AV News 201- August 2015
Vector graphic images are composed of paths or lines that are either straight, curved, joined, or unjoined, and are ' resolution independent ', meaning you don ' t lose quality from changes to size, resolution, or resampling. Data source files for vector images contain data points where paths start and end, where and how much paths curve, and also colours that either fill or border such paths. Because Vector graphics are paths and not pixels they can be smoothly scaled or shape transmuted without producing jagged edges or losing quality. Because of this attribute Vector graphics are preferred by commercial artists for drawing objects when photographic images are not required. Vector based file formats include ai,( Adobe Illustrator) cdr, eps, vsd, svg, and dozens of others in common use. Back to our main subject. Advanced ' Linking ', ' Embedding ', and ' Smart Objects ' were introduced for good reason. An image from an external file source file can be directly ' Embedded ' into a Photoshop file, much like taking a copy of an external image and placing onto a layer. With ' Embedding ' the original external image file is not linked by this process and remains intact. However when using the command ' Place Linked ' a Photoshop file layer can share the same external source file image with many other Photoshop documents, and edits to the external source file can be automatically updated across many linked Photoshop files.
With Smart Objects, you can easily perform nondestructive transformations using a whole range of filters without losing quality because such transformations don ' t affect the original data which remains safe. A Smart Object can be edited many times or returned to its original state without quality worries. You can work with vector data, such as artwork from Illustrator or other Vector software. You can edit and re-edit multiple filters applied to Smart Objects, or apply layer masks either linked or unlinked. Using the ' Package ' command listed in the main menu you can save either single or multiple ' Smart Object Layers ' to a separate file completely independent of the. psd on which you ' re currently working.
If you ' re not sure whether your Photoshop version contains these advanced functions then open the main file menu and look for the commands named ' Place Embedded ', ' Place Linked ', and ' Package '. These commands are normally situated in the third group down from the top of the ' File ' menu. See red arrow in the above image. If these commands are not shown then unfortunately you do not have them. If you ' re really ' desperate ' to have them you will require a Photoshop upgrade. Of course from CS3 onwards you will still have the original and very useful Smart Objects.
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