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Work with Illustrator artwork in Photoshop

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  1. Photoshop User Guide
  2. Introduction to Photoshop
    1. Dream it. Make it.
    2. What's new in Photoshop
    3. Edit your first photo
    4. Create documents
    5. Photoshop | Common Questions
    6. Photoshop system requirements
    7. Get to know Photoshop
    8. Keep Photoshop up to date
  3. Photoshop and other Adobe products and services
    1. Work with Illustrator artwork in Photoshop
    2. Work with Photoshop files in InDesign
    3. Substance 3D Materials for Photoshop
    4. Use the Capture in-app extension in Photoshop
  4. Photoshop on the iPad (not available in mainland China)
    1. Photoshop on the iPad | Common questions
    2. Get to know the workspace
    3. System requirements | Photoshop on the iPad
    4. Create, open, and export documents
    5. Add photos
    6. Work with layers
    7. Draw and paint with brushes
    8. Make selections and add masks
    9. Retouch your composites
    10. Work with adjustment layers
    11. Adjust the tonality of your composite with Curves
    12. Apply transform operations
    13. Crop and rotate your composites
    14. Rotate, pan, zoom, and reset the canvas
    15. Work with Type layers
    16. Work with Photoshop and Lightroom
    17. Get missing fonts in Photoshop on the iPad
    18. Japanese Text in Photoshop on the iPad
    19. Manage app settings
    20. Touch shortcuts and gestures
    21. Keyboard shortcuts
    22. Edit your image size
    23. Livestream as you create in Photoshop on the iPad
    24. Correct imperfections with the Healing Brush
    25. Create brushes in Capture and use them in Photoshop on the iPad
    26. Work with Camera Raw files
    27. Create and work with Smart Objects
    28. Adjust exposure in your images with Dodge and Burn
    29. Auto adjustment commands in Photoshop on the iPad
    30. Smudge areas in your images with Photoshop on the iPad
    31. Saturate or desaturate your images using Sponge tool
    32. Content aware fill for iPad
  5. Photoshop on the web (not available in mainland China)
    1. Common questions
    2. System requirements
    3. Keyboard shortcuts
    4. Supported file types
    5. Introduction to the workspace
    6. Open and work with cloud documents
    7. Generative AI features
    8. Basic concepts of editing
    9. Quick Actions
    10. Work with layers
    11. Retouch images and remove imperfections
    12. Make quick selections
    13. Image improvements with Adjustment Layers
    14. Add a fill layer
    15. Move, transform, and crop images
    16. Draw and paint
    17. Draw and edit Shapes
    18. Work with Type layers
    19. Work with anyone on the web
    20. Manage app settings
    21. Generate Image
    22. Generate Background
    23. Reference Image
  6. Photoshop (beta) (not available in mainland China)
    1. Get started with Creative Cloud Beta apps
    2. Photoshop (beta) on the desktop
    3. Reference Image
  7. Generative AI (not available in mainland China) 
    1. Common questions on generative AI in Photoshop
    2. Generative Fill in Photoshop on the desktop
    3. Generate Image with descriptive text prompts
    4. Generative Expand in Photoshop on the desktop
    5. Replace background with Generate background
    6. Get new variations with Generate Similar
    7. Generative Fill in Photoshop on the iPad
    8. Generative Expand in Photoshop on the iPad
    9. Generative AI features in Photoshop on the web
  8. Content authenticity (not available in mainland China)
    1. Content credentials in Photoshop
    2. Identity and provenance for NFTs
    3. Connect accounts for creative attribution
  9. Cloud documents (not available in mainland China)
    1. Photoshop cloud documents | Common questions
    2. Photoshop cloud documents | Workflow questions
    3. Manage and work with cloud documents in Photoshop
    4. Upgrade cloud storage for Photoshop
    5. Unable to create or save a cloud document
    6. Solve Photoshop cloud document errors
    7. Collect cloud document sync logs
    8. Invite others to edit your cloud documents
    9. Share files and comment in-app
  10. Workspace
    1. Workspace basics
    2. Preferences
    3. Learn faster with the Photoshop Discover Panel
    4. Create documents
    5. Place files
    6. Default keyboard shortcuts
    7. Customize keyboard shortcuts
    8. Tool galleries
    9. Performance preferences
    10. Use tools
    11. Presets
    12. Grid and guides
    13. Touch gestures
    14. Use the Touch Bar with Photoshop
    15. Touch capabilities and customizable workspaces
    16. Technology previews
    17. Metadata and notes
    18. Place Photoshop images in other applications
    19. Rulers
    20. Show or hide non-printing Extras
    21. Specify columns for an image
    22. Undo and history
    23. Panels and menus
    24. Position elements with snapping
    25. Position with the Ruler tool
  11. Web, screen, and app design
    1. Photoshop for design
    2. Artboards
    3. Device Preview
    4. Copy CSS from layers
    5. Slice web pages
    6. HTML options for slices
    7. Modify slice layout
    8. Work with web graphics
    9. Create web photo galleries
  12. Image and color basics
    1. How to resize images
    2. Work with raster and vector images
    3. Image size and resolution
    4. Acquire images from cameras and scanners
    5. Create, open, and import images
    6. View images
    7. Invalid JPEG Marker error | Opening images
    8. Viewing multiple images
    9. Customize color pickers and swatches
    10. High dynamic range images
    11. Match colors in your image
    12. Convert between color modes
    13. Color modes
    14. Erase parts of an image
    15. Blending modes
    16. Choose colors
    17. Customize indexed color tables
    18. Image information
    19. Distort filters are unavailable
    20. About color
    21. Color and monochrome adjustments using channels
    22. Choose colors in the Color and Swatches panels
    23. Sample
    24. Color mode or Image mode
    25. Color cast
    26. Add a conditional mode change to an action
    27. Add swatches from HTML CSS and SVG
    28. Bit depth and preferences
  13. Layers
    1. Layer basics
    2. Nondestructive editing
    3. Create and manage layers and groups
    4. Select, group, and link layers
    5. Place images into frames
    6. Layer opacity and blending
    7. Mask layers
    8. Apply Smart Filters
    9. Layer comps
    10. Move, stack, and lock layers
    11. Mask layers with vector masks
    12. Manage layers and groups
    13. Layer effects and styles
    14. Edit layer masks
    15. Extract assets
    16. Reveal layers with clipping masks
    17. Generate image assets from layers
    18. Work with Smart Objects
    19. Blending modes
    20. Combine multiple images into a group portrait
    21. Combine images with Auto-Blend Layers
    22. Align and distribute layers
    23. Copy CSS from layers
    24. Load selections from a layer or layer mask's boundaries
    25. Knockout to reveal content from other layers
  14. Selections
    1. Get started with selections
    2. Make selections in your composite
    3. Select and Mask workspace
    4. Select with the marquee tools
    5. Select with the lasso tools
    6. Adjust pixel selections
    7. Move, copy, and delete selected pixels
    8. Create a temporary quick mask
    9. Select a color range in an image
    10. Convert between paths and selection borders
    11. Channel basics
    12. Save selections and alpha channel masks
    13. Select the image areas in focus
    14. Duplicate, split, and merge channels
    15. Channel calculations
  15. Image adjustments
    1. Replace object colors
    2. Perspective warp
    3. Reduce camera shake blurring
    4. Healing brush examples
    5. Export color lookup tables
    6. Adjust image sharpness and blur
    7. Understand color adjustments
    8. Apply a Brightness/Contrast adjustment
    9. Adjust shadow and highlight detail
    10. Levels adjustment
    11. Adjust hue and saturation
    12. Adjust vibrance
    13. Adjust color saturation in image areas
    14. Make quick tonal adjustments
    15. Apply special color effects to images
    16. Enhance your image with color balance adjustments
    17. High dynamic range images
    18. View histograms and pixel values
    19. Match colors in your image
    20. Crop and straighten photos
    21. Convert a color image to black and white
    22. Adjustment and fill layers
    23. Curves adjustment
    24. Blending modes
    25. Target images for press
    26. Adjust color and tone with Levels and Curves eyedroppers
    27. Adjust HDR exposure and toning
    28. Dodge or burn image areas
    29. Make selective color adjustments
  16. Adobe Camera Raw
    1. Camera Raw system requirements
    2. What's new in Camera Raw
    3. Introduction to Camera Raw
    4. Create panoramas
    5. Supported lenses
    6. Vignette, grain, and dehaze effects in Camera Raw
    7. Default keyboard shortcuts
    8. Automatic perspective correction in Camera Raw
    9. Radial Filter in Camera Raw
    10. Manage Camera Raw settings
    11. Open, process, and save images in Camera Raw
    12. Repair images with the Enhanced Spot Removal tool in Camera Raw
    13. Rotate, crop, and adjust images
    14. Adjust color rendering in Camera Raw
    15. Process versions in Camera Raw
    16. Make local adjustments in Camera Raw
  17. Image repair and restoration
    1. Remove Tool
    2. Remove objects from your photos with Content-Aware Fill
    3. Content-Aware Patch and Move
    4. Retouch and repair photos
    5. Correct image distortion and noise
    6. Basic troubleshooting steps to fix most issues
  18. Image enhancement and transformation
    1. Replace sky in your images
    2. Transform objects
    3. Adjust crop, rotation, and canvas size
    4. How to crop and straighten photos
    5. Create and edit panoramic images
    6. Warp images, shapes, and paths
    7. Vanishing Point
    8. Content-aware scaling
    9. Transform images, shapes, and paths
  19. Drawing and painting
    1. Paint symmetrical patterns
    2. Draw rectangles and modify stroke options
    3. About drawing
    4. Draw and edit shapes
    5. Painting tools
    6. Create and modify brushes
    7. Blending modes
    8. Add color to paths
    9. Edit paths
    10. Paint with the Mixer Brush
    11. Brush presets
    12. Gradients
    13. Gradient interpolation
    14. Fill and stroke selections, layers, and paths
    15. Draw with the Pen tools
    16. Create patterns
    17. Generate a pattern using the Pattern Maker
    18. Manage paths
    19. Manage pattern libraries and presets
    20. Draw or paint with a graphics tablet
    21. Create textured brushes
    22. Add dynamic elements to brushes
    23. Gradient
    24. Paint stylized strokes with the Art History Brush
    25. Paint with a pattern
    26. Sync presets on multiple devices
    27. Migrate presets, actions, and settings
  20. Text
    1. Add and edit the text
    2. Unified Text Engine
    3. Work with OpenType SVG fonts
    4. Format characters
    5. Format paragraphs
    6. How to create type effects
    7. Edit text
    8. Line and character spacing
    9. Arabic and Hebrew type
    10. Fonts
    11. Troubleshoot fonts
    12. Asian type
    13. Create type
  21. Filters and effects
    1. Use the Blur Gallery
    2. Filter basics
    3. Filter effects reference
    4. Add Lighting Effects
    5. Use the Adaptive Wide Angle filter
    6. Use the Oil Paint filter
    7. Use the Liquify filter
    8. Layer effects and styles
    9. Apply specific filters
    10. Smudge image areas
  22. Saving and exporting
    1. Save your files in Photoshop
    2. Export your files in Photoshop
    3. Supported file formats
    4. Save files in graphics formats
    5. Move designs between Photoshop and Illustrator
    6. Save and export video and animations
    7. Save PDF files
    8. Digimarc copyright protection
  23. Color Management
    1. Understanding color management
    2. Keeping colors consistent
    3. Color settings
    4. Duotones
    5. Work with color profiles
    6. Color-managing documents for online viewing
    7. Color-managing documents when printing
    8. Color-managing imported images
    9. Proofing colors
  24. Web, screen, and app design
    1. Photoshop for design
    2. Artboards
    3. Device Preview
    4. Copy CSS from layers
    5. Slice web pages
    6. HTML options for slices
    7. Modify slice layout
    8. Work with web graphics
    9. Create web photo galleries
  25. Video and animation
    1. Video editing in Photoshop
    2. Edit video and animation layers
    3. Video and animation overview
    4. Preview video and animations
    5. Paint frames in video layers
    6. Import video files and image sequences
    7. Create frame animations
    8. Creative Cloud 3D Animation (Preview)
    9. Create timeline animations
    10. Create images for video
  26. Printing
    1. Print 3D objects
    2. Print from Photoshop
    3. Print with color management
    4. Contact Sheets and PDF Presentations
    5. Print photos in a picture package layout
    6. Print spot colors
    7. Print images to a commercial printing press
    8. Improve color prints from Photoshop
    9. Troubleshoot printing problems | Photoshop
  27. Automation
    1. Creating actions
    2. Create data-driven graphics
    3. Scripting
    4. Process a batch of files
    5. Play and manage actions
    6. Add conditional actions
    7. About actions and the Actions panel
    8. Record tools in actions
    9. Add a conditional mode change to an action
    10. Photoshop UI toolkit for plug-ins and scripts
  28. Troubleshooting
    1. Fixed issues 
    2. Known issues
    3. Optimize Photoshop performance
    4. Basic troubleshooting
    5. Troubleshoot crash or freeze
    6. Troubleshoot program errors
    7. Troubleshoot scratch disk full errors
    8. Troubleshoot GPU and graphics driver issues
    9. Find missing tools
    10. Photoshop 3D | Common questions around discontinued features

Enjoy a seamless transition when using Illustrator artwork in Photoshop

The interoperability improvement is for Photoshop users who use Illustrator in their workflows and want an improved experience when copying-pasting their content from Illustrator to Photoshop.

The Paste As > Layers option is the new addition to the Illustrator-Photoshop interoperability workflows along with the existing options of Smart Object, Pixels, Path, and Shape Layer. This new option supports the import of Illustrator layers while maintaining their visual and functional efficacy and layer structure. 

Improved interoperability with Illustrator

When copying objects from Illustrator and pasting them into Photoshop, each object will be in its own layer, mostly editable,  and retain as many properties as possible.

Note:

If your object has Photoshop-supported properties, it will be pasted in the canvas as an editable shape path or text, else as a non-editable pixel (rasterized) layer, with just the look and feel retained from Illustrator.

With the ability to copy an object from Illustrator and paste in Photoshop, you get so many advantages.

You can import Illustrator layers into Photoshop and continue to work on them, all the while maintaining the same visual and functional standards. You also get to retain the same layer structure in Photoshop as done in Illustrator!

How to initiate an interop workflow from Illustrator to Photoshop

  1. Launch Illustrator and open the file from which you would like to use content in Photoshop.

  2. Copy the content from Illustrator and paste in Photoshop using the Layers option from the dialog box. 

  3. Some copy-paste features that you can try out with this latest updated workflow are given here. 

    • Vector shapes and paths are created using the Shape tool or Shaper tool as Shape and Path Layers. These can include line, rectangle and rounded rectangle, polygons, ellipse, star, and path created using the pen tool or compound path. 
    • Text objects that are created using Type tools as Text Layers can include point text, area text, and on-path text.
    • Clipping masks as vector masks. 
    • Pixel layers, symbols, Smart Objects, Patterns, Gradient Mesh, Groups, Distort Layers, Flare Tool as pixel layers.
    Copy-paste from Ai to Ps

    Once you paste your object as a type layer or a shape layer, it will have its own properties panel, where you can edit its appearance and modify the text or shape respectively. 

Interop scenarios and limitations while copy-pasting

Know more about the various interop scenarios and respective behavioral differences when you copy-paste objects between Illustrator and Photoshop

Alert Message

Scenario

Behavior

Some content in this selection will be rasterized.

Shapes and paths with the following properties are not supported in Photoshop: 

  • Unsupported corner types like Chamfer and Inverted Round.
  • Stroke Dashed Line that aligns dashes to corners and path ends, adjusting lengths to fit
  • Stroke arrowheads and styles
  • Gradients in Fill and Stroke
  • Patterns in Fill and Stroke
  • Fill visibility off
  • Multi-stroke and Multi-Fill
  • Stroke and Fill opacity
  • Effects
  • Symbols, Charts, Mesh, Compound Shapes, and other Illustrator objects that are not vector shapes or paths

Text objects with the following properties are not supported in Photoshop:

  • Text objects with patterns or gradients in fill or stroke
  • Threaded text objects
  • Text objects with wrap enabled
  • Text objects with opacity Mask
  • Text objects with Effects

Miter limit and non-zero winding fill rule for overlapping paths are not supported by Photoshop, so they are not copied to maintain functional fidelity. 

Objects are rasterized and placed as pixel layer, to maintain visual fidelity.

Some of the pasted text layers contain missing fonts. These fonts will be substituted and the appearance may change.

Illustrator text objects having fonts that are unavailable in Photoshop will be pasted as text layers with the default font. These text layers will show a troubleshoot icon in the layers panel. You can double-click on these text layers or go to Type > Manage Missing Fonts to manage the missing fonts.

Text layer is pasted with the default font.

One or more shapes will be pasted as non-live shapes.
  • Paste regular polygons with sides > 100.
  • Paste irregular polygon with unequal angle or width of the sides.
  • Paste any live shape with shear.

Instead of live shape, the object is pasted as a non-live shape layer.

Illustrator placed objects will be pasted without effects.

Placed object has a linked file with effects. In this case, the effects from the linked file will be dropped when copy-pasted.

Linked files with effects are copied to Photoshop without the effect.

The selection contains one or more Illustrator-placed objects whose linked file does not exist. These objects won’t be pasted.

The placed object could not be pasted because the linked file was not found.

Linked objects with issues are not copied to Photoshop.

Can't paste the Illustrator-placed object with the linked file. You can continue to paste without it.

Linked file in copied artwork could not be placed in Photoshop, due to reasons like unsupported file format and denied access to file path.

Linked objects with issues are not copied to Photoshop.

Copied content from an Illustrator document has a different color mode. We'll convert it to match your Photoshop document, but colors might change.

Copied content from Illustrator is in a different color mode than the Photoshop document it is being pasted into.

Color mode is converted to match the color mode of the document in Photoshop. Color mismatch may be seen as per the conversion algorithm.

Can only paste up to 288 point stroke width.

Copied shape or path has a stroke width > 288 points.

Shape or path is copied with a stroke width of 288 points.

Could not complete the Paste command because Photoshop doesn't support Illustrator clipboard content which contains non-native art, legacy text, or freeform gradient objects.

Non-native art, legacy text, or freeform gradient objects are unsupported at present.

Non-native art, legacy text, or freeform gradient objects are not copied to Photoshop.

Interoperability enhancements

Introduced in the April 2022 release (version 23.3)

Type Objects

You can bring point text, area text, and on-path text objects created in Illustrator to Photoshop as live editable text layers. Once pasted in Photoshop, you can edit various properties of text layers, such as text color, size, font, alignment, etc. using the Properties Panel.

Introduced in the October 2021 release (version 23.0)

Vector Shapes

Bring in Photoshop-supported shapes, such as Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, and Line, from Illustrator as live shape layers. Conversely, the Star shape, not available in Photoshop, is imported as a path.

You can also import colors in shape fill from Illustrator to Photoshop as live shape layers. Plus, you can retain the layer name as is when importing from Illustrator to Photoshop.

Note:

In the Ai-Ps workflow, you can bring in some patterns and gradients in shape fill as well as some features like corner types and strokes as pixel layers.

Vector Paths

You can bring in Paths and Compound Paths from Illustrator to Photoshop as non-live shape layers with the look and feel retained as is. You can also edit their properties in the Properties tab, like changing the color and shape of the path and strokes, as well as modifying the anchor points for changing the path.

Note:

When you create a compound shape in Illustrator and import it in Photoshop, it is pasted as a pixel layer and becomes non-editable.

Clipping Masks 

Clipping masks created in Illustrator are mapped as vector masks or rasterized when importing to Photoshop. When pasting clipping masks, Photoshop users will be prompted to select their choice of pasting - as vector mask or rasterize.  

When importing into Photoshop, a group will be created corresponding to the clip group in Illustrator and a vector mask will be applied to this group corresponding to the clipping path from Illustrator. This ensures visual and functional fidelity from Illustrator are maintained as the group's descendants will clip to the vector mask in Photoshop.

When created on unsupported objects, or objects with unsupported properties, the clipping masks will be rasterized to maintain the same visual effect in Photoshop. 

Note:

You need to remember that if pasted as a vector mask, the fill and stroke will be lost.

Other Enhancements

All embedded and linked artwork created in Illustrator will open in Photoshop. However, Illustrator objects such as symbols, charts, mesh, and repeat will be rasterized when pasted in Photoshop.

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