I saved a picture as a PDF file in photoshop and after I open it I goto the layer and history channel and they don't show what I have done.
In the history section I get the picture with a brush to the left and under the picture I have OPEN.
In the layers section, it has a picture named background and it is locked.
The reason why I saved it as a PDF file was so I could go back to see how I did the picture. Does anyone know how to fix this.

Scott

It's not something you can fix...it's just how Photoshop behaves. You can only view history states on the documents you're currently working on and only up to the the amount of states you set in Preferences or through your history snapshots. If you saved and closed your documents and reopen them the next time, all the stuff in the history palette will start fresh again. Use Layer Comps instead.

I don't know how to fix it, but for future reference on the steps taken go to Edit/Preferences/General and check History log. There are 3 options on how much it will save to a text file and you can choose the location it is stored. If by some chance you already had it selected, then go to the location and open the PhotshopEditLog.txt file.

Hope this helps.

Ah, good point DWThomp. I've never realized that History Log option in Preferences...maybe I never need to trace back my steps. Everything is saved in the same txt file, though...it could become a mess over time. Saving in the metadata could increase the file size significantly and it might reveal some of the steps that you don't want anyone to know...I suppose that's why it's off by default. Layer Comps is still best...it's like live history snapshots that you can actual go back and forth.

Ah, good point DWThomp. I've never realized that History Log option in Preferences...maybe I never need to trace back my steps. Everything is saved in the same txt file, though...it could become a mess over time. Saving in the metadata could increase the file size significantly and it might reveal some of the steps that you don't want anyone to know...I suppose that's why it's off by default. Layer Comps is still best...it's like live history snapshots that you can actual go back and forth.

Yes, the file can get to be a mess over time, especially if you use the detailed option. When Adobe said details, they meant details. I don't save it to metadata, just the text file. The text file itself remains fairly small. I do clean it out from time to time and you could save it under a different file name if you wanted to keep it.

I've not used layer comps - wouldn't that increase the file size in a big way?

Always save your original work as a raw PhotoShop file so that you can go back and edit it later. You still won't have the history state, but all your layers, masks, text etc. will be available for editing. Once your file is done, save other files for different purposes such as PDF, CMYK TIFF, Save for Web JPEG or Gif etc. I often delete these special version files to save space on my hard drive, but I can always regenerate them from the original PSD file. And I always save that PSD in RGB.

I've not used layer comps - wouldn't that increase the file size in a big way?
No, they barely take up any room since they're using the informations that are already in the file. If you're organize, you can make them behave like history states. Learn how to manage them when you get a chance...they're very powerful.