Serious bug in MacOS Ventura

[VinegarTasters]

I was going to submit a bug report, but found out I need to pay for a year of developer account so it is easy to submit bug reports. So I will report the bug here instead.

To Reproduce Bug:
Run MacOS Ventura on Mac Silicon (I think it affects Intel too)
Get an image file on your Mac (you can use "ScreenShot" to get one quick).
Go to the image using Finder and right click on it (it will probably be on your Desktop).
Select "Open With" ColorSync utility
Go to the top menu and select "File"->"Save As..."
Leave the default .jpg file format near the bottom and you can optionally change the name of the file.
Try to click on the "Save" button.

It will say "The operation couldn’t be completed. Not a directory"

Workaround:
Change the "Where" directory from the current "Desktop" to ANOTHER location (any location)" then change it back to "Desktop".
Then it should save correctly.

 

[ab22]

I can't reproduce that using 13.4.1 on a 2022 MBA.
Tried using screenshots & existing files; Desktop & another location.

Maybe it's a 13.5 thing… will see later

 

[MiniMoke]

Works fine for me!

 

[TheGeneralist]

Reproducible on Ventura 13.5 by the steps described above on my M1 MBP, and also on my Intel iMac late 2014 (Ventura 13.5 installed via OCLP on the latter).
But: on both my Macs the default file format in ColorSync is .png, not .jpg - this behaviour only occurs after switching manually to .jpg.

Either way, I'd consider this a marginal bug at the most, as it is only a minor annoyance that occurs only in rare cases in a rarely used OS tool. I'd guess that at least 99,98% of the users will never encounter this bug - and the rest will not suffer any significant disadvantage, as most users will prefer the more suitable default .png format for screenshots anyway, and the rest will still be able to save .jpg with a small amount of fiddling / very easy workaround.

For sure this is not a "serious bug" as stated in the headline. The currently active failure which terminates location service controls in 13.5 - which has not been fixed for more than 3 weeks - is a serious bug, this one certainly is not.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Works fine here on my 2020 M1 MBA running 13.5. Methinks there is no bug, there is just an issue with your installation.

EDIT: I take that back. After seeing TG's post, I tried a different tactic and tried saving as a PNG (default here is jpg) and I got the error. Weird.

EDIT 2: OK, this gets weirder. It now happens even when I start over and leave it as jpg. It sounds like the app works as expected on first launch (I've never used it before), but perhaps some cache or preference file got corrupted on quit?

 

[VinegarTasters]

Reproducible on Ventura 13.5 by the steps described above on my M1 MBP, and also on my Intel iMac late 2014 (Ventura 13.5 installed via OCLP on the latter).
But: on both my Macs the default file format in ColorSync is .png, not .jpg - this behaviour only occurs after switching manually to .jpg.

Either way, I'd consider this a marginal bug at the most, as it is only a minor annoyance that occurs only in rare cases in a rarely used OS tool. I'd guess that at least 99,98% of the users will never encounter this bug - and the rest will not suffer any significant disadvantage, as most users will prefer the more suitable default .png format for screenshots anyway, and the rest will still be able to save .jpg with a small amount of fiddling / very easy workaround.

For sure this is not a "serious bug" as stated in the headline. The currently active failure which terminates location service controls in 13.5 - which has not been fixed for more than 3 weeks - is a serious bug, this one certainly is not.

Yes, it affect all versions of Ventura (not just 13.5) if you use .jpg. Why I use jpg? Because most websites will not accept .PNG because the .PNG file is usually too large for upload. Most people will change it to .jpg in order to fit most upload max size limit. So change it to jpg, then when you do screen shot it will save to .PNG. Then try to use ColorSync to change it to .JPG. You won't believe the population of Mac Users that do the conversion to .JPG because .PNG sizes are TOO LARGE! I am using Ventura 13.4.1

 

[chrfr]

I was going to submit a bug report, but found out I need to pay for a year of developer account so it is easy to submit bug reports. So I will report the bug here instead.

Paid developers use the same Feedback Assistant than non-developers do. The process is difficult no matter your account status.

 

[ab22]

I can't reproduce that using 13.4.1 on a 2022 MBA.
Tried using screenshots & existing files; Desktop & another location.

Maybe it's a 13.5 thing… will see later

Confirmed on 13.5

 

[TheGeneralist]

Yes, it affect all versions of Ventura (not just 13.5) if you use .jpg. Why I use jpg? Because most websites will not accept .PNG because the .PNG file is usually too large for upload. Most people will change it to .jpg in order to fit most upload max size limit. So change it to jpg, then when you do screen shot it will save to .PNG. Then try to use ColorSync to change it to .JPG. You won't believe the population of Mac Users that do the conversion to .JPG because .PNG sizes are TOO LARGE! I am using Ventura 13.4.1

You're not too deep into image formats, right?
Sorry, but your statement about the sizes of .png vs. .jpg just isn't correct. PNG always scales better especially when uniform surfaces come into play - as with most screenshots.

Even if you were right with your statement about some websites preferring JPG for some reason, this would still not make this one a serious bug...as a workaround, you could for example use "Preview" (which is the macOS Default app for .png anyway) instead of the rather exotic "ColorSync" app - Preview doesn't seem to have the same problem.

Either way, running into this bug remains very unlikely - and finding suitable and adequate workarounds which require no additional effort seems very easy to me.

 

[ab22]

Yes, it affect all versions of Ventura (not just 13.5) if you use .jpg. Why I use jpg? Because most websites will not accept .PNG because the .PNG file is usually too large for upload. Most people will change it to .jpg in order to fit most upload max size limit. So change it to jpg, then when you do screen shot it will save to .PNG. Then try to use ColorSync to change it to .JPG. You won't believe the population of Mac Users that do the conversion to .JPG because .PNG sizes are TOO LARGE! I am using Ventura 13.4.1

You can make screenshots save as jpg automatically using defaults & com.apple.screencapture

 

[VinegarTasters]

You can make screenshots save as jpg automatically using defaults & com.apple.screencapture

Please explain. I see no options for screenshots "app" to make it use .jpg as default using point and click on the GUI interface. Are you pointing at a solution of manually editing some file somewhere using maybe Terminal?

 

[VinegarTasters]

You're not too deep into image formats, right?
Sorry, but your statement about the sizes of .png vs. .jpg just isn't correct. PNG always scales better especially when uniform surfaces come into play - as with most screenshots.

Even if you were right with your statement about some websites preferring JPG for some reason, this would still not make this one a serious bug...as a workaround, you could for example use "Preview" (which is the macOS Default app for .png anyway) instead of the rather exotic "ColorSync" app - Preview doesn't seem to have the same problem.

Either way, running into this bug remains very unlikely - and finding suitable and adequate workarounds which require no additional effort seems very easy to me.

I wish you are right, but I just checked the sizes of the PNG screenshot size and the ColorSync .JPG conversion and it is WAY smaller in size (the .JPG version). I am not trying to trash .PNG, but it is common knowledge jpg is smaller in size compared to .PNG because jpg is loss full while png is lossless. Now I won't go into details if you don't understand what I am trying to say but just get the bug fixed. That is more important than arguing on technology algorithms. Preview is a bulky program and it seems to like to pull every file it touches into the cloud and elsewhere, when the main purpose is not to collect images, but to do quick conversion.

 

[ab22]

How to Control the Behavior of Screenshot Shortcuts in macOS

There are several ways you can take screenshots on a Mac. Preview offers the option from its File menu. There's also a little screen capture app...

www.macrumors.com

 

[VinegarTasters]

How to Control the Behavior of Screenshot Shortcuts in macOS

There are several ways you can take screenshots on a Mac. Preview offers the option from its File menu. There's also a little screen capture app...

www.macrumors.com

Thank you. The solution is to use a Terminal program and enter:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg

I hope the programmers/designers of the screenshot program at Apple adds a GUI option to change the file save image type using point and click. I thought Apple was all about usability? The above command is not user friendly at all. I don't think .jpg is like .gif where you need to pay someone to use the format, so this should be a feature that is very easily added.

 

[Basic75]

I was going to submit a bug report, but found out I need to pay for a year of developer account

Product Feedback

We would love to hear your comments about any of our hardware and software products. Send us your thoughts.

www.apple.com

 

[CasualWanderer]

Hi there!

Here are my recommendations as a solution to your main problem:

1, default Preview app
Open your image with the Preview app then go to file then export. AFAIK the default export location is indeed an iCloud folder, but once you change it to a local folder (like desktop) it shouldn’t do any cloud related stuff.

Actually the preview app crashes a lot (at least for me) when I try to export pictures or even pdfs sometimes. (Ventura 13.5) Might be related to the issue you have experienced.

2, quick actions
In Ventura right click on the image, go to quick actions then select convert image and there you go

It should be turned on by default but you can find its toggle here: System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Extensions -> Finder

3, Shortcuts app
Alternatively you can create your own customized image converter shortcut with only a few actions. And then you can save it as a quick action.

Hope it helps!

P.S.: I have never seen anyone using the colorsync just to convert images but I have to admit it’s quite creative

 

[kitKAC]

2, quick actions
In Ventura right click on the image, go to quick actions then select convert image and there you go

It should be turned on by default but you can find its toggle here: System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Extensions -> Finder

1000% this.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Not quite getting why ColorSync would be in this chain at all. If this is about image capture and/or image saves, why not leave it out and just use Screenshot app in Utilities folder? Why does the file need to go through ColorSync?

I've become a very heavy user of a paid app called Snaggit but Screenshots does the basic stuff just fine. And then post #16 offers other apps/actions that could sub in for ColorSync in this one.

 

[cateye]

Preview is a bulky program and it seems to like to pull every file it touches into the cloud and elsewhere, when the main purpose is not to collect images, but to do quick conversion.

This sentence bears no relation to reality. You could solve your problem easily by spending some time familiarizing yourself with how Preview works, how to enable (or disable) its access to iCloud, and how it is the assigned utility to change graphics file formats within MacOS. How you even roped ColorSync into this weird workflow is a mystery to me.

 

[canadianreader]

Please explain. I see no options for screenshots "app" to make it use .jpg as default using point and click on the GUI interface. Are you pointing at a solution of manually editing some file somewhere using maybe Terminal?

I use Onyx to change the screenshot file type to jpeg

Titanium Software | Operating System Utilities for Mac - OnyX

OnyX is a multifunction utility that you can use to verify the startup disk and the structure of its system files; run cleaning and computer maintenance tasks; configure some hidden parameters of many Apple applications; and more.

titanium-software.fr

 

[TechnoMonk]

I rarely use color sync utility, just use preview. I like preview for its ability to convert to multiple formats and also combine images in to PDF.
Edit: it’s a bug in color sync utility, not necessarily an Os related bug.

 

[TheGeneralist]

[...] Edit: it’s a bug in color sync utility, not necessarily an Os related bug.

What???
The ColorSync Utility is an integral part of macOS, not to be confused with an independent tool. It cannot be installed independent from OS releases and is revised and new versions are released together with macOS releases, just as other macOS fully integrated utilities like e.g. Apple Mail, Finder, Preview, Disk Utility, Settings or Terminal (and many more).
The only logical conclusion from my standpoint is that a bug in any of those tools is of course a bug in the operating system, nothing else.

 

[AlixSPQR]

Edit: it’s a bug in color sync utility, not necessarily an Os related bug.

And how is that important, if it is so?

 

[headlessmike]

I can recreate the bug in Ventura (but not Monterey). I cannot understand why you'd use the ColorSync Utility to convert files when Preview exists, but if you really want to then File -> Export will work just fine.

What???
The ColorSync Utility is an integral part of macOS, not to be confused with an independent tool. It cannot be installed independent from OS releases and is revised and new versions are released together with macOS releases, just as other macOS fully integrated utilities like e.g. Apple Mail, Finder, Preview, Disk Utility, Settings or Terminal (and many more).
The only logical conclusion from my standpoint is that a bug in any of those tools is of course a bug in the operating system, nothing else.

If this really was an OS bug then it would affect all apps where you tried this. ColorSync Utility is bundled with the OS but it's hardly part of the OS. That's like saying a bug in Python (or any countless other pieces of software) is an OS bug because it's bundled with every installation of macOS.

 

[TechnoMonk]

And how is that important, if it is so?

It’s hyperbole, click bait with serious bug in OS. Just say serious bug in ColorSync utility.