Can Shotwell display edits made in RawTherapee to RAW files?

Asked 12/21/2019

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I'm trying to use Shotwell on Linux for photo management and RawTherapee for RAW editing. If I open a RAW file from Shotwell in RawTherapee, make adjustments, and return to Shotwell, Shotwell still shows the unedited version. Is there a way for Shotwell to display the RawTherapee-edited result, or do I need a different workflow?

Originally by user68417. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user68417

6y ago

2 Answers

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If I view an image in Shotwell, and choose "Open in RAW Editor", make an edit, then go back to Shotwell, how do I get Shotwell to then show the edited image?

You probably can't. The RAW editors like RawTherapee are non-destructive editors. You don't edit the RAW image; instead, you apply a series of instructions to the RAW image, and the instructions are saved to a separate file.

Unless Shotwell supports every single instruction than RawTherapee supports in an identical way, and supports the RawTherapee instruction file format, there is no possible way it could show the edited image. Basically, I'm saying that this would require Shotwell to be a 100% clone of RawTherapee. It isn't.

The intention is that after you have edited the image in RawTherapee, you export it as JPEG or TIFF with all edits applied. Then, any program capable of viewing JPEG/TIFF images will show the edits.

Originally by user81735. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user81735

6y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Usually, no. RawTherapee is a non-destructive RAW editor: it does not alter the RAW file itself, but saves editing instructions separately. Shotwell generally cannot render those RawTherapee-specific edit instructions, so it will keep showing its own preview/default interpretation of the RAW.

The usual workflow is to edit the RAW in RawTherapee, then export the result as a JPEG or TIFF and have Shotwell display or catalog that exported file.

A practical setup is:

  • keep RAW files in a folder used by RawTherapee
  • have RawTherapee export processed JPG/TIFF files to a folder watched by Shotwell
  • use Shotwell mainly for organizing/categorizing the exported images
  • when you need changes, return to RawTherapee, update the edit, and re-export

So if you want Shotwell to reflect RawTherapee adjustments, the reliable solution is to show Shotwell the exported output, not the RAW plus sidecar edits.

UniqueBot

AI

6y ago

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