Participant

Answered

Saving as Copy instead of Overwriting: PS 2020 with macOS Catalina [locked]

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
October 24, 2019
82 replies
68029 views

Having an issue with the new update. Finally, I am seeing my extension name update when a new one is selected in the save as dialog box... however I am still having an issue with saving over original files. If I make changes to a file then try to save over the .png file it keeps saving as filename-copy.png. I am not able to unselect the "Save as a copy" box. Anyone else?

[subject edited for clarity]

Problem or error

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Correct answer jane-e

Contacted Adobe support — said that it's a known issue and pointed me here:
Photoshop: Saving copy not saving over jpg file

Maybe it's more useful to write there?

This bug introduced by Apple with macOS Catalina has been resolved with 22.4.

~Jane

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rhys_vdw

Participant

Also having this issue. Thje originaly explanation about a "limited format" doesn't make sense because I'm just replacing a previous export. Simply having "The file must be saved as a copy with this selection" does not fix the workflow problem of not being able to replace specific assets in my project.

M

Mystical_observer16B7

Participating Frequently

Hey guys, been having the same issue. After digging around I found this workaround for JPGs, PNGs, SVGs, and GIF files:

File > Export > Export As will actually overwrite the file in question, not create a copy like the glitchy Save As command. It's more time consuming, but maybe not as time consuming as having to navigate to the saved file, deleting the old one, and renaming the copy. Hope this helps!

J

jonnic

Participant

Same problem here on macOS Catalina, Photoshop v21.1.0.

This is a new bug - I have been overwriting JPG files for many years, but it seems impossible now.
This is definitely a bug, not a feature, so I am adding my voice to the chorus.

B

Boob

Participating Frequently

Same here. I read this whole thread and concur. Saving over existing .PNGs and PS creating "copies" even when I click "REPLACE" has been an issue for me for months. I'm assuming it has to do with the Catalina update on Mac as others have said. Patiently waiting for a fix from Adobe.

E

eekphoto

Known Participant

Does everyone with the problems have the updated Catalina OS? Becuase that seems to be the issue. The new OS is a 64bit system and Adobe software is 32bit so there is massive disfunction. I spoke to Apple yesterday and they've been hearing this since the update the and tech told me that Apple warned Adobe (and other software developers) for years before release. Anyhoo, the solution seems to be downgrading to Mojave but of course that's not nearly as easy as it sounds.

In my opionion Adobe's overall performance took a massive hit when they went to the cloud system. It's more convenient and affordable for sure but everything from the technology to customer support has just plummetted downhill.

pastorchrisk13

Participant

Same issue here. Very annoying. I had Photoshop 2020 before I updated to Catalina and it worked just fine. Once I updated from Mojave to Catalina 10.15.3 it started happening. Adobe needs to fix this ASAP. Photoshop updated today to 21.1.0 and it still isn't fixed.

rachelsylvan

Participant

This is SO annoying! For me it just started yesterday.

spiky

Inspiring

Yep, the same problem is still happening, weeks after it was first mentioned and a couple of updates later. Why change a bit of functionality when it worked fine for most paying customers. Change for the sake of change from where I'm sitting.

C

chiba1975

Participant

I'm seeing this issue as well when saving .jpg images. I am running the latest update.

G

gialloman

Participant

I am having this maddening issue. Please please please Adobe FIX this!!!!

P

Phil Lynam

Participant

Any news with this issue? have this happening on all of my macs now – so frustrating, having to delete and rename files everytime, sometimes on hundreds of images. Driving me nuts.

mrbobdobolina

Known Participant

For those having this issue there are currently two work arounds I have found. Not idea, by any means, but this might help relieve some stress... maybe.

Workaround 1 - I've notice this only happens for me when the document has layers. If you flatten the document down to a single layer and save it the file will properly overwrite without making a copy. (Of course you'll likely need to un-flatten the layers after saving, depending on your needs.)

Workaround 2 - Use the Export -> Export As... option from the File Menu. It's not as slick as the Save As command but it seems to overwrite the files correctly when this is used.

Hopefully Adobe will fix this behaviour in the next patch.

EDIT: Changed Workaround 1 to say "flatten" instead of "merge."

F

Floodyhell

Participant

I'm also having this issue, Photoshop 21.0.2, MacOS Catalina v10.15.2 (19C57).

S

skhuesaps

Participant

Yes, I am having this same irritating 'Save as copy' error and others issues with Photoshop 2020. I find it very frustrating to have basic Photoshop tasks and workflow commands I've relied on for decades suddenly failing (i.e. 99% saving crashes, shift key for transform constrain proportions).

D_Foss, I've seen your comments here and on other threads. You're not helping anyone by negating user's concerns, saying these are features not bugs and shifting the blame to Mac OS. If we're paying Adobe a monthly fee for Mac OS Photoshop, it should work on Mac OS. We don't want to be beta testers, we just want Photoshop to work as it always has.

I can appreciate it when Adobe rolls out new features that are actually helpful, but please stop undermining old features that professionals depend on.

DaveR2534

Participating Frequently

I'm having the same issue and it still listed as a bug after so many updates. This is very frustrating as an editor who can't update files without having to replace a whole new copy into the timeline.

mrbobdobolina

Known Participant

I too am having this issue. On macOS Catalina. Latest Photoshop version, to my knowledge. I have a PSD which I make changes to, then save as jpeg. I'm saving over an old version of a jpeg that I've been asked to update. Specifically say "overwrite" and I get a copy instead.

D Fosse

Community Expert

"I'm saving over an old version of a jpeg that I've been asked to update. Specifically say "overwrite" and I get a copy instead."

That's irrelevant. The question is if you have added properties that are not supported by the jpeg file format specification. That's virtually anything you can do to an image in Photoshop. Most people don't realize what a fundamentally limited file format jpeg is.

Just one example: If you crop, with the crop tool set to "hide" instead of "delete", you get a floating layer. That is not admissible in jpeg. So it has to be a copy. That's just a random example, it goes on and on.

mrbobdobolina

Known Participant

That's irrelevant. The question is if you have added properties that are not supported by the jpeg file format specification. That's virtually anything you can do to an image in Photoshop. Most people don't realize what a fundamentally limited file format jpeg is.

Can you please clarify what you mean? I have a PSD. Yes, it has many layers and other fun things, but I want my final output to be a jpeg. I go to "Save As" and I choose "jpeg" from the "format" menu. The file extension changes to ".jpg" and I save the file. (My understanding is that this save as command merges the layers and produces a valid jpeg image.)

The problem is that the system tells me it is going to overwrite my file (which is the expected behavior) but then it saves a copy instead. Which means I have to manually delete the old jpeg and rename the new one so it doesn't say "copy".

D Fosse

Community Expert

Two possible reasons:

the modification includes properties not supported in the png specification
macOS Catalina.

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