How to Import and Export Images in Photoshop

Photoshop is a powerful and versatile tool, but only if you can find images to edit and make use of the result. Knowing the tricks of importing and exporting files in Photoshop will ensure that you will always be able to work in Photoshop and that you can always use the edited images that you create.

Instructions

1. Import an image as a layer when you want to use a specific image in an existing Photoshop file. This is generally the first step when you want to combine separate images in Photoshop. Simply open the target image as a separate document; the original will stay open in the background. If you open an image file, the image will be located on the background layer.

2. Convert it to an editable layer; then click and drag it over the document you want it to be a part of, and then drop. The new image document will remain unchanged, but the original document will create a new layer and place the dropped image on that layer. You can also drag and drop individual layers between files. This method can be used to add almost any type of file to a Photoshop file, including InDesign and Illustrator files. Illustrator files will be converted to pixel images once opened in Photoshop, but are displayed in extremely high resolution.

3. Use the Place command if you want to import an image as a layer in a Photoshop document and have any changes you make to that image be saved in the original image file. In effect, whatever you do to that image within the Photoshop file will be done to the image file too. The Place command can be found under the File menu.

4. Use the "Video Frames to Layer" command if you want to import frames from a movie into Photoshop. You will be given options to import very specific sections of your movie, as well as importing only every other frame, every third frame and so on. Hold down the Shift key and slide the slider on the movie clip to select a specific section of the movie. Use the "Limit to frames" box to select intermittent frames. For example, typing "2" in the provided box will only import every other frame of the selected section, "3" will import every third frame, and unchecking this option will import every frame of the selected section.

References

• Tech Arena: Importing and Exporting Images in Photoshop

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish