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masons35645689
masons35645689
Participating Frequently
September 22, 2011

P: How did I get a flattened PSD after saving PDF?

  • September 22, 2011
  • 72 replies
  • 2255 views

So I'm not going to rage. I really want to. But I won't. I'm using Photoshop CS 5.5 (Windows). I was on the sixth version of a high fidelity Website mockup. The client asked that I provide them the design in PDF format. So from within the .PSD file, I select "Save As" and choose PDF as the format. I complete the PDF wizard and all seemed good.

No. Apparently, when you save as a PDF, it turns the PSD file you actively have open into a PDF? I noticed that the file type changed to PDF from PSD on the tab. "That's stupid," I thought. "I'll just change it back to a PSD, since I've made a few modifications since I saved it last."

You know, in Dreamweaver when you execute a "Save As", it opens the new file in its own tab. Just a thought.

Maybe my next choice was wrong, but it seemed instinctive to me. I decided to "Save As" again, but this time as a PSD file. I still had my layers in tact, so I didn't think there would be a problem.

I close out the file. When I open the PSD file back up just a few minutes ago, it's COMPLETELY FLATTENED. GONE. MY WORK IS GONE. Awesome. Thank you.

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    72 replies

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    F
    FeedbackCommunityMember
    Inspiring
    March 18, 2015
    Just wanted to chime in and say even though it is not a bug, it is very easy for the end user to mistakenly save a PSD without layers as the result of saving a PDF of an open document (without editing abilities). I for one think it would be a good idea to somehow notify the user. A dialog with a "don't tell me again" checkbox in it or something to that effect. This problem used to get me all the time if I wasn't looking out for it. 10 year PS user here for what it's worth.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMember
    Inspiring
    February 24, 2015
    I actually ran into this tonight with Photoshop CC, and I was really confused - This hasn't happened to me before.

    Jeffrey, this response at least makes sense to me, as I opened my recently saved PSD and had no idea why this was happening.

    My question is this: Could the Save window call out the fact that layers were not going to be saved through a dialog box? A warning in the dialog is simply not enough for someone who is a full workday in on their project and misses the warning button (which I later found) at the bottom of the Save window. Just thinking of UX here. The project that this happened for me on is minuscule, but I could see this impacting deadlines or causing some serious repercussions to timelines if missed.

    Just a note: I don't mean to contest the great minds at Adobe, just simply trying to open a discussion regarding potential user error.
    PECourtejoie
    Community Expert
    PECourtejoieCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 6, 2014
    The french user posted a step by step. Seems that there is no more warning icon next to the layers checkbox. http://imgur.com/a/OjhSI
    Also, in this step of events, if one unchecks "layers" when saving the PDF, copy gets added to the filename. NOT for a PSD, or not when layers gets unchecked by the fact that the preserve editing abitilites is unchecked when saving to another file format.
    PECourtejoie
    Community Expert
    PECourtejoieCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 6, 2014
    Jeffrey, how comes that a setting a user set for a given file format is applied to another one?
    Wasn't there a setting to have "copy" added when "as a copy" is selected?
    I'm posting here because another user complained of lost work on twitter because of this sequence of events.
    mojo potatoes
    mojo potatoes
    Known Participant
    December 28, 2013
    RB I am having the EXACT same issue word for word and it has NOTHING to do with user error or at least not in regards to "Layers" being unchecked. Mine is, was, and always will be checked. I've been using Photoshop for about 10 years now, doing this same exact action in the past has never yielded this problem even with different installs of CS6, but now on this new install of it I am getting this problem.
    After some testing it is clear that it has to do with saving a psd as a pdf and unchecking "preserve editing capabilities" then wanting to resave the file as a PSD again. This is frustrating to say the least. I'm glad it happened on something I can recreate within half an hour but saddened to see there is no fix or a way of restoring a previous copy.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMember
    Inspiring
    November 7, 2013
    Hey Mason- Since you're the originator of this thread, I appreciate you saying hello. Yeah, it was 5.5. I was mind-crushingly frustrated last night. I am usually meticulous about saving many copies of work, and got sloppy last night. But even so, with some of the protections that ARE there, for this to be allowed... sheesh...

    But lessons learned... Fixed or not in CS6, I will probably NEVER again save as PDF without first creating a new PSD expressly for the purpose of saving as PDFs.

    And lastly, all venting and frustration aside, this is really brilliant software, and I'm grateful to the developers and community members who contribute to my ability to make a living doing something creative. 🙂

    Peace!
    masons35645689
    masons35645689Author
    Participating Frequently
    November 7, 2013
    What version of PS are you using? I believe the latest versions of Photoshop (CS6+) have modified the Save As PDF wizard to prevent the PSD file from being converted into a flattened PDF file. But the issue still exists on CS5.5 and lower.

    I know how you feel. I wanted to kick a puppy (or a developer) when I created this thread.
    masons35645689
    masons35645689Author
    Participating Frequently
    November 7, 2013
    I believe the latest versions of Photoshop (CS6+) have modified the Save As PDF wizard to prevent the PSD file from being converted into a PDF file. But the issue still exists on CS5.5 and lower. Good on Adobe for addressing this feature.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMember
    Inspiring
    November 6, 2013
    This is a travesty... I get prompted for all manner of inconsequential things, but destroying 25 hours of work on a PSD happens just like that?

    I get reminded that something will save with COPY appended to the file name. I get asked if I want to maximize compatibility... And someone above has the temerity to lead with the comment "it is user error"?

    Bad on me for not realizing that everything is protected with redundancies and warning prompts EXCEPT for the nifty feature where the Save as PDF and Self Destruct functions go together into one button with NO prompt...

    Terrible job allowing this to occur.

    Thank you to the consumer advocate saying there is some confusion here.. there sure is. I truly hope some one in development makes certain this never happens to anyone again...
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMember
    Inspiring
    June 27, 2013
    This is a horrible UI implementation. If I save as jpg, gif or almost any other format, when the save is complete, the PSD is intact, my layers are fine. Is there anyone out thee who purposely would want to change the format of the PSD and loose layers, just because you have to save a copy as PDF to send to others (since most of the world does not have Photoshop).
    I have had this issue before, and always try to keep the files separate, but I'm not a machine...I expect the software I'm using to not put me into this position.
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