PhotoLab4, Viewpoint, and Film Pack

I’m not sure if I am using my software correctly - I have bought:

  • PhotoLab 4 Elite
  • FilmPack 5 Elite
  • Viewpoint 3

I normally open PL4 to do all my work. I now see I can open Viewpoint by itself, and see a very different menu.

My question is, can I do anything and everything that these three packages allow, from inside my PL4 program, of is there any reason, for example, that I might want to open Viewpoint instead of PL4?

Secondary question, when PL4 is running, is the way to see every possible thing I can do, to click on Workspaces at the top, and then select “DxO Advanced”? When I do that on a typical screen, lots of additional choices show up - is that the full list of additional choices?

Presumably, if I then click on the icon for “light”, “color”, “detail”, “geometry”, “local adjustments”, and “watermarks and effects”, what this is doing is breaking down the full list into six smaller lists.

Some of these have a “blue star” at the right, but not all. Is this the way I select those options I want to see in detail when I select the above list of icons, for example “light”?

The reason I’m asking this, is two years ago, when I had no idea what I was doing, I set this up, and have mostly been using it as-is, since then. So many people here are suggesting I use tools that I didn’t see on my screen - and apparently that’s because they never had gotten the “blue star” turned on, so they just didn’t show up.

I think later today I will search for a video or a recorded webinar on how one sets up PL4.

But the other question remains - will I ever want to open up the Viewpoint program directly, or are all those features going to be shown on my PL4 screen?

(Sorry if this sounds mixed up, but I’m even more mixed up…)

Mike,

You can create your own interface any way you like. Just select the palettes you want to be visible In the order you want them to appear or use the Smart Workspace buttons on the top of the right panel. You can also create custom palettes with any combination of tools in them and in any order. The interface is very configurable. It can be a little bit tricky to set up for somebody who’s never done it, but we can help you with any specific questions you have.

With regard to Viewpoint and FilmPack, in my opinion there are no “significant” features in the standalone versions that are not also available as embedded features in Photolab, except perhaps for the Filmpack 5 presets. As a result I have not used the standalone versions of Viewpoint or FilmPack since Photolab 1 and uninstalled them years ago.

Sometime ago I created Photolab presets for all 82 of the Filmpack 5 film types and made them available here for all who wish to use them. See link below.

Mark

I personally use FP and VP through DPL 4. This allows me to have a consistent workflow.
However, some people prefer the FP and VP interface when they are standalone. It is a matter of taste.

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Just copy this file into ~/Library/Application Support/DxO PhotoLab v4/Workspaces.

It’s my preferred workspace, but you might find it useful. If you want to change anything, simply add/remove tools in palettes and save with the same name.

Mike.dopworkspace.zip (2,0 Ko)

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I only use FP and VP from within PhotoLab and have removed the standalone apps. All I need from FP and VP is available from within PL.

Check out my all-in workspace. Every tool should be visible for PL version 4.3.2 build 61
All-In-DPL4.dopworkspace.zip (1.5 KB)

Put it in the same place as shown in Joanna’s post above.

Note: In each of the left and right docks, the tools I selected are in one palette only. This takes some getting used to. The order in the right palette is meant to guide customising, going from top to bottom, using the necessary or wanted tools.

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Thanks - consistent workflow sounds good to me!

Where in my file system can I find: ~/Library/Application Support/DxO PhotoLab v4/Workspaces

I assume I just copy the zip files there, as-is?
I don’t need to open up the zip file??

At some point I should probably download that, and copy them to wherever they belong, but before I do much more, I’d like to get the Workspace set up. I will copy over both files, once I know where to copy them to, and take a look at them.

Right now, all of this is as “clear as mud” to me. Gradually, I’m starting to understand it better.

I do have two displays - I think I should also create a Workspace that has all the tools on my left (iMac) display, and the editing screen on my right (calibrated ASUS) display.

Joanna & Platypus - Thanks very much for sharing your workspaces. I’m having difficulty though installing them on my Win10 PC. Might there be something unique to your Mac (if they are) files?

On Windows my path is a little different: It’s Username/AppData/Local/DXO/DXO Photolab 4/Workspaces. My PC doesn’t have “Application Support”. I found a workspace there that I had previously added, but from within PL4, So I think I’m putting your files in the right folder. I also unzipped them and they are residing unzipped in that folder. I have closed and opened PL4 several times but your Workspaces don’t show.

Any suggestions? Thanks again, Rod

@nwboater, you could try the workspaces too - if they can be exchanged between mac and win platforms, that is.
:face_with_hand_over_mouth:

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Hi Platypus - I think you were responding to Mike who I believe is running a Mac. Sorry I crashed Mike’s party here with my Win machine. :slight_smile:
Thanks for the suggestions!

Joanna, I will copy the zip file into the location you told me, once you explain what the first character is:
“~/Library/Application Support/DxO PhotoLab v4/Workspaces”

I used to know why the ~ was for, but I’ve long since forgotten.

Oh, and also please confirm - do I put the “zip” file there, or do I expand it?

Hi Mike

The tilde (~) represents your “home” folder - the one with the house icon.

If you can’t see the Library folder, here’s a link to how to make it visible How to Always Show Library Folder in MacOS Catalina User Home Directory

You want to expand the zip files by double-clicking on them and simply copy/move the revealed workspace file to the workspaces folder

Platypus - I wish they could be exchanged between Mac & Win. I am confident that I put the unzipped files in the correct folder but they don’t seem to be recognized by PL. :sob:

Can you post one of your workspace files here so we can verify if Mac and Win use the same format?

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Rod’s Full Workspace.xml (16.3 KB)

Thanks for wanting to help making your Mac Workspaces available on Win Systems.

Having had a look, the two files are totally different in their layout. I’m sorry but it would take a lot of work and DxO’s special recipe to any kind of conversion

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Too bad, but I’m not real surprised. Thanks so much for trying though, Joanna. :slight_smile:

I made my library visible as suggested.
I moved both zip files into a temporary folder.
I extracted the two “files” from the two zip files.
They don’t “look” like the other three workspace files, and they don’t show up yet in PL4.
Below is what I see in ‘finder’ in the Workspaces folder.

What am I missing?

Do I need to click on the two files to “expand” them?

Screen Shot 2021-09-08 at 15.45.36

You’ve put them next to the Workspaces folder, not in it