Participant

Question

Latest Update Can't Use "Save As" GIF for Animated Gifs Anymore

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
May 30, 2021
3 replies
2504 views

I've been using "Save As" to save my animated GIF files for months now, but with the latest update (22.4.1) that option is gone. Now when I try to save an animated GIF, all the options that appear are:
-PSD; PDD; PSDT
-PSB
-TIF; TIFF

This happens even when I reopen GIF files that I saved using "Save As" a week ago and try to save a new copy.

Changing color mode or bits/channel doesn't have any effect.

I've tried 2 workarounds:

- Using "Save a Copy": results in a loss of between 0.5% and 1% of the total information of the file.

- Using Export>Save For Web (Legacy): results in a loss of around 5% to 10%.

This small differences in size tell me that these 2 workarounds are functional but are not delivering the same files or in the same quality as before.
Any help with this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Problem or error

This topic has been closed for replies.

Stephen Marsh

Community Expert

~~Animated GIF files have only ever been possible via Export > Save for Web.~~

~~Save As/Save a Copy only produces static GIF files.~~

P

palepinkcherryb

Participant

Well all I can say is the Save As fix just sorted the problem for me - and the animated gif works just fine

Stephen Marsh

Community Expert

Well all I can say is the Save As fix just sorted the problem for me - and the animated gif works just fine

By @palepinkcherryb

You are correct! :]

This must have changed somewhere, as I don't believe that this was always the case. Save as/Save a Copy does save GIF89a format (a for animation), I always thought that it only saved GIF89 (without the a).

Adobe originally added the separate program ImageReady to handle such things, as Photoshop couldn't do timelines or animations. When Adobe dropped ImageReady and bundled such features into Photoshop, Export > Save for Web became the suggested route to create and save a GIF animation as it offers more control.

P

palepinkcherryb

Participant

Go to Edit -> Preferences -> File Handling

Ensure that in File Saving Options the box for "Enable Legacy Save As" is checked

All the usual file formats should then show up when you do File -> Save As

davescm

Community Expert

The algorithm in Save a Copy to create a GIF is exactly the same as used to appear in Save As. The only change is that Copy is now added to the filename as the Mac operating system requires that filename to be set before the Save function is called. That change was reflected in the Windows version to keep them aligned.

Creating a GIF is destructive i.e. data is discarded. The effect of that can be cumulative if the file is saved -opened - saved again - opened again ...etc.

Dave

S

Santiago98A1Author

Participant

Thanks for the quick reply Dave.

It's really is frustrating that the people at Adobe created this inconvenience for Windows users instead of catering to the needs of different OS separately, but at least I'm glad to know that the difference in file size that I was experiencing is normal and that the Save As Copy function doesn't operate differently.

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