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Known Participant
March 26, 2020
Question

Export as vs. Save as

  • March 26, 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 1153 views

Hey there Creators,

I was wondering when to use export as and when to use save as in Photoshop? What's the difference?

Thank you!

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3 replies

Derek Cross
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 27, 2020
Conrad_C
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 28, 2020

Hi Derek, yup, that’s me! The book’s in my forum profile.

Conrad_C
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 26, 2020

Save As is desktop-oriented, so the files tend to have larger sizes because they can include things like layers, full size embedded previews, full metadata, etc. Great for desktop work like high resolution print projects, but usually impractical for online uploading.

 

Export usually creates a minimal version of the document, losing most of the editability but creating much smaller files, which is better for online uploading.

 

For example, if you create a JPEG with Save As, you can include a clipping path, full metadata including resolution (ppi), etc. If you create a JPEG with a command on the Export submenu, you get less metadata and fewer options, but as a result, the file size can be smaller.

winsterAuthor
Known Participant
March 27, 2020

Thank you very much for the thorough answer! 

Chuck Uebele
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 26, 2020

Use export as only for web image. Save as for everything else.

winsterAuthor
Known Participant
March 27, 2020

Thank you!