History panel

[Lonstar]

Hello,
please add to DxO Photolab a “History panel” which shows us our editing steps, where we can also click a step and make an undo of our editing; like the same “history panel” as in Nik Collection Color Efex Pro is?
I would be very handy.

[mwsilvers (Mark - New Jersey, USA)]

That is also a feature of Lightroom. It would be nice to see it in Photolab as well. The topic has come up before. I’m not sure whether or not it’s in their backlog though.

Mark

[John-M (Melbourne, Australia - Win10)]

I’m always somewhat bemused by this request.

• It’s so easy, in PL, to switch corrections ON/OFF (to evaluate their effectiveness) via the check-box at the top-left of each Palette entry . . in any order that you wish.

• One can quickly & easily create a snapshot of corrections simply by pressing Ctrl+J - to create a Virtual Copy … Handy for experimenting with different versions of the same image - - and/or allowing quick reversion to a previous version.

• Also quick & easy to use Ctrl-Z (Undo) and Ctrl-Y (Redo) to check the affect of any correction.

Regards, John M

[mwsilvers (Mark - New Jersey, USA)]

I’m always somewhat bemused by this request.

• It’s so easy, in PL, to switch corrections ON/OFF (to evaluate their effectiveness) via the check-box at the top-left of each Palette entry . . in any order that you wish.
• One can quickly & easily create a snapshot of corrections simply by pressing Ctrl+J - to create a Virtual Copy … Handy for experimenting with different versions of the same image - - and/or allowing quick reversion to a previous version.
• Also quick & easy to use Ctrl-Z (Undo) and Ctrl-Y (Redo) to check the affect of any correction.

Regards, John M

All those techniques are useful but ir’s not the same as going directly back to a specific point in time. Of course, the history would have to be set up in a way that would allow you to easily do that.

Mark

[John-M (Melbourne, Australia - Win10)]

Fair enough … We all have different ways of working.

John

[mwsilvers (Mark - New Jersey, USA)]

Fair enough … We all have different ways of working.

John

I do make regular use of multiple virtual copies, and virtual copies of virtual copies, so although I think a history list would be another useful feature its not a particularly critical requirement for me. What I would love would be the ability to append text to virtual copy names to more easily differentiate them.

Mark

[Pieloe (Pascal)]

What I would love would be the ability to append text to virtual copy names to more easily differentiate them.

I ask this rename feature for a long time.

Pascal

[Xavier]

While the ON/OFF switches are most often what I want, there are also time where I work on an image to make a series of steps I have in mind, hope that it will work and may eventually figure out it does not. In that case, the series of steps is often organised in my mind as “most obvious, sure to be what I want” changes first. Thus when it does not I want to go back in time in the same order and the history tab (à la LR) helps very much.

Another case where it helps is when discussing with others about my workflow and answering the question “what changes did you do ?” (typical situation: giving basic training to beginners who never shot RAW and are switching to it). Then, the history tab would give a synthetic view of all the changes, all in a single place. On the other hand the ON/OFF tabs are not helpful.

[Calle (Christian)]

Could you describe the detailed steps how you would use that and where it adds more value than activating/deactivating tools does? I tried to come up with a useful example myself and failed.

[mwsilvers (Mark - New Jersey, USA)]

A well implemented history panel would allow you to revert your image to a specific point in the editing process. Deactivating and reactivating tools won’t do that. Not even using virtual copies will do it effectively.

Mark

[Sigi]

This discussion on a “History panel” came also up in the past a few times already. One person came up with a very good rational why a history panes makes sense for an editor like PS but not for DPL. Unfortunately I do not find that post anymore. I would like to refresh my memory and read it again. Anyone remember this post?

[Calle (Christian)]

I get that. But how do I use it?
E. g. should it record slider changes?
Each and every tiny bit of slider change or only the value when I move to another tool/slider?
Even each 1% change when I use the keyboard to move the slider (like Color Efex does)?

And then my history will soon contain dozens or even hundreds of steps:
How do I know where to go to undo something?
Is a quick preview saved with each step to avoid constant slow recalculation?
How big should the preview be, e. g. full size or just a thumbnail?
How does it allow me to quickly find the right place?
Is a time stamp helpful, especially if I work on a picture over multiple days?
Should there be some grouping on the history list, e. g. by day/hour or by tool?
Should it allow to selectively delete/disable steps, e. g. all changes to a control point without changing the later steps?

Feature requests like “do it like in xyz software” are rarely useful when you get to the details. Therefore a clear use case is much more helpful to see where the value is for the user and which non functional requirements (response times, number of items, etc.) are important. And with some consideration it can be found that either the requirement may be fulfilled with existing functionality already or DxO could come up with something even better than a plain history list as we see it in Nik Color Efex.

[mwsilvers (Mark - New Jersey, USA)]

This discussion on a “History panel” came also up in the past a few times already. One person came up with a very good rational why a history panes makes sense for an editor like PS but not for DPL. Unfortunately I do not find that post anymore. I would like to refresh my memory and read it again. Anyone remember this post?

A history list has been an integral part of Lightroom for years. It would be just as useful in PhotoLab. Let’s say you forgot to make a virtual copy and you’ve make a whole bunch of edits to your “perfect” raw image. A month and more edits later you realize it and want to revert the image to before you screwed up, The easiest and way be be a an image specific history list.

Mark

[mwsilvers (Mark - New Jersey, USA)]

I get that. But how do I use it?
E. g. should it record slider changes?
Each and every tiny bit of slider change or only the value when I move to another tool/slider?
Even each 1% change when I use the keyboard to move the slider (like Color Efex does)?

Every adjustment would be recorded as they are now, but instead of using the undo command to single thread back in time you would have a visible list of the various edits performed and you can directly select the point in the list to which you want to revert your image. The history list already exists which is how you are able to undo edits. You just can’t see it or access it directly in PhotoLab. You can in Lightroom. A well implemented history list will be image specific.

Mark

[Pieloe (Pascal)]

This discussion on a “History panel” came also up in the past a few times already. One person came up with a very good rational why a history panes makes sense for an editor like PS but not for DPL. Unfortunately I do not find that post anymore. I would like to refresh my memory and read it again. Anyone remember this post?

I did some research … and you wrote the best post
Pascal

Confirmation of "undo"

Hello Carsten, a forum meber - IanS - sums it up pretty well why DXO does not have a history panel: "A history panel is a normal feature for a pixel editor like Photoshop. This is needed because each adjustment builds on the previous one and the order of making adjustments is fundamental. DXO-PL 2 is a parametric based raw converter. With a parametric editor you are just recording the instructions to be applied but they are not actually applied until you export the raw file to a RGB image. Th…

[Sigi]

I knew there was something:)) - I am getting old:)))

[Scribe]

A history panel is a normal feature for a pixel editor like Photoshop. This is needed because each adjustment builds on the previous one and the order of making adjustments is fundamental. DXO-PL 2 is a parametric based raw converter. With a parametric editor you are just recording the instructions to be applied but they are not actually applied until you export the raw file to a RGB image.

This argument is really the least convincing one can imagine: the history panel is rather a memory of the use by the user, for the user, which can be consulted at any time by the user, regardless of the internal functioning of the software.

[Calle (Christian)]

Now that we have a history panel I think this should be closed and votes released.

[Sigi]

The limits on votes has been lifted a longt time ago.

[Wolfgang ([ Win10, PL+VP+FP, Nik6 (+3) ])]

I am quite happy, that we have a history now within the open session.

When combined with the ‘activ switch’ (Aktive Korrekturen), it’s even easier to follow the changes, also in conjunction with grouped tools, and as in a newly opened PL4 there is no entry (except e.g. Standard-Preset), this ‘activ switch’ mirrors all the changes made to the picture - well done!
Wolfgang