Using Transformations

Transformations are Picture Window’s building blocks for modifying images. A transformation operates on one or more input images to produce a single output image, according to parameters you control. For example, the Brightness transformation changes the tonality of a color or black and white input image based on a brightness parameter controlled by a slider you adjust to make the image lighter or darker. The result is stored in the output image, leaving the input image intact and unmodified. The output image from one transformation can serve as the input for the next one and so on, creating a chain of related images called a branch. The miniatures (called thumbnails) or the images in the current branch are displayed down the left edge of the screen in the image browser. The current image is displayed in the main image area on the right side of the screen.

Applying transformations

To apply a transformation to an image, first select the image by clicking on its thumbnail in the image browser, and then select the transformation you want to perform from the Transformation menu. The image you select becomes the input image for the transformation.

Picture Window then displays a dialog box specific to that transformation that lets you adjust the its parameters and preview the results. Use this dialog box to alter the image until you get a result you want.

Click OK to create the output image and close the dialog box. A new thumbnail containing the output image appears in the image browser, immediately following the input image. Images below the output image are then recalculated, and the changes ripple through the current branch until they reach the end.

Clicking Apply is the same as clicking OK, except that the transformation dialog box remains open. Use this option if you want to see the effect of your changes further down the branch but you expect to make further changes before committing to a final result.

Click Cancel to close the transformation dialog box leaving the current branch unchanged.

The caption of the output image in the image browser contains the name of the transformation used to create it. This helps you remember what sequence of operations you used to create the branch, and to identify each stage in case you want to make changes later.

Double-clicking on an output image thumbnail brings back the transformation dialog configured just the way it was when the output image was created, so you can pick up where you left off and make further adjustments.

Settings Files

Transformation settings can be save in a settings file.

Settings files save all the transformation settings, with one very important exception: images and masks are not included. The reason for this restriction is that when you load the settings file at a later time, there is no way to guarantee the referenced images and masks have already been created and are available for use, nor is there any way to know which images and masks you want to use if more than one is available. To save everything, including masks and images, use script files instead. Script files save not just the image settings, but also the settings for recreating all referenced images and masks.

There are two settings filenames with special meanings: Default and Previous. When you launch a transformation, if a default settings file is available, it is used to initialize the transformation settings. When you click OK or Apply in a transformation dialog, the current settings are saved under the name Previous. Within the settings menu for the transformation, you can load this file and restore the settings from the last time you used the transformation.

Additionally, you can save transformation settings with names you assign. This lets you create a library of named settings you can pull up later.

By default, settings files are organized in sub-folders for each transformation type. For example, all the Brightness Curve settings files will be in stored in a folder named Brightness Curve. You can save settings file anywhere you want, however the default settings folder location is My Documents\Picture Window Pro\

Standard Transformation Controls and the Settings Menu

Standard controls are displayed at the top of every transformation dialog box. Some of the rightmost buttons may not be present, depending on the transformation.

Cancel

This control aborts the current transformation and removes it from the image browser display. Clicking the close icon in the upper right corner of the transformation dialog box or pressing Esc has the same effect as clicking Cancel.

If you are editing the transformation (either by double-clicking on its thumbnail in the image browser or using the Edit Transformation command), cancel behaves differently. It first checks to see if you have changed any of the settings, and if not, the transformation dialog box is simply closed, leaving it in the same state as when you started editing it. If you have changed any settings, a confirmation message is displayed, and if you confirm, the settings revert back to their original state when you started editing the transformation and the transformation is recalculated to reset the output image.

OK

This control completes the current transformation, updates the result image and closes the transformation dialog box. All subsequent transformations, if any, are then recomputed based on the updated result. Pressing Enter has the same effect as clicking OK.

Apply

This is the same as OK, but does not close the transformation dialog box. Use Apply if you want to update the result propagate the changes to subsequent transformations, but want to continue adjusting the transformation parameters.

 -- Help

Clicking this button brings up context-sensitive help for the current transformation.

 -- Settings Menu

Clicking the settings button brings up the settings menu for the current transformation:

The three groups of entries in the menu are standardized for all transformations. Some transformations may include additional menu items as necessary.

Reset -- Resets all transformation settings to defaults – if a saved settings file with the name Default exists, those settings are restored; otherwise the standard default settings are used.

Reload Last Settings -- When you click either the OK or Apply button, the current settings are saved with the filename Previous. If previous settings are detected when the transformation starts up, this lets you revert to the last settings used. If no previous settings are available, this is grayed out.

Save Settings As… -- Saves all transformation settings in a file you select. This lets you restore these settings at a later time.

Load Settings… -- Restores saved settings from a file you select.

Save As Default Settings -- Makes the current transformation settings the default – this simply saves the current settings with the filename Default.

Clear Default Settings -- Restores the standard default transformation settings – this simply deletes the default settings file, if any. If the file does not exist, this item is grayed out.

Saved Setting Files

For the most part, when you save a transformation's settings in a file and reload them later, all of its controls are reset to their previous states, and the transformation is applied to its input image to produce a new output image. If you are apply saved settings to a different input image, you may or may not get the results you want since different images may require different corrections.

There are limitations to saved settings files, namely they do not record information that depends on other images. There are three types of information that fall into this category:

•Auxiliary inputs -- the contents of auxiliary inputs are not saved.

•Masks that apply to auxiliary input images

•Masks derived from other images -- a mask initially created by selecting the name of another image from the Amount menu

To save this type of information, use a script or workspace script file instead -- these files a capable of recording settings not only for an image but also for all the other images it depends on.

 -- Auto/Manual Preview

When this button is depressed, every time you change a setting, the preview is updated. For large images, the time delay waiting for the preview to complete can be annoying, especially if you are changing a number of settings at once. In this case, toggle this button to select manual preview. This un-grays the Preview button (see below) which is used to perform a manual preview when you want to update the preview window. Transformations that have their own resizable preview area do not have preview buttons.

 -- Preview

This button is grayed out when the Auto/Manual Preview button (see above) is depressed. In manual preview mode, clicking the Preview button updates the preview window with the results of any changes you have made to the transformation settings.

 -- Input

Clicking this button displays the input image in the main image area. Selecting this button simultaneously selects the bypass button for the current image in the image browser.

 -- Preview

Clicking this button displays the transformation result in the main image area. Selecting this button simultaneously selects the bypass button for the current image in the image browser.

 -- Split Screen

Clicking this button displays the input image in the left half of the main image area and the transformation preview in the right half.

 -- Synchronized Zooming and Scrolling

This button toggles synchronized zooming and scrolling. It is only visible when Split Screen is selected (see above).

When synchronized scrolling is enabled, the zoom tool bar for the left half of the screen is grayed out and zooming or scrolling the right half of the image area zooms and scrolls the left half in an identical manner so the same parts of the image are displayed on both sides.

When synchronized scrolling is disabled, you can zoom and scroll the two halves of the image area independently.

Synchronized scrolling is only available for transformations whose output image is the same size as the input image. Thus, for example, there is no synchronized scrolling button for the Crop transformation, but there is for the Brightness Curve transformation.