Vector Smart Object issues involving text

[Rubber Penguin]

For the last few months, I have been having issues with Photoshop and Vector Smart Objects – noticably ones that have live text.

When I place text as a smart object into PS from Illustrator, it appears fine. If I then open the smart object in illustrator and edit and save, the image looks completely different in PS, compared what it actually does in Illustrator. It mainly offsets the text or crops it. There is no consistent effect, it differs each time.

It only seems to be an issue with live text. If I outline that text, it will correct itself and look how it should.

I believe the issue is more with illustrator, and I have had the issue using creative cloud 2025 and 2026.

Has anyone else had similar issues and found a way around it? 

Thanks

Dan

[Eugene Tyson · Accepted solution]

Hi Dan,

You’re running into what might be a quirk with Vector Smart Objects containing live text. When you place text from Illustrator into Photoshop as a Smart Object, Photoshop relies on Illustrator’s text metrics, bounding boxes, and rendering.

Minor differences in how PS interprets those metrics after editing and saving the SO can cause the offsets, cropping, or inconsistent appearance you’re seeing.

A few practical ways to work around it:

1. Outline the text in Illustrator before placing this guarantees it will appear exactly the same in Photoshop. The downside is you lose editability, but it’s reliable.
2. Keep the text live but adjust the bounding box manually in PS after each update this is tedious but preserves editability.
3. Use linked Smart Objects carefully always make sure the Illustrator file’s artboard is snug around the text and avoid extra whitespace, as PS can interpret the canvas differently.

So, yes, this is largely due to how Illustrator and Photoshop handle live text in Smart Objects not really a PS bug, just a legacy of the two apps having slightly different vector/text engines. Outlining text is the most consistent method if appearance is critical, but I understand it's not ideal.

[Rubber Penguin]

Thanks so much for your response Eugene – I really appreciate it.

It really isn't ideal, but I am coping with it at the moment. Outlining the text isn't an option, but I have found that whenever I have this issue, I can open the smart object and nude it a little in Illustrator using the cursor keys. When I go back into PS, it appears correct.

Thanks again for everything!

[Eugene Tyson]

You're welcome - sometimes we need different ways of approaching work. Good luck with it.