When you start a new design project, you may have dozens of files in different formats scattered across your computer. Raw files are especially troublesome because they don’t usually have any type of formatting or structure—they’re just masses of data.
Opening raw files can be a real pain, especially if you’re not used to dealing with them. That’s why we put together this guide on how to open raw files on Mac. We’ll show you how to convert them to the format you need, edit them, and even export them to other formats.
What are raw files?
Raw files are files that have not been processed by a digital imaging software application. This means the image data is not completely organized and can contain more information than usual.
Raw files can be opened in programs like Photoshop, depending on the software’s configuration.
How to open raw files on a Mac?
There are various ways to open a raw file on your Mac. Here are two:
1. Open the file in Preview or Photos.
2. Open the file with Adobe Bridge or another raw converter.
Tips for working with raw files:
There are a few different ways to open raw files on a Mac. The simplest way is to use the “Open” command in the Finder, which will open the file in its default application—usually a photo editor like Photoshop or Preview.
If you want to open the file in a specific application, you can use the “Open As” command in the Finder, which will open the file in that application. You can also use the “File Open” menu item in applications like Photoshop or Preview, or drag and drop the file into an application window.
One thing to keep in mind is that most raw files are processed by digital camera software before they’re saved to a computer, so some of the features and adjustments that you would make using those applications won’t be available when you try to open the file using just the Mac’s standard tools.
For more detailed instructions on how to work with raw files on a Mac, check out our blog post here: https://www.macworld.com/article/296611/tips-for-working-with-raw-files.html
Raw photo editing tips for macOS:
If you’re a photographer who wants to get the most out of your raw photo files, you’ll need to know how to open them on a Mac. Here are some basic tips:
1. If you have anther app that can open raw files, use that. Adobe Photoshop and other photo editors are powerful tools, but they’re not built for editing raw files.
2. If you don’t have another app, try the Photos app in macOS Mojave or earlier. It’s built for working with photos, and it can open raw files without conversion.
3. If Photos still won’t open the file, you’ll need to convert it first. There are many ways to do this; we recommend using Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). ACR is free software that comes with many versions of Adobe Photoshop and other photo editors.
4. Once the file is opened in ACR or another editor, you’ll need to start editing it.
The basic steps are:
a) Open the file in its own window so that you can see all of it at once
b) Choose File > Open… and select the file from your hard drive
c) In the Open In dialog box, choose Adobe Photoshop (or whatever else you usually use to edit photos) from the list of available programs
d) Click Open
How to convert a RAW file to a JPEG or PNG on a Mac?
There are multiple ways to convert raw files on a Mac, and the method you choose will depend on the file format and how much editing you want to do to it.
The simplest way to convert a raw file is straight-forward: open the file in macOS’ Photos app, choose File > Convert To > Raw Image Data, and follow the on-screen instructions. This will convert the raw image data into a JPEG or PNG file, without any editing.
If you want to edit the raw image before converting it, macOS provides several different tools for doing so. You can use the Photos app’s editing features to adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, and more. Alternatively, you can use dedicated Raw photo software like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom to make more complex edits.
Whatever method you choose, be sure to save your finished JPEG or PNG file with a filename that accurately reflects its contents (e.g., “Raw_file_0001.jpg”).
Conclusion
If you are working with raw files on your Mac, it can be difficult to open them in a way that makes them easy to work with. In this article, we will show you how to open raw files on your Mac so that you can start editing and processing them the way that best suits your needs.
