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            <div class="Photoshop"><table><tr><td class="banner">Adobe Photoshop CS4</td><td class="pod"><img src="images/PDF.gif" width="16" height="16" hspace="15" valign="50%" />&#160;&#160;
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<ul class="navigation"><li class="prev"><a accesskey="p" class="prev" href="WS2FD6768E-DB6B-48a3-9859-46AB77DFC325a.html" title="About nondestructive editing"><img src="images/blank.gif" alt="Previous" width="17" height="17" /></a></li><li class="next"><a accesskey="n" class="next" href="WS00C8C50B-DA79-41cf-8D2A-0FAF176E8BE0a.html" title="Create Smart Objects"><img src="images/blank.gif" alt="Next" width="17" height="17" /></a></li></ul><div class="hierarchy" id="hierarchy"><a href="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-78e4a.html">Layers</a> /
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                <h1>
                    About Smart Objects
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                <div><p>Smart
Objects are layers that contain image data from raster or vector
images, such as Photoshop or Illustrator files. Smart Objects preserve
an image’s source content with all its original characteristics,
enabling you to perform nondestructive editing to the layer. </p>
<p>You can create Smart objects using several methods: by using
the Open As Smart Object command; placing a file, pasting data from
Illustrator; or converting one or more Photoshop layers to Smart
Objects. </p>
<p>With Smart Objects, you can:</p>
<ul><li><p>Perform nondestructive transforms. You can scale, rotate,
skew, distort, perspective transform, or warp a layer without losing
original image data or quality because the transforms don’t affect
the original data.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Work with vector data, such as vector artwork from Illustrator,
that otherwise would be rasterized in Photoshop. </p>
</li>
<li><p>Perform nondestructive filtering. You can edit filters applied
to Smart Objects at any time.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Edit one Smart Object and automatically update all its linked
instances.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Apply a layer mask that’s either linked or unlinked to the
Smart Object layer</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>You can’t perform operations that alter pixel data—such as painting,
dodging, burning, or cloning—directly to a Smart Object layer, unless
it is first converted into a regular layer, which will be rasterized.
To perform operations that alter pixel data, you can edit the contents
of a Smart Object, clone a new layer above the Smart Object layer,
edit duplicates of the Smart Object, or create a new layer. </p>
<div class="para"><div class="note"><span class="notetitle">Note:  </span>When you transform a Smart Object that has a Smart Filter
applied to it, Photoshop turns off filter effects while the transform
is being performed. Filter effects are applied again after the transform
is complete. See <a href="WS2B069F8E-1ACB-423b-8B32-A48906CF76D1a.html">About Smart Filters</a>.</div>
</div>
<div class="fignone"><img alt="" id="la_19" src="images/la_19.png" /><div class="figdesc">Regular layer and Smart Object in Layers panel. Icon in lower
right corner of thumbnail indicates Smart Object.</div><br /></div><p>For a video on editing and merging images from Lightroom, see <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4121_ps" target="_blank">www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4121_ps</a>.</p>
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