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Known Participant
June 13, 2025
Answered

Looking for Help Recreating Auto-Updated Visual Artboard from a PSD Template

  • June 13, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 214 views

I probably worded that title really badly but I'll try to describe.

 

A few weeks back I was given a template file for doing some advertising website takeovers for a games website. In the file were a few Artboards, including a Visual Artboard with the website mockup that showed how the design of Artboard 1 (and 2, 3, etc) would look in place on the website.

 

After a while I realised that as I updated, say, Artboard 1 (and perhaps after saving the PSD, I don't recall), the 'visual' Artboard (i.e. the Artboard that showed the finished design on a web page mockup) automatically updated with the design from Artboard 1. I never output Artboard 1 - never hit Save as... or Export As... but Visual Artboard was updating it automatically as I went.

 

"Neat," I thought. "I'll take a look at that feature when I'm not so busy."

 

But now I'm not so busy, and I cannot find how to achieve that magic. Was it a dream? or is this achievable? I wonder if there was a script or something - but surely that's something that would exist in my Photoshop rather then come from the template I was using.

 

Anyone know how to do this?

Correct answer c.pfaffenbichler

Investigating a non-existant file seems difficult. 

 

In any case I suspect the answer might be the same as my advice for Photoshop in general:

Smart Objects, Smart Objects, Smart Objects. 

1 reply

c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 13, 2025

Were Smart Objects involved at all? 

Could you please post screenshots with the pertinent Panels (Toolbar, Layers, Options Bar, …) visible? 

Known Participant
June 16, 2025

Hey! Unfortunately, I can't do that because the file was highly confidential and therefore had to delete from my system after sending to the client. This is why I'm posting, because I wasn't able to investigate it myself before sending back 😞

 

Kicking myself now though, because I assumed I'd have no issues working it out ...

c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
June 16, 2025

Investigating a non-existant file seems difficult. 

 

In any case I suspect the answer might be the same as my advice for Photoshop in general:

Smart Objects, Smart Objects, Smart Objects.