Usability improvements

I specifically want to ask for some usability improvements that would make my life (and I suppose that of many others) much easier. Hope some of them will be addressed in PL3, otherwise let’s do it for 4!

Value input boxes in all tools

  • When hovering with a mouse over a tool item, capture the value box and let the value be controlled with the mouse scroll wheel
  • When selecting a value box in any tool, let it be controlled with up and down arrows (increase/decrease with 1) or shift + up/down arrows (increase/decrease with +10 or something that makes sense for the value box)

See Capture One for perfecte implementation.

Horizon tool

  • Instead of putting a line with two circle boxes that need to be repositioned, let the user just click in two points to draw the line. This saves time (see again Lightroom/C1 for good implementation)

DxO Clearview tool

  • Add a checkbox option to automatically protect/mask skintones/humans in photos so they don’t get affected by Clearview which makes skin look horrendous

Auto white balance

Cropping within picture constraints

Much improved keyboard shortcut system more in line with other applications (e.g. [ and ] control brush size, 1-5 control star ratings). This would make it much easier for new users to feel at home.

Support for color labels even read-only would be progress from my point of view

Write ratings to metadata xmp files instead of dop files

Yes, a combination of things often asked.
Don’t worry, we’ll make it :sunglasses:

In the meantime you can use the crop tool with a qick method.

Pascal

http://dxo.tuto.free.fr/Efficacite/Efficiency.html#B18_LHorizon

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Easiest way the go for this is use local adjustment, " paint hole image blue", select erazor and eraze the blue from things you dont want to be effected like skin.
Use the clearview slider in the local control to add microcontrast .

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Thanks for the tip. Still hope this gets more automatic since it is helpful like 99% out of times and I believe auto masking algorithms for skin etc. are getting quite sophisticated thanks to deep learning.

Did you know you can ignore the two circles and simply draw a line with the mouse, which will automatically reposition the two circles?

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I know now! Thanks for pointing this out it wasn’t obvious too me :sweat_smile:

It works similarly to that already;

  • You can click on the up/down arrow-symbol (next to a value) to “direct focus” on the control - and then adjust the value with up/down keys.
  • You can click on the slider itself to “direct focus” on the control - and then adjust the value with left/right keys.

Regards, John M

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Thank you. It indeed is more like how I want it and is a step forward from how I was doing things. However, I find it a lot less intuitive than in other applications since I have to hit very small hitboxes first on my monitor or click a slider (which often results in moving it already). I find Photolab very mouse intensive in general. In C1 you just hover over any slider and you can just rock the mouse wheel and off you go, making it very fast to make adjustments (the obvious downside of course being that you can adjust things barely noticing when you scroll while hovering).

In fact not.
I’ve given you a site (first answer) which does not seem to interest you.

And this is a big downside for me, as it happens frequently in UI using it.
Hopefully it is not possible in PhotoLab and I vote to keep it like that.

Reading it now.

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Plus you can can right(!)-click on the scale right or left of its center to decrease/increse values by defined steps, in most cases value 5. This quickly gives you, at least roughly, the adjustment you need, which then can be fine tuned by using the up/down arrows.

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Thanks for this tip, Andreas - - I was not aware of this excellent short-cut. :wave::clap::raised_hands:

Regards, John M

John
You forgot this tips :flushed:
You’re asleep :crazy_face:

Pascal

3 Likes

Yes !! – I am (re)reading your tips for slider manipulation right now - - to see what else I have forgotten !

John

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