How to change the default "Export As" setting?

[rayana16654922]

Hello, 

There is something really annoying in Photoshop 2021 23.01, why every time I need to export an image, I need to change the quality from Good to Great and also change the resample from Bicubic Automatic to Preservice details, I basically need everything I save to be the best quality possible end of the story. 

Now how do I change this default setting to the setting I want so I don't need to change them every time I need to save a new image?

Your help is highly appreciated.

[D Fosse]

It sounds like you're on an old version, the quality slider now goes from 1 to 7.

Are you actually resizing? If not, the resampling method is moot.

And if you really want "the best quality possible", you shouldn't use jpeg at all, but PSD or TIFF. The jpeg algorithm is always destructive and the image will degrade even at max quality. The main purpose of jpeg is to reduce file size, not maintain quality. The setting is always a tradeoff between acceptable quality loss and reduced size.

[rayana16654922]

Yes, I need the best quality using JPG, PSD is only a photoshop format, it's not useable across the web. For example, no website will let you upload a PSD file to replace a profile picture! you missed my point, my friend, I only need a quick fix for changing the default setting. Thank you for your reply. 

[D Fosse]

OK, fair enough, but it was you who said "best quality possible". You didn't say what it was for.

Export/Save For Web are traditionally set up for pragmatic purposes. Maximum quality normally doesn't make much sense on the web. It's a poor tradeoff - the file size is much bigger for no immediate visual quality improvement. The dialog's purpose is to balance these two considerations.

If you need to maintain the maximum quality setting, I'd recommend Save A Copy instead.

The point about resampling method still stands. Preserve detail is for upsampling. It doesn't do anything for downsampling. You get the best result with "bicubic smoother" because it has no built-in sharpening (which you can't control), and then do manual sharpening to optimize for the size and purpose of the image.

[~BarbaraT]

Just here to say I have the same question. Was easy in the old "save for web", so it seems odd that isn't available in "export as..."

[Earth Oliver]

so why not still use Save for Web?

[~BarbaraT]

Guess I will! Like the ability to size images (not that I need very often). Thought I would be proactive and learn the "new feature" (;  

[~BarbaraT]

^ meant to say: make multiple sizes at once.

[Earth Oliver]

Export As has been horribly buggy and lacking in essential features since being released 7 or so years ago. Best to just avoid for another 4 or 5 years until they finally fix it.

[Earth Oliver]

Unfortunately, after 7 years or so, Export As still doesn't have many basic and essential functions... like Presets, Remember Settings, Defaults, Actionable, etc. Adobe apparently no longer understands how people use their app and they don't mind taking 10 years or more to get something right. 

[Wes Jones]

Go to preferences (under photoshop in menu), export. On the top bar where it says "Quicj Export Format, change it to JPG, and set quality to 7.

[Nizar Bredan]

I thought this made sense, but for some reason it doesn't apply these default settings when I "Export as".

@D Fosse many online printing companies don't accept anything other than JPG (and sometimes PNG), so we do need to export in JPG at the best possible quality.

[Nancy OShea]

Quick Export settings work when Quick Export is selected. Not Export As.

[NB, colourmanagement]

I agree with @Nancy OShea that "save as" is going to be a more suitable route for you to take.

Also, do be careful with jpeg

JPEG files have compression applied, changing resolution or cropping and re-saving enhances the compression artefacts - this means that Jpeg is only really suitable for final file delivery/transfer - once size and resolution (and any sharpening) have been completed. 

Jpeg is not OK for archiving or for any file that may need to be resized or cropped down the line. 

Jpeg is the worst possible format if you want to keep high quality - you should always archive a copy of your original, with adjustment layers intact - if that’s how you work.

Jpeg compression (at any setting*) really is "lossy”, irreversible and cumulative, so should ONLY be used only for final delivery AFTER resizing & cropping to the FINAL size and crop.

Why? Any edits to size or crop, or even just re-saving a Jpeg file means further compression, potentially that’s very damaging.

The jpeg damage is not always immediately apparent, which is perhaps why it's still widely used - however, the compression will soon cause issues if you do further work and save again. That’s when you’ll see a jpeg with some real issues.

*don’t imagine that selecting maximum quality for your Jpeg is preserving the original data, it’s still compressing a lot which discards information.

I hope this helps
neil barstow, colourmanagement net - adobe forum volunteer - co-author: 'getting colour right'
google me "neil barstow colourmanagement" for lots of free articles on colour management

[Nancy OShea]

@Nizar Bredan,

When preparing images for professional print service, I SaveAs PDF at the recommended print Preset that my print professional tells me to use.  This is vitally important to ensure good results with the type of ink & materials they use. 

[Nancy OShea]

If you crave high quality images for professional print purposes, use SaveAs instead of Export As.

ExportAs is for optimizing WEB images.  See screenshot.  Your goal on the web is to deliver maximium experience with the least amount of bandwidth.   The bigger the filesize, the longer it takes to load.

If you're using highest quality, that means the bandwidth is too high.  That's not good practice on the web.  Some web users have slow connections & highly restrictive data plans.  They won't much appreciate the longer wait time or busting their data allotment just to see an image. 

Always be cordial to web users.  Their experience is what matters, not yours.  😉

[Nizar Bredan]

Thank you for the quick response.

Ineed, I just found out minutes before your message that "Export As" is not suitable for printing purposes.

Quite honestly, Photoshop is making it very confusing:

- In "Export" there's an "Export as..." option and a "Save for web" option. It seemed clear to me that "Export as..." isn't meant for web, since there's a specific option for the web. Apparently that's incorrect.

- As a side note, when we "export as", there's an automatic preview that shows up, and with large files it takes WAY too long before we can even click on anything. It's horrific. And there's no way to disable the preview. I'm not the only one who thinks it's ridiculous, and there has been a thread specifically for that 11 YEARS ago in the community - nothing changed.

- In older versions, I used to just hit "Save as" and I could choose JPG as a format, even if I'm working in a PSD with multiple layers. In newer versions, we don't have the possibility to directly choose JPG from the "Save as" menu. We need to go to "Save as copy" instead. I personally do not understand the reason for this distinction, it just made things more confusing to me.

"Keep It Simple Stupid" can go a long way.

[gener7]

I think I can help you with this.

"Save for  Web" is the old school or Legacy way to prepare images for the Web. It will be going away in some future version and the new method "Export as..." and "Quick Export" will take over that role.

If you want the old behavior in Save As... for Jpegs, just go into Preferences > File Handling and set it up:

Then File > Save as... should allow you to choose the jpeg quality and preserve your print ppi. (usually 300) instead of defaulting to the standard 72 or 96 web ppi that Export sets up.