I am looking for a way to bulk replace smart object content without using Photoshop. My goal is to create nice poster mockups for hundreds of posters automatically.

So I have a PSD file containing the smart object and a bunch of PNG files which I want to place inside the smart object and export each result to PNG/JPG/whatever.

I couldn't find a software that can handle smart objects besides Photoshop.


I know of no software which is fully compatible with PSDs, besides Photoshop.

Other software can sometimes open PSDs, such as GIMP and Affinity Photo, but functionality that is unique to Photoshop, such as Smart Objects, probably won't work. The PSD format itself is a proprietary format owned by Adobe.

  • Yes, I already tried GIMP, but the PSD file already looks different than in PS, probably because smart objects are not supported. So the layers are overlapping where they shouldn't and such things. Since there is an open specification for PSD (adobe.com/devnet-apps/photoshop/fileformatashtml), I think it should be possible somehow. – Michael Kleimann Apr 22 '18 at 15:27
  • How are other people solving this issue? Almost every mockup you buy is in PSD format, is everyone using PS? I don't see a point in buying a license since I don't do image editing. I just want to replace the content of the smart object. It is a lot of money for that simple task. – Michael Kleimann Apr 22 '18 at 15:34
  • @MichaelKleimann There is no other software which can do it, as far as I know. Smart Objects are unique to Photoshop. If it's such a simple task, and you don't want to spend the money on Photoshop, then you could always hire a designer to do it for you. – Billy Kerr Apr 22 '18 at 15:38
  • @MichaelKleimann - or if you know someone with Photoshop who can rasterize the smart objects to simple layers, GIMP or other software should be able to open them. – Billy Kerr Apr 22 '18 at 15:43
  • I found an online editor which supports smart objects: photopea.com. But I think I will pay someone to convert the PSD files so that I can automate the process with GIMP. – Michael Kleimann Apr 22 '18 at 16:54

You can fully edit smart objects and mockups with https://www.photopea.com

BUT there is no bulk functionality, you'll just have to do the leg work of updating all 100s posters one by one.

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