P: Ability to flip individual Artboard without flipping the whole canvas

[eiofgng]

Artboard is a great way to manage and create a group of images/designs with all of them laying out on the table while individually editted.

My suggestion is to add the ability to flip individual artboard at a time, without flipping the whole canvas.

Because sometimes while I am sketching on one of the artboards, I need to flip the sketch constantly to check perspective/symmetry, etc. If flipping the whole canvas is the only option, I noticed that it can take minutes sometimes to complete the calculation, ending up stucking my workflow.

[ti_mmsp_87800910]

Just started working with the 20.0.1 all excited with the new feature, the non destructive flip canvas and...

It's greyd out!! And i can't figure out why.

Please, help a brother out.

Tks,

Marcel

[Norman Sanders]

I assume you are referring to non-destructive View > Flip Horizontal which flips the view but not the file.

I tried several things to try to replicate your result -- 16 bit, blending modes, adjustment layers -- and couldn't manage to do it. The only item that did produce your effect was to choose the Crop tool and NOT commit.

If the Layers panel and the chosen Layer looks normal it may be time to Reset Preferences  (Preferences > General > Reset Preferences on Quit. Then restart Photoshop.

[ti_mmsp_87800910]

Actually, it happens whenever i use the artboard. If i start a new file with no artboard, the flip horizontal is ready to go. If threre's an artboard it's greyd out.

But thank you very much!

[yancowles]

Yeah, I got the same thing - no artboard, View>Flip Horizontal happy and works all nice.

Add artboards, View>Flip Horizontal just not playing.
This is somewhat disagreeable and unsatisfactory I would warrant.

I guess it only works in non-artboard situations although I do believe I came across another set of circumstances that had the same effect.
Sadly, I cannot recollect what these were currently.

[SeagoatOne]

I've noticed that Photoshop disables the ability to flip the view when artboards are being used. I'm guessing this isn't properly implemented yet. It really should be.

[J453]

Thanks for the suggestion. Please hit the UpVote button at the top of the page if you would like to see this functionality.

[Jake229592464phh]

I would love this feature to be implemented. I hope it does soon! Artboards are great, just really can't use them now with my workflow as a digital painter and needing to flip the canvas without long loading times.

[MadManPockets]

Same issue in 2024.

Really inconvenient because I try to storyboard on multiple pages/artboards at once and not being able to flip to check perspective blocks the rest of my workflow 

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

Is this request just for preview purposes? This could be put into an action or script to create a faux preview.

[JinsoN]

yes, the feature is needed for preview purposes, please add it in the future update..

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

I don't have any control over what Adobe may or may not add to future versions of Photoshop. If you require this now, then an action or script can be used as a workaround.

[JinsoN]

im sorry i dont understand on how to work on that

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

That's OK, I'll knock something together.

[JinsoN]

so as for now there's no solution or maybe from adobe to improve the artboard?

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

At this point, the only option is for an end-user to create a solution and you wait for Adobe to implement such a native feature.

[JinsoN]

Thank you, is there any way to ask for or a way to provide ideas to Adobe?

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

This topic is marked as an idea, this is the way to submit a feature request to the developers.

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

You can try the following script. Select the artboard and run the script. A new preview layer will be added at the top of the artboard stack. You can then toggle the visibility of this layer on/off to preview the flipped image. Then delete the layer once you have finished previewing.

This has had limited testing, so I might have missed something!

/*
Faux Artboard Flipped Preview.jsx
v1.0 - 22nd March 2024, Stephen Marsh
https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-ideas/p-ability-to-flip-individual-artboard-without-flipping-the-whole-canvas/idc-p/14506705
*/

#target photoshop

var sourceDocName = app.activeDocument.name;

if (isArtboard() === true) {
    fauxPreview();
} else {
    app.activeDocument.activeLayer = app.activeDocument.activeLayer.parent;
    if (isArtboard() === true) {
        fauxPreview();
    }
    else {
        alert("Please select the artboard layer and re-run the script...");
    }
}


///// FUNCTIONS /////

function fauxPreview() {
    var theArtboardName = app.activeDocument.activeLayer.name;
    dupeArtboard(theArtboardName + " Temp", theArtboardName);
    app.activeDocument.selection.selectAll();
    mergeVisible();
    crop();
    flip("horizontal"); // or vertical
    dupeLayer(theArtboardName + " - Flipped Preview", theArtboardName);
    app.activeDocument.close(SaveOptions.DONOTSAVECHANGES);
}

function isArtboard() {
    // modified from a script by greless with hints from jazz-y!
    try {
        var r = new ActionReference();
        r.putEnumerated(stringIDToTypeID('layer'), stringIDToTypeID('ordinal'), stringIDToTypeID('targetEnum'));
        var options = executeActionGet(r);
        return options.hasKey(stringIDToTypeID('artboard'));
    } catch (e) {
        alert("Error!" + "\r" + e + ' ' + e.line);
    }
}

function dupeArtboard(theDocName, theLayerName) {
    var s2t = function (s) {
        return app.stringIDToTypeID(s);
    };
    var descriptor = new ActionDescriptor();
    var reference = new ActionReference();
    var reference2 = new ActionReference();

    function s2t(s) {
        return app.s2t(s);
    }
    reference.putClass(s2t("document"));
    descriptor.putReference(s2t("null"), reference);
    descriptor.putString(s2t("name"), theDocName);
    reference2.putEnumerated(s2t("layer"), s2t("ordinal"), s2t("targetEnum"));
    descriptor.putReference(s2t("using"), reference2);
    descriptor.putString(s2t("layerName"), theLayerName);
    executeAction(s2t("make"), descriptor, DialogModes.NO);
}

function mergeVisible() {
    function s2t(s) {
        return app.stringIDToTypeID(s);
    }
    executeAction(s2t("mergeVisible"), undefined, DialogModes.NO);
}

function crop() {
    var desc1 = new ActionDescriptor();
    desc1.putBoolean(charIDToTypeID('Dlt '), true);
    executeAction(charIDToTypeID('Crop'), desc1, DialogModes.NO);
}

function flip(theDirection) {
    function s2t(s) {
        return app.stringIDToTypeID(s);
    }
    var descriptor = new ActionDescriptor();
    var reference = new ActionReference();
    reference.putEnumerated(s2t("document"), s2t("ordinal"), s2t("first"));
    descriptor.putReference(s2t("null"), reference);
    descriptor.putEnumerated(s2t("axis"), s2t("orientation"), s2t(theDirection));
    executeAction(s2t("flip"), descriptor, DialogModes.NO);
}

function dupeLayer(theLayer, theArtboard) {
    var s2t = function (s) {
        return app.stringIDToTypeID(s);
    };
    var descriptor = new ActionDescriptor();
    var reference = new ActionReference();
    var reference2 = new ActionReference();
    function s2t(s) {
        return app.s2t(s);
    }
    reference.putEnumerated(s2t("layer"), s2t("ordinal"), s2t("targetEnum"));
    descriptor.putReference(s2t("null"), reference);
    reference2.putName(s2t("document"), sourceDocName);
    descriptor.putReference(s2t("to"), reference2);
    descriptor.putString(s2t("name"), theLayer);
    descriptor.putString(s2t("artboard"), theArtboard);
    executeAction(s2t("duplicate"), descriptor, DialogModes.NO);
}

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

[JinsoN]

THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. STEPHEN!

This will be very helpful for a while until Adobe adds or changes its Flip feature
I'll comfortably use this for a while, thanks! 

This is insanely cool!

[eiofgng]

To put it in a simpler way-

Currently, artboards seem to be programed as margins of a single bigger canvas, each with some layer controls individually.

In future updates, I am looking forward to seeing each artboard as an individual canvas of its own, with full controls of flipping, rotating as well as layer controls and so on. Thus working with artboards becomes more like standing in front of a magical whiteboard.