Why can't I edit certain images?

[Mr. Mendelli]

Every so often I come across an image I want to edit or use for a project, but Photoshop refuses to let me do anything with it. I'm aware that there is protection in place to prevent working with images like currency but can this protection be manually added to an image as a form of DRM by the uploader? Below is an example of a PNG I downloaded, I can't convert it to a smart object, I can't duplicate it, and I can't unlock it. I checked the file properties and it isn't flagged as read-only either. It's my understanding that this wouldn't matter anyways unless I try to overwrite the original image. As a graphic designer I can completely understand and respect another individual protecting their work, I just really want a clear answer on what causes this.

[jane-e]

Hi

The first thing I'd look at is this: go to Image > Mode. Are you in RGB?

~ Jane

[Mr. Mendelli]

That seems to work, is there a way to set the color mode as a default so that I don't have to change it each time I run Photoshop?

[davescm]

The colour mode is selected when you start a new image. When you open an existing image, it will open in whatever colour mode the creator saved that image in.

[jane-e]

Hi

As Dave says, if the image is in Indexed color mode (PNG-8), you have to change it.

I do this a lot because as a contractor, I need to save copies (front and back) of checks, and the bank creates them in PNG-8 as separate images. To move them into the same document, I have to make them RGB. It's easy to create an Action with a keyboard shortcut.

I'm glad changing the color mode fixed it for you.

~ Jane

[innovative_adventurer5D56]

Its seems to me that ts Index layer,

that means its GIF file or bmp file, the coclor mode will be indexed color or bitmap. change it to RGB or CMYK as you need., the layer named index will be converted to background layer. then you can edit, save it in another format.

[Conrad_C]

The problem with using images downloaded from web pages is that they are often saved in a format that's only used when you're completely done editing. It's not DRM or any other kind of protection. It's just that the image has been optimized for small online size and fast viewing, but it is no longer optimized for editing.

If you have to convert downloaded images to RGB before editing, it means they were exported to an indexed color format like GIF or some forms of PNG. Having to convert them back to RGB is something you'll have to do whenever you're trying to use an image that someone exported to indexed color because they never expected to edit the version they were going to upload (they'd edit the original and export again).

On a professional job, you wouldn't run into this problem because the images you'd use (straight from a camera, bought from a stock media agency, drawn in Photoshop or Illustrator, etc.) would be full quality RGB originals, not derivative versions stripped down for the web.