Changing Preference Settings So JPEG Files Open In Adobe Camera Raw

These days, I pretty much run every image file I work on through Adobe Camera Raw. Whether it’s TIFF files, JPEGs or RAW files – I always give whatever it is I’m working on a tweak or two in this application. The reason for this is Camera Raw’s power and ease of use. I’m sure I don’t need to mention what it can do, as I’ve done that tons of times already on this blog. If you’re curious though, you can always check through the associated category. There, you’ll find all my posts on this topic.

Because I want to open virtually all of my files into Camera Raw before I jump over to Photoshop, a while ago, I changed the preferences in both Photoshop and Adobe Bridge to make this happen. It wasn’t a difficult change, but one that’s crucial to making life easier.

In today’s post, I’m going to walk you through the process of making the same change to your preferences as the one I made to mine a long time ago. When finished, you’ll have the ability to open both JPEG and TIFF files directly into Camera Raw, straight from Bridge.

Why Open Files into Camera Raw First?

Besides being awesomely powerful and really good at what it does, Camera Raw can complete tasks that other applications simply can’t do. While I won’t go into details in this post, I urge you to read through my Camera Raw and Photoshop posts as you learn various aspects of both of these applications and compare the differences between them. You’ll quickly come to realize that things are so much easier and elegant in Camera Raw, when compared to similar tasks in Photoshop.

So, I’m here to say that there are two reasons you should use Camera Raw as a starting point. The first has to do with it’s capabilities, which nothing else can compare and the second has to do with its non-destructive nature. While Adobe Photoshop has come an extraordinarily long way on the non-destructive front, Camera Raw was built with this in mind. It’s just the way it is.

By the way, Camera Raw and Lightroom use the same processing engine, so if you love using the Develop module in Lightroom, you’re basically using the same tools that I use in Camera Raw. Both applications are non-destructive in their nature.

Changing Camera Raw Preferences

There are two different methods for getting to the same exact Camera Raw Preferences dialog box, which is where we’ll be making the changes I’m referring to. The first one I’ll cover is accessed through Adobe Bridge.

Changing Camera Raw Preferences Through Adobe Bridge

I’ve already opened Bridge on my computer. From there, I’ll head up to the Edit > Camera Raw Preferences menu item and click.

Once I do that, the Camera Raw Preferences dialog box will appear.

If I move the box up a bit, I can see the entirety of the JPEG and TIFF Handling section.

Inside this section are two drop-down menus. Inside each menu are three items. They are identical items, except that each uses their respective terms. The JPEG drop-down uses the word JPEG and the TIFF drop-down uses TIFF. Below, I’ll type out the JPEG options.

– Disable JPEG Support
– Automatically Open JPEGs With Settings
– Automatically Open All Supported JPEGs

For the TIFF drop-down, simply replace JPEG with TIFF.

In order to open all JPEG files into Camera Raw when either using the keyboard shortcut of Ctrl+R or by pressing the Open in Camera Raw icon up in the top toolbar, I’ll need to select Automatically Open All Supported JPEGs from the drop-down.

By the way, if you’d like to read about how to open files into Camera Raw in general, take a look at this post:

How To Open Files & Photos Into Adobe Camera Raw

To open all TIFF files into Camera Raw while using the same techniques, I’ll need to select Automatically Open All Supported TIFFs from the lower drop-down.

When I’m finished making these two changes, I can click the OK button up top and all will be set properly.

Changing Camera Raw Preferences Through Adobe Photoshop

Making these same changes via Photoshop is just as easy as what I just demonstrated above. And really, all I need to do is show you how to access the Camera Raw Preferences dialog box through the application. Everything else is exactly the same.

In Photoshop, I’ll head up to the Edit menu.

From there, I’ll access the Edit > Preferences > Camera Raw menu item and click.

When I do that, you’ll see a very familiar looking dialog box. Yup, it’s the same Camera Raw Preferences one.

And down at the bottom, you can see the same JPEG and TIFF file control settings.

If you make the same changes as I made before, you’ll get the same results. That’s pretty cool.

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That was short and sweet. In my opinion, it’s very helpful to know that you have the power to change these types of preferences. Sometimes you may want to open all of these types of files into Camera Raw, but other times, you may not want to. Change these settings whenever you feel the need.

I hope I clearly explained how to go about updating the Camera Raw JPEG and TIFF opening settings via Adobe Bridge and Photoshop. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this topic or any other, please let me know in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!