Photoshop vector smart object opening in Preview instead of Illustrator?

Question

In Photoshop CC (version 19) on the Mac, I have a smart object vector graphic layer. Double-clicking the layer to edit the vector graphic, opens it in Preview (Mac) because, presumably, it thinks it's a PDF (it opens with the `.pdf` extension). I'd rather the vector object open in Illustrator so that I can work with it. **Can I change the default applications that Photoshop hands the file off to?** (One would think that Photoshop would prioritize other Adobe applications instead of the system defaults… but, I guess not.)

Answer 1

Hello,

Have you tried going from the Illustrator menu to File > Open and then navigating to the file in the browser that pops up? Illustrtor should be able to open it, but you may have to convert it back to a Smart Object. I'm not sure what happens with a Vector layer saved as a PDF. But this method should work to get your file into Illustrator.

Good luck!