Exporting from icloud

[KateTheGreat]

Clueless on this and need help please. Sometimes I want to import an image I have saved in the cloud into another application, for example one of the plug-ins from Topaz Labs. When I  have to "choose" the image though while in my plug-in, I have no idea where to find the file I saved to icloud to import or drop it?  As a result, I have to keep saving everything on my computer. I know how to find the file I saved if I want to open it again in PS, that't not the problem. It's how do I choose it for import or drop? Help please?

[Conrad C]

First, a clarification…do you mean the image was saved to Apple iCloud Drive, or do you mean it was saved as a Photoshop Cloud Document? They are very different systems, so how you would find them is also totally different. Because if it really was saved to iCloud, macOS provides shortcuts to that location that Topaz could see, like the iCloud Drive shortcut in the sidebar in the Open dialog.

[KateTheGreat]

Sorry - I meant Photoshop Cloud document.

[Mylenium]

Agree with Conrad. You need to tell us how you even use those cloud services and which ones and what system you are on for any specific advice. Checking the quick access shortcuts/ favorites in your file dialogs would be a good start. Anything more will require more specific info.

Mylenium

[KateTheGreat]

Okay - forgive the long explanation here. So... I am working on a file or have completed working on an image and want to save it as a jpeg. Ergo I go to: File > save a copy (hate that I have to do that now to save a jpeg) and the window opens automatically to "Save to Creative Cloud." If I choose that, and not "on my computer" the file gets saved to the CC. I can then access those files by going to file open in Photoshop and getting the opening window with the files that I saved to the CC and which I can then of course open in Photoshop. But I don't want to do that. I want to be able to open my Topaz plug-in and when asked to choose or drop a file into the plug-ins window be able to do that. But how? Especially since those files are now saved and opening as .psdc files, which means I have to save them again as a .jpeg and on my computer to be able to access them as such. It's all very confusing for me, and I could just say to heck with it and save everything to my computer or one of my external drives, but that seems like accepting defeat instead of learning. I am on an iMac running Monterey 12.6. I have not updated to Sierra as I need to check that all of my third party apps and on which I depend, are compatible, following dire warnings from Adobe. 😉  Hope this was a better explanation of my conundrum. Thank you

PS: There also seems as far as I can see, no option to save a file on the CC as a .jpeg?? 

[jane-e]

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@KateTheGreat wrote:

I go to: File > save a copy (hate that I have to do that now to save a jpeg) 

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Hi Kate

You can revert to the previous behavior in Preferences > File Handling > File Saving Options:

• Enable Legacy Save As
• Do not append Copy to filename

~ Jane 

[KateTheGreat]

Thank you, I already had to go back to the legacy "New Document" interface for other annoying reasons. I will do this as well. Of course that means no option I believe to actually save it on the cloud? But I'll have to figure that one out. Apparently you really can't have your cake and eat it too, although in this case I don't see why not, sigh.  Sometimes these changes and "upgrades" are not always for the best. Cheers. 

[Conrad C]

I want to be able to open my Topaz plug-in and when asked to choose or drop a file into the plug-ins window be able to do that. But how? Especially since those files are now saved and opening as .psdc files

By @KateTheGreat

The basic conflict here — which is not your fault — is that Topaz wants to open files in the standard way across the Mac or Windows operating system, the familiar Open dialog box, but Photoshop Cloud Documents cannot be shown there because they are not stored locally. Sounds like you figured out that part. The problem is that Cloud Documents are Adobe proprietary, and for now no applications support those except Adobe applications.

The second problem is that Cloud Documents are new, so even though Adobe might want to extend them so that they are more generally useful, it isn’t there yet. But this is changing, this is in transition. The first Adobe applications that used Cloud Documents had nothing to interact with. But Adobe added the ability of Photoshop and Lightroom to link to each other purely through the cloud, and now the new InDesign public beta for InDesign Cloud Documents can import Photoshop Cloud Documents. If Topaz could add support for Photoshop Cloud Documents, you would have no problem, but today it does not, and no one knows when that might happen.

It is clear that Adobe is building complete workflows that are purely cloud-only, not needing local files at all. And maybe they would like non-Adobe applications like Topaz to be able to use Cloud Documents too. But none of that is finished, so for now, if you want to get a Photoshop file into Topaz it has to be stored as a traditional locally stored file format, not as a Photoshop Cloud Document.

- - -

As for the change in exporting to JPEG, I know this is not a popular opinion but I think the change now makes Photoshop more consistent with how other applications work. In other applications by many other companies (not just Adobe), the Save As command is reserved for file formats that can save all features of the program, such as layers, so to create a copy in a more limited file format such as JPEG, you use an export command. This is how Photoshop works now: JPEG cannot store layers and other Photoshop features, so JPEG is found on commands within the File > Export submenu. Keeping JPEG out of Save As helps prevent people from accidentally overwriting their fully featured original with format that loses quality and editing capability.

(Some will point out that JPEG is sometimes available in the Save As dialog box. Yes, it can be…if the edits you made are all fully supported by JPEG, such as keeping it one layer with no transparency, no editable text, etc. But the moment you do anything that cannot be stored in JPEG, JPEG disappears from Save As. And I think that is appropriate; it prevents data loss, and is consistent with how most other applications work. I retrained myself to support this, so now when I want a JPEG, I habitually press the keyboard shortcut for File > Export > Export As, or File > Export > Save for Web.)

[KateTheGreat]

Thank you. I really appreciate a detailed description of all points, as I now totally understand why things are as they are and what is possible and what at this point as you pointed out is not. I have also adjusted my settings as suggested in an alternate response from jane-e to "enable legacy save as". This will work far better for me, and I also had not noticed before that you could change the default location for saving from "icloud" to "on your computer".  At least Adobe has given us the option to use legacy settings which is wonderful. Thank you.