Turn off SmartObject Layers in Photoshop

What are SmartObjects anyway?

SmartObject layers in Photoshop contain all the same information ans any normal raster (Photoshop) layer and are great if you just want limited editing resources.

They are great when you need to retain the integrity and original look of a vector image /graphic so are great if you want to rescale, skew, rotate with no loss of quality but are limited when the intention is to edit and manipulate pixels.

Basically this comes down to the way Photoshop works with what are known as destructive and non-destructive workflows.

Quite often though you’d prefer to open an image as a pixel based layer and not have to go through the rigmarole of rasterising it. (rasterisation converts the Smart Object back to a regular raster layer. Once rasterized, the content is flattened, and the special properties of the Smart Object (like scalability, linked updates, and editable filters) are lost).

So if you rarely use SmartObjects it makes sense to turn them off by default.

You select ‘Place’ and import an image, the image then predictably appears in the Layers panel as expected.

You flex your fingers ready for serious image editing then bang this is following message pops up.

SmartObject Advantages

SmartObjects let you use tools such as transformations for rotating, resizing, distorting, skewing etc with out causing any distortion to the image. This is known as a non-destructive workflow. It is worth noting at this point in the post that SmartObject layers work well with Adjustment Layers.

What are Adjustment Layers?

As you may guess these too are non-destructive editing tools as Adjustment layers don’t alter the original image and can be adjusted, hidden, or deleted at any time without losing the original image quality.

You can work with non-destructive filters in Photoshop known as SmartFilters – which in actually fact are pretty cool to use.

Vector images from software such as Illustrator can be imported directly into Photoshop without needing to convert to a pixel layer.

You CANNOT directly edit anything pixel on a SmartObject layer such as dodge and burn which can be a real pain to some including those using Photoshop for photography. You can simply double click on the layer itself and complete the SmartObject edits in its own window..

What is a non-destructive workflow?

About Non-Destructive Workflows otherwise known as NDW’s

We’re digressing from the point of this post. It was only meant to be a few words and screen shots and we’ve tumbled down numerous rabbit holes already. So lets get back on track.

Pixel Layers by Default

In themselves SmartObjects are super useful for so many things but as mentioned earlier they are not needed by many and to keep having to convert them back to pixel layers can become really tedious so let’s fix the issue.

Setting Pixel Layers as default

Go to the Edit Menu and select > Preferences followed by clicking on General..

Which opens the following dialogue box

You’ll see ‘Always create SmartObjects when placing’

Just deselect the box and click OK

Problem solved.

Edit SmartObject Layers

If you’re happy with working directly with SmartObject layers then simply leave the above box checked.

Place the image then double click on the image SmartObject layer

This will open the image into its own window where you can edit it quite freely

‘We used a Black and White Adjustment layer in this example’

SmartObject with Black and White Adjustment Layer

SmartObject Layers in Photoshop Training

We cover SmartObjects in depth on our Photoshop Training for Beginners Course. Learn how to update multiple instances of an object or just one – find out how to work with vector images from Illustrator and more.

Photoshop Training for Beginners Course

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