Major bug in Elements 2018

[Frans Waterlander]

No, DNGs are not read only!

They are if you set them to Read-only.

[digitaldog]

They are if you set them to Read-only.

You are confused enough as it is.

[Frans Waterlander]

You are confused enough as it is.

Not as much as some people who keep asserting that you must have sidecar files, eh.

[Doug Gray]

Not as much as some people who keep asserting that you must have sidecar files, eh.

Frans,

Did you read the link from the Adobe Elements site I posted?  Here it is again:
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/using/processing-camera-raw-image-files.html

To save you or other reading this the trouble here's the relevant portion:

Photoshop Elements does not save your changes to the original raw file (non-destructive editing). After processing the raw image file ***using the features of the Camera Raw dialog box, You can choose to open a processed raw file in Photoshop Elements. You can then edit the file and save it in a Photoshop Elements supported format. The original raw file remains unaltered.

*** processing the RAW file creates a DNG file which is a container that includes most (or all if you want) of the RAW file as well as the changes made. In Photoshop these are in a separate XMP file. In Elements this is packed into the DNG file. If you delete the DNG file and open the RAW file again you should see the original, unmolested image.

and

The Digital Negative (DNG) format is Adobe’s proposed standard format for camera raw files. DNG files are useful for archiving camera raw images because they contain the raw camera sensor data and data specifying how the image should look. Camera raw image settings can be stored in DNG files instead of in sidecar XMP files or the camera raw database.

Basically, at one time XMP files were separate but Elements sticks the XMP file in the DNG file along with raw data from the camera's RAW file.  The RAW file is not altered.

The problem here is that most photographers here do not use Elements and Photoshop which saves separate XMP files by default instead of incorporating them the Adobe DNG container.

[Frans Waterlander]

Doug, yes I read it and I now understand the RAW file is not overwritten, thank goodness. "processing the RAW file creates a DNG file" is not correct; you can create a DNG file, but you can also use other formats like PSD, TIFF, jpeg, etc. And furthermore, the metadata is not necessarily packed in the DNG file, only if you choose the sidecar setting AND the DNG file is not Read-only. And, you can choose the sidecar route and then the metadata is saved in the xmp file, unless you work with a DNG file that is not Read-only.

I think Adobe could do a way better job of creating a user manual for Elements; in order to learn what all the different settings and buttons do in ACR for instance, you have to really hunt for this information in different sections of the manual and often you need to click on links to the Photoshop proper manual which often doesn't apply word-for-word to Elements.

[Jeremy Roussak]

We may conclude from all this that the supposed "bug" in Elements which led to this thread was not in fact a bug. The accusation was made because the originator of this thread did not understand what Elements was doing, or what he was doing with Elements. As is apparent from his last post, he now does understand, having been helped by the thread and links posted, and now believes Adobe's documentation to have been at fault.

The thread is closed.

Jeremy