Layers and channels question.

[SJ9000]

Hi all,

I'm a bit confused about layer types and channels. If I open an RGB image and look at the channels panel, I see all three (RGB) channels. Then I duplicate the layer and then Layer -> Convert Layer Type... to CMYK. If I look at the channels for that layer it shows RGB channels. Where are the CMYK channels? When I show only the CMYK layer and the window title says it's CMYK, why are the channels displaying RGB? This also happens with any other Layer Type. It seems the channels panel only displays the background layer channels. Is that true. Am I missing something. I guess the question is, how do I access the channels of layers other than the background layer?

Thanks,

Steve

[bkh]

I'm a bit confused about layer types and channels. If I open an RGB image and look at the channels panel, I see all three (RGB) channels. Then I duplicate the layer and then Layer -> Convert Layer Type... to CMYK. If I look at the channels for that layer it shows RGB channels. Where are the CMYK channels? W

The Channels panel shows the channels of the combined image, not those of a single image layer. In Picture Mode, the background image determines the colour model of the combined image, in Document Mode, you can set the colour model.

You can use Tools -> Change Channels … to copy a single channel of a layer onto the clipboard, if that's what you are after.

Cheers

Burkhard.

[SJ9000]

Thanks Burkhard,

Using Change Channels... did what I needed -- thanks for that suggestion. But your answer also made me wonder why there is even a channels panel unless you're on the background layer? Or at least name it something to indicate it's a sum of all the visible layers rather then the channels for the active layer. Maybe +Channels, or ∑ Channels? All in all though, I think this idea is pretty counter-intuitive. Wouldn't it make more sense if the channels panel shows the channels for only active layer? Maybe with a button on the channels panel to turn on/off channel summation? What do you think?

Thanks again,

Steve

[Martin Huber]

Or at least name it something to indicate it's a sum of all the visible layers rather then the channels for the active layer. Maybe +Channels, or ∑ Channels? All in all though, I think this idea is pretty counter-intuitive.

The Channel List of PhotoLine works the same way as the channel panels in other applications, and the labels of the channels are the same, too.

Martin

[SJ9000]

Hi Martin,

I agree that other imaging apps use channel summation for the channels display. So if you have a file with three layers, all visible, the app shows channel summations for the group. And if you make only one of the layers visible the channels display shows the channels for just that layer. BUT, the big difference is that PhotoLine allows layers in different color spaces, so if we have a 2 layer file with RGB on the bottom and CMYK on the next layer and only the CMYK layer is visible the channels panel still shows RGB channels rather then the channels for that layer. So you can see how that leads to my confusion. The only way I've found to look at channels for different color spaces within the same file is to move the layer to the bottom of the layers list and turn off visibility for the other layers. Anyway, it would be nice if there were an easy way to view the channels for individual layers in their native color space, like the Picture Info panel which allows you to read colors from all layers, which uses the color space of the bottom layer, or just the current layer, which reads info in the layer's current color space.

Thanks again for all your great work. All the best,

Steve