Selecting "Save as new Asset" in image editors opened via Asset fields should replace the originally selected Asset in the field

[mmikkel]

Description

It'd be great if, when saving an edited image as a new asset in the image editor in the context of an Assets field (i.e., by double-clicking on a selected asset in an Assets field and opening the image editor from there), Craft would automatically swap out the originally selected asset in the Assets field for the newly created, edited asset.

The current behaviour, where the original file is retained in the field, feels less than intuitive, because I think what most authors want to achieve when clicking "Save as new Asset" in this context is "save my edits to the selected image, but keep a backup of the original file", not "I still want to use the original image in this field, but save my changes to a new file somewhere else".

If selecting the new asset automatically sounds like a bad idea, maybe there could be a prompt when the image editor closes, or perhaps additional actions in the image editor to cover both use cases (i.e. giving the author a choice of keeping the original asset selected in the field or not). I have a pretty strong feeling that auto-selecting the edited asset should be the default action, though.

[sm9]

We have a client that has raised a similar point to this in Craft 3.7.12:

If you edit an image in the CMS (crop etc) and save as a new asset, then I would expect the new edited asset to replace the original asset in that entry. Instead, the new edited asset is saved to Assets, and the old one is retained on the entry. This adds additional steps to the process; you have to manually remove the original asset and then add the asset that you've just edited.

It would be great if this behaviour could be looked at, thanks.

[thupsi]

I started a similar discussion a while ago but got no response. Maybe I wasn't clear in my description. I hope your suggestion gets more traction!

[mmikkel]

Yeah, hope this one receives some attention. In terms of UX, the current behaviour almost feels like a bug (and I've talked with authors who actually thought it was).

[andris-sevcenko]

Just added this for Craft 4. (6764c9a)

[mmikkel]

Great, thanks Andris!

[thupsi]

Hmm, this does not work for me in 4.0.0-beta.2. Should I file a bug?

[mmikkel]

Yeah, doesn't work on my end either – tested on both 4.0.0-beta.1 and 4.0.0-beta.2.

[brandonkelly]

Doh sorry! I accidentally reverted this change when adding the new unified element editor stuff. Got it working again for the next release (40cc20e).

[brandonkelly]

4.0.0-beta.3 is out now with that fix.