# Nik Color Efex re-opening edited file



## Vcize (Dec 12, 2014)

After adding filters to a photo via Nik Color Efex and saving it to your Lightroom copy, is there a way to re-open it in Nik without having to start over?  IE let's say I added 5 filters but decided I wanted to remove the Detail Enhancer or something like that.  Can I re-open it in Nik with the filters there to remove the Detail Enhancer or do I have to start over?


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## clee01l (Dec 12, 2014)

Once you have added a filter in Nik and save back to the TIFF file, you have baked those changes into the TIFF.  You can open the TIFF with EditIn again and choose to Edit the Original and Add additional NIK Filters and Save, But you can't undo the previously "Baked-In" Nik Adjustments.  The Nik Collection is not a non destructive editor like LR.  If you want to undo Nik adjustments, you will need to go back to the LR original image and create a new TIF to send to Nik and repeat all of the Nik Filters that you want.


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## Vcize (Dec 12, 2014)

clee01l said:


> Once you have added a filter in Nik and save back to the TIFF file, you have baked those changes into the TIFF.  You can open the TIFF with EditIn again and choose to Edit the Original and Add additional NIK Filters and Save, But you can't undo the previously "Baked-In" Nik Adjustments.  The Nik Collection is not a non destructive editor like LR.  If you want to undo Nik adjustments, you will need to go back to the LR original image and create a new TIF to send to Nik and repeat all of the Nik Filters that you want.



Bummer.

Is there at least any way to see what settings you had previously applied in Nik so you can re-create them and then remove/change them?


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## clee01l (Dec 12, 2014)

I don't think the Nik Collection maintains a Filter history like LR.


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## davidedric (Dec 12, 2014)

No there isn't,  unless you have a copy of Lightroom hanging around.   If you do, there is way, though I haven't tried it myself.    You pass the file to Photoshop (I think as a psd) then invoke Nik as a smart object.  You then get back the Nik changes embedded in a layer in Photoshop, and again save it back to Lightroom.   That is then back in the Lightroom catalogue in the usual way.  You can then re-edit the Nik changes by reversing the process.   I may have got the details wrong, but I am sure you can Google it.

Dave

Edit:  For some reason I typed "Lightroom hanging around" rather than "Photoshop hanging around" makes my whole post nonsense


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## clee01l (Dec 12, 2014)

davidedric said:


> No there isn't,  unless you have a copy of Lightroom hanging around.   If you do, there is way, though I haven't tried it myself.    You pass the file to Photoshop (I think as a psd) then invoke Nik as a smart object.  You then get back the Nik changes embedded in a layer in Photoshop, and again save it back to Lightroom.   That is then back in the Lightroom catalogue in the usual way.  You can then re-edit the Nik changes by reversing the process.   I may have got the details wrong, but I am sure you can Google it.
> 
> Dave


You can also pass it to PS as a TIFF and use each Nik filter as a separate layer.  LR will retain the TIFF Layers (although It can't work with them as a layered file)  and the TIFF can be returned to PS and PS can handle the layers as before.


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## davidedric (Dec 12, 2014)

Thanks, Cletus, on the mark, as always.

Dave


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## LouieSherwin (Dec 15, 2014)

Vcize said:


> Bummer.
> 
> Is there at least any way to see what settings you had previously applied in Nik so you can re-create them and then remove/change them?



Hi,

There are two methods to accomplish this.

1. When you done with your edits in CEP, just before you save and exit save a new recipe. I name the recipe with the last 4 digits of the file name. When you go back and want to modify the previous edits, open the file in CEP and apply the recipe and all your settings are restored.

2. Instead of going directly into CEP open your image in Photoshop as a Smart Object. When you launch any of the Nik tools when editing a SO each one created a Smart Filter layer that also saves all the settings of the Nik tool. Then when you reopen the image in Photoshop you can edit the Smart Filter to make additional adjustments. The down side is that the resulting files are huge, usually 800MB or more.

I tend to use the first option but then I'm not going in and out of Nik tools very much.

-louie


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## Vcize (Dec 16, 2014)

Thanks, those are both good suggestions.  Much more helpful than Nik support which basically just replied with "you can't do that".


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