Showing posts with label How to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label How to. Show all posts
Photoshop’s ‘Save As’ Function Has Changed. Here’s Why

Photoshop’s ‘Save As’ Function Has Changed. Here’s Why

As part of its May 2021 release of Photoshop on Desktop — version 22.4 — Adobe made a significant change to how the “Save As” command works. Rather than continuing to act as it has across applications on all computers for decades, Adobe altered the basic functionality and has left users baffled.

In an update that was pushed out last week, Adobe notes that it has added a new save feature called “Save a Copy” to the traditional “Save” and “Save As” commands that have existed in applications for nearly as long as software has existed.

“You now have the option to save a copy of your work using the new Save a Copy option in the File dropdown menu,” Adobe writes in a language that frames the change as a new feature. “Save a Copy automatically creates a copy of your work and allows you to export and share in your desired file format like JPEG, EPS, and so on, without overwriting the original file and protecting your data in the process.”

Adobe’s change basically redefines “Save As” to what “Save” has historically done, which makes the commands at least overlap in functionality, if not outright redundant.

“With this new option, only supported files that maintain your work will be supported in the Save As command. If the file type you’d like to save isn’t an option, simply go to Save a Copy and create another version in your desired file type.”




On the surface, it appears as though Adobe added a third save option that only serves to break decades of muscle memory and frustrate its users. However, this change wasn’t something Adobe necessarily wanted to make.



Photoshop’s Product Manager Stephen Nielson noted the reason for the change actually lies specifically with a decision made by Apple in its most recent operating system update. According to Nielson, Apple removed the API that Adobe used for Save As, which forced the company to make an entirely new menu item in order to circumvent it.

In a statement to PetaPixel, an Adobe representative echoes this sentiment.

“The new Save a Copy option in the File dropdown menu of Photoshop addresses a change in macOS 10.15.x and later, which eliminated the ability to manipulate aspects of the Save As dialog.”

Adobe says the “manipulation” refers to specific file naming.

“Photoshop, like most applications, relies on the operating system for the main operation of the open and save dialogs. Therefore, we have very little control over how they operate. Before the release of Catalina, we were able to control the filename text in the save dialog while the dialog was open. But starting with Catalina, we are no longer able to do that,” Adobe elaborates.

“Being able to edit the filename in the save dialog allowed Photoshop to safely combine the “Save As” and “Save a Copy” operations into one, enabling people to choose which way to go while the dialog was open. We could do this safely because we were able to selectively append ‘copy’ to the filename in situations that might otherwise lead to work being lost.

“This update is a work-around for macOS functionality that is no longer available. It has required us to separate the ‘Save As’ and ‘Save a Copy’ operations, because we must now finalize the base filename before we present the save dialog. The ‘Save As’ command still does the same thing as it did before, only you no longer have the option to ‘Save a Copy’ or save to a format that would not fully preserve the document’s contents. The newly saved file becomes the new file associated with the document for future saves.”

This change is referenced in Apple’s Developer notes, which states that the company adjusted the API that allowed applications to prompt users for information about where to save a file.

“In macOS 10.15, the system always displays the Save dialog in a separate process, regardless of whether the app is sandboxed,” Apple states. “When the user saves the document, macOS adds the saved file to the app’s sandbox (if necessary) so that the app can write to the file.

“Prior to macOS 10.15, the system used a separate process only for sandboxed apps.”

The changes to the application may be due to Apple, but they affect all users. Adobe confirms that the updates to the Save As feature affect both Mac and PC users who update to the latest version. Unfortunately, the change appears to be something Adobe chose to do since Apple’s developer notes are not nearly as public-facing as Adobe applications that are used by millions of people.

And users aren’t happy.















Clearly, this issue has not gone unnoticed and Adobe is now bearing the brunt of user’s displeasure. Unfortunately, not only is this anger misplaced, it’s also not something Adobe can “fix,” at least not now.

A workaround is possible though, as explained by PC Magazine’s Jim Fisher. For those who just wanted to make JPEGS faster, Fisher recommends remapping the “Command + e” as a quick JPEG export.



While this method is a great workaround, it will still require re-learning a new command. For now though, it’s probably the best that can be hoped for.


Editor’s note: The original story indicated that the changes to “Save As” only affected Mac users. Adobe has confirmed the changes instead affect all users regardless of platform. We have corrected this error.
How to Use Color Range Masks in Lightroom to Create Deep Blue Skies

How to Use Color Range Masks in Lightroom to Create Deep Blue Skies


With the use of a polarization filter, you can get a nicely saturated, dark, blue sky at the point of capture. However, if you use a wide-angle lens or — depending on the camera’s orientation relative to the sun — you might run into problems… But all problems have solutions.

If you end up not being able to use such a filter don’t worry: You can achieve a similar effect using a color range mask in Adobe Lightroom Classic or Photoshop’s Adobe Camera Raw. In the video above I demonstrate the steps listed below with this image as my example:



If you would like to follow along with the exact image I use in this tutorial, I have made the RAW file available for download here.

1. Make Basic Adjustments




Before I add the polarization effect, I make sure to go through the basic adjustments to get a nicely balanced exposure. In the case of this example photo, that meant dropping the highlights to preserve details in the clouds, raising the blacks to avoid underexposure, and increasing the whites for a little more overall brightness. Finally, I added some vibrance since I like my photos well saturated.

2. Add a Graduated Filter



Since I want to cover the whole sky horizontally, I am using a graduated filter (1) which I drag down from top to bottom (2).



To make sure this filter has a very soft edge I usually start dragging it from the very top of the image until I covered all of the sky. Keep in mind you can even apply those local adjustment filters outside of the actual photo, this way you can get even softer edges if you desire.

With the newly added graduated filter, I only want to change the blue part of the sky; I don’t want the clouds or the mountains to get darker, which means I can’t just drop the exposure. At this point, you can make use of the Color Range Mask (3) which is a little hidden, all the way down in the local adjustment menu.

3. Target the Blue Sky





After choosing “color” as the range mask you can use the Color Range Selector (the icon that looks like the eyedropper tool) to pick the color tone you want to change. In this case a blue tone out of the sky. As the color range can be a rather wide-ranging from dark to light blue it might be a good idea to add multiple color range selectors by holding down the ‘Shift’ Key and adding another one by clicking.

4. Adjust the Sky





Once the color tones are selected, simply drop the exposure to darken the blue of the sky. If you notice areas changing which shouldn’t be affected, you can try to adjust the color range further using the “Amount” slider under the range mask settings. Hold down the “Alt” key while adjusting the slider to make the range mask visible.

And done! Below is the finished image, which has a much more deep blue sky than the original.

About the author: Christian Möhrle is a professional landscape photographer who has been capturing photos since 2010. Besides photography, he works as a media and motion designer for a living.
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