In Photoshop, I can open two separate files and put them side-by-side to compare them. But can I do this with the same file? Can I open the same file in two different "tabs" in one Photoshop window, and put them side-by-side to compare them? I would be turning on/off layers in each instance.
16 Answers
Looks like this feature does exist. It is called "New Window for". You can find it under:
Window > Arrange > New Window For [Image File Name] Here is a tutorial: Dual View Photo Editing In Photoshop
1Go to Window > History.
At the bottom right side of the panel, click on the first button that says "Create new document from current state", and you'll have a duplicate of your document.
If you mean having a copy without messing the original file, go to Image → Duplicate.
1Yes you can, just open the file, go to File/Save As a Copy, and re-name the file. Once complete, open the copy next to the original. Voila.
When an application opens a file for editing, it typically locks the file to prevent another program from making changes to it while it's opened. Some applications will open a file and release the lock, but they must have some mechanism in place to monitor the file on disk to be aware of changes. You'll see this behaviour a lot in applications that deal with text - editors & word processors.
For Photoshop to open multiple instances of the same file (ie, not a duplicate) would require a sophisticated method to constantly manage the locking and monitoring of the file for changes. This would really offer no benefit to the end user, when they could simply work with a copy of the file.
So, basically, no. :-)
2If the file is large, you could either use the Command Prompt or a GUI tool like Link Shell Extension to make a hardlink of your original file. That'd save you the time of copying (or saving a copy).
While your files are identical in this instance, for comparing 2 different PSDs, you might find the freeware ComparePSD to be of use.
