To link two Smart Objects in Photoshop so they share the same content, you effectively make them instances of the same source file. This ensures that editing one Smart Object will automatically update all others linked to the same source. You can achieve this by saving the Smart Object content as an external file and relinking the desired layers to that file.
Understanding Linked Smart Objects
When Smart Objects are linked, they are instances of a single source file. This source can be either embedded within the Photoshop document or an external file (PSD or PSB). Linking via an external file is the standard method to have multiple instances across different parts of your document, or even in different Photoshop files, that update simultaneously.
Step-by-Step Guide to Linking Smart Objects
Based on the provided method, here is how you link two (or more) Smart Objects by connecting them to a shared external file:
- Prepare the Source File:
- Start with one of the Smart Objects you want to link.
- Double-click the Smart Object thumbnail in the Layers panel to open its contents in a new window.
- Go to
File > Save Asand save this content as a PSD or PSB file to a location on your computer. This file will become the shared source for all linked Smart Objects.
- Relink Each Smart Object:
- Return to your main Photoshop document containing the Smart Objects you wish to link.
- For each Smart Object layer you want to link to the shared source file (including the original one if desired), right-click on the layer in the Layers panel.
- Choose the "Relink to File..." option from the context menu.
- Navigate to the PSD/PSB file you saved in Step 1 and select it.
- Repeat this for every Smart Object layer you want to include in this linked set.
- Optional: Embed the Source File:
- After relinking all desired Smart Objects to the external file, you might want to embed the source file back into the main document for easier portability (though this makes the document size larger and less flexible for cross-document linking).
- To embed, right-click on one of the relinked Smart Object layers.
- Choose the "Embed Linked" option. This action will embed the external source file, and all Smart Objects that were linked to that external file will now be embedded instances within your main document.
By following these steps, your chosen Smart Objects will now share the same content source. Any edits made by double-clicking and modifying the contents of one of these linked Smart Objects will automatically be reflected in all other linked instances once you save the content file.
