Layers To Photoshop
Script for Adobe InDesign
Latest update 12/6/2023, version 2.5
Export InDesign layers to Photoshop.
- Process the active document
- Process open documents or a folder of documents
- Export all pages or a range
- Layers as Smart Objects or rasterize
- User-configurable localization
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How-to Video
How to use the script
The interface has three sections: Process, Options, and Output. Set the desired options and click the OK button to begin. A progress bar is displayed as layers are exported and Photoshop documents are created. For each InDesign document processed, each page and layer is exported and placed into a Photoshop document that is saved the name of the InDesign document plus page number. The result is a Photoshop document of each page, each with layers that match layers in the InDesign document. If processing multiple documents and errors occur, a log file is written to the output folder.
Section 1: Process
Active Document — processes the document that is currently open and the top-most window if multiple documents are open.
Open documents — processes every open document.
Folder — processes every document found in the selected folder. Enable the option Include subfolders if desired.
Section 2: Options
Resolution — pixels per inch to make the Photoshop documents.
Color Space — color model to make the Photoshop documents. Choose RGB, CMYK, or Gray.
Layers: Smart Object — InDesign layers are placed into Photoshop as smart objects. Text layers are editable in Illustrator.
Layers: Rasterize — InDesign layers are rasterized in Photoshop. Text is not editable.
There isn’t an option for anti-alias because the script always enables anti-alias when placing layers in Photoshop. I couldn’t imagine a need to disable the option considering that without anti-alias, the result is horrible. But perhaps I could be wrong, and there is a need to disable it. Contact me to share other views on the subject.
Section 3: Output
Folder — the folder where Photoshop documents are saved. Click the button Folder to select the location. To the right is a button with three dots that opens another window with more output folder options.
Here, recent folders are listed. Click to select any in the list, and it becomes the output folder.
To remove a folder, click to select it, then click the button Remove. To remove all folders in the list, click the button Clear all. Removal occurs only if the OK button is clicked. Choose Cancel and folders removed are restored.
It’s also possible to set a folder as the default each time the script runs. Below the list is Default output folder. Click the button Set default, and choose the desired folder. Then whenever the script runs, the output folder is the same. Or leave the default (none), and it’s always where the document is located.
Pages: All or Range — controls whether to export all pages of the document, a single page, or any range or ranges of pages. For a single page or a range, the normal InDesign rules for identifying pages are recognized. Use section and/or alternate layout prefixes combined with the page number as it appears in the layout, or enter the plus sign followed by the absolute page number. Separate the first and last pages of a range with a hyphen, and separate multiple pages or page ranges with a comma.
Language
By default the script language is US English, which does not require further download or configuration. To have the script interface display other languages, choose from the available languages below. Download and copy the .i18n file to the script folder alongside the script. When launched, the script detects the language file and displays interface text in that language. If your language is not listed, download the English file and translate it. The file is plain text formatted as JSON, containing interface text in English, and a second value for its translation, which for the English file is the identical text. Copy the file and rename it to replace “en” with the relevant code for your language, then edit the file to change each line’s second value to the translation in your language. For more detailed instructions of how to edit and install i18n files, see How to Localize Scripts.
English: layers-to-photoshop-en-i18n.zip
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Single-user perpetual license
Pay once, no subscription, use forever
Change log: layers-to-photoshop.txt
For help installing scripts, see How to Install and Use Scripts in Adobe Creative Cloud Applications.
IMPORTANT: scripts are developed for the latest Adobe Creative Cloud applications. Many scripts work in CC 2018 and later, even some as far back as CS6, but may not perform as expected, or run at all, when used in versions prior to 2018. Photoshop features Select Subject and Preserve Details 2.0 definitely fail prior to CC 2018 (version 19) as the features do not exist in earlier versions. For best results use the latest versions of Adobe Creative Cloud applications.
IMPORTANT: by downloading any of the scripts on this page you agree that the software is provided without any warranty, express or implied. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Always make backups of important data.
IMPORTANT: fees paid for software products are the purchase of a non-exclusive license to use the software product and do not grant the purchaser any degree of ownership of the software code. Author of the intellectual property and copyright holder William Campbell retains 100% ownership of all code used in all software products regardless of the inspiration for the software product design or functionality.
