I now have two layers in Photoshop. An EMBEDDED layer and a LINKED layer. Or am I off base with this method as well?

This seems rather clunky, but if it works, that is what I will do.

Finally, who do I talk to about writing code so that opening a raw file from ACR into Photoshop there can be a 4th option? 1) Open; 2) Open as Object; 3) open as copy; AND 4) Open as LINKED Media?

Thank you for all your time and attention to this!

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Jay Sheldon

Anshul_Saini

Community Manager

Hi @Sheldoni,

Thanks for the follow-up. I wanted to close out each of your questions clearly.

1. Why don’t the changes made when reopening the Smart Object in Camera Raw update the original RAW/XMP?

When you use Open as Object from Camera Raw, Photoshop creates an embedded Smart Object. When you later double-click that Smart Object and make additional Camera Raw adjustments, those changes are stored with the embedded Smart Object. They are not written back to the original RAW file’s XMP sidecar.

I tested this workflow in Photoshop 27.10 and in an older Photoshop version and got the same result, so I have not been able to reproduce this as a change introduced by 27.10.

2. Can Camera Raw open the RAW directly as a linked Smart Object?

No. Camera Raw does not currently provide an Open as Linked Smart Object option. The existing Open Object workflow creates an embedded Smart Object.

3. Is there a workaround?

Photoshop can work with linked Smart Objects, for example, through File > Place Linked. That is a separate Photoshop workflow and does require the additional step, as you know already.

4. Can Adobe add a fourth “Open as Linked” option to Camera Raw?

That would be a feature request, rather than an existing capability or a fix for a current Photoshop bug. I don’t want to suggest that such an option is currently planned or on the product team roadmap.

So, for the workflow you’re describing today, there isn’t a direct ACR command to open the RAW file in Photoshop as a linked Smart Object. The linked workflow has to be created separately in Photoshop.

Thanks again for taking the time to explain the workflow so clearly.

Best,
Anshul Saini

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D Fosse

Community Expert

This is not a bug.

An embedded smart object is separate from the original file. A copy raw file is branched off and embedded into your master PSD. You are not going back to the original raw file, which remains in the state you left it when you opened it as a smart object into Photoshop.

If you need the original to update as you work with it in Photoshop, you need to use linked, not embedded, smart objects.

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SheldoniAuthor

Participant

D Fosse, thank you for the reply.

Can you explain to me how I open the file from ACR into Photoshop as a LINKED smart object vs. an embedded smart object? In ACR I have always Shift clicked the open button in ACR and prior to Photoshop 27.10 I never seemed to have this problem. I tried to search for the answer in the Help tab and found no answer. So I Googled the question and the AI answer seemed to say to do what I currently do. SO, How do I open a file from ACR into Photoshop as a LINKED smart object vs. an embedded smart object? Thank you.

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Jay Sheldon

Anshul_Saini

Community Manager

Hi @Sheldoni,

Thanks for the follow-up. I did some additional testing to verify this workflow rather than relying only on the current documentation.

I tested the same sequence with Camera Raw 18.6 in both Photoshop 27.10 and an older Photoshop 2025 installation:

1. Opened the original RAW from Bridge into Camera Raw.

2. Applied an adjustment and used Open Object to open it as a Smart Object in Photoshop.

3. Double-clicked that Smart Object to return to Camera Raw.

4. Applied a second adjustment and clicked OK.

5. Reopened both the Smart Object and the original RAW independently.

In both Photoshop versions, the result was the same.

The initial Camera Raw adjustment made to the original RAW was written to its XMP sidecar. However, the adjustment subsequently made by double-clicking the Smart Object was retained with the Smart Object and was not written back to the original RAW’s XMP.

For example, in my test, I initially set Exposure to +1.00. After opening it as a Smart Object, I returned to Camera Raw and set Contrast to +50.

Reopening the Smart Object showed Exposure +1.00 / Contrast +50, while reopening the original RAW from Bridge showed Exposure +1.00 / Contrast 0. The original XMP’s modification time also did not change when the Smart Object edit was committed.

I obtained the same result in Photoshop 2025, so I haven’t been able to reproduce this as a change introduced in Photoshop 27.10.

The reason is the distinction D Fosse mentioned: Open Object creates a Camera Raw Smart Object whose subsequent Camera Raw state is maintained with that Smart Object. It isn’t a live editing connection back to the original RAW’s XMP sidecar.

There also isn’t a separate Shift-click option in Camera Raw to open the RAW as a linked Smart Object. Photoshop has separate Place Linked and Convert to Linked workflows, but those shouldn’t be confused with Camera Raw’s Open Object workflow.

That said, I don’t want to dismiss your recollection that this used to work differently. If you remember a specific Photoshop/Camera Raw version in which double-clicking a Smart Object, editing it in Camera Raw, and clicking OK definitely updated the original RAW’s XMP sidecar, please let me know the version. We can investigate that specific comparison further.

Best,
Anshul Saini

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