Photoshop: Slice Comps that work like Layer Comps

[paulheyer]

Layer Compositions are very handy to manage huge amounts of layers in one file e.g. if your working on screen interface layouts. You work on your layout, save this arrangement of visible/invisible layers in a Layer Composition and you can work straight away on the next screenlayout with a different arrangement of layers in another Layer Composition.

Additionally Photoshop has the great feature of Image Slices.
You cut your document in smaller assets and export them in one single step. This works great together with Layer Compositions.
As soon as you have lots of overlapping Slices, it becomes a mess and is very painful.
You have to arrange them new, you don't see them, because they are in background and so on...

So here is the simple, but timesaving idea:
Add Slice Compositions that work exactly like Layer Compositions.
Or better and simpler: Combine Slice Compositions to Layer Compositions.
Simply save the arranged slices in a Layer Composition.

This feature could become a enormous timesaver for designers.
Imagine if you could export all your assets of all your screenlayouts in one single step ...

[J453]

I just noticed some enterprising person has created a way to store slice data on a per layer basis:

http://www.electriciris.com/slicemast...

It may work to store the layers on and off with Layer Comps.

[paulheyer]

Thanks for your reply! I know this tool but I'm not sure if i want to use this for some reasons. For a long time there was no Mac version, it isn't native, no idea what happens if you open a file without this extension ... i think this tool is very powerful, but i would love to find its basic functionality in PS natively implemented.

[J453]

Doesn't hurt to try and get your feedback on what you like or don't like with it. There are lots of great third party tools out there. We may, or may not, be able to make something better natively. (A lot of our 'features' are actually built on our scripting SDK)

[Joshycage3]

I need the ability To have multiple slice groups available in one file, slice groups that you can turn on and off.

I need to see all the elements of my software interface and adjust them in one file. If i had slice groups i wouldnt have to send slices to that back of the stack and cycle through to find my file endlessly to find the slices i need to export. I have layer folders with different save for web sets, but no corresponding slice layer groups. so i have to sort each slice element to the top in order to save out the layer group in save for web. pretty much a pain.

and when are we going to be able to save out our photoshop file as a css or HTML 5 file. Adobe should create and application adobe photoshop developer edition.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I just figured it out!!! I am a freaking GENIUS!

Just keep entire project in a group, and everytime you make a new slice comp, delete that group and save an empty document calling it 'SLICE COMP...' since it has the exact dimensions and slice info, you just drop your project group with Shift pressed, save slices and you're done.

But yeah Adobe is kinda missing that feature... I requested it back in CS3 and nothing...

[mactyler]

@Jeffrey, sorry but that plugin does not work in that fashion. It switches the slice set based on the selected layer not whether the layer containing the slice set is visible or not. Unfortunately this means that the groups cannot be controlled in any way by the layer comps. 😞

[J453]

Thanks for the feedback Mac.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

@Jeffrey -- Actually, I just found out from Enzo, that Mac Tyler successfully convinced Enzo to add in this functionality, and I just confirmed on the Mac OSX... Enzo says it will be ready for Windows platform in a few weeks...

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

@Jeff_&_Tricia - here's the link back from ElectricIris forums... http://www.electriciris.com/forums/vi...

So this feature does exist as a plugin call SliceMaster for currently $19 / user.

Also, it seems like a popular question for automation of slices, so why didn't the Photoshop javascript Script API allow us to access the slices. Everyone loves the slicing tool which is gaining features (thanks to Enzo from ElectricIris) and we really need a way to auto the Save for Web feature. Any ideas how to automate Slices Save for web with some Export Script or Plugin?

[mactyler]

Hey! Hah yeah I had exchanged quite a few emails with enzo regarding this functionality. Even did a video demo hah. Really great to here he might add this in the final version! Last I had heard there were a few last problems that he was encountering. I will be so excited if he gets it working correctly. Really great to hear!

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

mac@issmain.co.jp Tyler ... Yea, thanks so much for finding this and getting Enzo to make the change you did! Kudos!!!

At first it was working perfect ... but now based on my usage I'm finding little nuances like I have to select my Layer Comp and then select my corresponding layer that contains the slice set. Not a big deal, but when I first started to test the tool a few hours back, it was in sync perfect, so I'm still looking for what I did to change. I did a Copy/Paste of a slice set and after that it started acting funny, but it still works, I just have to keep track what Layer Comp goes to what Layer slice set. I'm trying to repo the issue so I can help bug the product to perfection... Have you noticed any quirks with the way you are using?

[J453]

Thanks. Enzo and I have been in contact. I'll help answer any questions he has. Hopefully we can iron out any issues/questions he has.

[Joshycage3]

Adobe illustrator does the slicing the best. i create multiple artboards and "unfold" my interface onto the different artboards at the same pixel dimension, with copy and past in place. this works so well. There's enough room for me and the slices don't need to overlap, because i just create a new artboard. I've been slicing inside photoshop and illustrator, reassembling in illustrator, to export CSS coordinates and keep the layout images up to date. Illustrator is awesome with slices.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Hi guys, Enzo here. So here are the new features in SliceMaster (v1.9)

* Selecting a Layer Comp will now set the Slice Set for that Layer Comp.

* A new File-->Automate-->SliceMaster-->"Layer Comps To Files" has been added such that each saved out file will have its own correct Slice Set.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated 🙂

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Hi all,

The new SliceMaster (v1.9) has a couple new features:

* Selecting a Layer Comp will now switch to the corresponding Slice Set.

* "File-->Automate-->SliceMaster - Save Layer Comps To Files" has been added, so now each file saved out will have the correct Slice Set saved out as well.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Hi all, Enzo here...

A new version of SliceMaster is out, v1.9, which has these features:

* Selecting a Layer Comp will now show the corresponding Slice Set automatically.

* "File-->Automate-->SliceMaster - Save Layer Comps To Files" has been added, which will save the correct Slice Set to each file saved.

Hope this helps! 🙂

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

This is exactly what came here asking for. Probably best just as described, but one could consider this also as one of the features of Layer Comps – so that if you have checked 'save slice data' in the layer comp options, you could have unique set of slices for each layer comp.

I usually use Layer comps to for different views of a web layout, so at least for my workflow it would be perfectly natural to have the slice sets saved with the layer comp data.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Has there been any resolution on this? I do lots of email templates and web layouts, as well as picking up layouts from other designers and I have been wanting this for years.