Every time you duplicate a folder or a layer, it adds the word "Copy" at the end. Is there a way to get rid of this?
I've been looking for a solution to this for the past 2 years. I spend 8 hours a day in Photoshop creating Comps. I'm crazy about having my layers clean, therefore I use a lot of folders, etc.
I probably waste an hour a day removing the $%)?#* Copy word at the end of layers/folders. This is driving me CRAZY while losing a lot of precious time.
Any clues?
I'm still hoping Adobe will get rid of this with every new release and it never happens. Am I actualy the only one to think this "feature" is insane?
Thank you.
To each his own.
Maybe it could be Scripted.
Let's say you have a similar structure in your Photoshop file for a website :
- 01 Homepage Comp Folder
----- Header Folder
------- Login Box Folder
------- Logo Folder
----- Content Folder
----- Footer Folder
- 02 About Comp Folder
----- Header Folder
------- Login Box Folder
------- Logo Folder
----- Content Folder
etc...
And then, plenty of layers in these folders.
If you duplicate the top folder (Homepage Comp for example) to work on a new page template from an existing one, all folders and all layers in this one will now have a Copy at the end. You must then dig through all those to remove the Copy word in order to keep the file clean.
This becomes a nightmare to work with.
I understand this is a minor annoyance for people who tend to flatten most of their layers and keep it to a small number. But for people like me who need to keep original layers for later revisions, it makes no sense.
I think the previous versions of Photoshop, up to 7.0 or so, didn't have this problem. You duplicated a layer/folder and it kept the same name. They introduced this in the CS suite I believe.
@Paul
Thanks for this script. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be working on CS4 for me. Is it working for you?
My bad, it does work fine. Thank you very much!
Is there a limitation to the number of folders levels? I ran the script in one of my file with a lot of layers and subfolders. It does the job for a couple of layers but leave a lot of folders untouched.
I wish I understood scripting to take a look at the code, unfortunately I'm totally clueless.
Thanks.
That said, I think that a preference option to save with/without "copy" should be added.
Neil
I'm a UI/UX graphic designer. I need to keep layers/folders clean so that future designers (and clients) working on the same project can find their way easily through the file. Having "Copy", "Copy 2" etc all over the file is simply unprofessionnal.
Here's a screenshot that should help you understand :
<http://g.imagehost.org/0634/Copy-Problem.jpg>
This was just a fake structure created for the screenshot, now imagine what is it in a real file with tons of layers/folders.
@Paul
I think the problem with the script is that it only removes the Copy from the first level. If you have layers/folders that are inside more folders, it doesn't work. Can you modify the script to make it multi-levels? *please* :)
@Neil
We're not refering to the filename here, but the layers/folders naming *in* the file.
--
I believe the best solution for everyone would be to add the "Copy" word ONLY on the first level folder duplicated. We wouldn't have to dig through all the subfolders and layers to remove it.
All the UI designers I've asked this about in the past years had the same opinion, we are all wasting precious time removing this annoyance. I'm still amazed that Adobe didn't change this over time. I guess it could be added to the huge list of UI gripes at <http://adobegripes.tumblr.com/>
Done already. I was simply trying to find a solution to my problem *now*, not in CS5 or CS6.
But, whatever floats your boat.
At least you don't end up with multiple Layers all named the same. That's all.
I would prefer the new copy to keep the same name as there is more chance I want it to be named the same way. If I really want to name it differently, then I'll do it myself. Having to go in each subfolders to remove the Copy is a nuissance. It is counter-productive and breaks the workflow.
The best option for everyone would be to add the word "Copy" only on the first level, and not the sub-levels of items.
Let's say I have a folder called "Root" which includes a subfolder called "Subfolder", which contains a couple of layers. Duplicating the "Root" folder should make a new one called "Root Copy" but it should *NOT* add the "Copy" tag to the "Subfolder" and whatever layers/folders contained in it.
The screenshot I posted previously explain the whole issue by itself and I don't see why anyone could argue with this.
I can understand it does not make sense to a photographer using Photoshop for retouching. But for a heavy user who makes use of the folders system a lot, it is self-explanatory.
Talking about folders, I'm also still dreaming about Photoshop to handle properly the 5th level of folders. Re-ordering folders on that 5th level does not work. Works fine on the 4th level, but 5th doesn't.
Simple and useful.
But, whatever you like.
Still not able to make sense of J's posts. Oh well.
I use copy as my backup. So our stories are different, Ed. That's what I'm talking about. For you it means one thing, for me another. Not particularly useful for Ms. Third Party.
True you bring up a circumstance where it might be better to have it work differently.
But keep in mind what you need may not be the norm.
So Ed is quite correct it is not insane but rather rational.
That doesn't help you I understand but what would be a good idea is to make a feature request that would be a very good way to approach this issue you have with the layers Panel.
And review my most astute post 12 about a workaround to save you time immediately.
I'll stick to my own opinion and feature-request (yes, it was submitted) that the word "Copy" should only on the first level of the duplicated item, and not the sub-levels.
@J
The drag and drop thing would indeed work, but it is not very adequate as you have to reposition the object at the pixel-perfect location. Might be easy for a simple button, but definitely not for a complete interface if you see what I mean (performance-wise).
As for the Smart Object thing, I'll definitely give it a try. I'm kind of oldschool (Photoshop 2.0 era) so I didn't get used to work with this yet. I find these Smart Objects not precise enough for pixel perfect work. Although, I'm really going to spend some time figuring this out! Thank you very much for pointing this out.
<http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2009/02/feedback_please_5.html>
The drag and drop thing would indeed work, but it is not very adequate
as you have to reposition the object at the pixel-perfect location. Might
be easy for a simple button, but definitely not for a complete interface
if you see what I mean (performance-wise).
If the two docs are the same pixel dimensions (which they would be), hold shift as you drag. Should pop in at the same position.
Smart objects as I'm referring to them are just folder "groups" much like you use them. When you update one, all the instance of that smart object update with it. I think it could really save you some time.
I think it makes a complete mess of the layer/folder structure and, due to my anal retentive nature, that means I spend a lot of time removing the words "copy" from all my layers.
my anal retentive nature
Yeah, that's gotta be a bĄtch. :/