4 Replies Latest reply: Feb 6, 2008 8:17 AM by Jao vdL RSS

    Open RAW in PS

    jrsforums Community Member
      Is it possible to *not* save the initial 'edit-psd' when opening a raw file in photoshop?

      With ACR, no psd file is saved until I decide whether to save it after doing whatever PP I want. I then get the option to save it where I want.

      With LR, it is always saved in the same location as the RAW file. If I decide I don't like it or want different LR adjustments, I need to erase the 'edit.psd'....or build up a lot a wasted disk space.

      Thanks...JOHN
        • 1. Re: Open RAW in PS
          Jao vdL Community Member
          This should be a FAQ, but here goes. You can open up the original RAW by right (or control) clicking on the image and choosing show in Finder/Explorer. If you want the lightroom edits applied, make sure you write metadata to file before you do the next step. Then just drag the RAW into Photoshop. After editing, save in the same folder as a tiff/psd and synchornize the folder in Lightroom.
          • 2. Re: Open RAW in PS
            Jao vdL Community Member
            P.S. you should realize that what you are doing in ACR is exactly the same as you are doing in Lightroom. When you write metadata to file, the result is even the same as when you open a file in ACR and never open it in Photoshop. You do not have to open a file in photoshop when working in Lightroom. In fact, many people never use photoshop anymore when using Lightroom.
            • 3. Re: Open RAW in PS
              jrsforums Community Member
              Jao....thanks for your responses...

              You have pretty much confirmed what I found. If I want to open in PS without initially saving a PSD, I need to go to Bridge (or Explorer, though I find Bridge works better for me)

              Actually, I find both ACR and LR have their strong and weak points. I like the adjustment flow in LR a bit better, plus the 'virtual copy', and some other things, which is why I am attempting to work with it.

              "Opening" in LR and ACR is a bit different. If I make any adjustments in LR and want to revert back to where I started (that session) I need to deliberatly back them out (unless I am missing something else). With ACR, I can just 'cancel' and nothing is saved.

              If one is happy with LR global adjustments, sharpening, and NR then PS is not needed. Thank goodness for PS....and plugins...!!!

              I really like LR and hope that some of the (near term) future improvements increase it's usabilty with PS....it came a long way from the betas and 1.0.

              John
              • 4. Re: Open RAW in PS
                Jao vdL Community Member
                >If I make any adjustments in LR and want to revert back to where I started (that session)

                There are several ways to do this. The easiest is to go to the history pane in Develop (on the left side) and simply click back on an earlier date. You can also make a snapshot of the starting develop settings, or if you start from zero changes, simply click reset.