How to save 3D PhotoShop text and imaging as PNG or GIF...?

Question

I've been working with PhotoShop for awhile. This has been the first time I've tried to save an image as a PNG or GIF and had it be an unavailable as a save file format.

Did some research, I believe I found a run around. Hopefully it will keep the image dynamic as it was intended. YouTube branding is fun, yet a dynamic logo is awesome.

I googled for quite awhile and found possible older versions of PS workarounds for this, yet nothing for CC 18.

So rather than attempting to "Save as", scroll down a bit to "Export", then slide over to "Save for Web(Legacy)". This allows for the image to be saved as a GIFF. This should retain image function and qualities as well as now being an allowed format for YouTube branding. Hopefully this helps others with this particular dilemma.

I am hoping this works and have solved my own question. Does anyone see an issue with this workaround?

Answer 1

Using Save for Web or Export for PNG, GIF, or JPG images destined for the web is how you should be doing things. Save for Web/Export will often dump hidden data such as metadata which can enlarge the amount of kilobytes a file uses.

Another alternative is merely to Save a Copy. When saving, if a particular format is greyed out and unavailable, it is because there are things in your document which that format will not support. Photoshop tries to protect you from making the mistake of saving a file to a reduced format and losing your editing.

In the Save As dialog window, you can merely tick the "as a Copy` option...

Photoshop will dump whatever is necessary to make your open document fit the chosen format. That means it may flatten layers and remove transparency, etc. Since it is saving a copy there's no risk of you losing editing abilities in the open document.

Note that you can auto-tick the as a Copy option merely by holding down the Option/Alt key when choosing Save As from the menu. Or by adding Option/Alt to the Save As keyboard shortcut.