Unsharp Mask vs Mask

[johnp]

I'm having a problem with Unsharp Mask used with a mask image selected.
1) I open a raw file
2) I create a mask to cover the sky and some foreground using flood fill
3) I adjust the image using "Brightness Curve"
4) I convert to Mono using a red filter
5) I then open the Unsharp Mask tool...
If I do not select the mask image, the 'delta' operation seems to work. If I
click on a spot in the input image, I see the smaller 'delta' preview updated.
Also, if I change parameters (radius, etc,) I see the preview image update.
Now, if I select my mask, the preview function stops working

ALSO - if I click the mask icon and 'Reverse' the the black and white sliders swap
end-to-end, but the 'Amount' values above also flip... 0.0%... 100.0% changes to
100.0% ... 0.0%. Is this the intended operation and I'm missing something?

Thanks!

John P

[jsachs]

>> if I click the mask icon and 'Reverse' the the black and white sliders swap
end-to-end, but the 'Amount' values above also flip... 0.0%... 100.0% changes to
100.0% .. 0.0%. Is this the intended operation and I'm missing something?

This is what Reverse does -- it effectively inverts the mask by reversing the positions of the black and white sliders. The Amount readout is composed of the black slider value followed two dots followed by the white slider value which is why it updates. You can get the same effect without reversing the sliders by clicking the Invert button in the Mask dialog box (top row, 8th from the left) which actually inverts the mask.

>> Now, if I select my mask, the preview function stops working

I duplicated your workflow, but it seems like it is working -- when you say the preview stops working, what do you mean? I see the area where the mask is present being sharpened and the rest not being sharpened. When I select Reverse, the opposite happens.

While the way you are doing this works, it looks like you are following the way PWP 7 used to work, namely creating the mask before using it. In PWP 8, you would normally create the mask within the Unsharp Mask transformation by clicking on the Amount square and selecting New Mask from the popup menu. Then you can create the mask for the sky using the Mask dialog box. You can then refine the mask without leaving the Unsharp Mask transformation.

[johnp]

When I say the preview function stops working I mean that I can no longer click on the
original image to reposition the location of the preview window.

Note I am running Win-8... I hope that doesn't make any difference!

John P

[jsachs]

Selecting the mask brings up a Mask dialog box. When the Mask dialog box opens up, it takes control of the cursor in the main window, effectively disabling the center preview function. Instead, clicking and dragging on the input image draws a freehand outline mask or whatever the currently selected Mask tool requires. To restore control back to the Unsharp Mask dialog box, either click on its title bar or close the Mask Dialog box.