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Participating Frequently
February 12, 2023
Answered

PSE 2021, editing CR2 raw file, can't save JPEG

  • February 12, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 2093 views

Using photoshop elements 2021, editing a CR2 raw file.  There is no option to save as JPEG, only DNG.  The window is "Camera Raw 13".

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Correct answer Greg_S.

@Chris283773638doc said: From what I can tell, there is no option to open those files in main editor. 

 

See my screenshot.  There is an Open button in the lower right corner of the Camera Raw Editor that opens the file in the main editor.  You can then save the file to jpeg (or any other available format), using File>Save or Save As.

3 replies

Greg_S.
Community Expert
Greg_S.Community ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
February 13, 2023

@Chris283773638doc said: From what I can tell, there is no option to open those files in main editor. 

 

See my screenshot.  There is an Open button in the lower right corner of the Camera Raw Editor that opens the file in the main editor.  You can then save the file to jpeg (or any other available format), using File>Save or Save As.

Participating Frequently
February 13, 2023

Thank you! This works.

Glenn 8675309
Legend
February 13, 2023

That's what ACR does:  "Edits" to raw files are actually done on copies of the original- they are non-destructive edits.  The original raw file is never really edited. 

Read this:

https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/file-types/image/raw/dng-file.html

Participating Frequently
February 13, 2023

Yup, but how do you export (to JPEG)?  From what I can tell, Adobe Photoshop Elements, and the the "Camera Raw 13" app it comes with, does not have any ability to export to JPEG or even print a photo.  Allowing you to edit, but then have no way of actually using the end result.

Greg_S.
Community Expert
Community Expert
February 13, 2023

You have to click on the Open button which will take you to the main Editor. You can then save your file in any other format. 

Participating Frequently
February 13, 2023

CR2, or DNG files when opened always open in "Camera Raw 13", never the main editor.  From what I can tell, there is no option to open those files in main editor.  The only way to do that is to convert the raw file to a JPEG, then open it in the main editor, but that gets rid of the benefits of editing a raw file.

MichelBParis
Legend
February 13, 2023
quote

CR2, or DNG files when opened always open in "Camera Raw 13", never the main editor.  From what I can tell, there is no option to open those files in main editor.  The only way to do that is to convert the raw file to a JPEG, then open it in the main editor, but that gets rid of the benefits of editing a raw file.


By @Chris283773638doc

 

 What is true is that "raw" files are not "photo files". They must be processed into file formats before being used in true pixel photo editors. That's the job of converters like ACR or like Lightroom which use the same algorithms for the convrsion. What you have to keep in mind is that the conversion does not necessarily imply saving the processed result into a printing file formats, like jpeg, psd, tiff, png... The result of the conversion is stored in memory in a working format compatible with psd or tiff., which can be handled, edited, printed or saved by normal pixel editors.

When using ACR or Lightroom, you don''t "edit" raw files, you keep the original unchanged and create a set of rules to change the raw data to photo information data, including color. That set of rules is saved as a tiny text file, either in a sidecar xmp file or in the DNG format, or in the metadata header of jpegs/psd/tiffs. If you save that text, you can always recreate in memory the changes made in the raw editor. No need to save a processed copy in any photo format. So, converting a raw format in a similar "lossless parametric editing" does not necessarily require saving on disk on a known photo format. The raw converter is able to provide a photo format similar to tiff to the PSE or Photoshop pixel editor. By the way, choosing a jpeg format for that transfer would be very limiting (only 8bits...)

 

So, you may ask why the full ACR plugin in Photoshop offering is saving options like jpeg whereas the limited PSE ACR version does not? There is no processing difference in opening in the PSE editor with the button 'Open' then saving, editing, printing the file, or doing those tasks from the full ACR module. So it's a kind of marketing choice to show and prove that the PSE ACR editor must be considered as just a "converter" module for the PSE pixel editor, which can perform most of the same tasks after the conversion. The full PS ACR editor must have more features to be able to compete with Lightroom, which is the logical "parametric editing" Adobe solution.