[thatjoshguy]

Always assume that every change you make is saved automatically, much like cutting down a physical photo.

If you still want the original photo, and another cut down version, you would use a photo copier to Duplicate the original, then cut the copy.

[Groxx]

"Always assume that every change you make is saved automatically" - You must have had a hard time dealing with computers until now :)

The real-world analogy makes sense, but it doesn't fit with how things have behaved. This is likely an improvement overall, but it's creating a period of upheaval and damage to people's property where better notification of the changes would make it a non-issue.

To modify and drag out the analogy to absurdity: say you previously made cropped photos by photocopying with a white rectangle mask revealing only the portions you wanted duplicated. Now, suddenly, you find that photocopying with the mask in place crops your original photo, without telling you. Nested a layer deep in the photocopier's menu is an option to undo the changes to your original.

I claim this is fine... if and only if the photocopier tells you of this before or immediately after, so you know to copy the whole thing first, and then cut, or use the 'revert' option. In a couple years that may be unnecessary, but not right now.

[keithpeter]

When I spent hours in a wet darkroom, I used a masking frame and the enlarger head height adjustment to crop a print, having previously marked up a work print. The negative was untouched.

The larger point I am making is that by referring to 'real' objects, we will return to a point where there is no system wide consistency any more. Case in point: editing audio tape or cine film did destroy the edited version, which is why we used prints/copy tapes.

Disclaimer: I don't use Mac OS. I do look to Apple for UI design however.