> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pulze.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Update Renders

> Swap new renders into an existing PSD while keeping masks, smart filters, layer styles and your retouching.

The PSD is finished, and then the scene changes. You re-render, and **Update renders** replaces the contents of every render element layer in the open document with the new file. Everything attached to those layers, and everything you built around them, stays.

**What's kept:** layer masks, vector masks, smart filters, layer styles, blend modes, opacity, visibility, the layer's position in the stack, and every adjustment layer or painted layer in the document.

The wizard has four steps: **Document → Renders → Plan → Done**.

## 1. Document

Open the PSD in Photoshop and press **Update renders** on Home. LayerWise finds every smart object whose name matches a render element of the selected engine.

> [!NOTE]
>
> If you see **No *engine* render elements in this document**, check that the engine on Home matches the renderer the PSD was made with, and that the render layers are still smart objects named after their elements. See [How it works → Smart objects](https://docs.pulze.io/layerwise/how-it-works.md#smart-objects).

## 2. Renders

You see the current document and its size. Press **Browse folder** or **Pick files** and choose the new renders, as in [Create new document](https://docs.pulze.io/layerwise/workflows/create-document.md#1-pick-your-renders).

![The Renders step of the Update renders wizard](https://mintcdn.com/sourcelinekft/z3vWbLeBmT4OoYjW/images/layerwise/lw_replace_import.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=z3vWbLeBmT4OoYjW\&q=85\&s=6c353b6b7eb672c8073dae4129383eb6)

Step 2: the current document, and the new renders to bring in

## 3. Plan

LayerWise pairs every layer with a new file and shows you the plan before changing anything.

![The Plan step of the Update renders wizard with the layer list and options](https://mintcdn.com/sourcelinekft/z3vWbLeBmT4OoYjW/images/layerwise/lw_replace_plan.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=z3vWbLeBmT4OoYjW\&q=85\&s=e9467e08cc136a0b841a200e91df04f4)

Step 3: each layer with its new file, and the options

### Layers

One row per element found in the document:

* The **magnifier** selects that layer in Photoshop, so you can see which one it is.
* The **source** shows the new file chosen for it. When several new files match, LayerWise picks the one whose name is closest to the layer's name. You can choose another from the list.
* The **switch** turns the row on or off. Rows that are off are hatched and left untouched.
* Elements with several layers (such as LightSelect or ZDepth) show a count and a chevron. Expand them to set the file and switch for each layer.

Layers with no new render show **No new render** and are skipped.

### Also

LayerWise presets these each time you pick renders, based on what it found. You can change them.

**Resize the document to W × H**

Shown only when the new renders differ in size from the document, for example after rendering at a higher resolution. The document is resized after the layers are replaced. If the aspect ratio differs too, you get a warning: it still works, but keeping the same aspect ratio is strongly recommended.

**Keep each layer's current size and position**

Fits every new render into the rectangle the old layer covered on the canvas. It's turned on automatically when the sizes differ, so a higher-resolution render lands exactly where the old one was. When the sizes match you rarely need it, typically only if you moved or scaled a render layer.

The fit is non-destructive: the smart object keeps its full-resolution contents and is only scaled, so its scale may not read 100%. To bake it, use [Reset layer transforms](https://docs.pulze.io/layerwise/tools.md#reset-layer-transforms).

**Update N of M layer masks**

Regenerates the masks of existing [mask targets](https://docs.pulze.io/layerwise/how-it-works.md#mask-targets) (layers or groups named like `#Wood` or `[LUMA]Alpha`) from the new multimatte and luma renders. The chips show every target in the document. Dimmed ones have no new mask source and are left as they are.

**Create N new layer masks**

Creates a new masked group for every nametag in the new multimattes that has no target in the document yet. If the new files have no nametags, default names (such as `MultiMatteElement_R`) are used. See [Masks](https://docs.pulze.io/layerwise/masks.md).

**Cryptomatte masks**

Shown when the new renders include a Cryptomatte. Mattes that already have a `#name` group or layer in the document are picked and updated. Tick more to add new groups. See [Cryptomatte](https://docs.pulze.io/layerwise/cryptomatte.md#when-updating-renders).

### Buttons

* **Pick again** lets you choose different renders.
* **Merge as regions** merges region renders instead of replacing the layers. See [Merge region renders](https://docs.pulze.io/layerwise/workflows/merge-regions.md).
* **Replace render elements** starts the job.

## What happens

For every active row, as its own undo step (*Replacing Reflection*, …):

1. The smart object's contents are replaced with the new file.
2. The layer keeps its original name, instead of Photoshop renaming it to the new file's name. (With *Name created layers after the element* in [Settings](https://docs.pulze.io/layerwise/settings.md#layers), it's named after the element instead.)
3. If *Keep each layer's current size and position* is on, the new contents are fitted to the old footprint.

Then the document is resized, if you asked for it, and finally the masks are updated or created from the new files.

![Before and after updating the renders of a PSD, with an identical Layers panel](https://mintcdn.com/sourcelinekft/z3vWbLeBmT4OoYjW/images/layerwise/lw_replace_before_after.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=z3vWbLeBmT4OoYjW\&q=85\&s=87abe19b812d05d422792b5337ac632f)

Same PSD, new renders: the adjustments, masks and filters are untouched

## 4. Done

Press **Update again** for another update, or **Done** to go Home. To undo the whole update, step back in the History panel.

## Tips

* **Linked smart objects** are relinked to the new files. Leave the new files where they are, or Photoshop will ask for them when you open the PSD.
* **Documents made by hand** work too, as long as the render layers are smart objects whose names contain the element names.
* **Different renderer?** If the document was built for another engine, switch the engine on Home and start again.


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