The Photopia Blog
Tips, tutorials & inspiration for making slideshows
JULY 21, By Photopia
Using External Editors in Photopia
Sometimes you need to make advanced adjustments to a photo, adjust a video clip, or clean up an audio file. Instead of searching for files and opening them manually, you can connect your favorite editing programs directly to Photopia using External Editors.
Once configured, Photopia can launch your editing software with a single click. Learn more in today’s blog.
What Are External Editors?
External Editors allow Photopia to communicate with other programs installed on your computer. You can assign separate applications for:
- Image Editing (such as Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Photo, or PaintShop Pro)
- Video Editing (such as Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or VEGAS Pro)
- Audio Editing (such as Adobe Audition, Audacity, or Sound Forge)
After an editor is assigned, you can quickly send files from Photopia to that program for editing.
An Important Detail About Edited Files
When media is added to a Photopia project, Photopia creates copies of those files in the project’s data folder. When you launch an external editor from within Photopia, you are editing the copy stored with the project, not the original file.
This provides an extra layer of protection, allowing your original photos, videos, and audio files to remain unchanged.
Assigning External Editors
The setup process is easy and only needs to be done once for each editor.
Windows
- Open Photopia’s Preferences under the Edit menu, then navigate to the External Editors section.
- Click the Browse button next to the editor type you want to assign (Image, Video, or Audio).
- Navigate to the program’s executable file (.exe).
- Select the file and confirm your choice.
For example, you might browse to:
- Photoshop.exe for image editing
- Premiere Pro.exe for video editing
- Audition.exe for audio editing
Mac
- Open Photopia’s Preferences under the Edit menu, then navigate to the External Editors section.
- Click the Browse button next to the editor type you want to assign.
- Select the desired application from the list of installed programs.
Once selected, Photopia will remember your choice for future projects.
Why Use External Editors?
External Editors can save a surprising amount of time during production.
Fix Photos Without Leaving Your Project
Notice a distracting object in a photo? Need to adjust exposure or remove red-eye? For advanced editing, use dedicated programs made for that specific task.
Instead of locating the file manually, right-click on the layer in Photopia, choose Open in external editor, and your preferred editor will launch and import that file. Then, make your changes, save the file, and return to Photopia.
Shorten Video Clips
If you trim a 5-minute video to 30 seconds within Photopia, the program still loads the entire file, which can slow things down. For faster processing, trim your video using an external program so Photopia can process it more quickly.
Launch your video editor directly from Photopia, make the adjustments, save your work, and continue building your slideshow.
Improve Audio Quality
External audio editors are perfect for:
- Removing background noise
- Perform advanced editing (Photopia can trim only the start and end of an audio file, not the middle.)
- Cleaning up voice recordings
A Smoother Editing Experience
If you regularly edit media before adding it to your projects, setting up External Editors is well worth the few minutes it takes. Once configured, you’ll have your entire creative toolkit just a click away.
