Pixelmator Support
Pixelmator Pro User Guide
Pixelmator Pro User Guide
  • Welcome
  • Pixelmator Pro basics
    • Interface overview
    • Pixelmator Pro tools
    • Zoom in and out of an image
    • Scroll, pan, or rotate an image
    • Undo or redo changes
    • Choose and manage colors in Pixelmator Pro
    • Use the Pixelmator Pro Photos extension
    • Print a Pixelmator Pro document
    • Use text field math
    • Pixelmator Pro settings
      • General settings
      • Editing settings
      • Ruler, grid, and guide settings
      • Workspace settings
      • Apple Pencil settings
    • Customize the Tools sidebar
    • Customize the Pixelmator Pro toolbar
    • Use the Touch Bar with Pixelmator Pro
    • Automate tasks in Pixelmator Pro
  • Create, open, and save images
    • Open an image
    • Create a new image
    • Working with templates
    • Working with mockups
    • Edit from Photos
    • Import an image
    • Save and name an image
    • Close an image
    • About the Pixelmator Pro file format
    • About Pixelmator Pro sidecar files
  • Automatically edit images
    • Automatically enhance colors
    • Automatically increase image resolution
    • Remove color banding
    • Automatically reduce noise
    • Remove image background
    • Hide image background
    • Automatically crop and straighten images
    • Automatically match image colors
    • Decontaminate colors
  • Work with layers
    • Create layers
    • Color adjustments and effects layers
    • Use the Arrange tool
    • Select layers
    • Move and align layers
    • Resize, rotate, and flip layers
    • Transform layers
    • Convert layers into pixels
    • Use rulers
    • Use alignment guides
    • Organize and manage layers
    • Replace image
    • Video layers
  • Add masks
    • Working with bitmap masks
    • Working with vector masks
    • Open and edit images with Portrait Masks
    • Use clipping masks
  • Customize layers using styles
    • Adjust the opacity of a layer
    • Change the blend mode of a layer
    • Add an outline around a layer
    • Fill a layer with a color or gradient
    • Add an inner shadow to a layer
    • Add a drop shadow to a layer
    • Layer style presets
  • Adjust colors
    • White balance an image
    • Adjust hue, saturation, and vibrance
    • Adjust lightness, clarity, and texture
    • Selectively adjust clarity and texture of an image
    • Selectively balance the colors in an image
    • Adjust individual colors in an image
    • Adjust the levels of an image
    • Adjust the tonal curve of an image
    • Replace one color in an image with another
    • Remove color from an image or video
    • Manually convert a color image to black and white
    • Convert an image to black and white with a color tint
    • Apply a sepia tint
    • Fade the shadows or highlights of an image
    • Mix the color channels of an image
    • Invert the colors of an image
    • Apply a vignette
    • Sharpen an image
    • Add film grain to an image
    • Apply LUTs
    • Color adjustment presets
    • Working with RAW images
    • Reading histograms
    • About color management
    • Change the color profile of an image
    • Change the color depth of an image
    • See what an image looks like on another device
  • Retouch and reshape layers
    • Remove an object from an image
    • Copy part of an image from one area to another
    • Lighten a specific area of an image
    • Darken a specific area of an image
    • Make a specific area of an image more vibrant
    • Desaturate a specific area of an image
    • Sharpen a specific area of an image
    • Soften a specific area of an image
    • Smudge a specific area of an image
    • Warp a specific area of an image
    • Bump a specific area of an image
    • Pinch a specific area of an image
    • Twirl a specific area of an image
  • Add effects
    • Apply blur effects
    • Apply distortion effects
    • Apply sharpen effects
    • Apply color adjustment effects
    • Apply tile effects
    • Apply stylize effects
    • Apply halftone effects
    • Apply generator effects
    • Apply fill effects
    • Apply other effects
    • Effect presets
  • Paint and erase
    • Use the brushes browser
    • Stroke with a brush
    • Quickly fill an image with color
    • Fill specific areas of an image with color
    • Fill with the Gradient Fill tool
    • Paint with the Pixel Paint tool
    • Erase using the Smart Erase tool
    • Edit brush settings
    • Create a brush
    • Share and import brushes
  • Make selections
    • Select areas by shape or color
    • Select areas by drawing
    • Make rectangular, elliptical, or row selections
    • Select all opaque areas of a layer
    • Select the entire image
    • Automatically select a subject in an image
    • Adjust selections
    • Refine selections
    • Move, copy, and delete selected areas
    • Convert selections into shapes
  • Draw shapes and vector graphics
    • Arrange and combine shapes
    • Draw shapes with the Pen tool
    • Draw shapes with the Freeform Pen tool
    • Edit vector paths
    • Save and share custom shapes
  • Use the Type tool
    • Add text on a path
    • Copy and paste text
    • Use dictation to enter text
    • Change the font or font size
    • Add bold, italic, underline, or strikethrough to text
    • Convert text into an outline
    • Change the color of text
    • Change text capitalization
    • Align and space text
    • Format characters
    • Convert text into a shape or pixel layer
    • Text style presets
  • Resize, crop and straighten images
    • Rotate and flip an image
    • Trim away colored or transparent borders around an image
    • Reveal parts of an image beyond the canvas
    • Crop presets
    • Change the image size
    • Change the canvas size
  • Export and share images
    • Export an image or video for the web
    • Slice designs into individual images
    • Quickly export or share an optimized image
    • Export presets
  • Pixelmator Pro keyboard shortcuts
    • Customize keyboard shortcuts
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  1. Pixelmator Pro basics
  2. Pixelmator Pro settings

Editing settings

PreviousGeneral settingsNextRuler, grid, and guide settings

Last updated 7 months ago

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  • Destructive and nondestructive editing workflows
  • Open and save images in the original file format
  • Open and save images in the Pixelmator Pro file format
  • Choose the sidecar file save location
  • Manage sidecar files
  • Use Auto Save and Versions

In the Editing tab, you can choose how Pixelmator Pro opens images and how edits applied to images are saved. In other words, you can choose the primary workflow you'll use when editing images. You can also quickly manage Pixelmator Pro sidecar files and Auto Save and macOS Versions on and off.

To open Editing settings:

  • Choose Pixelmator Pro > Settings from the menu bar and choose Editing.


Destructive and nondestructive editing workflows

To understand which settings will work best for your particular image editing style, it's important to first understand how nondestructive and destructive workflows work in Pixelmator Pro. Let's break down each of the workflows below.

Nondestructive editing

Editing images nondestructively lets you save any layers, color adjustments, and other edits applied to an image and continue working on it across multiple editing sessions. By default, Pixelmator Pro imports images in its native PXD file format, creating a project file where it stores a copy of the image and all its edits. Alternatively, you can open images in their original file format, saving changes to a dedicated sidecar file instead. The sidecar files are marked by a special .pxd-sidecar extension and are linked to the photos.

Images edited nondestructively can be reverted to the original using macOS Versions. To turn on macOS Versions, make sure the Use Auto Save and Version option is selected in the Editing settings.

📘 Note: When sharing images with sidecar edits, they are shared just like regular image files — with all the edits baked in. Saving edits to sidecar is recommended for those who often share images with others or post them on the web, but also need to keep the project file editable.

Destructive editing

While Pixelmator Pro is a nondestructive image editor by nature, you can also set it up to work with images destructively. When editing destructively, images get overwritten with the changes you make, which means that layers, color adjustments, effects, and other nondestructive edits become flattened once the image is saved and closed. Images edited destructively can only be reverted to the original if they have been opened from Photos.

❗Important: To prevent potential data loss, it is recommended to use destructive editing only when necessary for a specific workflow. When editing destructively, it's also recommended to always have Auto Save and macOS Versions turned on.


Open and save images in the original file format

  1. Choose Pixelmator Pro > Settings from the Pixelmator Pro menu at the top of your screen.

  2. In the Editing tab, click the Open Images In pop-up menu and choose Original Format.

  3. Under Preserve Edits, choose how to save edits:

    • Select For Images Opened from Finder to save images back to their original folder in Finder, keeping the original file format, and preserving all layers and edits. Deselect For Images Opened from Finder to overwrite original images when saving. The image cannot be reverted back to the original.

    • Select For Images Opened from Photos to save photos opened from your photo library or use the Photos extension back to the photo library while preserving all layers and edits. Deselect For Images Opened from Photos to overwrite original photos in the photo library when saving.

💡 Tip: To continue editing an image saved to Photos, open it again using the Photo browser or Pixelmator Pro extension in Photos. Dragging the image from Photos to Pixelmator Pro directly, or choosing Edit with Pixelmator Pro from the contextual menu in Photos will open a flattened version of the image in Pixelmator Pro.

Open and save images in the Pixelmator Pro file format

  1. Choose Pixelmator Pro > Settings (from the Pixelmator Pro menu at the top of your screen).

  2. In the Editing tab, click the Open Images In pop-up menu and choose Pixelmator Pro format.

  3. Under Preserve Edits, choose how you'd like to save edits:

    • Select For Images Opened from Photos to save photos opened from your photo library or use the Photos extension back to the photo library while preserving all layers and edits. To save a photo with changes, choose File > Modify Original in Photos.

    • Deselect For Images Opened from Photos to overwrite original photos in the photo library when saving. The image can still be reverted to the original in Photos.

❗Important: If you additionally modify the photo using any of the default editing tools in Photos or using some third-party Photos extension (other than Pixelmator Pro), all the changes applied to the image using Pixelmator Pro will be overwritten.

Choose the sidecar file save location

To choose where the Pixelmator Pro sidecar files will be saved on your Mac, click the Save Sidecar Files In the pop-up menu and choose an option.

  • iCloud. Saves Pixelmator Pro sidecar files in a dedicated folder in iCloud. You can use this option if you work with Pixelmator Pro across multiple devices or if you are looking to save space on your Mac.

  • Pictures. Saves Pixelmator Pro sidecar files in a dedicated folder on your Mac, which is recommended if you typically work with Pixelmator Pro offline.

Manage sidecar files

In the Editing settings, you can keep track of the number of Pixelmator Pro sidecar files on your Mac and just how much space they take up on your Mac. If you'd like to manage your sidecar files, you can click Manage Files to open the dedicated Sidecar folder and find all the sidecar files there. Alternatively, you can choose File > Sidecar > Reveal Sidecar File to reveal a sidecar file of a specific image you've opened.

If you manually unlink the sidecar file from an edited image or delete the edited image from your Mac completely, its sidecar file will not be deleted.

To delete a sidecar file, do any of the following:

  • Choose File > Sidecar > Reveal Sidecar File and delete the sidecar file from your Mac.

  • Choose File > Sidecar > Delete Sidecar File.

❗Important: If you delete the sidecar file without deleting the linked image, the nondestructive edits will be merged the next time you open the image. If, however, you had the Auto Save and Versions option turned on, you can still revert the image to the original using File > Revert To > Browse All Versions.

Use Auto Save and Versions

Auto Save is a macOS feature that lets you automatically save your progress as you work. So, in case you accidentally quit the app or your device loses power, your work won't be lost. And, with macOS Versions, you can revert your document to any of its previously saved versions.

It's recommended to always keep Auto Save and Versions turned on, especially if you're working with Pixelmator Pro destructively. This way, if you no longer like the changes you've made, you can always roll back your image to a previous version or revert it to the original.