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I would like to add a proper screenshot to an iPhone product image to create an ad for an iOS 7 app. Apple provides such product images as *.psd files for Photoshop, however I only have Gimp 2.8.10 (for OS X) available. When viewed in GIMP, the product image contains two layers: one for the whole device, the other for its screen.

Adding the raw screenshot to the product image is simple enough: "Open as Layers ..." plus "Scale Layer". However, I am also supposed to hide my actual (screen-captured) status bar in favor of Apple's generic version (it has a full battery icon, etc). Apple's App Store Marketing Guidelines state that "status bar options are provided on different layers within the Smart Object layer" but GIMP apparently does not render these finer details in the *.psd file (and I am also unfamiliar with these concepts).

So my question is this: can I use GIMP to combine my screenshot with the product image template such that a generic status bar in the template becomes visible without "brute" copy/paste, i.e. by following a procedure analog to the one prescribed for Photoshop? What would be the right steps?

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    I don't think GIMP can handle smart objects. A smart object is editable in Photoshop by double clicking on it. You can apply non-destructive effects on the smart object. What you could try is to make the grey bg transparent, place your image under it such that the status bar text stays on top. This requires that your status bar has no text/icons on it.
    – Saaru Lindestøkke
    Apr 8, 2014 at 12:08
  • @BartArondson I've tried something similar by placing a new white layer the size of the status bar between the generic layer (with grey bg now transparent) and my screenshot layer (whose status bar is not empty). However for some reason this does not seem to work out: the white layer hides the generic status bar even though the second is on top.
    – Drux
    Apr 8, 2014 at 14:09
  • While this is interesting and VERY well described, I'm actually wondering what the (ultimate) main question here would be. Opening smart objects with Gimp, maybe? Or how to open PSDs in general? Not that it's not valid as it, I just have the feeling you could get more answers with a more generic title. Makes sense?
    – Yisela
    Apr 9, 2014 at 4:55
  • @Yisela Thx, I'll perhaps rephrase in terms of "Puzzling behavior when starting from a PSD with smart objects in GIMP"? My current understanding is that GIMP cannot (yet) import/handle smart objects and should ignore them but it seems (to this Photoshop and GIMP rookie) as if here it is treating the layer that contains them somehow special.
    – Drux
    Apr 9, 2014 at 6:14
  • To solve the problem with smart objects you only need to get those original PSDs with smart objects converted to normal layers (depending on the blending mode in the Photoshop it can be as simple as adding of an empty layer behind the smart object and merging the smart object with it). Then you can do with new PSD anything you want.
    – avp
    May 5, 2015 at 14:19

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As I did not have a Photoshop Licence and I was starting to lose too much time on this, I found a website that allowed me to generate embedded screen shots in the iphone pic: mockuphone.com (I am not affilied by any way to this website, just found that it did exactly what I wanted and for free)

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Today ( 9 years later) it's still possible that one has got a product mockup or another PSD image which contains smart objects or other common Photoshop's crown features, but he cannot get Photoshop (not even a trial) to use the PSD.

Try online application Photopea. It knows Photoshop's smart objects, adjustment layers, layer styles and since 2022 there's also CMYK. Render in Photopea what you need and download as separate PNGs or as a "no effects" PSD which can be used for ex. in GIMP.

Photopea is free, but it shows ads. To suppress them one must get a paid license

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