Can I reopen Adobe Camera Raw after opening a RAW file in Photoshop?
Asked 7/11/2011
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When I open a RAW file, it first opens in Adobe Camera Raw. If I click Open Image, the file opens in regular Photoshop. After that, is there a way to get back into Camera Raw for the same image, or do I need to close it and reopen the RAW file? I'd also like to know whether any Photoshop edits are preserved if I do this.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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What you need to do when in Camera Raw, if you think you may want to make further ACR changes, is instead of clicking the Open button, first hold down Shift and the button will switch to "Open Object". Now click it and you will get a smart object layer. You can double click on that at any time and reopen ACR and make adjustments and keep anything you've done within PS.
If you use the normal Open from ACR, then you won't be able to go back to ACR and keep your PS changes.
Originally by user4191. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4191
15y ago
0
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Yes, but it depends on how you opened the file from Camera Raw.
- If you click Open Image, you can reopen the original RAW file in Camera Raw later, and your previous Camera Raw adjustments will still be there. However, any edits you made afterward in Photoshop will not be part of the Camera Raw file.
- If you want to return to Camera Raw later and keep your Photoshop work, hold Shift in Camera Raw so Open Image changes to Open Object. This opens the file as a Smart Object. Then you can double-click that layer in Photoshop to reopen Camera Raw and continue adjusting it non-destructively.
Camera Raw settings are typically stored with the RAW file as metadata (often in an .xmp sidecar file), so reopening the RAW file restores those ACR edits.
So: reopening is possible, but to preserve both ACR flexibility and Photoshop edits together, use Open Object / Smart Object from the start.
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