Why is RawTherapee saving a .pp3 file instead of a photo?
Asked 5/14/2020
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2 answers
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When I edit a photo in RawTherapee and save it, I get a .pp3 file instead of a JPEG or other image file. What is a .pp3 file, and how do I save my edited photo as an actual image I can open elsewhere?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
3
The PP3 files are not actual image files but "processing profiles". When I was using RawTherapee one year ago when I got started in photography, I figured out that the .pp3 files are rather files that contain the information of your edits in RawTherapee for each imported photo.
Technically, they are called sidecar files, and they are like the .xmp files that other applications like Lightroom and Bridge use for the same purpose. See:
https://rawpedia.rawtherapee.com/Sidecar_Files_-_Processing_Profiles
You can't disable the creation of these files - they are needed to store your edits.
If you find them annoying, you can either hide them from view in Windows Explorer or tell RawTherapee to put them in a central cache. See: https://rawpedia.rawtherapee.com/Sidecar_Files_-_Processing_Profiles#Storage
To export images, switch to the export tab of RawTherapee and select your desired image format (such as png or jpeg)
Originally by user91372. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user91372
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A .pp3 file from RawTherapee is not the photo itself. It’s a sidecar processing profile that stores your edit settings so RawTherapee can reapply them later, similar to .xmp files in other editors.
To create an actual image file, you need to export/save the edited photo as a format like JPEG or TIFF. In RawTherapee, the control used for saving/exporting the image is different from the one that saves only the processing profile. One community answer notes that the save/export control at the bottom left saves the image, while the top-right disk icon saves only the .pp3 settings file.
So in short:
- .pp3 = edit instructions only
- JPEG/TIFF/etc. = real image output
You generally can’t disable .pp3 creation because RawTherapee uses it to store your edits. If the files are cluttering your folders, you may be able to hide them or configure RawTherapee to store them elsewhere.
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