Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

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I use PS Elements, but if you use PS, tell me anyway. It might at least help me figure out how to frame the question in Google

I often create several different looks from a raw file that include significant changes to the sliders in ACR. I thought doing a "save as" while in the raw editor would keep my original sidecar intact, but it didn't. I got a dng with the new edits but that overwrote the data from the original raw, as well.

I am going to try to copy the xmp file, but is there another way?

Many thanks!

lloydl2 Loc: Gilbert, AZ

LR lets you "save" a virtual copy and would inturn keep all the history steps associated with that virtual copy. ACR does not support virtual copies but you should be able to save as the layers and their settings in regular PS

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

You can save the history in LR by making sure you write .xmp files

You can save the history in PS by enabling the log. Edit -> Preferences -> History Log. That will bring up a panel where you can check the History Log to enable it or uncheck it to disable it. You have the option of saving the history log to the metadata or a text file or both. The Edit Log Items presents a drop down box where you can choose "Detailed". I haven't tried the other options.

I don't know of a way to plug the history log into PS to get it to do the same edits over again. But the history log is in plain text so you could follow the list and recreate it manually. I haven't really played with this much so I don't know what happens if you have a history log from one version of PS and try to reproduce the edits on another version.

I also don't know whether Elements has anything similar.

bleirer

Possible answer here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-elements/virtual-copies/td-p/8875697?page=1

Looks like elements does not have virtual copies, so the workaround is to save to .dng in the acr module. Eats some disk space but otherwise same idea.

.dng is a different file type, though still considered 'raw' so it couldn't overwrite the original which would have a different suffix even if the name was the same.

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

Linda,
When I am working on something and want to change things in process I just take a screen shot of the open application. That way I can go look back at what I’ve done and correct them next time. This helps me remember where the sliders were when I decided to try another approach.
Another way is to just use the Edit- undo function to go back to the point you were before while in the editor. You may be able to use a redo function to go forward also. Not sure about Elements as I rarely use it anymore.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

Linda, I saw two ways to interpret your question. The first was, "How can I see the editing steps I performed?" As others have pointed out, Lightroom's History will show you the basic steps, but not the specific slider levels. The second way to interpret it was, "How can I use the steps I performed to edit another photo the same way?" There's at least 3 ways to do that in Lightroom - you can create a Preset, you can create a Profile, or, after you edit a photo, click on another photo in the filmstrip and then click on Previous, which will apply the previous photo's edits to the next photo.

This may help. https://support.contrastly.com/how-to-install-presets-in-adobe-camera-raw-10-3-windows/

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Many thanks to all!

On photos I particularly like, I always save a psd file (unflattened layers), but it doesn't show what my first edits were in ACR in case I want to try similar - or go back to a previous initial edit once I've changed.

I probably had a brain cramp and opened the dng instead of the raw to "test." But those dng files are so large I'm not sure I want to go that route. On the other hand, exactly how many versions of an ACR edit do I need anyway?

What I'm trying now is to copy/paste an xmp file to a new folder. Might prove to be too tedious to keep track of which "look" it goes with, but may be a little easier than looking at a screenprint and moving the sliders myself.

--

I confirmed that in PS Elements there is no history option in ACR (in the main workspace it records your last 20 edits), or ability to create a pre-set (recipe) in ACR, though you can make your own brushes, color swatches, shapes and more in the main workspace. (I think Dan's link is for pre-sets created by someone else?)

I also discovered the tiniest little icons that are for toggling to original (which is zero on all sliders) + showing before/after on the screen. Never used those in six years

Thanks again to all. This will take a little while to develop a system.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Thanks; that's good info.

bleirer

I don't know if you can do this in elements, but in lightroom I choose to edit the image in Photoshop as a smart object, which preserves the ability to reopen and alter the original acr at any time. Other edits are then done in layers that can be turned on or off independently. Weirdly there is even a camera raw filter, which allows a whole 'nother set of acr edits independent of the original.

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

If your talking LR, save adjustments as a Preset. In ACR, click on the three bars to the right of the Basic menu. Save setting.

bleirer

Does that save settings choice allow you to apply those settings to the file after it is closed and reopened?

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

I don’t use Lightroom or PS elements, only CS6 and Affinity Photo. To replicate my process, I can copy the layers from one photo to another or I can create a macro and run it whenever. With either, I need to adjust the mask(s) used which isn’t a problem.
Most people in this section are very experienced in post processing and therefore, learning Affinity Photo should not be a significant undertaking. It’s a one-time inexpensive fee and I find it easier, and in many ways, more intuitive than Photoshop. I mention this in relation to the question posed.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Smart Objects are yet another term in a long list that I have generally ignored

So I just watched an 8-minute video to see why I might want to pay more attention in future:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJTcoC5rkTA

Quite limited compared to PS (the instructor mentions a couple of reasons why) and doesn't seem it will help my original question as it's more about quality when re-sizing. But thanks for the mention; this will be worth investigating further!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Thanks much!