Skip to main content
Known Participant
November 10, 2022
Question

Opening JPGs, then saving them defaults to PSD

  • November 10, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 861 views

Hi guys,

Not sure at which point this change occurred. When I open a JPG, make some quick edits, and then hit Command-S (Save), a Save dialog appears with the defaults set to PSD.

 

I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary here.  I've been using Photoshop since 1995.  

 

I open a JPG, make some edits, ensure the image is flattened and in 8-bit, and simply hit Command-S to Save.  Why  does it insist on saving the file as PSD?  This is beyond irritating as I need to execute 4-5 more clicks just to save the file.

 

If anyone has some pointers, I'd surely appreciate it 🙂

This topic has been closed for replies.

3 replies

Participating Frequently
December 19, 2022

Save As command now defaults to .psd and there is no way to change this.  Yes, I have legasy save as checked off in preferences but that doesn't help. It is very annoying to have Photoshop determined to have me save in PSD format but I have to manually change it to .jpeg format.  I can use the export as .jpeg but I would rather save files from the save as command.  Why did the developers have to monkey with the tried and true save as function?  At least give the option to change the default to whatever format one desires.

D Fosse
Community Expert
Community Expert
December 19, 2022

As long as the file still complies with the jpeg file format specification, an opened jpeg will resave to jpeg. Any file will resave to the same format if possible. I just tested this. I've tested it before; and now I just did it again.

 

If it does not comply with the file format specification (layers, 16 bit depth, transparency, alpha channels), you get Save As and PSD.

 

So if the Save dialog "defaults" to PSD, it's because there is something in the file that isn't supported by the jpeg specification. That, BTW, is almost anything you can do to an image in Photoshop. Jpeg is an extremely limited file format.

Participating Frequently
December 20, 2022
"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act"
...George Orwell
Kevin Stohlmeyer
Community Expert
Community Expert
November 11, 2022

You can find that under Preferences/File Handling.

Derek Cross
Community Expert
Community Expert
November 10, 2022

Change it in Photoshop preferences.

 

 

Known Participant
November 11, 2022

Thank you Derek.  I appreciate your reply.  

 

Unfortunately for me, this doesn't seem to rectify the issue.  Maybe it's because every JPG opens through Camera RAW and not directly in PS?  

 

I tried ticking off that box as you suggest, and rebooted PS to no avail.  I still get a Save As dialog, albeit this time, it has the JPEG extension selected by default.

 

Needless to say, it prompts me to name, Replace, and finally, choose a JPG compression setting before finally replacing the old JPG.

 

Command S used to just Save it and be done with.  Any tips on what else to try here?