[Tutorial] A quick guide to the new Pixelmator Pro extension

Discuss and share Pixelmator Pro resources such as templates, mockups, and tutorials.
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2019-07-23 15:22:50

Pixelmator Pro now has an amazing extension for the Photos app. And unlike most other extensions, the Pixelmator Pro extension is actually the full Pixelmator Pro app integrated fully and completely inside Photos. Transforming your Photos app into a full-featured, professional, layer-based image editor. This quick guide is all about the new extension.
Image
Read the full tutorial here.
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2019-07-23 15:47:51

I couldn’t help but notice that there is no mention of Touch Bar support.
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2019-07-23 15:55:46

by Archaenas 2019-07-23 12:48:02 I couldn’t help but notice that there is no mention of Touch Bar support.
The Touch Bar is fully supported in the extension (naturally...). :raised_hands:
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2019-07-23 17:55:04

Been having a good play with the new version as an extension. Great work guys really enjoying. Thank you 👍
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2019-07-23 19:06:41

You’re more than welcome, Floyd! Let us know how you get on. :wink:
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2019-07-30 12:35:51

Fantastic work here!
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2019-09-01 20:39:58

Hi all
I have just started using the pixelmator pro extension with photos, perhaps I'm being thick but I cannot find the darkening tool anywhere.
Can somebody help ?
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2019-09-02 09:30:54

It's in the same place as it is in the regular Pixelmator Pro app, grouped together with the Lighten tool — here's a screenshot, which should help locate it: Image
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2019-09-02 13:23:53

Andrius

Thanks for the reply, it took a while to work out I needed to right click the tool button to change from Liighten to Darken.
Its a bit of a steep learning curve at the moment.
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2019-09-02 13:24:54

by kevrich46 2019-09-01 21:00:00 Andrius

Thanks for the reply, it took a while to work out I needed to right click the tool button to change from Liighten to Darken.
Its a bit of a steep learning curve at the moment.
Fair enough, thanks for the feedback — any other things you're struggling to locate at the moment?
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2019-09-02 13:27:35

No thanks, I might try right clicking a few of the other tool buttons and see what appears.
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2020-12-15 17:59:52

My layers and edits keep flattening and I can't go back and correct them, anyone else having this issue or know how I can fix it. The layers stay for a little while, but end up going away after a while. I am not editing further with another program, I just go back to make a minor adjustment and the image is flat. Thanks!
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2020-12-18 15:39:05

by bdwg 2020-12-15 15:59:52 My layers and edits keep flattening and I can't go back and correct them, anyone else having this issue or know how I can fix it. The layers stay for a little while, but end up going away after a while. I am not editing further with another program, I just go back to make a minor adjustment and the image is flat. Thanks!
If you haven't already, could you email us about this at support@pixelmator.com? We'll take a closer look at what might be going wrong!
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2020-12-20 16:32:46

Is there a keyboard shortcut when using PP in the Photos app for ML Denoise?
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2020-12-21 01:50:35

by bogheadben Is there a keyboard shortcut when using PP in the Photos app for ML Denoise?
Yes!

Remove camera noise and image compression artifacts (ML Denoise) Control ⌃ + Shift ⇧ + D

For a quick reference (especially useful when using extension) see this list.
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2021-12-23 11:40:09

I accidentally selected do not ask me again on whether or not to preserve edits. Is there somewhat to turn on asking me to preserve edits every photo I edit using the extension?
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2022-01-05 12:19:19

by Chloe 2021-12-23 09:40:09 I accidentally selected do not ask me again on whether or not to preserve edits. Is there somewhat to turn on asking me to preserve edits every photo I edit using the extension?
I believe Pixelmator Pro reinstall should bring this particular dialog back, but you can also change this behavior — keeping the changes nondestructive or flattening them — in Pixelmator Pro Extension preferences.
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2022-04-12 23:38:29

Hello, not sure why but my extension for Pixelmator Pro does not work in Photos any more. This is the following message I get "Couldn’t communicate with a helper application." HELP PLZ!
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2022-04-13 08:12:52

by Jason Smith Hello, not sure why but my extension for Pixelmator Pro does not work in Photos any more. This is the following message I get "Couldn’t communicate with a helper application." HELP PLZ!
Hey there! We've shipped a hotfix for this issue today. Updating to Pixelmator Pro 2.4.1 on the Mac App Store should sort it out.
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2022-12-05 17:45:55

I would suggest that all of the text tutorials be gathered into one heading. It is time-consuming to find them amongst the video tutorials. You could just add a "folder" that would contain all of the written tutorials on that main page. I happen to much prefer written tutorials because I am basically deaf and trying to follow closed captioning and watch what is happening does not work well for me.
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2022-12-08 03:48:10

The extension doesn't appear to work for video yet. Is this correct?
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2023-01-22 17:22:12

"If you use the Photos app or any other extension to edit and save changes to an image that has an associated Pixelmator Pro file, the layered file will no longer be opened in the extension. However, it will be preserved in iCloud or the Pictures folder until you choose to delete it."

I understand that further editing in another software will cause the layered file to be no longer opened in the extension but if it is saved somewhere, presumably it is possible to drop the edits by the other software and return to the original Pixelmator edited file, otherwise what is the point of preserving it in iCloud or the Pictures folder. How do you actually do that? I thought you would have to go right back to the original photo imported into Photos and start all over again but if there is a way to go back to the last Pixelmator edited version by only loosing the edits in a second app, that would be really useful.
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2024-02-05 19:00:04

The extension is no longer working for me. After completing my edits, when I click "Save Changes," I get an error message:

"Unable to edit with 'Pixelmator Pro' An unexpected error occurred."

I'm running Sonoma 14.4 beta, and I wonder if Apple has changed something. I tried deleting and reinstalling Pixelmator Pro to no avail.

Are you guys at Pixelmator keeping up with macOS beta releases to make sure your software remains compatible? Or perhaps it has nothing to do with Sonoma 14.4 at all. Can you please investigate and get this fixed?