To make RT use any profile you just have to load it with the folder icon top right. The pp3 file is a completely flexible “style” or preset that can be applied to any image and also applied in part. This means that RT doesn’t use mental process of a duplicate or snapshot of the raw file but that workflow is in practice achieved by just loading the correct pp3.
So you just have to
- Click the disk icon top right (Save current profile) to store snapshot
- Click folder icon top righ (Load a profile from file) to return to any edit that you have saved
The pp3 files can be stored in any folder you like and don’t have to be associated with the raw file. They can also be moved anywhere and renamed with a file manager to structure your work. You only need to remember or name the files so that you know which one to load.
If you’re doing snapshots it may make sense to save with the raw file basename plus a descriptive suffix. IMG001.RAW_black-and-white.pp3 IMG001.RAW.cropped-1-1.pp3 etc. right next to the original file.
The important thing is to ensure saving a renamed pp3 of any worthwhile edit because resetting or loading a new pp3 means the active edit is lost.
So in a sense you should look at the IMG001.RAW.pp3 file as a transient file and saved profiles as finished edits. The fact that the preset concept and the edit concept are the same is RT makes it flexible but you have to get your head around it and also keep organised.