How to save file in preview and preserve objects

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bryan9x3 Author

Level 1

9 points

How to save file in preview and preserve objects

I love Mac Preview.

I use it not just to preview stuff - I use it as my image converter, editor, combiner, and arranger!

For example, I just used it to place several logos on top of a photo.

I open the logos, copy them, then paste them with preview onto the photo.

Preview allows me to click on any of the logos and resize them and move them around! I love it!

However, if I save the image with all the logos and then re-open the file, I can no longer select any of the logos and move or resize them :(

I wish I could. I tried exporting the image with all of the formats available in Preview, and all of the formats "flatten" the objects into one image.

Any ideas?

I know I could use a full blown editing program, but I love that Preview is light, quick, easy, and included with MacOS! I could use Pages, but I it does not export to PNG.

Thank you!!

iMac 27″, macOS 11.4

Posted on Jul 30, 2021 3:11 PM

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Answer 1

ivan54

Level 4

2,904 points

Aug 13, 2021 3:14 PM in response to bryan9x3

Howdy,

I also love the Markup and capabilities of Preview and use it all the time even though I have more powerful apps like Pixelmator Pro (which I also use a lot).

But as you've seen, saving the edited image locks in the changes. See Annotate an image in Preview on Mac

Note: If you annotate an image file, you can’t edit, move, or delete the annotations after you save the image. If you think you’ll need to change annotations later, you can convert the image file to a PDF file, then add annotations to the PDF.

(bolding mine)

I haven't tried the PDF method to allow further changes. I've historically kept the original untouched and modify copies, but there is another workaround if you need to get back to a previous version.

Manage versions of a Preview document on Mac

If you regularly save you image as you modify it, you can revert to previous versions and re-do any modifications as you like. Admittedly, this isn't the same as the ability to modify layers like in Pixelmator, but at least you can recover a modified image if you want to change the edits.

It's like Time Machine for the file. This doesn't work for copies of the file (duplicates), it must be the original modified file.

ivan

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Answer 2

bryan9x3 Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 14, 2021 11:58 AM in response to ivan54

Thanks Ivan!

The "revert to" is a neat feature - I had not tried it before. When I'm working on something important, I usually make copies of the file and give the copies version numbers. But maybe "revert to" will save me one day!

What I started doing as far as pasting and arranging images is pasting into Pages since it does preserve the ability to re-arrange items. Too bad Pages doesn't export to PNG. I have to export to PDF and then use Preview to convert the PDF to PNG.

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How to save file in preview and preserve objects

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