Save As - .JPG Not available unless I use "Save a Copy" WTF?

[J Ray Sanduski]

Why is the Save As function set up to stop the use of .JPG as a file format?

This change is not very conducive to the regular workflow for me and probably most traditional users of this software app!

I am using PhotoShop on a Windows 11 PC Intel Core 7 with 128 GB RAM & 6 Internal NVME OR SSD Drives And 1 External 8TB Drive.

[D Fosse]

If the file conforms to the jpeg file format specification, Save As jpeg is still available. It has to be 8 bit and cannot have layers.

Direct Save to jpeg from non-supported files (16 bit/layered) was introduced in Photoshop CS5 in 2010. Effectively, it saved out a copy without informing the user it saved out a copy.

Before that, 16 bit/layered files could not be saved to jpeg at all. People's memories are short.

Then Apple removed the APIs that made this possible. Since Photoshop has to work identically on both platforms, this meant Adobe had to come up with a workaround, first Save A Copy, then Legacy Save As.

The big mistake Adobe did here was to try and sell it as a "feature", instead of what it was: an emergency rescue operation.

[Stephen Marsh]

@J Ray Sanduski 

In your Preference/Settings, go to File Handling and enable Legacy Save As, then you'll be able to save as a JPEG file if the source document has layers, alpha channels or is 16 BPC.