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Native Support for .webp Format Needed in Photoshop

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
October 3, 2024
8 replies
1504 views

Photoshop lacks native support for the .webp image format, which has become a widely used format on the web due to its superior compression and quality balance.

Adding built-in .webp support would save users time and effort, eliminating the need to use third-party plugins or convert files outside of Photoshop. It would streamline the workflow for web designers, developers, and anyone working with web-optimized images.

Many other image editing tools already support .webp, and introducing this feature would help Photoshop remain competitive and versatile in today’s digital landscape.

This topic has been closed for replies.

L

Lumigraphics

Legend

Oh and actually, AVIF, JPEG XL, and HEIC are all better technically than webP. WebP would probably be the last format of those I would choose after JPEG and PNG. Just saying.

B

Balázs28016806xdjiAuthor

Participating Frequently

Thank you! These formats are indeed promising, and they should be better supported. It seems there’s a bit of a gap in expanding the web export options to include these new image formats. I’d gladly use any of them if browsers supported them widely.

It would be great to see these formats integrated into Photoshop—just not in some hidden, hard-to-find way!

L

Lumigraphics

Legend

Right now its a weird horse race with no clear winner. Google, Apple, Adobe, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and a few others are the big players and everyone has their own interests to protect. That's probably why most web developers still just go with JPEG and PNG. I'd LOVE to see good native support for all of these but you know, money and politics...

jane-e

Community Expert

Thanks, I found it based on your suggestion.

we're used to looking for common formats in the usual places.

By @Balázs28016806xdji

You're welcome Baláz! 😊

When Apple changed their API, Adobe had no choice except to come up with another workaround, as they did once before. What they came up with in PS 22.4.2 was to either use Save a Copy or to enable Legacy Save As, as per the instructions from Ged.

Jane

B

Balázs28016806xdjiAuthor

Participating Frequently

Thanks, this works too, but it’s really not well designed.

It’s amazing that they took the time to program this workaround instead of simply including modern formats (like .webp, .png, .jpg) in the default "Save As" options. Well done! 🙂 This is how you make a program increasingly complicated to use.

With one small fix - adding .webp to the Export and Save for Web options - it would make users' lives so much easier.

Stephen Marsh

Community Expert

@Balázs28016806xdji – Save for Web (Legacy) isn't expected to have new features added to it's ancient code base. Export As/Quick Export is the new heir to the web saving crown, however, it seems to be under a glacial development pace. You can add your vote here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-ideas/support-webp-in-photoshop-export-as/idi-p/13696655

While on the topic of WebP, a batch converter script here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/export-many-files-at-once-in-webp-format-photoshop/td-p/13604411/page/4

Save/Save As/Save a Copy is explained in more detail here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/au/photoshop/using/saving-images.html

Ged_Traynor

Community Expert

@Balázs28016806xdji you can enable legacy save as in the preferences

B

Balázs28016806xdjiAuthor

Participating Frequently

Thanks, I found it based on your suggestion.

It's great that it's there, but at the same time, it's quite hidden. Even someone experienced might miss it because we're used to looking for common formats in the usual places. I don't really understand the distinction between "Save As" and "Save a Copy" – it feels confusing and misleading.

This format is difficult to locate for users. It’s also puzzling why .webp isn’t included in the "Export" or "Save for Web" menus, where you’d expect it to be.

L

Lumigraphics

Legend

Photoshop is a complex, professional tool. So yeah lots of capabilites might be "hidden" or difficult to find. Luckily, Photoshop is one of the two most documented applications available, Microsoft Excel being the other. There are thousands of tutorials, websites, videos, help pages, etc available online to assist you.

jane-e

Community Expert

@Balázs28016806xdji

Can you try "Save As Copy"?

From the Help page linked to earlier:

"In addition to open capabilities, you can now create, edit, and save WebP files. Once you are done editing your document, open Save As or Save a Copy and select WebP from the options provided in the file format drop-down menu to save your WebP file."

Jane

B

Balázs28016806xdjiAuthor

Participating Frequently

I'm currently using Photoshop version 25.13.0 (beta). While I can import .webp files, there's no option to save a newly created image in .webp format after editing. The format is missing from the "Save As," "Export," and "Save for Web (Legacy)" menus, which seems odd.

As far as I know, saving in .webp is only possible with an external plugin, which feels a bit limiting at this point.

jane-e

Community Expert

@Balázs28016806xdji

Native support for .webp was added in 2022. What version of Photoshop are you using?

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/whats-new/2022-1.html#support-for-webp

Jane