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Files and folders
Where PixelFx keeps your settings, presets, looks and remembered edits, and where it saves your photos.
PixelFx never changes your original photos. Your edits are kept separately, and Export and Batch always save new files.
There is one exception you have to choose yourself: in Batch, Compress only can Replace the originals with smaller files. PixelFx asks you first, because this cannot be undone.
| What | Saved to, unless you choose another folder |
|---|---|
| Export | ~/Pictures/PixelFx |
| Batch | ~/Pictures/PixelFx |
| Batch, Compress only | ~/Pictures/PixelFx/Compressed |
~/Pictures is your Pictures folder, as your desktop sets it. If you have no Pictures folder, PixelFx uses a PixelFx folder in your home folder.
Batch can also save Next to each original, in a subfolder: a folder named PixelFx beside each photo.
When you choose another folder, PixelFx remembers it for next time.
PixelFx keeps three things on your computer:
- The settings file: your choices in Settings, window size, recent files and your favourite looks and presets.
- The data folder: your presets, looks, watermarks, remembered edits, the log and crash reports.
- The cache folder: small things PixelFx can make again, such as pictures you pasted with Ctrl+V.
Where they are depends on how you installed PixelFx.
| What | Folder |
|---|---|
| Settings file | ~/snap/pixelfx/current/.config/ktechpit/pixelfx.conf |
| Data folder | ~/snap/pixelfx/current/.local/share/ktechpit/pixelfx/ |
| Cache folder | ~/snap/pixelfx/common/.cache/ktechpit/pixelfx/ |
| What | Folder |
|---|---|
| Settings file | ~/.var/app/com.ktechpit.pixelfx/config/ktechpit/pixelfx.conf |
| Data folder | ~/.var/app/com.ktechpit.pixelfx/data/ktechpit/pixelfx/ |
| Cache folder | ~/.var/app/com.ktechpit.pixelfx/cache/ktechpit/pixelfx/ |
| What | Folder |
|---|---|
| Settings file | ~/.config/ktechpit/pixelfx.conf |
| Data folder | ~/.local/share/ktechpit/pixelfx/ |
| Cache folder | ~/.cache/ktechpit/pixelfx/ |
Folders whose names start with a dot are hidden. In most file managers, press Ctrl+H to show them.
| Folder | What is in it |
|---|---|
presets/ |
Presets you saved or imported (.pfxpreset files) |
looks/ |
Looks you made or imported (.pfxlook files) |
watermarks/ |
Your watermarks |
edits/ |
The remembered edits of every photo you edited (.pfx files) |
logs/ |
The log, pixelfx.log
|
crash/ |
A short note when PixelFx closes unexpectedly |
To open the presets folder from PixelFx, choose Show presets folder in the main menu. To open the log folder, go to About PixelFx, then Diagnostics, then Open the log folder.
When Remember edits is on in Settings (it is on at first), PixelFx keeps each photo's settings in its own library, in the edits folder. Next time you open the photo, it looks as you left it.
Each photo's edits are found by a fingerprint of the file: its size and a small part of its content, not its name or folder. So:
- If you rename or move a photo, its edits stay with it.
- An exact copy of a photo shares the same edits.
- If another app changes the file itself, PixelFx sees it as a new photo and it opens without your edits.
In Settings, On open lets you choose Show the photo as it was left or Always start from the original.
There are two easy ways.
Copy the folders. Close PixelFx, then copy the whole data folder (see above) to your backup. It holds your presets, looks, watermarks and remembered edits. Copy the settings file too if you want your choices back as well.
Export them one by one.
- A preset: right-click it in Presets and choose Export....
- A look you made: right-click it in Looks and choose Export look..., or use Export look... in the look editor.
To bring them back, choose Import presets and looks... in the main menu, or drag the files onto the PixelFx window. See Presets and Looks.
You can start PixelFx with a profile name. A profile has its own settings, data and cache, so you can try things without touching your usual setup. Your presets, looks and remembered edits stay separate too.
Run this in a terminal:
| How you installed | Command |
|---|---|
| Snap, or built from source | pixelfx --profile test |
| Flatpak | flatpak run com.ktechpit.pixelfx --profile test |
Replace test with any name without a slash. The profile's files use the name pixelfx-test instead of pixelfx, for example ~/.config/ktechpit/pixelfx-test.conf and ~/.local/share/ktechpit/pixelfx-test/ (inside the snap or Flatpak folders above when you use those).
Each profile has its own window, so you can have your usual PixelFx and a profile open at the same time.