If you work with smart objects in Photoshop—whether you’re creating mockup images or anything else—you’ve probably noticed how incredibly boring and repetitive the process is when you do it manually, one at a time. You find the smart object, replace the image, export the file, and repeat. One image at a time.
Maybe you double-click the smart object to step into it, paste in your image, resize it to fit the canvas, flatten it, save the changes, export the final mockup… and then do it all over again for the next image. Two mockups in, and you’re already wasting a ton of time.
Can This Be Automated?
Yes—and that’s exactly what we’re covering in this walkthrough.
We’re using a Photoshop plugin called Batch-Replace Smart Objects, which automates exactly this process. You select your input folder full of artwork images, choose your mockup PSD file, and the plugin will automatically rotate each image into the smart object layer and export the final mockups to a folder of your choosing. No more wasting hours on robotic tasks—just configure your settings and let it run.
Step 1: Install the Plugin
Start by installing the plugin from the official Adobe Exchange listing. Once installed, you can dock it anywhere in Photoshop. I personally keep it off to the side for easy access.
Step 2: Set Up Your Operation
At the top of the plugin panel, you’ll see the operation setup section. You have two modes:
- Single PSD Mode: Use one specific Photoshop document
- Folder Mode: Use an entire directory of PSD mockup templates
For this example, we used a single PSD file—a simple room mockup selected from our PSD folder.
Step 3: Select the Smart Object
If your PSD only contains one smart object, the plugin will use it automatically. If the file includes multiple smart objects, make sure to manually select the correct one in the Layers panel before running the operation.
Step 4: Choose Your Input Folder
Select the folder containing your artwork images. For this demo, we used a folder with 15 images—including a few with different aspect ratios (like 4×5 and 3×4) to demonstrate how the resizing works.
Step 5: Enable Smart Resize (If Needed)
The plugin includes a checkbox labeled “Stretch images to fit smart objects”. When enabled, it automatically resizes your artwork to perfectly fit the mockup canvas. This prevents issues like misaligned or cropped images when your artwork isn’t already sized to match the PSD.
If you know for certain that all your images match the smart object dimensions, you can uncheck this box to speed things up. But in most cases, it’s best to leave it on to ensure clean, consistent mockups.
Step 6: Choose Output Folder & Format
Next, choose where you want the final mockup images to be saved. You can export to:
- JPEG: Ideal for standard mockups or product listings
- PNG: Best for mockups with transparency or alpha channels
You can also set the image quality level. Higher quality = larger file size, while lower quality = faster load speeds with some visual tradeoff.
Step 7: Click and Automate
Once your folders and settings are configured, just click “Run This Now”. The plugin will automatically:
- Replace the smart object contents with each artwork file
- Resize the image (if the checkbox is enabled)
- Export the final mockup to your output folder
In our test run, we generated 75 mockups in just a few seconds. It’s fast, reliable, and eliminates hours of mind-numbing busywork.
Whether you’re handling product images for your e-commerce store or bulk replacing smart objects in Photoshop for client work, this plugin can save you an enormous amount of time.
Automating Smart Object Replacement in Bulk
That’s really all it takes. We clicked “Run This Now” and the plugin took care of everything automatically.
As the operation ran, it opened each image, resized it to fit the mockup’s smart object layer, and exported the final result—completely on autopilot. When it was done, we opened the output folder, and sure enough: all of our mockups were there, neatly organized and ready to use.
What About Different Image Sizes?
Some of the images in this test run had different aspect ratios—like 3×4 and 4×5—even though our smart object was designed for a 20×30 canvas. The Batch-Replace Smart Objects plugin automatically resized everything to fit the scene correctly. Even though the input images didn’t match the PSD perfectly, the final mockups still looked great.
That’s why enabling the “Stretch images to fit smart objects” option is so useful. If your images vary in size, aspect ratio, or resolution, this option ensures that all mockups come out clean and well-aligned—without any manual resizing.
Scaling Up: From Dozens to Hundreds of Mockups
In this test, we generated 22 mockups. But for anyone running an online store or managing product listings with multiple variants—different frame colors, room scenes, or lighting styles—you might need to create hundreds of mockups at once.
Without automation, this kind of task could take hours. With this plugin, it’s just a matter of clicking a button and letting the system do the heavy lifting.
Using a Full Folder of PSD Mockup Templates
So far, we’ve only used a single PSD file at a time. But one of the most powerful features of the plugin is its ability to process an entire folder of PSD mockup templates in one go.
We ran a quick demo to show just how much time this can save.
I selected a folder containing nine mockup templates—including:
- Framed and unframed canvas product variants
- Multiple room scenes to show the artwork in different environments
This is perfect if you’re looking to automate mockup creation in Photoshop for e-commerce, client work, or portfolio presentation.
Simple Setup, Massive Time Savings
The setup was the same as before: I selected the input folder containing the artwork, then chose an output folder for the finished images. This time, I left the “stretch to fit” box unchecked since all the input images were already properly sized. That made the operation run a bit faster.
Once again, I clicked “Run This Now”—and the plugin got to work. It started with the first PSD file, ran through every artwork image, exported the mockups, and moved on to the next PSD in the folder.
Within seconds, it was working through the room scenes, creating mockups in the background. While Photoshop doesn’t always visually update every step in real time (likely to conserve resources), the plugin keeps working behind the scenes without interruption.
135 Mockups, Fully Automated
When we checked the output folder at the end, the result was clear: 135 mockup images created in minutes. That’s nine different templates, each one used to generate mockups for all the artwork files—no manual effort required.
Instead of wasting hours manually replacing smart objects, resizing layers, and exporting files, we let the plugin handle everything. With just a few clicks, we generated over a hundred polished mockups completely on autopilot.
This is the true power of automating your Photoshop mockup workflow.
Smart File Naming, Saved Operations, and Full Workflow Automation
Another useful detail: the plugin automatically groups the exported images by filename. The naming convention follows the format of artwork name + mockup name. This is great for staying organized and especially valuable for SEO—particularly if you’re naming mockups with keyword-rich descriptors like “framed canvas brown” or “gallery wall mockup”.
It’s also practical. If you’re uploading to an e-commerce product page or sending mockups to a client, everything is already grouped and sorted. Just drag, drop, and move on—no need to manually rename or rearrange files.
Save Your Favorite Setups as Reusable Operations
You don’t always have to run everything in real time. If you use the same folders, templates, and export settings regularly, you can save that setup as a named operation.
Let’s say you always use the same input folder, mockup template, and export destination. Just save it as something like “Create My Canvas Art Mockups”. The Batch-Replace Smart Objects plugin will remember everything—input paths, export settings, image format, save quality, and more.
The next time you need to generate mockups, simply go to the Batches tab, click “Run Batch”, and everything runs exactly as configured—no setup, no mistakes, no wasted time.
Power Users: Automate Everything with Multi-Step Workflows
You can take it even further with multi-step workflows. A workflow is just a sequence of saved operations run back-to-back. Each step has its own PSD file (or folder), input images, output destination, and export settings.
For example:
- Step 1: Create framed canvas mockups for Client #3 using PNG format
- Step 2: Create gallery wall mockups for Client #4 using JPEG format
Each step is completely independent, and the plugin will execute them in order—automatically.
To build a workflow, just click “Create New Workflow”, give it a name (like “Create All Client Mockups”), and add each step. The plugin remembers whether you’re using individual PSDs or entire folders and stores each configuration exactly as you set it.
Perfect for Agencies, Freelancers, and High-Volume Creators
Whether you’re a solo freelancer, part of a design agency, or running an online store with dozens of product variants, these saved operations and workflows are a game-changer.
No more double-checking export settings. No more forgetting to select the right PSD. No more rushing through a repetitive setup. Just load your saved operation or workflow, click a button, and let automation handle the rest.
So if you’re tired of the same boring routine—opening files, replacing smart objects, resizing artwork, exporting manually—do yourself a favor and try this plugin.
Batch-Replace Smart Objects is built to fully automate mockup creation in Photoshop and save you hours of tedious, repetitive work.
Add it to your workflow and reclaim your time.
Thanks for reading! If you found this guide helpful, feel free to drop a comment to help others discover it too.
