Photomator settings

In Photomator settings, you can choose how the app looks, how it displays content and saves edits. These settings apply across editing sessions and different Photomator documents.

iPhone and iPad

Open Photomator settings on iPhone or iPad

• Tap at the top of the Files or Photos browser.

Change the accent color

Changing the color of buttons is a fun way to customize Photomator and make it your own. To change the accent color.

Set the default image quality

When exporting images to JPEG or HEIF file formats you can choose the quality at which you want to save them. In other words, you can determine how compressed the final images will be. If you want to always export at a certain quality, you can save this setting as default. The setting will also apply when automatically saving changes or sharing images with other apps.

Choose a browser

Choose what photos you'll be editing — those saved in your Photos library or anywhere else on your device.

Change editing settings

When editing in the Photos browser:

• Open RAW by Default. In RAW+JPEG or RAW+HEIC pairs, the RAW photo will be opened by default.

• Preserve Edits. Nondestructively preserve edits in a linked Photomator file.

• Use iCloud. Save linked files in iCloud to sync edits between your devices.

When editing in the Files browser:

• Create a PHOTO file with edits. This setting keeps the original photos unchanged and saves edits in a separate PHOTO file.

• Modify original. Edits are saved directly to the original file, except for RAW photos. For RAW photos, edits will be saved to a separate PHOTO file.

• Preserve edits and modify the original. Edits are nondestructively preserved in a linked Photomator file. If you delete linked files, your edits will be saved directly to the original image. RAW edits will be saved in a separate PHOTO file.

• Preserve edits and originals. Keeps the original photos unchanged by storing edits in a separate sidecar file. This setting is not compatible with third-party file storage providers.

Change Photos browser settings

These settings are only available when the Photos browser is selected.

Photomator Album. Create a Photomator album in your Photos library and automatically add each photo edited with Photomator to this album.

Display Album Without Nesting. Display all albums, including any albums inside folders, in a single alphabetically arranged gallery.

Hidden Album. Make the Hidden album from your Photos library visible in Photomator.

Load HDR Content

Turn this setting on to automatically open photos in HDR.

To work with HDR, you must update to iOS 17 and macOS 14 Sonoma. Also, you’ll need a compatible display. Find the requirements and more information about working with HDR in this article.

Check your Photomator license status and manage purchases

Check the current status of your Photomator license, restore purchases, and redeem special offers.

Mac

Open Photomator settings on Mac

Do any of the following:

• Choose Photomator > Settings from the Photomator menu at the top of the screen.

• Press Command ⌘ + , (Comma) on your keyboard.

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General settings

In the General tab, you can customize the Photomator appearance, change document display settings, and turn HDR content loading on or off.

Appearance. You can set the Photomator appearance to light or dark, or make it automatically sync with the current macOS appearance.

Window Background. You can change the background color of the Photomator window. This makes it easier to work with photos that feature colors similar to the Photomator background color.

Image Quality. When exporting images to JPEG or HEIF file formats you can choose the quality at which you want to save them. In other words, you can determine how compressed the final images will be. If you want to always export at a certain quality, you can save this setting as default. The setting will also apply when automatically saving changes or sharing images with other apps.

RAW + JPEG. Choose which format — RAW or JPEG — will open by default in RAW + JPEG image pairs.

HDR. Turn this setting on to automatically open photos in HDR. HDR makes your photos and videos look more vivid and life-like by showing more colors and details, especially in bright and dark areas.

To work with HDR, you’ll need a device running iOS 17 and macOS 14 Sonoma. Also, you’ll need a compatible display. Find the requirements and more information about working with HDR in this article.

Photos settings

In the Photos tab, you can adjust how Photomator displays, saves, and

Create Photomator album in Photos. Create a Photomator album in your Photos library and automatically add each photo edited with Photomator to this album.

Show Hidden album. Make the Hidden album from your Photos library visible in Photomator.

Preserve nondestructive edits. Keeps the original photos unchanged by storing edits in a separate, lightweight sidecar file.

Save sidecar files in. Choose to save your photo edit sidecar files in iCloud for syncing across devices, or in the Pictures Folder on your Mac.

Sidecar disk usage. Displays the number of sidecar files on your Mac and the storage space they occupy. You can click Manage Files to do any of the following:

• Reveal sidecar folder. Show the folder where sidecar files are stored, either in the iCloud folder or the Pictures folder on your Mac.

• Delete all sidecar files older than 30 days. Deletes sidecar files with nondestructive edits, saving flattened edits to the original photos. These changes can still be reverted.

• Delete all sidecar files. Deletes sidecar files with nondestructive edits. Photos with flattened edits can still be reverted to the original.

Files settings

Modify originals. Select to save changes to original files, preserving edits nondestructively in a linked Photomator file. Deleting linked files saves your edits directly to the original image. RAW edits will be saved in a separate PHOTO file.

Display items from nested folders. Display all albums, including any albums inside folders, in a single alphabetically arranged gallery.

License settings

Subscription status. Displays the current status of your Photomator purchase or subscription.

Manage purchases. Click Manage Purchases to upgrade, extend, modify, or cancel your subscription, and more.

See also

Document settings

Photos browser

Save, share, and export