Skip to main content
H
holyfuzz
Participant
January 17, 2019
Answered

Not all layers of smart object are displayed in parent object.

  • January 17, 2019
  • 3 replies
  • 3246 views

Okay, so I am having a very strange bug/problem in Photoshop. Specifically, I have a PSD file 'A' that has linked another PSD file 'B' as a smart object, but only some of B's layers are being properly shown in A, despite the fact that they are all turned on and visible in B. If I modify the layers in B that do show in A, then I can see those modifications in A, but if I modify the layers in B that aren't shown in A, then they still don't show up correctly. Also, any newly-added layers to B do not show in A.

I originally had this problem with a PSD file that has about a hundred layers and a few dozen layer comps, but I've managed to reproduce it in a much simpler PSD by taking that problematic PSD and removing almost all of the layers and all of the layer comps.

So here I have two Photoshop files, test1.psd and test2.psd (click links to download files)...

The test1.psd is what was copied from my original buggy PSD file. It is now a very simple file that has only two layers. It looks like this:

The test2.psd file is newly-created. It is also a very simple file that simply links in the test1.psd file as a smart object:

As you can see, for some reason, only Layer 1 is being displayed in test2.psd, but since both layers are turned on in test1.psd, both should be displayed in test2.psd, right? If I modify Layer 1 in test1.psd, the test2.psd is updated with those modifications as expected, though Layer 2 still isn't shown. If I modify Layer 2, or even add a new layer, then I can't see those layers in test2.psd. Note that neither of these files have any layer comps, so it's not an issue of test2.psd linking to a particular layer comp in test1.psd. (The issue still happens even if linked to a specific layer comp.)

Things I've already tried:

  • Embedding the smart object instead of linking. Same problem occurs.
  • Restarting my computer.
  • Purging Photoshop's cache.
  • Resetting my preferences.
  • "Update All Modified Content"
  • Re-linking the smart object.
  • Making a copy of test1.psd and re-linking to that.

So now I'm all out of ideas! If you download the test1.psd and try to add it as a smart object to another file, does the same problem occur for you? Any ideas on how to fix this?

I'm using Photoshop 20.0.2 on Windows 10. Thanks for your help!

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer holyfuzz

    Alright, I just figured out what the problem is!

    Somehow a timeline animation got accidentally added to my PSD file with the play head set to frame 3. Thus all new layers were getting inserted beginning at frame 3 and do not show at frame 0, which is the frame displayed by smart objects. Moving those layers to begin at frame 0 fixes the problem.

    3 replies

    M
    Community Expert
    mark@headTrixCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 17, 2019

    Oh yes what I created did not involved test2.psd. I took your original file, selected both layers and converted them to smart object. So then when you would update the PSB it would update the layers and you wanted it to. In order to do it, I didn't need two Photoshop files, just one and a PSB. But I am glad that you were able to get it working and figure it all out!

    Happy Photoshopping!

    mark

    headTrix, Inc. | Adobe Certified Training & Consulting
    H
    holyfuzzAuthorCorrect answer
    Participant
    January 17, 2019

    Alright, I just figured out what the problem is!

    Somehow a timeline animation got accidentally added to my PSD file with the play head set to frame 3. Thus all new layers were getting inserted beginning at frame 3 and do not show at frame 0, which is the frame displayed by smart objects. Moving those layers to begin at frame 0 fixes the problem.

      M
      Community Expert
      mark@headTrixCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 17, 2019

      Glad you were able to figure it out, although just making it into a smart object was a pretty easy fix.

      Sometimes its easier to start over.

      Have fun creating cool stuff!

      cheers,
      mark

      headTrix, Inc. | Adobe Certified Training & Consulting
      H
      holyfuzzAuthor
      Participant
      January 17, 2019

      Actually turning those layers into a smart object didn't fix the problem for me (the test2.psd file could still only see Layer 1), but trying your suggestion revealed what the actual problem was, so I'm very appreciative of your suggestion anyway! (When I loaded the smart object, Layer 2 was invisible and uneditable, which was very confusing. So then I tried to edit it, which gave me an error message that revealed the real problem.)

      M
      Community Expert
      mark@headTrixCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 17, 2019

      I just downloaded your file of the red and blue squiggly line.... selected both layers, right clicked and converted to a smart object.

      Then I double-clicked the smart object to open the "psb" Photoshop Smart Object, and then I was able to see the two layers separately as you can here in your test.psd file. If I update or add a layer to the PSB file.... close and save it, it then updates my test.psd file which mimics our test2.psd.

      I have attached the file here called "test.psd" if you double-click the smart object it will open "layer2.psb" which has the layers that you can change or add, and when you close and save it will update the test.psd file.

      https://www.dropbox.com/s/m6m7fvg07wistlj/test.psd?dl=0

      Hope that helps!

      cheers,

      mark

      headTrix, Inc. | Adobe Certified Training & Consulting
      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
      Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices