In Mafelo, you can easily export the list of selected photos directly to Adobe Photoshop. By generating a ready-made string of file names with search operators, you can instantly filter all the commissioned shots in the file open dialog, without having to manually search for them in a folder.
Key benefits and use cases
Time savings: Automatically filtering multiple files at once eliminates the need to manually click and select each photo individually from a large gallery.
Versatility: This method (pasting a string of characters into the "Search" field in the macOS system dialog) works not only in Photoshop, but also in many other graphics applications.
Quick start: Photos load directly into your workspace, ready for immediate retouching.
How to export selected photos to Photoshop (macOS)
To export photos that your client selected in Mafelo, follow the steps below.
Tip: If you are using a Windows computer, this process looks slightly different. Check our separate guide:
Important: File export works at the level of a single gallery (perform these steps in the view of a specific gallery) or a single order (if there are multiple orders in a gallery, simply go to the details of the relevant order).
For file opening in macOS to work correctly:
Files uploaded to the gallery in Mafelo must have exactly the same names as your original files (e.g. RAW) on your computer's disk. The file extensions themselves (e.g. .jpg, .cr2, .arw) do not matter.
Make sure your file names do not contain spaces, special characters, or characters such as (e.g.
&,").
Tip: If files with unsupported characters in their names have already been uploaded to the gallery, the search in the macOS dialog may not find them. In that case, a great alternative for file management is Export to Mafelo Desktop, which handles such file names without any issues.
In Mafelo, go to the Gallery from which you want to retrieve the order list.
Open the Client Orders tab. (If you want to export only one order out of several, click that specific order to go to its details).
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Export photos button.
From the dropdown menu, select the to Photoshop option.
A new tab will open in your browser, containing the generated list of files.
Critical step: Copy the string of file names visible in the window under the heading "Below you will find the list of files to use in Photoshop on macOS:" (the copied text will contain the word "OR", e.g.:
"107A8013." OR "107A7979." OR "107A7929.").
Launch Photoshop on your Mac.
On the start screen click Open, or from the top menu select File, then Open... (you can also use the keyboard shortcut
Cmd + O).In the system dialog (Finder) that appears, navigate to the main folder on your disk that contains all the original photos from this gallery.
Paste the previously copied file list into the Search field (located in the upper-right corner of that dialog).
Important: Make sure that below the search field the option to search in your folder (e.g. "Your Folder Name") is active, not in the entire system ("This Mac").
Once the system filters and displays only the selected photos, select them all (e.g. with the shortcut
Cmd + A) and click the Open button.
The selected photos will be automatically loaded and will open in separate tabs in Photoshop (or in the Camera Raw module for RAW files), ready for further work.
Available export options
You can export photos to most popular working environments. Click the application you are interested in to go to its detailed step-by-step guide:
to Excel (generates a list in table format)
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Can I export photos from multiple galleries at once?
No. Currently, export is tied to a specific gallery. You must generate the file list separately for each gallery.
Where can I find export guides for other applications?
Mafelo also supports export to many other tools. Check the relevant guides for applications such as Lightroom, Capture One, Excel, Adobe Bridge, or Windows by searching for "export" in our knowledge base.