how to save as each art-board as separate PSD file in photoshop cc 2015

Question

I am using Photoshop CC 2015. It recently added an art board feature. I love it, but now issue I want to send my customer PSD file but they don't use CC 2015 so how they can see all of my artboards? So I am wondering if there is any way to save each art board as a separate PSD.

Answer 1

Maybe you can help script artboardsToPSD.jsx

#target photoshop

app.bringToFront();

var docRef = app.activeDocument,
allArtboards,
artboardsCount = 0,
inputFolder = Folder.selectDialog("Select a folder to process");

if (inputFolder) {
function getAllArtboards() {
    try {
        var ab = [];
        var theRef = new ActionReference();
        theRef.putProperty(charIDToTypeID('Prpr'), stringIDToTypeID("artboards"));
        theRef.putEnumerated(charIDToTypeID('Dcmn'), charIDToTypeID('Ordn'), charIDToTypeID('Trgt'));
        var getDescriptor = new ActionDescriptor();
        getDescriptor.putReference(stringIDToTypeID("null"), theRef);
        var abDesc = executeAction(charIDToTypeID("getd"), getDescriptor, DialogModes.NO).getObjectValue(stringIDToTypeID("artboards"));
        var abCount = abDesc.getList(stringIDToTypeID('list')).count;
        if (abCount > 0) {
            for (var i = 0; i < abCount; ++i) {
                var abObj = abDesc.getList(stringIDToTypeID('list')).getObjectValue(i);
                var abTopIndex = abObj.getInteger(stringIDToTypeID("top"));
                ab.push(abTopIndex);

            }
        }
        return [abCount, ab];
    } catch (e) {
        alert(e.line + '\n' + e.message);
    }
}

function selectLayerByIndex(index, add) {
    add = undefined ? add = false : add
    var ref = new ActionReference();
    ref.putIndex(charIDToTypeID("Lyr "), index + 1);
    var desc = new ActionDescriptor();
    desc.putReference(charIDToTypeID("null"), ref);
    if (add) desc.putEnumerated(stringIDToTypeID("selectionModifier"), stringIDToTypeID("selectionModifierType"), stringIDToTypeID("addToSelection"));
    desc.putBoolean(charIDToTypeID("MkVs"), false);
    executeAction(charIDToTypeID("slct"), desc, DialogModes.NO);
}

function ungroupLayers() {
    var desc1 = new ActionDescriptor();
    var ref1 = new ActionReference();
    ref1.putEnumerated(charIDToTypeID('Lyr '), charIDToTypeID('Ordn'), charIDToTypeID('Trgt'));
    desc1.putReference(charIDToTypeID('null'), ref1);
    executeAction(stringIDToTypeID('ungroupLayersEvent'), desc1, DialogModes.NO);
}

function crop() {
    var desc1 = new ActionDescriptor();
    desc1.putBoolean(charIDToTypeID('Dlt '), true);
    executeAction(charIDToTypeID('Crop'), desc1, DialogModes.NO);
}

function saveAsPSD(_name) {
    var psd_Opt = new PhotoshopSaveOptions();
    psd_Opt.layers = true; // Preserve layers.
    psd_Opt.embedColorProfile = true; // Preserve color profile.
    psd_Opt.annotations = true; // Preserve annonations.
    psd_Opt.alphaChannels = true; // Preserve alpha channels.
    psd_Opt.spotColors = true; // Preserve spot colors.
    app.activeDocument.saveAs(File(inputFolder + '/' + _name + '.psd'), psd_Opt, true);
}

function main(i) {
    selectLayerByIndex(allArtboards[1][i]);
    var artboardName = app.activeDocument.activeLayer.name;
    executeAction(stringIDToTypeID("newPlacedLayer"), undefined, DialogModes.NO);
    executeAction(stringIDToTypeID("placedLayerEditContents"), undefined, DialogModes.NO);
    app.activeDocument.selection.selectAll();
    ungroupLayers();
    crop();
    saveAsPSD(artboardName);
    app.activeDocument.close(SaveOptions.DONOTSAVECHANGES);
}

allArtboards = getAllArtboards();

artboardsCount = allArtboards[0];

for (var i = 0; i < artboardsCount; i++) {
    docRef.suspendHistory('Save Artboard as PSD', 'main(' + i + ')');
    app.refresh();
    app.activeDocument.activeHistoryState = app.activeDocument.historyStates[app.activeDocument.historyStates.length - 2];
}

Answer 2

I'm not sure since which update but Photoshop CC does this out of the box. You can export all artboards to PSDs or just the selected ones.

Just go to File > Export > Artboards to Files... and give it a go.

Answer 3

I haven't looked but I thought it was just right clicking on the artbord and then export as.

UPDATE

• Select all layers inside the artboard
• Right click and Convert to Smart Object
• File > Export > Layers to Files

When you do this you will end up separate files for each artboard as psds.

If you want to convert back to layers, once you've made the originals smart objects, double click and then drag back over to the original, or just let them be—layer stacks as smart objects can come in handy.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

What I normally do is: Click on the Artboard Layer with right mouse > Duplicate Artboard > New

And Boom! A New window with this artboard will appear and you can save separately.

Answer 5

The quick way is File > Export > Artboards to Files. However, this will create PSDs that each contain a single artboard. Some apps (Adobe Encore seems to be one example) do not support artboards properly, and will import the PSD as if you had first used the Image > Reveal All menu command. In other words, you will end up with a mess.

You can fix this by opening the output PSDs, right-clicking on the artboard in each file, and selecting “Ungroup artboards”. Then re-save.

I have also used the script recommended by @artemfedorov above (see https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/a/55762/12708), and it seems to accomplish this all in one step, so I recommend it.

Answer 6

You can share the whole file via creative cloud with extract enabled. This will allow your customer to view the file as is, and switch layers on and off etc.

Answer 7

I think you can duplicate your selection to new psd file. This is easy way to export the artboard as separate layer :)

1. Choose the layer you want to export
2. Right click and choose Duplicate layer
3. Choose New and type the name of file
4. Click OK

Answer 8

I recommend you to check these tips for Adobe Artboards http://designmodo.com/photoshop-artboards/. They are very useful for beginners.