If I use Lightroom as an external editor within iPhoto...

how do I get the image back into iPhoto? There is no "save" command.

Scott:
If you have Photoshop or Photoshop Element I would recommend you use one of those as your editor of choice within iPhoto. That way you can just edit and save (as long as the format remains as jpeg).
Using Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements) as Your Editor of Choice in iPhoto.
1 - select Photoshop as your editor of choice in iPhoto's General Preference Section's under the "Edit photo:" menu.
2 - double click on the thumbnail in iPhoto to open it in Photoshop. When you're finished editing click on the Save button. If you immediately get the JPEG Options window make your selection (Baseline standard seems to be the most compatible jpeg format) and click on the OK button. Your done.
3 - however, if you get the navigation window that indicates that PS wants to save it as a PS formatted file. You'll need to either select JPEG from the menu and save (top image) or click on the desktop in the Navigation window (bottom image) and save it to the desktop for importing as a new photo.
This method will let iPhoto know that the photo has been editied and will update the thumbnail file to reflect the edit..
NOTE: With Photoshop Elements 6 the Saving File preferences should be configured: "On First Save: Save Over Current File". Also I suggest the Maximize PSD File Compatabilty be set to Always.
If you want to use both iPhoto's editing mode and PS without having to go back and forth to the Preference pane, once you've selected PS as your editor of choice, reset the Preferences back to "Open in main window". That will let you either edit in iPhoto (double click on the thumbnail) or in PS (Control-click on the thumbnail and seledt "Edit in external editor" in the Contextual menu). This way you get the best of both worlds
2 - double click on the thumbnail in iPhoto to open it in Photoshop. When you're finished editing click on the Save button. If you immediately get the JPEG Options window make your selection (Baseline standard seems to be the most compatible jpeg format) and click on the OK button. Your done.
3 - however, if you get the navigation window that indicates that PS wants to save it as a PS formatted file. You'll need to either select JPEG from the menu and save (top image) or click on the desktop in the Navigation window (bottom image) and save it to the desktop for importing as a new photo.
This method will let iPhoto know that the photo has been editied and will update the thumbnail file to reflect the edit..
Or you might consider using LR as your primary DAM (digital asset management) application and iPhoto for special projects as books, calendars, etc. Just export out of LR to iPhoto for those special projects. Otherwise the saving of any edit as a new file and importing into iPhoto is your other choice.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier versions) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. There are versions that are compatible with iPhoto 5, 6, 7 and 8 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
NOTE: The new rebuild option in iPhoto 09 (v. 8.0.2), Rebuild the iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup" makes this tip obsolete.

Similar Messages

Using Lightroom as my external editor - worked, now broken

For nearly two years, I used Lightroom as my external editor for iPhoto using the following process:
1. Select 'Edit in External Editor'
2. Select Add to Library (not Copy or Move) when the Lightroom import dialogue comes up so that LR is simply pointing to the file my iPhoto library
3. Make all my edits in Lightroom (my original is left untouched at this point, and LR stores data about how to process the original)
4. Export the photo from Lightroom into the same folder as the original using the same filename
At this point, I would get a prompt saying:
"The following files already exist:
[path/to/file]
Do you wish to overwrite the existing files, skip the existing files, or rename the exported files to avoid collision?"
I could simply choose 'Overwrite' and my file in iPhoto would be updated with the changes from LR.
This worked until right after Christmas. Then, in January, the process mysteriously stopped working for any new photos. Now, if I use the same process, I get the following warning:
"You can not choose to overwrite the existing files since some of them are the source files"
Interestingly enough, I can still go back to any of the pre-January images in my LR library and export them back into iPhoto, overwriting the original. I have not updated Lightroom at all, but I suspect I did download an update to iPhoto. Still, I can't figure out what is materially different, and what I might be able to do to get my old workflow back!
Any ideas? And no, I don't need a lecture about the fact that iPhoto and LR are both image library managers, and that I should just switch to LR or use Aperture. I like the way iPhoto organizes my files (Events, Places, etc) and I only end up needing to edit 20% of the photos in an external editor. LR is definitely the editor I prefer and I'm not crazy about Aperture.
Thanks dudes!

Larry you fail to mention that using an external editor with iPhoto will not allow you to save your changes back into the iPhoto library.
Unfortunate you simply are ignorant of how iPhoto works - when you use an external editor with iPhoto and save the edited photo it is returned to the iPhoto database and the iPhoto database is updated correctly.
There are many Apple apologists on these forums
No - but since these forums are for iPhoto support the users here are very experienced iPhoto users and do use iPhoto a lot - no apologies - just CORRECT information on how to use iPhoto (and if it will not doe what you want sometimes suggestions on where to go to do what yo want)
and they will either try to convince you that other software is not as good
I certainly have NEVER seen this - every piece of software has good and bad points - and again remember *this is an iPhoto support forum*.
or totally ignore newbie users whom want to know how they can do something in iPhoto when it is not possible due to it's limitations.
Once again this is simply incorrect - unfortunately you have no idea how iPhoto works or how to use it
Rather, in my opinion I prefer to be honest
Honest maybe - but very unknowledgeable
and if another application does a function that iPhoto doesn't then I would personally point that out.
Good plan - the problem is that you simply are ignorant of how iPhoto works and what it can do so con are posting erroneous information making false claims
Your totally incorrect posts are unnecessary and could be confusing to users who want information - as the TOU state please TEST your assumptions before you post them here - totally incorrect posts like yours are not the least bit helpful
LN
Message was edited by: LarryHN

I am using both PSE 13 and Lightroom 5. When I use Lightroom as an external editor and save the photo, it shows up in PSE13 as an edited file but does not look any different. Why doesn't it appear edited?

I am using both PSE 13 and Lightroom 5. When I use Lightroom as an external editor and save the photo, it shows up in PSE13 as an edited file but does not look any different. Why doesn't it appear edited?

People who have Photoshop, but don't have Lightroom, need ACR so that they can use Raw files. Without ACR they could do nothing with those (they may also like having ACR so that they can work on other kinds of image using the same kinds of adjustments and techniques, as are used with Raw files).
People who have Lightroom, can get access to Raw files regardless whether ACR is present or not. They can use Lightroom on other kinds of image also, using the same methods. LR can pass images directly into Photoshop without passing via ACR (or else does so transparently, which amounts to substantially the same thing).
ACR does not, strictly speaking, even need to be installed for this external editing to happen. In fact, not even PS needs to be - since a different image editor can be used instead, while still retaining the Adobe Raw conversion etc.
Lightroom "subcontracts out" specialised external tasks, in this workflow, but is still your "main contractor": the image is otherwise located, viewed, managed, adjusted/presented and output entirely using LR.
So IMO we can divide image processing into:
operations that involve pixels and layers and layer masks and adjustment layers etc (of the kind done inside Photoshop)
operations that involve parametric edits (of the kind done in ACR where you are not using a Lightroom based workflow; otherwise, done inside Lightroom)
When PS is called in, that's because those tasks are impossible or unsuitable to do in Lightroom. But those tasks can't be done in ACR either - by definition, since LR and ACR have exactly the same image processing "feature set".
Lightroom is irrelevant to the Bridge + ACR + PS workflow. This workflow requires both your PS and your ACR to be current enough, to support your Raw format etc.
ACR and Bridge are irrelevant to the LR + (image editor) workflow. It is in this case, only LR which needs to be current enough to support your Raw format etc.
RP

Can I use lightroom as an external editor from Aperture?

Could I use Lightroom to do edits on an Aperture file and then return the edited file to Aperture for saving or editing further?

No. You could use Photoshop or Acorn or Pixelmator or Gimp as external editors as they are all "pixel" editors. But not Lightroom as it doesn't work the same way.

Using Lightroom as an External editor for Elements

I just got copies of lightroom 5 and Elements 12. I've been using Elements for years and really love the organizer. While I know that Lightroom should have the ability to convert an Elements organizer as of version 5.4, I find the Elements organizer far better for tagging, facial recongition and usage. I like having Lightroom as an editor for the first round of simple edits. I figured out how to configure Elements to call Lightroom to edit a picture directly. (Edit-> Preferences->Editing) WIth that setting, I can now use lightroom on my photos. I find the problem is when I finish in Lightroom the pictures do not get automatically imported back directly into Elements. Is there a way to configure this?

Agreeing with 99jon, and adding that in my opinion, the only logical use of the two programs is to use the Lightroom Library Module (not the PSE Organizer) as the tool for organizing your photos, and the Lightroom Develop module as your primary editor, and the PHotoshop Elements Editor as the supplemental editor for the situation where you need more power editing than Lightroom provides.
Why? Because Lightroom is designed so that it can relatively seemlessly send photos to PSE for extra editing and receive the edited photo back from PSE.
There is no relatively seemless way to have the PSE Organizer send photos to Lightroom and receive the edited photo in return. You will do a lot of extra work to make this work. I am also very skeptical about this statement, I don't think it opens your photos in the Lightroom Develop Module, but I admit I haven't tried it: "I figured out how to configure Elements to call Lightroom to edit a picture directly. (Edit-> Preferences->Editing) WIth that setting, I can now use lightroom on my photos."

Using Photoshop Elements as External Editor for iPhoto

I have set up iPhoto so that I can use Photoshop Elements as the external editor. When I select a photo and choose 'External Editor,' Elements comes up but my photo is not displayed.

Hi Toomuchtrouble000,
When you are making the settings from iPhoto, make sure you select Photoshop Elements Editor, which is present in Support Files, not Photoshop Elements 11, which is actually the Welcome Screen.
Please change that setting.
Hope this helps.

How to use preview as an external editor in iphoto

i cant find the option for adding preview as external editor
plz help

In the iPhoto > Preferences panel > Advanced tab switch the "Edit Photos" selector from "in iPhoto" to the next app. This will open a file choser dialogue. Select Preview.app.
Regards
Léonie

Tried to use PixelMator as default external editor but iPhoto has only final cut pro as external editor and won't let me change?

I tried to set up Pixelmator as external iPhoto editor bot only option in Preferences> advanced> edit photos is iPhoto or Final Cut Pro?

You have previously set FCP as the external, editor - in the iPhoto preferences select FCP again and a window will open for you to find and select Pixelmator - if that a photo editor ?
LN

Problem Using Aperture as an External Editor

I'm having a problem using Aperture as an external editor for iPhoto. I've set preferences to "Edit in Aperture" and selected the Aperture application. When I click edit a photo in iPhoto, Aperture fires up as expected, but it does not load my photo. Nothing seems to be exported from iPhoto into Aperture.
I can export the same photo to my desktop and then load it into Aperture fine.
When I set preferences to edit in CS2, this works fine, only Aperture seems to be the problem.
What am I doing wrong?
I'm using the following versions:
- iPhoto 7.0.2
- Aperture 1.5.4

If you have Photoshop CS2 then you'd have a better editor using it within iPhoto as follows:
Using Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements) as Your Editor of Choice in iPhoto.
1 - select Photoshop as your editor of choice in iPhoto's General Preference Section's under the "Edit photo:" menu.
2 - double click on the thumbnail in iPhoto to open it in Photoshop. When you're finished editing click on the Save button. If you immediately get the JPEG Options window make your selection (Baseline standard seems to be the most compatible jpeg format) and click on the OK button. Your done.
3 - however, if you get the navigation window that indicates that PS wants to save it as a PS formatted file. You'll need to either select JPEG from the menu and save (top image) or click on the desktop in the Navigation window (bottom image) and save it to the desktop for importing as a new photo.
This method will let iPhoto know that the photo has been editied and will update the thumbnail file to reflect the edit..
If you want to use both iPhoto's editing mode and PS without having to go back and forth to the Preference pane, once you've selected PS as your editor of choice, reset the Preferences back to "Open in main window". That will let you either edit in iPhoto (double click on the thumbnail) or in PS (Control-click on the thumbnail and seledt "Edit in external editor" in the Contextual menu). This way you get the best of both worlds
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 08 libraries. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

I just installed Photoshop and want to use it as the external editor. I also have PS Elements on the computer and the only external editor I can get iPhoto to recognize is PSE. Any help in changing the external editor to PS would be appreciated!

I just installed Photoshop and want to use it as the external editor in iPhoto. I also have PS Elements on the computer and the only external editor I can get iPhoto to recognize is PSE. Any help in changing the external editor to PS would be appreciated!

Welcome. I am using Photoshop CS5 and this works fine for me. Possibly Adobe has changed this in CS6. Hopefully, LarryHN will have further suggestions. Best.

Using PSE13 as external editor with iPhoto w/MAC OS

Upgraded from PSE12 to 13 and now unable to use PSE13 as an external editor with iPhoto on a MAC OS V 10.9. Have reinstalled and no change. Preferences in 13 differ from help for older versions.

Are you sure you are choosing the correct file? In recent versions adobe has hidden the actual editor away in the Support Files folder in the PSE folder. The file at the top level is just an alias for the welcome screen. You want this file:

Using elements 9 as external editor

Hi, I bought elements 9 today. I have all my pictures organized in aperture 3. I want to use elements as an external editor. I selected elements as the external editor in aperture 3, but when I try to edit a picture using the external editor via aperture 3, the image will not load into elements.
I get the welcome screen in elements, when I choose edit, the editor opens but no picture is loaded. I also tried to edit via elements used as external editor from aperture when I had elements open. What happens then is the exact same thing only difference is that elements opens again (so that I have to elements apps running at the same time)
Anyone have an idea what I am doing wrong.

You chose the wrong file in the PSE folder. This is about iphoto, but the problem is the same with aperture, lightroom, or any other external editor. See step 2 for directions to the right file:
http://barbarabrundage.com/?p=141

Lightroom 3.2 external editor problem

Hello,
I have been experiencing problems with using external editors in Lightroom 3.2. Currently there are 3 external editors which display a problem (but all of which work fine as an external editor or stand-alone program). Those are Alien Skin's new Exposure 3 and Bokeh 2 and also Photoshop CS5. Whenever I use CS5 as an external editor, it will not open the file itself (this is all Mac OSX by the way), when I use EITHER Alien Skin program I get a weird result where the Path it chooses is a Time Machine backup and it will NOT edit my Lightroom file ...
Any help will be GREATLY appreciated !! as I said - all of these "plug-ins" work fine in stand alone mode - also Photoshop CS5 works fine OTHER than when it is used as an external editor from Lightroom.

Hi Charlie,
When I "show in finder", the file is shown in the correct path/location on the disk, which would suggest there should be no problem with editing in external editors, however the problem persists with CS5 not loading the actual file, and with Alien Skin plug-ins being unable to find the file (looking in wrong path) - here is a screenshot of "get info" for an image:
Thanks,
Damen

When using Photoshop Elements 9 as external editor my iPhoto version does not update

I am using Photoshop Elements 9 as an external editor in iPhoto V9.4.2
My photo's are Raw and they open in Elements fine for me to edit. When I go to save or exit I have problems. I get options to choose from - I am assuming that saving them as JPEG now they are edited is the best choice. However it shows me a file location where it will be saved and this is not the iPhoto libary. Even so, I save them where PSE wants to and when I go back to them in iPhoto they are not shown as edited (either in preview thumbnail or full version and regardless of which folder I look at them from). I shut iPhoto down and re-open and still they are not changed. I have watched the Adobe lesson on this and it is identical right up to the point of 'saving'. I have read other question on this and followed some advice but not getting the desired result of showing up in iPhoto still.
Thank you.

Are you using PSE and saving the edit as described below?
Using Photoshop or Photoshop Elements as Your Editor of Choice in iPhoto.
1 - select Photoshop or Photoshop Elememts as your editor of choice in iPhoto's General Preference Section's under the "Edit photo:" menu.
2 - double click on the thumbnail in iPhoto to open it in Photoshop. When you're finished editing click on the Save button. If you immediately get the JPEG Options window make your selection (Baseline standard seems to be the most compatible jpeg format) and click on the OK button. Your done.
3 - however, if you get the navigation window
that indicates that PS wants to save it as a PS formatted file. You'll need to either select JPEG from the menu and save (top image) or click on the desktop in the Navigation window (bottom image) and save it to the desktop for importing as a new photo.
This method will let iPhoto know that the photo has been editied and will update the thumbnail file to reflect the edit..
NOTE: With Photoshop Elements the Saving File preferences should be configured as shown:
I also suggest the Maximize PSD File Compatabilty be set to Always. In PSE’s General preference pane set the Color Picker to Apple as shown:
Note: to switch between iPhoto and PS or PSE as the editor of choice Control (right)-click on the thumbnail and select either Edit in iPhoto or Edit in External Editor from the contextual menu. If you use iPhoto to edit more than PSE re-select iPhoto in the iPhoto General preference pane. Then iPhoto will be the default editor and you can use the contextual menu to select PSE for your editor when desired.
OT

Can I use PSE 10 as an external editor for iPhoto?

I just downloaded a trailversion of PSE10. Than I selected it as external editor in iPhoto.
As I clicked on a Photo in iPhoto and selected "edit in external editor" PSE10 started, but the photo did not appeared as it is used in PSE8 for example.
Thanks
Nasenhorn

Make sure you selected the application and not the shortcut:

If I use Lightroom as an external editor within iPhoto...

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for