External editing

[HJoosten]

In Preferences – External editing i can only choose TIFF or PSD as file format when editing with Photoshop (beta). Why is it not possible to choose JPEG?

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

The Primary Editor does not allow this. 

If you need JPEG, set it up in Preferences as an Additional Editor.

[HJoosten]

I did set Photoshop up as an additional editor, but then I don't get prompted to change the file format

[richardplondon]

This dialog is sometimes confusing to people: the upper part configures the default result for the default Photoshop that's found, when you choose the main "Edit in PS" option or simply press Ctrl+E.

The lower part allows you to make and manage any number of alternative ways to externally edit. The result is a custom named external editing preset (analogous to named export presets, named metadata presets etc): therefore, highly specific. When such a preset is used you get whatever has been configured into that - no prompts for anything different. If you ever do want something different that would require making and then using a different named preset.

In the case of external editing the specifics written into a preset are:

• choice of program executable to be invoked -need not be PS, and PS has no special status here
• choice of file type (PSD, TIFF, JPEG)
• choice of bit depth
• choice of (standard working) colourspace  

it is of particular note that when such a preset is used, a different interaction happens than with the main Ctrl+E behaviour. Remembering the external app chosen may not be PS and may not have ACR available, hence cannot be relied on to itself render LrC's edits: instead, LrC renders its own edits, immediately saves a file in the format stated and alongside the source image without any option to override; only then tells the external application to open this already created file. Even if you were to cancel out of the external application without saving any further changes, that file is already in existence on disk and is already imported to the Catalog.

These external editing presets are invoked by name, presented as additional nested options of "Edit In" both in the main menu and in the right-click context menu.

[HJoosten]

If I choose 'edit with' in Lightroom Classic and e.g. Luminar Neo, I can choose to make a copy WITH Lightroom adjustments and I can change the type to TIFF, PSD or JPEG. If I choose to edit with Photoshop 2024, I can only choose TIFF or PSD. So why can't I choose JPEG?

[Merged by moderator because of double posting]

[richardplondon]

However LrC has been set, the image that's initially seen in PS exists in memory only, so far.

LrC's specification of PSD or TIFF, saving location and file naming - all those are still only 'latent' suggestions.

They control what will happen by default if you click Save.

But if you click Save As, you can override all those things, including file type, to something different. Whatever file you now say should be produced, by overriding LrC's suggestions, is what LrC then imports. So if you want to disable Layers in the Save dialog and then choose JPG, you can.

That said: if the aim is just to get a LrC-edited JPG into the Catalog but if no specific PS editing is intended along the way - you can short-circuit this (and do so in bulk) by more simply exporting JPGs into the same folders as the respective originals, and as part of doing so, checking the option to have the resulting files auto-imported back to the Catalog.

[HJoosten]

I now use the export-option and that works fine for me.