How to 'flatten' edited images?

Question

How to 'flatten' edited images?

Recently using the edit features of iPhoto a lot more and would like to know if it's possible to flatten changes to an image iw write the changes permanently to the file without having to export and re-import.

Cheers

MBP dual 2.4, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Oct 28, 2008 7:45 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Yer_Man

Level 10

166,368 points

Oct 28, 2008 8:00 AM in response to Rev. Robert Dobbs

I'm not sure what you're asking here.

iPhoto has no support for layers so there's no need to "flatten' images.

You cannot make changes directly to an image. All operations are carried out on a copy of the pic. There is no way around this. It's hard-wired into the application. If you don't require this feature the best advice I can give is to simply use another app.

I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve by exporting and re-importing a pic apart from duplicating it, which you can also do by using the Photos -> Duplicate command.

Regards

TD

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Answer 2

LarryHN

Level 10

106,202 points

Oct 29, 2008 8:47 AM in response to Rev. Robert Dobbs

Rev. Robert Dobbs wrote:
Thanks for the input. I was simply trying to find a way of keeping any changes/edits that I was happy with permanently.

that happens automatically - you do not need to do anything - the modified file is saved along with the original

I didn't know that iPhoto actually made a copy of the file,

it does and places it in the modified folder - although you should not be rooting around in the library - doing so may corrupt your library and lose data

I thought I'd read that it temporarily kept some kind of metadata re: the file in order to recall your edits,

Apature does this - not iPhoto

this was why there are cases where edits may or may not be retained when transferring between versions.

Unless uses or computer failures have corrupted the library all modifications are always transfered when libraries are upgraded to the next version

If you have a large library, keeping a dupe of a 6Mb image just to maintain a slight straighten seems wasteful.

Fortunately disk is cheap - and that is the way iPhoto works - it always maintains the digital negative just like you would always maintain your negatives for future use

My export/import process was an experiment to see whether it wrote changes to the file and dragging pics from iPhoto to the desktop seems to do so. When an edited pic is dragged out, the orginal deleted from iPhoto and the edit version is reimported, the edit info is no longer available and no original can be reverted to.

That is correct - if you delete the original it is no longer available - it has been deleted

LN

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Answer 3

Oct 28, 2008 8:42 AM in response to Rev. Robert Dobbs

You must be clicking on the X to close the edit screen? That will cancel your edits.

If you click the Next Photo arrow button on the edit bar at the bottom, your edits will be saved. You can always revert back to the original because edited files are saved as copies. iPhoto will always show you the edited file in your library.

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Answer 4

Oct 29, 2008 2:04 AM in response to Andrew Vanwie

Thanks for the input. I was simply trying to find a way of keeping any changes/edits that I was happy with permanently. I didn't know that iPhoto actually made a copy of the file, I thought I'd read that it temporarily kept some kind of metadata re: the file in order to recall your edits, this was why there are cases where edits may or may not be retained when transferring between versions. If you have a large library, keeping a dupe of a 6Mb image just to maintain a slight straighten seems wasteful. My export/import process was an experiment to see whether it wrote changes to the file and dragging pics from iPhoto to the desktop seems to do so. When an edited pic is dragged out, the orginal deleted from iPhoto and the edit version is reimported, the edit info is no longer available and no original can be reverted to.

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