Committing changes?

[happyCellophane]

Hello everyone!
I'm new to this forum, and I have a dumb question, but here it goes:
How do I commit changes made to images in LR3?
I searched all over built in help file, but I guess the nature of the question is too simple to be put in help

I import photos to library, I adjust them in every way I wish, all goes fine. If I make any changes to photo, a "+/-" icon apears on it's thumbnail. So say I'm happy with the result, how do I save it now? And how do I save it as a copy, in case I don't want to mess with original RAW files.
I have RAW files from both Canon and Nikon

Thank you!

 

[dj_paige]

Your changes are automatically stored by Lightroom in its database. You don't have to tell Lightroom to do this; nor can you turn it off. Hence, there is no SAVE command.

Lightroom never changes your original photo; therefore you don't need to save your changes as a copy (and there is no SAVE command anyway). You can always get back to the original in the Develop Module by clicking on RESET; or if you just want to compare original versus edited version, you can do this in a number of ways in the Develop module, the simplest is to tap the backslash key.

 

[Mark Sirota]

To follow up on Paige's answer -- if you want to generate a JPEG with your Lightroom edits, you need to Export or Publish. Or use the Print, Web, or Slideshow modules.

 

[happyCellophane]

Thank you very much, both dj_paige and Mark Sirota.
I'll try out exporting and come up with additional comments/questions!

 

[AnitaD]

happycellophane--It is not a dumb question. Many people share the confusion, and although the info is in Help, I realize it is not easy to find. Lightroom automatically saves changes to the database, and the only time you need to save changes to your image files is when you want Bridge or Camera Raw to see them. I've written a blog post about this, and the most pertinent Help topic is Synchronize Lightroom metadata with Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw. I hope this helps.