About Imagen edits

Imagen doesn’t change or overwrite your original photos when it edits them. Instead, it saves the editing metadata for your photos in XMP format, a proprietary Adobe format that saves editing metadata for each photo.

You must open Lightroom to view edits. Don’t use the default image viewer on your computer.

The XMP information is saved differently depending on the photo's file format.

RAW photos and sidecar XMP files

For RAW photos, the XMP file is a separate sidecar file created in the same folder as the original photo. The XMP file has the same name as the RAW photo, but its extension is XMP. To see the edits or culling changes, the XMP file must be in the same folder and with the same name as the original photo, like this:

These are the RAW formats supported by Imagen: NEF, CR2, CR3, ARW, NRW, CRW, SRF, SR2, ORF, RW2, RAF, PTX, PEF, RWL, SRW, 3FR, and FFF.

DNG and JPEG photos with embedded XMP information

For DNG and JPEG photos, the XMP information is embedded in the photo itself. 

Find your edits in Lightroom

If you downloaded a project to review the edited photos but don’t see your edits when you open Lightroom, try these steps before calling support.

1. Open Imagen and go to the Projects page. This link opens the Project page in the Imagen app.
   
   
2. In the row of the project you already downloaded, click the three dots at the end of the row and then click Download Edits.
   
   
   The Download edits window opens.
   
3. Check the download path for the edit metadata. By default, it's the same folder as the original photos. If you moved your photos, click Browse to set their new location. Your photos must be stored locally on your computer or on an external hard drive. They can’t be stored in the cloud.
   
   
4. Click Download Edits. The download is confirmed.
   
   
   
5. Click Next. A list of supported Adobe software opens.
   
   
   
6. Click Lightroom (Creative Cloud). Lightroom opens.
   
   
7. When Imagen downloads edits for Lightroom, it creates a sidecar XMP file in the local file location but not in the cloud. To see your edits, look under Local instead of Cloud. Your photos must be either on your computer or on an external hard drive.
   
   
   If you still don't see your edits, right-click the folder and click Refresh folder.
   
   
   

(For older versions of Lightroom) When you tweak the final edits in Lightroom, it doesn’t automatically update the XMP files. To save the edit info, click the Share icon at the top right of the screen, and then click Original. Click Export when prompted to make a copy of the edit information in the XMP files. When you upload your final edits, you upload this information.

If you need our help, re-upload the images in a new project and contact support. In your support request, give the support team the details of this duplicate project, and we’ll give you credits for the edits.