1 Correct answer
@Chris283773638doc said: From what I can tell, there is no option to open those files in main editor.
See my screenshot. There is an Open button in the lower right corner of the Camera Raw Editor that opens the file in the main editor. You can then save the file to jpeg (or any other available format), using File>Save or Save As.
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CR2, or DNG files when opened always open in "Camera Raw 13", never the main editor. From what I can tell, there is no option to open those files in main editor. The only way to do that is to convert the raw file to a JPEG, then open it in the main editor, but that gets rid of the benefits of editing a raw file.
By @Chris283773638doc
What is true is that "raw" files are not "photo files". They must be processed into file formats before being used in true pixel photo editors. That's the job of converters like ACR or like Lightroom which use the same algorithms for the convrsion. What you have to keep in mind is that the conversion does not necessarily imply saving the processed result into a printing file formats, like jpeg, psd, tiff, png... The result of the conversion is stored in memory in a working format compatible with psd or tiff., which can be handled, edited, printed or saved by normal pixel editors.
When using ACR or Lightroom, you don''t "edit" raw files, you keep the original unchanged and create a set of rules to change the raw data to photo information data, including color. That set of rules is saved as a tiny text file, either in a sidecar xmp file or in the DNG format, or in the metadata header of jpegs/psd/tiffs. If you save that text, you can always recreate in memory the changes made in the raw editor. No need to save a processed copy in any photo format. So, converting a raw format in a similar "lossless parametric editing" does not necessarily require saving on disk on a known photo format. The raw converter is able to provide a photo format similar to tiff to the PSE or Photoshop pixel editor. By the way, choosing a jpeg format for that transfer would be very limiting (only 8bits...)
So, you may ask why the full ACR plugin in Photoshop offering is saving options like jpeg whereas the limited PSE ACR version does not? There is no processing difference in opening in the PSE editor with the button 'Open' then saving, editing, printing the file, or doing those tasks from the full ACR module. So it's a kind of marketing choice to show and prove that the PSE ACR editor must be considered as just a "converter" module for the PSE pixel editor, which can perform most of the same tasks after the conversion. The full PS ACR editor must have more features to be able to compete with Lightroom, which is the logical "parametric editing" Adobe solution.
Downloaded Elements today. Trying to do simple edits first. File Save is not working for me.
1. OPEN the photo with the button on the bottom right. 2. I make changes to brighten, etc. the photo. 3. If I go to FILE, all the options are grayed out and I cannot save the edited image. 5. If I click DONE in the lower right it saves a file with a .xmp extension that I cannot open or do anything with it. How do I save my work as a jpeg?
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By @Jimg513
The simple and logical solution is to do as Greg and Chris said: once you are happy with your raw edits, you have to click on the "Open" button. The ACR converter has done its job, the result as an internal file is then transferred to the normal editor where you have the usual option to save as or to print as you want. You can open several raw edited images in the editor at the same time.
If you press "Done", your raw edits are saved in a tiny xmp file which is a text file recording the settings of your sliders as a "sidecar" file. It contains the "recipe" to manage the raw file afterwards. But that does not open the file in the editor. You can reopen your raw files and now "Open" in the editor, your edits are still saved and available for saving or printing etc.
Raw editing is a lossless process, it never changes anything to your original raw. It's a 'parametric' editing saving the recipe, not the result in an image format.
The ACR editing process has the huge advantage of managing a whole batch of raw files. If you click "Done", you can use the Organizer to select those raw images and batch "export" them as new files in jpeg or other format.
@Chris283773638doc said: From what I can tell, there is no option to open those files in main editor.
See my screenshot. There is an Open button in the lower right corner of the Camera Raw Editor that opens the file in the main editor. You can then save the file to jpeg (or any other available format), using File>Save or Save As.
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