Feature Requests

[photoken]

I'm using the trial of PL and really liking what I see. There are a couple of improvements/features that I'd like:

1. A modern dark gray UI (as other image applications like RawTherapee, PaintShopPro, Lightroom, etc., use), which would be much less tiring on the eye when working for long periods of time.
2. The Mask...Border Mask feature needs to have options for creating the border Inside/Center/Outside the selection. This will be especially helpful for keeping the border the same width when a rectangular selection extends to the edges of an image.
3. A method to bypass the confirmation message when choosing "Revert to Saved". Perhaps by holding down the Shift key when selecting that item.
4. Better Chromatic Aberration Correction -- simply shifting the red and blue channels isn't up to contemporary standards.

[greenmorpher]

1) Nooo!!! From where I sit, that "modern" interface is is just a fad and adds nothing to usability. In fact, it takes away.

2) Agree.

3) No opinion. Just so long as the message remains the default.

4) +++. I use LensFix CI or PTLens plug-ins (essentially the same program) which seem to be superior to Pl's process.

Cheers, geoff

[Partha]

Totally agree with the modern interface. If some people don't like it, provide them an option to revert to the current theme.

[photoken]

As I practice and learn more about PL, here are a few more enhancements I'd like to see:
1. A Background Eraser tool which will continuously sample the area under the central point of the brush, and have a Contiguous/Discontiguous option.
2. In the Gradient Settings panel, a field to specify how many times to repeat the gradient.
3. Web Export needs a scaling field for PNG and JPG images.

Added:
4. The "New Picture" dialog should have an editable pre-set size field, which would have the metric sizes and a few default pixel sizes (640x480, etc.).

[bkh]

As I practice and learn more about PL, here are a few more enhancements I'd like to see:
1. A Background Eraser tool which will continuously sample the area under the central point of the brush, and have a Contiguous/Discontiguous option.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean. Maybe something like the Autotransparency Tool or the Autoeraser?

3. Web Export needs a scaling field for PNG and JPG images.

I've just recorded the scaling as an action – in that way, it's available in the Actions drop down menu. You can scale to a given size, given maximum size, add sharpening, etc … in that way, too.

Cheers

Burkhard.

[photoken]

For the background eraser, yes, it's something like the AutoEraser, but with the continuous sampling and Contiguous/Discontiguous options.

For the Web Export, having the resizing field in the export dialog itself is what I'm looking for. PS and PSE use that in their "Save for Web" dialog and it's very convenient.

[photoken]

WHOOOOO HHHOOOOO!!!!

Thank you for the dark interface in the new version 18.00! Things are looking much better, now.... I guess there's no way to darken the main menu bar on Win7?

Chromatic Aberration correction is looking better, too.

Thanks again!

[photoken]

Found a few more features I'd like to have:
1. Crop Tool needs an option to snap to the edges of the image when the crop rectangle is drawn past an edge. This will ensure an accurate crop to the precise edges.
2. Trim Image needs to trim all four sides of the image. In other words, not maintaining the original image proportion. It also needs options to use either "layer opaque" or "merged opaque".
3. Need an option to close all other images, leaving the current image open.
4. A new category of text -- Artistic Text. Artistic Text is not associated with a text box and uses a layer the full size of the image, containing the text as an object. The text could be repositioned, re-sized and skewed by dragging its bounding box corners. Also, when converting this text layer to a raster layer, the size of the layer would remain the full size of the image to enable using distortions such as the Displacement Map without cutting off parts of the image of the text.
5. Vignetting correction.

[Herbert123]

Found a few more features I'd like to have:
1. Crop Tool needs an option to snap to the edges of the image when the crop rectangle is drawn past an edge. This will ensure an accurate crop to the precise edges.
2. Trim Image needs to trim all four sides of the image. In other words, not maintaining the original image proportion. It also needs options to use either "layer opaque" or "merged opaque".
3. Need an option to close all other images, leaving the current image open.
4. A new category of text -- Artistic Text. Artistic Text is not associated with a text box and uses a layer the full size of the image, containing the text as an object. The text could be repositioned, re-sized and skewed by dragging its bounding box corners. Also, when converting this text layer to a raster layer, the size of the layer would remain the full size of the image to enable using distortions such as the Displacement Map without cutting off parts of the image of the text.
5. Vignetting correction.

1: hold down <alt>/<option> to snap the crop tool to the edges of an image
2: don't understand - it already trims all sides, and does not main the original's proportions.
3: more of a luxury, I think? Just close all Ctrl-Shift-W, and open the document you want. Perhaps one additional step, but still pretty fast.
4: set the move tool mode to extended, and the text boxes behave like that already? And merging the text layer with a full width and height bitmap layer converts it to a full size bitmap layer.
5: many, many methods to do this in Photoline without a direct "easy" vignetting function. Masks, gradients, adjustment layers plus masks, etc. Or get PTLens. Or a free plugin: http://www.vicanek.de/plugins/vignettecorrector.htm

[bkh]

2. Trim Image needs to trim all four sides of the image. In other words, not maintaining the original image proportion. It also needs options to use either "layer opaque" or "merged opaque".

'Trim image' removes "unnecessary" transparency around an image layer, retaining all visible parts in place (mainly a space saving option). I also don't understand what the options "layer opaque" and "merged opaque" supposed to do.

4. A new category of text -- Artistic Text. Artistic Text is not associated with a text box and uses a layer the full size of the image, containing the text as an object. The text could be repositioned, re-sized and skewed by dragging its bounding box corners. Also, when converting this text layer to a raster layer, the size of the layer would remain the full size of the image to enable using distortions such as the Displacement Map without cutting off parts of the image of the text.

I agree with Herbert123 here – this is basically all there already, using the Layer tool in Extended Mode. You'll only have to scale your text to the document size manually (again, using the Layer Tool in extended mode)."'Optimize Text Layer Size" might be useful – it shrinks a text layer to the minimum required size.

Cheers

Burkhard.

[photoken]

1: hold down <alt>/<option> to snap the crop tool to the edges of an image

Aha! That shows guides which the Crop Tool will snap to. Excellent! Thanks.

2: don't understand - it already trims all sides, and does not main the original's proportions.

It turns out that the eraser I used for testing had a slight feathering to the brush. That left some non-transparent pixels that were not visible but affected the trim function. So "Trim" does work, but it still needs the option of using (selected) layer opaque. "Trim Document" is the equivalent of using "merged opaque", I see.

3: more of a luxury, I think? Just close all Ctrl-Shift-W, and open the document you want. Perhaps one additional step, but still pretty fast.

Verrrry sloooow. "Close other documents" is the option to have.

4: set the move tool mode to extended, and the text boxes behave like that already? And merging the text layer with a full width and height bitmap layer converts it to a full size bitmap layer.

OK, the extended mode will distort the text, but not scale it. Thanks for the tip about merging with a full image bitmap layer. It's clunky to have to create a new empty layer, etc., but workable.
Edit:
Found a better way -- convert the text layer to an RGB layer and use Layout...Image...Bring to Document Size.

5: many, many methods to do this in Photoline without a direct "easy" vignetting function. Masks, gradients, adjustment layers plus masks, etc. Or get PTLens. Or a free plugin: http://www.vicanek.de/plugins/vignettecorrector.htm

That's the whole point -- a vignetting correction function is definitely easy and desirable.

[photoken]

Let me refine my feature request about trimming:

What I'd like to see are 3 "snapping" options for the Crop Tool -- snap to selection ("mask", in PLspeak), snap to layer opaque, and snap to merged opaque.

That accommodates all possible trimming scenarios in one place.

[photoken]

Almost forgot this one:

Animate the selection marquee. The static marquee gets lost in busy image details.

[OldRadioGuy]

Found a few more features I'd like to have:
5. Vignetting correction.

Isn't Vignetting correction better left to a tool which also deals with other lens distortions -- barrel, fisheye, perspective and chromatic aberration?

PTLens or ViewPoint, for example.

Bob

[Herbert123]

4: set the move tool mode to extended, and the text boxes behave like that already? And merging the text layer with a full width and height bitmap layer converts it to a full size bitmap layer.

OK, the extended mode will distort the text, but not scale it. Thanks for the tip about merging with a full image bitmap layer. It's clunky to have to create a new empty layer, etc., but workable.
Edit:
Found a better way -- convert the text layer to an RGB layer and use Layout...Image...Bring to Document Size.

No, it will work - it not only distorts, it also scales. But you have to pay attention to the mouse cursor: place the cursor on the corner enters distort mode. Moving it slightly outside the corner point changes the mouse cursor to scale mode (double arrow), and then you can hold down <shift> for proportional scaling.