# How to edit a photo without changing the original

> Open a photo, press E or the Adjust button, and change light, colour, crop and straighten. Edits save as you go in the library; the file itself never changes.

Source: https://firelet.media/help/edit-photos-without-changing-originals
Published: 2026-09-30 · Updated: 2026-09-30
Applies to: Windows, macOS, Linux

firelet.media Gallery has a non-destructive photo editor built into its viewer. Open a photo, press [[E]] (or click **Adjust**) and change exposure, contrast, colour, crop and straightening. Every change is saved as you go in the gallery's library, never in the file, so the original stays untouched. When you need an edited file, export a copy with your edits applied.

## How the non-destructive photo editor works

The Adjust panel's header says it all: "Saved as you go; the file itself is never changed." Your settings are stored in the library database on your PC and applied whenever the gallery shows the picture.

- You never need to save, and nothing is lost if you close the viewer.
- The original file on disk is never rewritten, so other programs still see it as it was.
- There is no step-by-step undo history. Instead, **Reset** takes the picture straight back to the original, and each slider can be reset on its own.
- The editor works on photos, not videos.

## Steps: open the editor

1. Double-click a photo in the grid, or select it and press [[Enter]], to open it in the viewer.
2. Press [[E]], or click the **Adjust** button on the viewer's toolbar.
3. Make your changes in the panel on the right; they are saved immediately.
4. Press [[Esc]] to close the editor, and [[Esc]] again to close the viewer.

![A photo open in the viewer with the info panel beside it](https://firelet.media/help/media/shot-viewer-info.webp "Open any photo in the viewer, then press E for Adjust")

> [!NOTE]
> The viewer's own **Rotate left** and **Rotate right** buttons ([[Shift]]+[[R]] and [[R]]) only turn the view on screen and aren't saved. To keep a rotation, use **Turn left** (⟲) or **Turn right** (⟳) under **Crop and rotate** in the Adjust panel.

## Automatic: Enhance, Tone, Colour

The three **Automatic** buttons are a quick start:

| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Enhance** | "Tone and colour from the picture itself" |
| **Tone** | "Exposure, shadows, highlights and contrast from the picture's histogram" |
| **Colour** | "White balance from the picture's average colour" |

Each one sets the sliders for you, so you can fine-tune from there. You can apply them to several photos at once from the grid: select them, right-click and choose **Edit** → **Auto enhance**, **Auto tone** or **Auto colour**.

## Light and Colour sliders

![The Adjust panel with Light and Colour sliders, Crop and rotate tools, Presets and Copy edits and Paste edits](https://firelet.media/help/media/shot-editor-adjust.webp "Every slider is saved as you move it; the file is never changed")

- **Light**: **Exposure** (−4 to +4 EV), **Contrast**, **Highlights** and **Shadows**. Raise **Shadows** to open up a dark foreground; lower **Highlights** to bring back a bright sky.
- **Colour**: **Temperature** (cooler or warmer), **Tint**, **Saturation** and **Vibrance**, plus **Black and white**.
- **Crop and rotate**: **Turn left**, **Turn right**, **Mirror**, **Crop…** ([[C]]; drag on the picture, [[Enter]] keeps it, [[Esc]] leaves it) with proportions such as **Free**, **Original**, **1:1**, **4:3**, **3:2** and **16:9**, and **Straighten** from −45° to 45°.

> [!TIP]
> Double-click a slider's label to put just that slider back to zero.

## Before, Reset and Back to the original

- **Before**: hold it down, or hold the backslash key [[\\]], to see the original; let go to see your edit again.
- **Reset**: "Back to the original — every edit removed."
- From the grid, right-click one or more photos and choose **Edit** → **Back to the original** to clear their edits in one go.

Because the file was never changed, going back is always complete: there is nothing to restore.

## Presets and Copy/Paste edits

**Presets** store a look you want to reuse. Choose from **Black and white**, **Vivid**, **Warm**, **Cool** and **Soft**, or click **Save…** to keep your own. A saved preset holds tones and colours, not the crop. **Delete this preset** removes one of yours.

To match a series of photos:

1. Edit one photo until you're happy.
2. Click **Copy edits**, or press [[Ctrl]]+[[Shift]]+[[C]].
3. Select the other photos in the grid.
4. Press [[Ctrl]]+[[Shift]]+[[V]], or right-click → **Edit** → **Paste edits**.

**Paste edits** carries tones and colours only. To copy the crop as well, use right-click → **Edit** → **Paste edits with the crop**.

## Saving an edited copy with Export

When you need an actual file with the edits in it, for printing, emailing or another program, export a copy:

1. Close the viewer and select the edited photos in the grid.
2. Press [[Ctrl]]+[[E]].
3. Tick **With my edits — crop, turn, light and colour**.
4. Choose **JPEG** or **PNG**, a size and a folder, then click **Export**.

The copy has the edits; the original still doesn't. [How to export photos](https://firelet.media/help/export-photos) explains every option, and [does firelet.media Gallery change my original photos?](https://firelet.media/help/are-original-files-changed) covers what is stored where.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Edits live in the library database (`gallery.db`), not in your photo folders. Include that file in your backup, or a restored PC will have the photos but not the edits. See [how to back up your photos and your library](https://firelet.media/help/back-up-photos-and-library).

The editor has no red-eye, healing, sharpening, noise reduction, curves or layers; it's made for quick, safe corrections. The macOS and Linux builds (being finished) have the same Adjust panel.

## Questions

### Where are my edits saved?

In the library database on your PC. The editor says it plainly: saved as you go; the file itself is never changed.

### How do I undo all edits?

Press Reset in the editor, or right-click the tile and choose Edit → Back to the original. There is no step-by-step undo history.

### How do I get a file with the edits applied?

Use Export with 'With my edits — crop, turn, light and colour' ticked. It writes a new copy and leaves the original alone.