Which of the following is a benefit of using a Linked Smart Object in Photoshop?

• A. They require rasterization before editing.
• B. They automatically update if the source file changes.
• C. They increase file size without benefits.
• D. They ignore external edits.

Answer: (B)

Linked Smart Objects keep a live connection to an external file, which means the content remains a Smart Object while still referencing its source. The biggest advantage of this setup is automatic updating: when the source file is changed and saved, Photoshop can refresh the Linked Smart Object so every document that uses it shows the latest version without re-importing. This makes edits consistent across projects and saves a lot of manual work. Because the content is a Smart Object, edits stay non-destructive, so you can transform or filter without altering the original data, and you can relink or replace the source later if needed.