When I Clone Side Branch from an image, I get a splitter above the image, two branch boxes and the duplicated branch with all the images downstream.
When I Add Side Branch to an image, I get a splitter below the image, two branch boxes but no duplicates of the image.
Help says: "Splitters create duplicates of the image above them which appear in a row below the splitter, connected by lines."
Have I missed something?
Talking about splitters and branch boxes, as I have already posted elsewhere, using Edit transformations on a splitter or a branch box causes PWP to crash no matter what the Highlight button position is.
No duplicated images in Side branches?
Moderator: jsachs
Re: No duplicated images in Side branches?
Edit Transformation is supposed to be grayed out for splitters and branches (double-clicking on them brings up a dialog box to let you rename them) - will fix that for the next release.
The situations in which I envisage you would use clone or add side-branch are a little different.
Clone is for when you have a series of images in a branch that you want to copy so you can use the current branch as a starting point for exploring different options, either by editing the transformations on the new branch or by inserting or removing transformations from the branch. It saves you from having to re-create all the transformations and settings for the new branch.
Add Side Branch should possibly be called Insert Splitter instead. It simply inserts a splitter (or adds a new side branch to an existing splitter) so you can start entering new transformations at that point in the branch. The splitter lets all of its branches share a single copy of the image above it. You would use this instead of Cloning a branch when you just want to start a new side branch without copying all the transformations.
If there is something that needs to be clarified in the documentation, let me know and I will add more of an explanation. Also let me know, if you think there is a different or a better feature to implement side branches.
I am considering at some point adding features to the image browser, such as selecting multiple images, dragging and dropping thumbnails to rearrange the tree, multiple selection, and cut/copy/paste.
The situations in which I envisage you would use clone or add side-branch are a little different.
Clone is for when you have a series of images in a branch that you want to copy so you can use the current branch as a starting point for exploring different options, either by editing the transformations on the new branch or by inserting or removing transformations from the branch. It saves you from having to re-create all the transformations and settings for the new branch.
Add Side Branch should possibly be called Insert Splitter instead. It simply inserts a splitter (or adds a new side branch to an existing splitter) so you can start entering new transformations at that point in the branch. The splitter lets all of its branches share a single copy of the image above it. You would use this instead of Cloning a branch when you just want to start a new side branch without copying all the transformations.
If there is something that needs to be clarified in the documentation, let me know and I will add more of an explanation. Also let me know, if you think there is a different or a better feature to implement side branches.
I am considering at some point adding features to the image browser, such as selecting multiple images, dragging and dropping thumbnails to rearrange the tree, multiple selection, and cut/copy/paste.
Jonathan Sachs
Digital Light & Color
Digital Light & Color
Re: No duplicated images in Side branches?
Actually, it looks like a lot of actions need to be grayed out when the current image is a splitter and similarly for branches. For example, the image tree gets damaged if you insert a transformation between a splitter and its branches and a lot of other operations also don't work, and you should not be able to move a branch up or down.
Jonathan Sachs
Digital Light & Color
Digital Light & Color
Re: No duplicated images in Side branches?
At first I understood the add type of Side Branch the way you describe with the exception that I somehow gathered that the command Edit transformation, available in a branch box itself, can also be used to start a new transformation. However, it proved a false idea that led to a discovery of a bug.
As regards the formulation from the Help I mentioned: "Splitters create duplicates of the image...." sounds as if it is common to both types of side branches, but it relates only to the Clone Side Branch command.
To rename Add Side Branch to Insert Splitter makes sense. Maybe also a short comment about Add Side Branch (Insert Splitter) command with an image of a part of the tree with the splitter and its two branch boxes would make the difference even more clear.
The additional features you are considering sound interesting. For example changing the order of some transformations where it makes sense (e.g. Color Balance, Sharpening) by dragging thumbnails might be usefull if it were within a branch. But, in my opinion, too much flexibility about the tree including dragging and dropping across branches, not to forget already implemented bypass feature, might easily lead to a loss of one's purpose. It would also probably need a possibility of several reverse steps to get you back. It seems pretty complicated. Even so, for some really sophisticated editing work a lot of flexibility might be a necessary part of creativity.
What do others think?
As regards the formulation from the Help I mentioned: "Splitters create duplicates of the image...." sounds as if it is common to both types of side branches, but it relates only to the Clone Side Branch command.
To rename Add Side Branch to Insert Splitter makes sense. Maybe also a short comment about Add Side Branch (Insert Splitter) command with an image of a part of the tree with the splitter and its two branch boxes would make the difference even more clear.
The additional features you are considering sound interesting. For example changing the order of some transformations where it makes sense (e.g. Color Balance, Sharpening) by dragging thumbnails might be usefull if it were within a branch. But, in my opinion, too much flexibility about the tree including dragging and dropping across branches, not to forget already implemented bypass feature, might easily lead to a loss of one's purpose. It would also probably need a possibility of several reverse steps to get you back. It seems pretty complicated. Even so, for some really sophisticated editing work a lot of flexibility might be a necessary part of creativity.
What do others think?