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- I am running CS4 Master Suite on Mac 10.5.8 and in other CS versions of Illustrator, I could select the image I just placed and click 'Edit Original' and the image would then open in Photoshop. Now the 'Edit Original' is grayed out. I am sure it's a simple setting I am overlooking and I tried to sea.
- The first option is to paste your Illustrator artwork into Photoshop as a Smart Object. This is a good choice when you need to copy an entire design, and it’s your best option if you might need to modify the source artwork later in Illustrator.
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By Shutterstock contributor Karl Rosencrants
If you do serious design work, you probably use both Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. You also probably know how to move images between the two programs. But do you know the four ways to copy and paste from Illustrator into Photoshop? Which method works best depends on what you plan to do with the artwork. Below, we’ll examine all four methods and explain what each one is best for.
1. Smart Objects
The first option is to paste your Illustrator artwork into Photoshop as a Smart Object. This is a good choice when you need to copy an entire design, and it’s your best option if you might need to modify the source artwork later in Illustrator.
With any Photoshop Smart Object, just double-click on the thumbnail in the Layers dialog box to reopen the Smart Object in its original state.
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In this case, since the design was copied from Illustrator, when you double-click on the thumbnail you will reopen the design in Illustrator. Make your edits there. You don’t need to copy and paste the design again; simply save the work and close the file.
When you switch back to Photoshop, the Smart Object will automatically update with the new changes.
Another nice thing about Smart Objects is that you can scale them in Photoshop without losing any quality. Photoshop will apply the Transform command to the Smart Object itself, so regardless of how many times the object is scaled up and down, the artwork will always remain clear and sharp.
2. Paste as Pixels
The second option is to Paste as Pixels. Some features in Photoshop won’t work when applied to a Smart Object. The Brush Tool, Clone Stamp, Dodge and Burn, and many other tools can only be applied to pixel-based artwork. So pasting in the layer as Pixels will allow Photoshop to treat it just like the artwork was created inside of Photoshop. The downside is that Warps and Transforms will not preserve the quality of the original artwork. They work just like they would a standard art layer in Photoshop.
![Photoshop And Illustrator For Mac Photoshop And Illustrator For Mac](/uploads/1/2/6/6/126676452/826128956.jpg)
3. Paste as Path
Another paste option is to Paste as Path. Choose this option when you’re copying individual shapes, not complex designs, to Photoshop. This will paste only the vector path for the shape copied. The artwork can then be edited using the Path tools in Photoshop.
Just like any other path you draw in Photoshop, you can use the Path Palette to create a Stroke or a Fill of the path on a blank layer. Holding down Control (PC) or Command (Mac) and clicking on the thumbnail in the Path Palette will load the Path as a selection that you can use to create Layer Masks, Channels, etc.
4. Paste as Shape Layer
The fourth option is to paste as a Shape Layer. As with Paste as Path, this option works best for individual shapes. A Shape Layer is essentially a Vector Mask over a field of a specified color. The mask works by exposing the underlying color for the area inside the path and hiding the color to the outside of the path.
![Photoshop Photoshop](/uploads/1/2/6/6/126676452/726602383.jpg)
The mask shape can be edited using any of the Path tools in Photoshop. You can also adjust the Fill Color of the layer by double-clicking on the colored thumbnail next to the Vector Mask.
Knowing the best way to paste from Illustrator to Photoshop can help you maximize the quality and flexibility of your designs. Good luck!