How to edit/crop a smart object?

Question

I have two images, lower (A) and upper (B) portions of a website screen grab, that I want to join together.

I opened the bottom image (A) in photoshop CC, and then read where the old Place is now Place Embedded, so Place Embedded the top portion of the web page (B) into that same file created by opening the first file (A).

I need to crop some of the bottom off image B, but when I use the rectangle selection tool to select and cut that portion, I get the following Error Message:

Could not complete your request because the smart object is not directly editable.

I was able to select and cut parts of image A, so not sure why image B isn't letting me do that. Also, I didn't realize image B was imported or placed as a smart object, which I'm not familiar with. I've been searching for information on smart objects and how to work with them, but not seeing anything specific to what I'm doing.

Is it the way I placed the image B into the file created by opening the first image (A)? There's a small icon on image B's thumbnail in the Layers window, which I assume is a smart object indicator, although when I control-click on the layer, it shows an option to make the image a smart object.

Below is a screen grab of the layers window. The image in the highlighted layer is image B, the one I'm having trouble cropping.

Thanks for any help.

italosan · Accepted Answer

When you open a file in PS he "reads" it as a raster image that you can modify, but when you import other files in this document, the software will read them as smart object (if you don't want this option, go to the end of my post).
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.

You have two ways to edit a smart object:

WAY 1 - keep it as a smart object and preserve it (for istance if the layer is a vector)

Select the Smart Object from the Layers panel, and do one of the following:
- Choose Layer > Smart Objects > Edit Contents.
- Double-click the Smart Objects thumbnail in the Layers panel.
- In the Properties panel, click Edit Contents.
Click OK to close the dialog box.

Make edits to the source content file, then choose File > Save.

Photoshop updates the Smart Object to reflect the changes you made. (If you don’t see the changes, make the Photoshop document containing the Smart Object active.)

WAY 2 - make a raster image from your smart object:

right click on your layer
rasterize layer (or choose Layer > Rasterize)

If you don't want your images to turn into Smart Objects then disable Place or Drag Raster Images as Smart Objects from Edit->Preferences->General.

If you want to learn mor about smart objects, please read https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/create-smart-objects.html

roswell108 · Answer

Rasterizing an image invalidates having a smart object, so this should be a last resort.
Editing the local instance of the Smart Object's image is nice for making considerable edits to the content.
For things like cropping, there is a far easier method that is done right in the final image:

Select the area you want to remove from the image (optional, but easier)
Navigate to the layers panel and make sure the Smart Object layer is highlighted.
In the bottom of the layers panel are a few buttons. Look for a rectangle with a circle in it (like the Japanese flag).
This is the layer / vector mask button and it will assign the mask to the smart object.
You can click the newly added mask to edit it directly using painting and erasing tools.
Black will remove portions, white will add them, and the colors in between will create partial masking.

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