Opening Images from Lightroom Classic into Photoshop using Edit In

Adobe Lightroom ClassicAdobe Photoshop
Updated 04-18-2023 — There are two new options for managing external editors and opening multiple images from Lightroom Classic into Photoshop.
  • To select the version of Photoshop that you want to set as your default editor, choose Preference > External Editing. In the Edit In Photoshop section, choose the version of Photoshop that you want to be the default. This will be helpful for those needing to work with multiple versions of Photoshop for different projects (including the Photoshop Beta). Note: the default editor is what will be used when using the shortcut Command + E (Mac) | Control +E (Win). 
    • To quickly open files into another version of Photoshop, choose Preference > External Editing, and use the Additional External Editor section to choose another version of Photoshop as the applicatio. Then, use the Preset drop down to save the current settings as a new preset. Additional External Editor presets appear in the Photo > Edit In menu as well as the context sensitive menus, making it easy to choose between different applications.
  • To open multiple files from Lightroom Classic into a single document in Photoshop as layered Smart Objects, select the desired files and choose Photo > Edit In > Open as Smart Object Layers in Photoshop.
Depending on your workflow, you may want to change the default settings that Lightroom Classic uses to hand off files to Photoshop.  Note: if you’re new to this workflow, this video (Moving Between Lightroom Classic and Photoshop), will show you a quick overview.  Begin by selecting Preferences >  External Editing and select your preferred file format, color space, bit depth, and resolution. If you often use different settings for different projects (different bit depth, color spaces, even different external editors for example), select  your alternate options in the Additional External Editor section. Then, use the Preset drop down menu to Save Current Settings as New Preset. Note: These presets will appear under Photo > Edit In, making it easy to select between different settings. While in the External Editing Preferences, you can also choose whether or not to stack the edited photo with the original. (Click here for more info on stacking in Lightroom Classic. And to create a custom filename template for images edited externally, select a template from the drop down list or create your own. For example, I keep the original file name and add  _ME (for “master edited”) to my edited files.  Command + E (Mac) | Control+ E (Win) opens selected files into your primary external editor. In most cases, this will be the most current version of Photoshop installed on your machine. Or, you can set up a secondary editor by clicking the Choose button to the right of the Application option in the Additional External Editor, in which case, Command + Option + E (Mac) | Control + Alt + E (Win) will open selected files into the secondary editor.  After choosing the settings for your workflow, selecting Photo > Edit In > Edit In Photoshop (or use the shortcut Command + E (Mac) | Control+ E (Win)) instructs Lightroom Classic to hand off a copy of the file to Photoshop. After making changes in Photoshop, saving, and then closing that file,  Photoshop will hand back the edited file to Lightroom Classic where it will be automatically imported into the catalog. Note: if you choose Edit in Photoshop and then create a duplicate of the edited image in Photoshop (or choose Save As, or copy and paste the photo into another document) and then save and close that duplicated file, Photoshop will not return the file to Lightroom Classic and therefore it will not be auto-imported.  Instead, you will need to return to Lightroom Classic and manually import the file (or, if you saved it to a folder that Lightroom Classic is already aware of, you can choose to synchronize the folder). To open multiple files multiple files from Lightroom Classic into a single, multi-layered Photoshop document, choose Photo > Edit In > Open as Layers in Photoshop. This quick tip (Opening Multiple Photographs from Lightroom Classic into a Single Photoshop File), will show you how. To open files from Lightroom Classic as Smart Objects in Photoshop, choose Photo > Edit In > Open as Smart Object in Photoshop. If you’re not familiar with Smart Objects, this post (15 Tips for Working with Smart Objects)  explains how, when and why you would want to use them. Note: the following feature is Mac only. To open multiple files from Lightroom Classic into Photoshop as Smart Objects and place them into a single document, open a document in Photoshop. Then, with both applications visible, select the images in Lightroom and drag and drop them on top of the open Photoshop document. Each image will be converted to a Smart Object and placed into the open document. Note: the options to “Resize Image During Place” as well as “Place or Drag Raster Images as Smart Object” are controlled in Photoshop’s General Preferences.
Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Photoshop

Posted on 04-13-2021