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Thread: psd import lost layers...

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2022
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    psd import lost layers...

    Hi out there, the import lost all the layers. Ive tried this with an Affinity Photo export (to psd) and also with an original photoshop file with max compatibility. How to persevere the layers?

    * File > import image file
    * File > import image file to layer

    I use the latest releases of AP, PS and ArtRageVitae on MacOS 12.6.

    Best regards Carsten

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
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    176
    Hi bauchladen!

    I'm not sure if that will work with any other program than the one you created the PSD with. The PSD-file-format basically is Photoshops own format for documents that are in progress. The only one that can also save e.G. guidelines, selections, pathes and other stuff in Photoshop. In Affinity Photo it is the "*.afphoto"-file (in ArtRage the "*.ptg", in GIMP the XCF and so on). Finished projects will normally be exported, depending on for what usage they are meant to be, as JPEG, PNG, TIFF or others. Its by the way similar with TIFF, that supports layers too, but it will not always work satisfying if you transfer TIFFs with layers and/or transparencies between different programs. In some cases they get lost if one tries that. Nowadays you can open PSDs in other programs too, but not with all of its features.

    The layer management of Affinity Photo is very different from Photoshops layer management and from ArtRAge's too in some points. So that might be the reason.

    One thing, you could try is to import or open the PSD by dragging it into ArtRage. But it will probably not make a difference. The only way might be to export any single layer and import it separately.

    But without warranty.

    Edit: I tested it myself and on import the layers got merged to. But if I open a multilayered PSD in ArtRage, the layers keep separated. But as I already said, not with all of their features. E.G. masks and Adjustment Layers get lost. No surprise, because ArtRage doesn't have this features.
    Last edited by Somerset; 09-26-2022 at 02:17 AM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2022
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    2
    Hi, and thank you for your help.

    [QUOTE=Somerset;541310 I tested it myself and on import the layers got merged to[/QUOTE]

    I try to use ArtRage for some Animation stuff, so I bundled all the frames in a single psd to import them in one step as Layers in ArtRage. I don't use any other special Photoshop features... According to the manual, the import and the splitting of the layers should work. Seems to me to be a bug?

    [QUOTE=Somerset;541310 ...if I open a multilayered PSD in ArtRage, the layers keep separated.[/QUOTE]

    How do you get this Point to Work? The "File > open Painting" supports only Art Rage Format. The Import Dialog supports psd, but merges. :-)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
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    2,219
    Hello bauchladen and welcome to the ArtRage forums
    There are several ways that you can open PSD files in ArtRage;
    Drag & Drop the file onto ArtRag’s icon in the Dock.
    If AR is already open you can Drag & Drop the file into the open AR app window.
    With both these methods you will get a window open asking what ArtRage should do next.
    Choose the first option ‘Import To New File’.
    You can also right click one a PSD file and choose ArtRage as the app you wish to use to open the file.
    You could also open a ‘Get Info…’ window for the PSD file and change it’s assigned opening app to always be ArtRage.

    Now all of that said, I am wondering about why; File > ‘Import Image File…’ only opened as a flattened single image for you?
    That should have worked and left the original individual layers and groups intact.
    It works for me here and always has.
    Are there any further details you can give that might shed some light on what happened for you?
    Last edited by markw; 09-27-2022 at 12:17 PM.
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
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    Hi markw!

    I get a flattened single layer too, if I import or drag&drop a multi-layer PSD into a document in ArtRage (think it will be the same with other file formats. I only get it with its layers if I open it as a separate document. As I said above, it is different how apps can handle this. E.G. if there is a layer mask in the document, ArtRage can't open this mask, it will be ignored, while e.G. GIMP is also able to handle this.

    I usually don't need to open documents, I created in other apps, in ArtRage, so I don't know if this is normal behavior, but in fact I can't import multi-layer-image-files in ArtRage-documents too. I'm on Windows 10 with ArtRage 6.1.2.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
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    Hi bauchladen!

    As markw already said, if you import or drag&drop a multi-layer-document in ArtRage, you get a window that asks if you want to place it in an existing document or open it as a separate document.. In the first case, I get the document as one flattened layer too. In the second case, it will be opened with all of its layers, as far as ArtRage can handle them.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
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    2,219
    OK so I’ve read through this thread again…
    Trying to put a .psd file into an existing document in ArtRage will always flatten it to a single layer. This is normal. It may not be desirable but it is normal!
    To retain the layer structure a .psd file has to be first opened in AR by using one of the methods I described earlier. It can then be worked with from there in AR.
    If the content of the newly opened .psd file has to be added to an existing AR document then the only way would be to have both the new and existing documents open in AR and Copy & Paste the new layers over.

    In the first post, bauchladen said that File > ‘Import Image File…’ had failed to retain the layer structure for him. Though it should have worked.
    Any clarification on this would be helpful I think.
    Last edited by markw; 09-28-2022 at 04:13 AM.
    Maker Of Replica Macoys

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    ~ macOS 10.15.7 ~ 4 Core i7 3.1GHz CPU ~ 16GB RAM ~ Wacom Intuos4 M
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  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    290
    Quote Originally Posted by bauchladen View Post
    Hi out there, the import lost all the layers. Ive tried this with an Affinity Photo export (to psd) and also with an original photoshop file with max compatibility. How to persevere the layers?

    * File > import image file
    this should import your .psd file directly to artrage, opening it with all layer and folder information (basic layers, no layer effects, no 16/32 bit files, no CMYK color space, no text layers, layer masks, and adjustment layers - all the extra stuff for .psd format is proprietary and adobe does not share the file format specifics; since artrage is a painting application, it's just 8 bit RGB files with layers, layer modes and layer folders that are supported.)

    I'm not sure what exactly you have in that file causing the image flattening during file parsing by artrage, but basically every .psd file created in either photoshop or any compatible graphic design app saves an internal flattened canvas layer for preview (and possible last chance back-up) purpose; artrage picks up this flattened layer and pulls it in. I import files created in clip studio paint more or less every week, and they're imported correctly for the most past. I've never ran into the issue you're describing on mac, although I'm not on vita yet, but I don't think it's a version specific issue.

    is it just a single isolated file that is giving you this issue by the way, or do you experience it with every file initially created with affinity photo?

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