GraFx Studio Exporter for Adobe® Photoshop®

Introduction

The Photoshop Conversion Plugin allows you to export documents from Adobe® Photoshop® and import them into GraFx Studio
This process lets you automate the creation of design variants by leveraging GraFx Studio’s powerful smart template features
While Photoshop® remains a great starting point for creative design, GraFx Studio excels at automation and multi-channel output

Elements of the conversion

• GraFx Studio Exporter (Adobe® Photoshop® plugin)
• Importer in GraFx Studio

How to install the plugin

Download the plugin

Click to download the latest version of the plugin

Install the plugin

• Locate the GraFxStudioExporter_Photoshop_x.y.z.ccx file (x.y.z being the version)
• Double-click the CCX file
• Follow the steps to install the plugin in Adobe® Photoshop®

How to convert a document

Prepare your Photoshop® document

• Open the Adobe® Photoshop® document you want to export
• Ensure all layers and assets are correctly set up

Export to GraFx Studio

• Go to Plugins > CHILI GraFx plugins > GraFx Studio Exporter
  

• Run preflight to avoid conversion issues
  

Example of a potential issue: Optical Kerning is not supported
You can choose to ignore, and the kerning will default to Metric in GraFx Studio, or export the object to a PDF asset and place it as an asset

• Choose a destination folder and click Export
  Required only once, can be changed at any moment
  

• Choose the artboard(s) to be exported

• Choose All artboards to export all the artboards

Limitations

Exported artboards must have the same size

Users can skip differently sized artboards or convert them to match the first artboard

• The plugin creates a .zip file containing the document and all necessary assets
  

What's in the zip file?

- A log file with info about the plugin version, the Adobe app version, current date, and plugin warnings or errors caught during the document preflight or export
- The log file is named GraFx_Studio_Exporter.log
- The zip file name format: <selected_artboard>_<document_name>(<optional_duplicate_copy_version>).zip

Import into GraFx Studio

• Open GraFx Studio
• Go to Templates > Import .ZIP and select the exported .zip file
• Name the template and locate the folder for the assets
• Your Photoshop® document is now ready for automation in GraFx Studio
  

Preflight

Preflight is the essential first step in the conversion process
During preflight, the engine checks your document for compatibility with GraFx Studio
This ensures that the content you are converting can be adapted efficiently for automation and variations

How preflight works

When you initiate a conversion, the preflight engine scans the document for features that may not be fully compatible with GraFx Studio
If any incompatible elements are found, preflight offers three options:

1. Convert to PDF – The element is saved as a PDF asset and placed into the converted document, preserving its visual integrity
2. Ignore – The preflight engine changes the missing feature to a supported version
3. Fix the issue – You can adjust the element in Photoshop® and re-run the preflight

Placed assets: pros and cons

Benefits
- Preserves quality – Original appearance is retained
- Simplifies conversion – Avoids the need for manual adjustments for complex elements

Limitations
- Not editable – Static elements cannot be edited within GraFx Studio

Drop Shadow support

Drop shadows authored in Adobe® Photoshop® are supported and converted into GraFx Studio with defined constraints.

Supported objects

• Shapes
• Image frames
• Text frames

Supported parameters

• Opacity
• Distance
• Angle
• Size (mapped to Blur in GraFx Studio)
• Global Light

Not supported

• Spread
• Blend Mode
• Noise

Preflight behavior

• A warning is always displayed when a drop shadow is present
• Unsupported parameters are ignored

Compatibility

The plugin has been tested and is compatible with Adobe Photoshop 2025, 2026.

Supported features

Feature support table

Category	Feature	Support Level	Notes
Plugin UI	Selecting a folder for export	✅
	Selecting an artboard to export	✅
	Logging	✅
Document	Artboard size	✅	All artboards must be same size
	Multiple artboards	✅	Exported as multiple pages in GraFx Studio
	Hidden layers	❌	Not exported
Text Objects	Font (name and style)	✅
	Small Caps	❌	Converted to lowercase; preflight warning shown
	Text styles (character/inline mix)	⚠️	May miss styles; avoid using both in same object
Paragraph/Character Styles	Automatic generation of styles	✅	Generated for each text object
	Preserve original style names	❌	Default names like 'Paragraph Style 1'
Shapes	Basic shape export	✅
	Line shapes	❌	Exported as vector graphics; preflight warning
	Merged shapes on one layer	❌	Exported as vector graphics; preflight warning
Blending	Most blend modes	✅	Unsupported modes trigger preflight
	Blend modes on vector export	⚠️	Added later in Studio as image property
Colors	RGB and CMYK modes	✅
	Export all unique colors as resources	✅	Names not preserved (Color 1, Color 2…)
Gradients	Linear gradients	✅	Rectangles, triangles, and ovals only
	Gradient rotation (angle)	✅
	Gradient scale	✅	Photoshop-specific
	Align with Layer	✅	Photoshop-specific
	Reverse gradient	✅
	Non-linear gradient types	❌	Converted to PDF for visual consistency
	Non-classic gradient modes	❌	Converted to PDF for visual consistency
Visual Effects	Drop shadow (object-level)	✅	Warning always shown

Note

Only Linear gradient types and Classic gradient mode are supported.
Radial, Reflected, Smooth, and other gradient types or methods are converted to PDF for visual consistency.

Warning

When a Drop Shadow is present, a warning message is always displayed.

Legend

• ✅ Supported – Fully supported
• ⚠️ Partially supported – Some limitations apply
• ❌ Unsupported – Not supported in current version

Tips for successful conversion

• Avoid mixing character and inline styles in the same text object
• Make hidden layers visible before export if you want them included
• Use preflight to identify unsupported features before exporting
• Ensure all fonts used are installed in GraFx Studio’s environment

Things to consider

• Color names are not preserved
• Unsupported shape types are converted to vector graphics with a preflight warning
• Small Caps text is converted to lowercase
• Blend modes on vector-exported items are applied later in Studio, not in the exported PDF