RAW File Processing

PWP 4.0 can now open RAW files from nearly all major cameras that produce RAW output. RAW is completely integrated into PWP. RAW thumbnails are displayed by the browser, the images can be opened just like any others and can then be operated on by all transformations and tools.

PWP allows you to set individual RAW ICC profiles for each camera model you use. Profiles for about 10 DSLR models are available for downloading. Others will be added over time. You can also create your own profiles. If interest warrants, we will set up a profile swap on our web site.

RAW files are opened as 48 bit images preserving all the information in the original image. This means there is no need for a pre-conversion scaling step. (Programs which translate images to 24 bits necessarily must throw away some data and thus usually have pre-conversion workflows so the user can best position the image within the available 24 bit range.) In addition, you can archive the images as 48 bit tiffs rather than in their original RAW form. Of current formats, tiff is probably the most durable and is likely to be supported and readable farther into the future than proprietary camera model-specific RAW formats.

Batch Workflows PWP 4.0 introduces a new batch workflow feature which allows you to specify a series of operations and apply them to a batch of images. The workflow is executed in the background, allowing you to continue to use PWP for other work or to leave it unattended until it completes. [Yep, Picture Window now has background processing.] Workflows can be saved, so that you can develop a set of standard workflows for common tasks. Workflows can be used to adjust color, brightness, sharpness and other parameters on a group of images that require the same treatment. They can also be used to for housekeeping tasks like moving, renaming, and resizing images, changing their file format, and adding EXIF descriptions and copyrights.

Autoplay Support

Autoplay is the Windows function which senses when you insert a memory card into your system and let's you choose the application to handle the card. Choosing Picture Window displays all images on your card in a Workflow window. You can then apply a standard workflow to transfer the images to your system, optionally editing, renaming, and adding EXIF remarks in the process.

Image Review You can now preview your images in slide-show fashion using the new Play window. It displays large size images from the browser or workflow window. Images can be advanced manually or automatically. The Play window also has a triage function. It lets you mark images as keepers or rejects (or unmarked) and then apply various operations to these categories. For instance you can delete rejects and apply a workflow to keepers.

New Browser Features

The browser now displays folders and lets you navigate folder hierarchies. Thumbnail generation has been sped up and moved to the background, so you no longer have to wait for it to complete before doing other work. Album and workflow files are now displayed and may be opened from the browser. The browser allows you to rotate tiff and jpeg files and view and edit EXIF properties.

You can also create new folders directly in the browser and then drag thumbnails into them. This allows you to perform many organizing tasks without leaving Picture Window.

Infrastructure Enhancement

Many of the features outlined above depend on a major enhancement to Picture Window's unseen infrastructure. Picture Window now can now process many functions in the background, concurrently with foreground processing. Future improvement will take further advantage of this feature.

OS Requirements Changes

Picture Window 4.0 runs requires an NT-derived system such as NT 4.0, Win 2000, Win 2003, and Win XP. Users of Win 95/98/ME should continue to use version 3.5. The older operating systems do not support some of the functions that were required to create background mode.