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Level 10

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Editing in External Editor Has Changed

Editing with an external editor in iPhoto has changed. If, when using an external editor like Photoshop. Pixelmator or Acorn, a second copy is immediately created in the Versions folder (formally Modified) of iPhoto and is used for the editing ending up with two copies of the photo, the original and edited.

If the edit creates layers, like adding text with PS or Pixelmator, the file must be flattened before saving. Otherwise the Save To navigation window appears with the Master/Originals folder as the default location. If saved there the copy that was first created remains just that, a copy of the original and the layered file is lost to iPhoto in the Masters folder. Bottom line, flatten the image before saving if the editor presents a Save to window.

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Additional edits by the external editor do not create another copy but are applied to the first edited copy. Therefore, any edit with an external will result in the two copies being displayed in iPhoto side by side.

Previously, flattening the image and saving as a jpg would have the modified version replace the original as the displayed version. just like when edited by iPhoto. No longer true with iPhoto 11.

OT

3Ghz iMac, 4G RAM, 1TB HD; MBP 2.16 Ghz 2G RAM; 1.5TB/160GB HDs;, Mac OS X (10.6.4), Canon:i850/8600F, Epson R280; 4G Nano, 30G Video iPod; iPad 3G

Posted on Oct 21, 2010 5:14 PM

44 replies

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,396 points

Nov 3, 2010 7:52 AM in response to Keith Lear

This is screw up, I think.

Could this be a deliberate ploy by Apple to encourage users to stick with the iPhoto editor??

Why? What possible advantage could accrue to Apple from that?

Regards

TD

Old Toad Author

Level 10

207,691 points

Nov 3, 2010 10:30 AM in response to Keith Lear

It's really not that big a departure from what it was before. The only difference is that the original file now gets displayed along side the modified one instead of being hidden. The number of files is the same as any edit in an external editor results in the creating of a modified version.

If you don't want the original file to be displayed along side the modified one just use the Hide feature. AND send a bug report to Apple via http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphoto.html.

Nov 3, 2010 3:46 PM in response to Yer_Man

I keep on checking for updates. I've called into Apple Software Support. The guy didn't seem to know anything regarding this issue. Has anyone heard of any fix coming out? Or is Apple thinking this is the "fix" to be making copies in the library?

Old Toad Author

Level 10

207,691 points

Nov 3, 2010 5:26 PM in response to kahlua021997

When a fix comes it will available thru Softrware Update and posted to the Apple Downloads page. That the only way we'll hear about it.

3199john

Level 1

0 points

Nov 3, 2010 11:39 PM in response to Old Toad

Editing with an external editor in iPhoto and then ending up with two copies of the photo, the original and edited. This has ended all my work repairing old photos from my family albums. I wish I never upgraded to iphoto11. All my work has stopped until this is straighten out!!!!

Nov 4, 2010 2:48 PM in response to Old Toad

As far as I can tell, Apple has not addressed the duplicating of photos when editing in an external editor with the 9.1 update. Has everyone else found this to be true?

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,396 points

Nov 4, 2010 3:05 PM in response to kahlua021997

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1322

tells you exactly what's been updated.

Regards

TD

Nov 4, 2010 5:10 PM in response to Keith Lear

When I tried using PSE 9 as the external editor, PSE9 would open but the photo would not open

For many people who have this problem, what's happening is that they chose the wrong file in the PSE folder as the external editor. There are two very similar options, one directly above the other. If you choose the one that has the version number and the arrow on the corner of the icon, you chose the welcome screen rather than the editor. You want the upper of the two, the one that just says Photoshop Elements (not Photoshop Elements 9) and has no black arrow on the corner of the blue icon.

Nov 5, 2010 10:51 AM in response to Old Toad

Okay.... so after being on the phone with an Apple senior developer for 2 hrs and 29 minutes, the duplicating of originals has been completely intentional.

Basically, in a nutshell, we have lost the ability to revert back to previous versions of a photo. So, KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL!!!!!!!! Once you make an edit in an external editor, there is no going back unless you go back to the original. There is no reversing any edit in an external edit.

It only makes a copy off the original. So, if you make an edit of an edit, you will only have access to the photo where it is after the second edit. The revert to original does not work on external edits.

I gave suggestions on how to make an original automatically hide or be tagged somehow so it can be hidden and also a check before you delete..... I discussed many different ways of going about this (other than reverting to the way '09 worked)... not sure what they will come up with. But, I played around a lot with this new way of editing... and I could give a full scenario of what is happening with your photos as you edit... but, basically, it seems that Apple has met Windows in this '11 upgrade in that if you want to access different steps of a series of edits, you need to make copies as you go.

RTS-UK

Level 1

5 points

Nov 5, 2010 11:22 AM in response to kahlua021997

I'd really appreciate someone giving some details on the folder structure in 11. It seems to have changed in that the old 'Modified' level has been replaced by an Alias that points to a folder called Previews'. So where do the modified files go(or are supposed to go)? There also appear to be a load of folders with gibberish names that don't intuitively map to Events or dates or albums.

I've tried using CS5 but doing Save As Jpeg no longer gives me the option to replace the existing(copy?) and the modified file doesnt show up in the 'copy' that appears in the iphoto library

This is a nightmare. I gave up after an hour and reverted to my cloned backup(Superduper!) that I'd made before I installed 11.

Again, an explanation of where edited copies go would be most welcome!

Old Toad Author

Level 10

207,691 points

Nov 5, 2010 11:33 AM in response to RTS-UK

You should not try to use the Save As and replace a particular file in the Library. Just use the Save option and if it gives you a window to select where to save, cancel, flatten the image and then save. That way iPhoto will know where the modified version is and update the thumbnail.

Using Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements) as Your Editor of Choice in iPhoto.

1 - select Photoshop as your editor of choice in iPhoto's General Preference Section's under the "Edit photo:" menu.

2 - double click on the thumbnail in iPhoto to open it in Photoshop. When you're finished editing click on the Save button. If you immediately get the JPEG Options window make your selection (Baseline standard seems to be the most compatible jpeg format) and click on the OK button. Your done.

3 - however, if you get the navigation window that indicates that PS wants to save it as a PS formatted file. You'll need to either select JPEG from the menu and save (top image) or click on the desktop in the Navigation window (bottom image) and save it to the desktop for importing as a new photo.

This method will let iPhoto know that the photo has been editied and will update the thumbnail file to reflect the edit..

NOTE: With Photoshop Elements 6 and later the Saving File preferences should be configured: "On First Save: Save Over Current File". Also I suggest the Maximize PSD File Compatabilty be set to Always.

NOTE: If you want to use both iPhoto's editing mode and PS without having to go back and forth to the Preference pane, once you've selected PS as your editor of choice, reset the Preferences back to "Open in main window". That will let you either edit in iPhoto (double click on the thumbnail) or in PS (Control-click on the thumbnail and seledt "Edit in external editor" in the Contextual menu). This way you get the best of both worlds.

As you know iPhoto 11 now makes a duplicate of the original file to preserve as the digital negative and edits the old original file. This is intentional according to kahlua021997 in this post: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12537784#12537784.

If you want to keep layers in an edit you'll have to save to the Desktop as a new file and import it back into iPhoto. From then on future edits can be saved directly and additional copies are not make by iPhoto.

To coin an old phrase "It's not nice to fool Mother iPhoto".

Nov 5, 2010 11:38 AM in response to Old Toad

I think all of us need to give suggestions on how we want these duplicates handled.... because it appears that is what Apple intended.

Nov 5, 2010 11:51 AM in response to Old Toad

As I was on the phone with Apple, I tested the heck out of this duplicating stuff...

basically what I found is:

if you try to make an edit of an edit (version 2 in your iPhoto library), PSE9 says that it needs to make it a copy (it doesn't seem to do this on your first edit of the original). All you need to do is go up to the file name and delete off the " copy" from the file name and it will save back to iPhoto as an edited copy (your new version 2). But, realize with editing an edited copy (version 2), iPhoto doesn't make a duplicate of the photo, therefore, you are overwriting the previous version. So, then in your iPhoto library you will see only an original and version 3 (version 2 is forever gone unless you recreate it from the original).

if you edit off the original every time, you will end up with a duplicate of the original every time.

Nov 5, 2010 11:58 AM in response to kahlua021997

if you try to make an edit of an edit (version 2 in your iPhoto library), PSE9 says that it needs to make it a copy (it doesn't seem to do this on your first edit of the original)

This is because you don't have the On First Save preference in PSE set to save over the original.

Old Toad Author

Level 10

207,691 points

Nov 5, 2010 12:58 PM in response to kahlua021997

Like this:

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Editing in External Editor Has Changed