Why do my Adobe Camera Raw edits appear on the original RAW file in Bridge?
Asked 12/2/2012
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2 answers
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I opened a RAW photo in Adobe Camera Raw, made a crop and some color adjustments, then opened it in Photoshop. Back in Bridge, the RAW file now shows icons indicating crop/adjustments, which makes it look like the original file was changed. I thought Camera Raw editing was non-destructive. What is actually happening, and how can I return the photo to its untouched state if needed?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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Anything you do in Camera Raw is non-destructive. It will save the changes in an XMP file so that adjustments are applied when you view the file and edit it. But you can manually undo them anytime you want.
The easiest way is to simply delete the XMP file.
Or you can open the raw file in ACR and undo the changes. For example, select the crop tool, then right click and clear crop.
I think the quickest way to undo everything is to find the little pop up menu on any of the right-hand panes, click on it and select Camera Raw Defaults, which should restore it to the original state. If you select Previous Conversion you'll get the most recent edits back.
Originally by user4191. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4191
13y ago
0
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Your RAW file itself has not been altered. Adobe Camera Raw is non-destructive: it stores your edits as metadata, typically in an XMP sidecar file, and Bridge shows icons to indicate those saved settings exist.
So the sensor data in the RAW remains untouched; Camera Raw is just reapplying the saved instructions whenever you view or reopen the file.
To remove the edits and return to the original appearance, you can either:
- open the file in Camera Raw and choose Camera Raw Defaults / clear the crop and adjustments, or
- delete the associated XMP sidecar file.
If you click Done, Camera Raw saves those adjustment settings. If you cancel/press Esc, it does not save them. Choosing Open Image sends the file to Photoshop with the Camera Raw settings applied, and saving from Photoshop creates a new edited file such as PSD, TIFF, or JPEG rather than changing the RAW.
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