Cannot Start Editing – Photos cannot load adjustments for this image

[simonmgc]

After editing an image in Pixelmator Photo on my iPad and saving back to Photos, I then tried to open the image in MacOS Photos’ own edit feature and got an error message that says:

Cannot Start Editing
Photos cannot load adjustments for this image.

The image was taken with my iPhone XS.

I’ve just got the same message after saving an image (flattened) from Pixelmator as a plugin in Photos on the Mac too, so possibly a problem with Apple Photos, but reporting the issue anyway.

[Andrius]

Hi there, thanks for reporting this! Are you seeing the issue consistently? Or is it more intermittent?

[simonmgc]

I’ve been having a bit of a break from doing any processing, so these are actually the first images I’ve used Pixelmator on for some time, either Mac or iPad.

I’ll try a few more and get back to you.

[simonmgc]

I’m not able to reproduce the issue, but have attached the error from last night.

[Andrius]

No worries, thanks for following up!

[simonmgc]

I think this bug actually belongs with Apple, but a quick Google shows that people have been asking about it in the Apple forum with no resolution for a while, so I thought I'd reference it here in case you have more leverage.

After a sequence of editing steps, Apple Photos (in MacOS Catalina, latest update) will no longer allow a photo to be further edited and shows a dialog 'Cannot Start Editing - Photos cannot load adjustments for this image.". Edit mode does actually launch, but the tools are not visible and the ... menu won't allow 3rd party tools to launch.

It's taken me a while to be able to reproduce the error reliably and perhaps there's a simpler way, but these are the ones I can do this 100% with.

1. Select a 'Live Photo' image.
2. Click Edit
3. Choose the Crop tool and make an adjustment
4. Click Done
5. Click Edit again
6. Click the ... menu and choose Pixelmator Pro
7. At the 'Turn off Live Photo', say OK
8. Make a change - I've been doing a repair to clone out a spot
9. Save Changes
10. From the dialog, choose 'Save Flattened'.
11. Click Done
12. Click Edit yet again
13. Make a change, say to the color or exposure
14. Click Done.
15. Click Edit once more and ... Boom.

I realise there's a lot of moving between the editor and the normal view, but that happens.

Pixelmator Pro is in this equation because I think the repair tool is the best of all the software I have, truly amazing.

Once the error state has been reached, the only option is to use the 'Image -> Revert to Original' menu path and start again.

[simonmgc]

And I just remembered, I posted about this here back in April. I should have added this to that thread, so perhaps an Admin can move it for me?

[Carole]

I am also suddenly having an issue with Pixelmator Pro. While working on a batch of images today the app froze while processing an image edit. I had to force quick. Since then I've been trying to re-launch to no avail. The app seems to be starting and appears in my dock. However, I can't open it in the Finder. Interestingly, when I open the Force Quit box it appears to be fine. I have tried force quitting again from there a few times and then restarting after a few minutes, but so far nothing has changed--it won't launch.

Any assistance will be appreciated as I am in the midst of a project that I need to finish this week.

Thanks!

p.s. Sorry if I posted this under the wrong thread. I will move it when I find the right thread.

[Andrius]

I am also suddenly having an issue with Pixelmator Pro. While working on a batch of images today the app froze while processing an image edit. I had to force quick. Since then I've been trying to re-launch to no avail. The app seems to be starting and appears in my dock. However, I can't open it in the Finder. Interestingly, when I open the Force Quit box it appears to be fine. I have tried force quitting again from there a few times and then restarting after a few minutes, but so far nothing has changed--it won't launch.

Any assistance will be appreciated as I am in the midst of a project that I need to finish this week.

Thanks!

p.s. Sorry if I posted this under the wrong thread. I will move it when I find the right thread.

Carole, my apologies, I totally missed your post. If you still need help, could you email us at [email protected]? We'll help out.

For future reference, if you're having trouble with any of our apps and need timely help, your first port of call should be the [email protected] address, the forum is more for discussion and non-urgent issues. I do my best to answer everything ASAP, but with things like the Pixelmator Pro 2.0 release, I can be strapped for time and can't always get to everything as quickly. Apologies!