Exporting edited photos as new files from Disk Sort
Ctrl+E in Disk Sort by Zaweba exports tagged or selected photos with their crops and adjustments applied as new files, leaving originals unchanged.
Edits made in Disk Sort by Zaweba don't change your photos. They're stored beside each picture until you export, and Ctrl+E is the export. It takes the tagged or selected photos, applies their edits and writes them as new files. The originals stay exactly as they came off the camera or phone.
Why edits wait for export
Keeping edits separate from the photo means you can always go back. A crop that seemed right in March can be undone in June. A warmth adjustment that looked good on one screen can be softened later. Nothing is lost, because the original is never rewritten.
It also means you can sort and edit at speed without worrying. Crop a dozen pictures, straighten a few horizons, nudge brightness on the dark ones, and none of that touches the files until you decide you want edited copies.
What gets exported
Export works on what you've tagged or selected. That's flexible. Select one photo and press Ctrl+E for a single print. Tag a whole set across several folders and export them together for an album.
Each exported photo carries the edits you made in the editor: the crop and its aspect ratio, the straightening, any turn, brightness, contrast, warmth and Auto-level. Photos you didn't edit simply export as they are.
Workflows that end in an export
From a shoot to a shareable set. Flick through the shoot in the large view and mark keepers with P. Rate the best with stars. Fix crops and horizons with E. Then filter the list to keepers, tag everything shown with Ctrl+T, and export. You end up with a tidy set of finished pictures, with the full shoot still intact.
Prints in a particular shape. Crop each picture to the print's ratio, using a custom ratio such as 5:7 if the presets don't cover it, and use the Portrait toggle for upright shots. Export, and the files are ready for the print shop without any surprise cropping on their side.
Pictures from across the drive. Tags reach across folders. Tag the best photo from each month of a year, wherever they're stored, press G to see every tagged file together, check them, and export. It's a quick way to make a year in pictures.
Edited copies for another program. If a picture needs work beyond crops and levels, export it and open the copy in an image editor. Open with lists installed Zaweba apps that edit the file, such as Paint, so the hand-off is short.
Keeping things organised
Decide where exports go before you start, so they don't land among the originals and confuse the next cull. A separate folder for finished pictures keeps things clear. Ctrl+Shift+N makes a new folder if you need one.
If the exported names need tidying, bulk rename (R or F2) has tokens such as {original}, {n:000}, {camera} and {rating}, so a set of exports can be numbered or named by rating in one go, with a live Before and After preview and Undo last rename if it isn't right.
A safe habit
Because originals aren't modified by edits or exports, you can treat Disk Sort by Zaweba's editor as a place to experiment. If you change your mind, open the photo, press E and choose Reset to original, then export again.
