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Question

Photoshop Smart Object Converting Layer

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
November 7, 2023
7 replies
728 views

Photoshop version 25.1.0

Minor concern with behavior of working on Smart Object.

After selecting a Smart Object Layer

On Menu Bar Layer

Smart Object

"Convert to Smart Object" is still an active choice?

If it is already a Smart Object, why is it still active?

Windows

This topic has been closed for replies.

Kevin Stohlmeyer

Community Expert

@westdr1dw this is behaving as planned. You can have a Smart Object with layer styles and smart filters applied as such:

You can then convert that into another new smart object wrapping all those items into a new Smart Object.

I'm moving this to discussions as this is not a bug.

W

westdr1dwAuthor

Legend

Kevin whatever action you wish to take is fine. However, the example you provide is not the action I addressed. Let's build on your example. Once this is wrapped into a Smart Object why would you need to continue to click on the Convert to Smart Object if nothing else changes?

The best way to describe what I am referring; A mouse click on a program Start button. Proper response is the application opens. You don't continue to click on the button bc the code executes to tell the app to open. Continious clicking does absolutely nothing.

D Fosse

Community Expert

Once this is wrapped into a Smart Object why would you need to continue to click on the Convert to Smart Object if nothing else changes?

By @westdr1dw

Indeed. Why would you do that?

Again, it's completely unrealistic to use resources to code modifications and qualifiers into all commands, just because someone might do something with it that doesn't really accomplish anything. Photoshop is full of possible actions that don't really accomplish anything.

It's even full of possible actions that will destroy and delete data! If the engineers were going to spend their time coding active barriers to all these possible actions, they wouldn't have time for anything else. And the application would quickly bloat and become unmanageable.

Photoshop provides the tools, not hand-holding. It's your own responsibility to learn the tools and understand what they do.

D Fosse

Community Expert

There are many good reasons for nesting smart objects. Maybe you have a masked adjustment on it. Nesting should always be an option regardless. I really can't see a big problem here.

If you're not doing anythng to the smart object, there's no reason to nest. So don't do it. You really can't modify every command to cover every possible user action.

W

westdr1dwAuthor

Legend

D Fosse

W/o trying to keep kicking the can down the road on the initial inquiry. May want to pass this along to the programming team as minor correction in next update. The reason being in programming the object (Convert to Smart Object) should close since it exectuded the code once it was selected. If something changes on the layer this called a dirty event IOW something changed which reactivates the action. Fails to pass a logic test if you have a single Smart Object and do absolutely nothing and then select Convert to Smart Object multiple times with no actions occuring.

Again minor change.

Thanks

Stephen Marsh

Community Expert

May want to pass this along to the programming team as minor correction in next update. The reason being in programming the object (Convert to Smart Object) should close since it exectuded the code once it was selected.

By @westdr1dw

We are just end-users like you.

If you were willing to use a script to create a Smart Object (such as via a keyboard shortcut), then the script could conditionally skip over converting a SO to a SO.

/*
Conditionally convert to Smart Object
https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/photoshop-smart-object-converting-layer/td-p/14217813
*/

#target photoshop

if (activeDocument.activeLayer.kind === LayerKind.SMARTOBJECT) {
    // Do nothing if already a SO
} else {
    // Convert to a SO
    executeAction(stringIDToTypeID("newPlacedLayer"), undefined, DialogModes.NO);
}

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

W

westdr1dwAuthor

Legend

Appreciate the response. However, still not grasping the value if you are able to know which Smart Object layer you are working on. At least for me, I need to research this some more to see the added value of just nesting a Smart Object on another Smart Object with no changes into the another Smart Object. Seems like you may be increasing the file size uncessarily.

In any case appreciate answering the question.

D Fosse

Community Expert

They will be sitting inside each other, like an onion.

W

westdr1dwAuthor

Legend

Should this not create another Smart Object layer? How do you know which Smart Object layer you are working from?

Thanks

D Fosse

Community Expert

You can have nested smart objects.

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