Best way to extract items from artboard?

Hey,

No need to feel embarrassed at all! Learning new features and techniques in design software can be overwhelming sometimes. It's great that you're seeking clarification on how to efficiently work with artboards in Photoshop.

Your current method of converting folders into smart objects and then opening them individually to extract the items you need is definitely a workaround, but there's a more straightforward approach you can take.

To extract individual items from an artboard without the extra space and clutter, you can follow these steps:

1. Select the Artboard: In the Layers panel, locate the artboard containing the items you need.

2. Use the Marquee Tool (M): Select the Marquee Tool from the toolbar (shortcut: M).

3. Draw Around the Item: Click and drag to draw a selection around the specific item you want to extract. Make sure to encompass only the item you need, excluding any unnecessary space or surrounding elements.

4. Copy the Selection: Once the item is selected, press Ctrl + C (Windows) or Command + C (Mac) to copy the selection.

5. Paste as New Layer: Now, create a new document or open an existing one where you want to place the extracted item. Then, press Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + V (Mac) to paste the selection as a new layer.

6. Adjust and Save: Position the pasted item as needed within your document. Once you're satisfied, save your document.

This method allows you to directly extract specific items from the artboard without the need to convert folders into smart objects or open them individually. It's a more direct and efficient way to work with the elements you require.

Don't worry, it's all about finding the method that works best for you and your workflow. Keep experimenting, and you'll become more comfortable with artboards in no time!

@Serene_observer5E99 

The following script will automatically save all top-level groups contained within the active artboard to PSD files, named after the original group name (the original document name could also be added as a prefix or suffix if that helped).  The save location will be the same as the original source PSD document. Transparency will be trimmed to the pixel content and the group will be ungrouped. A smart object could be created at a given point, however, I'm not sure if that would be of any benefit?

/*
Save Active Artboard Groups to PSD.jsx
v1.0, 20th December 2023 - Stephen Marsh
https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/best-way-to-extract-items-from-artboard/m-p/14297779
*/

#target photoshop

if (isArtboard() === true) {

    var origDoc = activeDocument;
    var origDocPath = origDoc.path.fsName;
    var theLayerSets = origDoc.activeLayer.layerSets;

    for (var i = 0; i < theLayerSets.length; i++) {
        activeDocument.activeLayer = theLayerSets[i];
        if (isGroup() === true) {
            var theGroupName = theLayerSets[i].name.replace(/\.[^\.]+$/, '');
            dupeGroup(theGroupName);
            app.runMenuItem(stringIDToTypeID("ungroupLayersEvent"));
            trim(true, true, true, true);
            savePSD(File(origDocPath + '/' + theGroupName + '.psd'));
            activeDocument = origDoc;
        }
    }
    activeDocument.activeLayer = activeDocument.layerSets[0];
    app.beep();

} else {
    alert("Please select the artboard layer and re-run the script...");
}


//// Functions ////

function isArtboard() {
    // modified from a script by greless with hints from jazz-y!
    // returns true or false
    try {
        var d = new ActionDescriptor();
        var r = new ActionReference();
        r.putEnumerated(stringIDToTypeID('layer'), stringIDToTypeID('ordinal'), stringIDToTypeID('targetEnum'));
        var options = executeActionGet(r);
        return options.hasKey(stringIDToTypeID('artboard')); // test for the required key
    } catch (e) {
        alert("Error!" + "\r" + e + ' ' + e.line);
    }
}

function isGroup() {
    // modified from a script by greless with hints from jazz-y!
    // returns true or false
    try {
        var d = new ActionDescriptor();
        var r = new ActionReference();
        r.putEnumerated(stringIDToTypeID('layer'), stringIDToTypeID('ordinal'), stringIDToTypeID('targetEnum'));
        var options = executeActionGet(r);
        return options.hasKey(stringIDToTypeID('layerSection')) && !options.hasKey(stringIDToTypeID('framedGroup')) && !options.hasKey(stringIDToTypeID('artboard')); // test for the required key
    } catch (e) {
        alert("Error!" + "\r" + e + ' ' + e.line);
    }
}

function dupeGroup(theDocName) {
	function s2t(s) {
        return app.stringIDToTypeID(s);
    }
	var descriptor = new ActionDescriptor();
	var reference = new ActionReference();
	var reference2 = new ActionReference();
	reference.putClass(s2t("document"));
	descriptor.putReference(s2t("null"), reference);
	descriptor.putString(s2t("name"), theDocName);
	reference2.putEnumerated(s2t("layer"), s2t("ordinal"), s2t("targetEnum"));
	descriptor.putReference(s2t("using"), reference2);
	executeAction(s2t("make"), descriptor, DialogModes.NO);
}

function ungroupLayers() {
	function s2t(s) {
        return app.stringIDToTypeID(s);
    }
	var descriptor = new ActionDescriptor();
	var reference = new ActionReference();
	reference.putEnumerated( s2t( "layer" ), s2t( "ordinal" ), s2t( "targetEnum" ));
	descriptor.putReference( s2t( "null" ), reference );
	executeAction( s2t( "ungroupLayersEvent" ), descriptor, DialogModes.NO );
}

function trim(top, bottom, left, right) {
	function s2t(s) {
        return app.stringIDToTypeID(s);
    }
	var descriptor = new ActionDescriptor();
	descriptor.putEnumerated( s2t( "trimBasedOn" ), s2t( "trimBasedOn" ), s2t( "transparency" ));
	descriptor.putBoolean( s2t( "top" ), top );
	descriptor.putBoolean( s2t( "bottom" ), bottom );
	descriptor.putBoolean( s2t( "left" ), left );
	descriptor.putBoolean( s2t( "right" ), right );
	executeAction( s2t( "trim" ), descriptor, DialogModes.NO );
}

function savePSD(saveFile) {
    psdSaveOptions = new PhotoshopSaveOptions();
    psdSaveOptions.embedColorProfile = true;
    psdSaveOptions.alphaChannels = true;
    psdSaveOptions.layers = true;
    psdSaveOptions.annotations = true;
    psdSaveOptions.spotColors = true;
    app.activeDocument.saveAs(saveFile, psdSaveOptions, false, Extension.LOWERCASE);
}

https://prepression.blogspot.com/2017/11/downloading-and-installing-adobe-scripts.html

I am not sure what you mean by "extract". Do you want to save individual items as separate files? If so, you could use File > Export > Layers to Files with some preparation. As the name suggests, this script will export each layer to a file, so you need to hide the layers that you do not want to export and then check the Visible Layers Only option in the Export Layers to Files dialogue.

You can select the artboard at the top then use Layer menu > Ungroup Artboards (It doesn't make much sense to use artboards if there is only one artboard).

Like most tasks in Photoshop, there are multiple ways you could approach extracting what you need from this one artboard. The conversion to a Smart Object and working in that PSB file is a good workflow for isolating just the content you need and keeping it as a part of the original PSD file. It may eventually make that PSD file fairly large.

If you'd like to try another approach, you could open the Smart Object (PSB file), save it as a PSD file, go back to the main file, select the Smart Object, right-click to the right of the name of that layer in the Layers panel, select Relink to File, and navigate to the saved PSD version of the Smart Object. Now the Smart Object would be a linked asset.