PS Memory Usage: "Duplicate" vs. "Save As"

[heller_harris]

Hi -

 

Anyone know if there are any memory efficiency advantages to using

"Duplicate" vs. "Save As" functions (or vice-versa) in PS?

 

I scan, save the original and then work on a copy. Does it matter?

 

thanks,

Heller

[patricklavoie]

Dont think so for the memory, but it is 2 different things anyway. Duplicate doesnt save your

picture it only duplicate the open file with the other original remaining open, if you coputer

crash, nothing is save. Save as is a way to save your original with a different name and keep it

open with this new name, so your original is not touch.

[Ed_Ingold]

When you duplicate an image (Image/Duplicate), you create a new, named copy of the original image in memory. It is not saved until you deliberately save it. When you "Saved as", you have the opportunity to save the image under a new name (you aren't obliged to rename it), but only one copy stays in memory. If you have enough RAM to hold both image in memory, there's no performance loss using "Duplicate". If you are low on RAM, performance can get very slow indeed and you should use "Save as".

 

I generally create a "Duplicate" when I'm going to make extensive changes, including size, color space and other adjustments, but want to keep the first file intact. (1) If you have enough memory, it's very quick to create a duplicate, so you're less likely to forget (2) You have the original readily available for comparison (3) If you mess up, you can simply toss it rather than use the history list (which has a limited length) (4) I am less likely to accidently save these changes to the original file, since I do a ctl-s save everytime I stop to breath.

[bobmichaels]

I think the same as Edward but always use "save as" to accomplish the same thing. My original is always a TIF file from scanning film. The first thing I do when I open the TIF in Photoshop is to save it as a PSD file. That way I know the original scan TIF will never be overwritten. Then I work on the PSD file, saving frequently and always do the final save before I flatten the layers or sharpen.

 

But if things go horribly wrong, I can always revert to the original TIF file and start over.

 

So I'm saving on memory which is sometimes an issue even though I have 4 Gb because I work with scanned MF files with many layers. Now my method does eat up HD space but I compensate that by editing and deleting the lower 90% of what I shoot, only saving the very best.

[heller_harris]

Thanks for the responses.

 

My normal workflow is to scan, save the scan as (filename)original, then Duplicate that for a working copy. If I like where it's going, then I save it; if not, then I dump it without ever saving it to the drive. I was just wondering if I tied up a lot of RAM by using Duplicate instead of Save As.