Exporting a Master File

If you want to export a copy of an adjusted image from Aperture, you use the Export Version command, which applies your current edits to a copy of the original master image to generate a new file.

There might be times, though, when you want to export a copy of the original master file. Perhaps you need to give a copy of the original master file to someone who doesn't use Aperture, or maybe you find yourself working for a client who has a very specific custom workflow, and you need the original RAW file to fit into that workflow.

Whatever the case, you can easily create copies of your unedited master files using Aperture's Export Master command. If the file in question is a referenced image, you can make a copy of it in the Finder. If you're working with a managed image that's been imported into your Aperture Library, you use File > Export Master.

1.	Press Command-Option-S to make sure you're in Basic layout.
2.	Select the Lesson 11 Images project in the Projects panel.
3.	Select the boats image in the Browser. This image has been heavily edited in Aperture, but you can see the original master image at any time.
4.	Press M to view the original unedited master file of the boats image.
5.	With the boats image still selected, choose File > Export > Export Master, or press Command-Shift-S. The Export Master dialog opens. This dialog is similar to the Export Version dialog you saw in Lesson 7, "Finishing, Delivering, and Archiving Images."
6.	Navigate to the desktop as the location for the saved master image, and choose Name Format > Master Filename.
7.	Click the Export Masters button to begin the export. A copy of the master image will be exported to your desktop.

The Export Masters command always exports the original master file, even if you are executing the command with an adjusted version selected. Once you have a duplicate of the master file, you can share it with colleagues or clients as needed, and you'll still have the original master file in your Aperture Library.

Exporting a Photoshop Master File

Remember, any image that you import into Aperture is stored in the Library as a master file. This file is never altered, no matter what format it is in, and the Export Master command always saves an exact copy of that original file. This is true for both RAW and non-RAW images, such as Adobe Photoshop files.

1.	Select the image windows 2. This is a layered Photoshop file.
2.	Choose File > Export > Export Master and save the file to your desktop, preserving its master filename.
3.	Click the Finder icon in the Dock to select it and look for the windows 2.psd file you just created.
4.	Double-click the image icon to open the file in Photoshop (if you have it). Notice that Aperture preserved the original Photoshop layers when it exported a copy of the master image.

Some people are worried that if they import their images into Aperture, they're committed to some sort of proprietary Apple technology and that they won't be able to get their originals back. As you've just seen, though, all of your original images are stored as masters in the Library and can easily be exported in their original state at any time.