TIFF question: PC vs. Mac "byte order" [2010]

You should in most cases use the prechosen default option. Most systems and apps today can handle both, and there is a small risk converting might lead to unwanted  side effect flaws in color or contrast or worse. If you're absolutely 100% sure the target computer, the OS and/or the app is to old to handle one or the other you have to choose the correct one, if not just leave it as it is by the omni-binding law "If it's not broke, don't fix it."

Best of luck!
Stargazer

http://digitaldog.net/files/TIFFvsPSD.pdf

This seems really silly, why isn't photoshop smart enough to default to the pc byte order on a pc and mac on a mac. Why [removed] does it default to a mac on a pc.

John McNeill

At one time, the Byte Order made a difference. Nowadays, it is less of an issue.

Actually, I have not needed to do a PC/Mac TIFF Save_As in about 15 years. Once, the client got both platform's TIFF's for both RGB and CMYK - just in case. Lot of extra files in those days.

Good luck,

Hunt

JoJo Jenkins wrote: When saving an image as a TIFF, in the TIFF options dialgoue box, the user is given the choice of "Mac or PC byte order." If I choose PC, does that my TIFF file can ONLY be opened on PC's? I've never heard of platform-specific TIFF's before... Thanks....

Look up Little Endian vs. Big Endian on Google. As Marian said, mostly historical.

Mylenium

TIFFs aren't the most standard things in the world, and there are programs that only work with the byte order one way or the other, especially programs that are written for only one platform or the other. I don't have a Mac so cannot confirm if PC-byte-order works on a Mac or not, but I would guess Photoshop should be able to handle both ways, but other programs might not.