Corel AfterShot Pro 2 User Guide
Contents
Quick start ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Welcome to Corel AfterShot Pro ............................................................................................................. 8
What's new in AfterShot Pro? .............................................................................................................. 9
Corel AfterShot Pro workspace .......................................................................................................... 11
Understanding non-destructive editing ............................................................................................. 12
Understanding the Library ................................................................................................................. 13
Understanding the export process .................................................................................................... 14
System requirements ......................................................................................................................... 15
Supported cameras and file formats ................................................................................................. 16
About image size ................................................................................................................................ 17
Library and catalogs ............................................................................................................................... 19
Importing images ............................................................................................................................... 20
Managing your Library ....................................................................................................................... 20
Portable Catalogs ............................................................................................................................... 22
File System mode ................................................................................................................................... 24
Working in File System mode ............................................................................................................ 24
Editing photos ........................................................................................................................................ 25
About adjustment tools ..................................................................................................................... 25
Standard tools .................................................................................................................................... 27
Color tools .......................................................................................................................................... 29
Tone tools .......................................................................................................................................... 31
Detail tools ......................................................................................................................................... 32
Metadata tools ................................................................................................................................... 35
Plugins ................................................................................................................................................ 36
Selective editing ................................................................................................................................. 37
Retouching with Heal and Clone ........................................................................................................ 41
Removing red eye .............................................................................................................................. 42
Cropping and straightening ............................................................................................................... 42
Presets ................................................................................................................................................ 44
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Copying and pasting settings ............................................................................................................. 45
Undoing changes ................................................................................................................................ 46
About default settings ....................................................................................................................... 46
Using the History palette ................................................................................................................... 47
Editing photos in an external image editor........................................................................................ 48
HDR .................................................................................................................................................... 48
Organizing, keywords, and metadata .................................................................................................... 49
Versions .............................................................................................................................................. 49
Stacks ................................................................................................................................................. 51
Thumbnail indicators ......................................................................................................................... 52
Sorting and filtering ........................................................................................................................... 53
Labels, ratings, and flags .................................................................................................................... 54
About keywords ................................................................................................................................. 55
Working with keywords ..................................................................................................................... 56
Working with metadata ..................................................................................................................... 58
Finding photos by using metadata ..................................................................................................... 59
Metadata in images that you output ................................................................................................. 60
Reloading metadata ........................................................................................................................... 61
Exporting images .................................................................................................................................... 62
Exporting without a preset ................................................................................................................ 62
Exporting with a batch preset ............................................................................................................ 63
Managing batches .............................................................................................................................. 64
Understanding export settings .......................................................................................................... 65
Web Galleries ..................................................................................................................................... 67
Using batches to copy files ................................................................................................................ 69
Adjusting the workspace ........................................................................................................................ 71
Layout options ................................................................................................................................... 71
Magnifier and Metadata viewer ........................................................................................................ 73
Slideshows.......................................................................................................................................... 74
Printing ................................................................................................................................................... 76
Working with print batches ............................................................................................................... 76
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Managing print batches ..................................................................................................................... 77
Print settings ...................................................................................................................................... 78
Print layouts ....................................................................................................................................... 79
Application preferences ......................................................................................................................... 82
General preferences .......................................................................................................................... 82
Display preferences............................................................................................................................ 82
Color Management preferences ........................................................................................................ 83
Import and Cache preferences .......................................................................................................... 83
Renaming preferences ....................................................................................................................... 83
Sequence preferences ....................................................................................................................... 84
Keyboard preferences ........................................................................................................................ 84
Soft Proofing preferences .................................................................................................................. 84
Copy Sets preferences ....................................................................................................................... 84
Defaults preferences .......................................................................................................................... 85
Crop preferences ............................................................................................................................... 85
External Editor preferences ............................................................................................................... 85
Performance preferences .................................................................................................................. 85
Hardware Acceleration preferences .................................................................................................. 85
Additional information ........................................................................................................................... 87
Renaming formats .............................................................................................................................. 87
Metadata tags .................................................................................................................................... 91
File locations ...................................................................................................................................... 93
Command line options ....................................................................................................................... 94
Custom print layouts .......................................................................................................................... 94
About color management .................................................................................................................. 95
Terminology ....................................................................................................................................... 96
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Quick start
You can also
This section introduces some of the basic tasks that you can accomplish in Corel AfterShot Pro. If you're looking for a
quick way to start working with the application, take a few minutes to go through the steps below. The steps include
handy shortcuts and tips that help you work quickly.
There are three main steps:
1. Open your photos in Corel AfterShot Pro.
2. Select and edit one or more photos.
3. Output your edited photos individually or as a batch.
Before you begin, see
Step one: Open your photos
To get you started quickly, we're going to work directly from the folders on your computer. After you're familiar with the
application, you can choose to build a Library by importing photos into Corel AfterShot Pro. When you're ready for more
information, see
To navigate to your photos
In Corel AfterShot Pro, click the File System tab, and navigate to your folder in the Directory View.
When you click a folder, the photos from the folder are displayed as thumbnails in the Thumbnail panel.
Corel AfterShot Pro workspace
Understanding the Library
for a quick overview of the workspace.
.
Thumbnail panel, displayed as a strip in Standard View
Step two: Selecting and editing photos
To view and adjust images, you need to select them. The Thumbnail panel displays thumbnails of the photos that are in
the active folder. When you select a thumbnail, the Preview panel displays a larger view of the photo. When you edit a
photo, the original file (master file) is never altered — edit information is saved separately and what you see onscreen is a
master version, a preview that shows your edits. You can edit the entire photo or a selected area of the photo. When you
are finished editing a photo, you can simply move on to the next photo, or you can save your changes as a new version.
This means that you capture the edits as a variation of the original file. The
Preview panel. It can also be output.
To preview and select photos
1. In the Browse panel, click the File System tab.
2. Navigate to the folder you want. The Thumbnail panel displays the photos that are in the folder.
3. Click a thumbnail to display it in the Preview panel.
Before you start editing, you can choose between viewing the edits directly on the master version of your file, or
creating a new version for editing by pressing Insert or by right-clicking the thumbnail and choosing Version > New
Version from Defaults.
version
can be viewed as a thumbnail or in the
4
You can also
Scroll quickly through thumbnails
Press [ or ].
Compare two or more photos (or versions) in the Preview
panel
Click the Toggle Multi-Image View button (or press M),
and Ctrl + click or Command-click the thumbnails. The
Preview panel displays the selected photos.
You can also select a sequence of photos by using Shift +
arrow keys.
This is a great way to select and flag the best photo in a
series of similar photos. For more information about
flagging and organizing your photos, see
Organizing,
keywords, and metadata
.
Select all thumbnails
Press Ctrl + A or Command-A.
Deselect thumbnails
Click a background area of the Thumbnail panel or press Ctrl
+ D or Command-D.
Note: The last image you select is called the active image. While in Multi-Image View mode, metadata changes,
To
Do the following
Flag or add keywords (i.e. add metadata)
Flag — click a thumbnail and on the Top toolbar click the
Flag as Pick button or press . (period key). To mark a
photo as a reject, click the Flag as Reject button or press
, (comma key).
Keywords — on the Tools panel, click the Metadata tab, click
inside the Keywords box, and type one or more keywords,
separated by commas.
Crop a photo
On the AfterShot Pro toolbar at the bottom of the Preview
panel, click the Crop tool . In the Crop palette, adjust the
settings that you want, and in the Preview panel, drag the
crop area over the area that you want to preserve. Click Done
in the Crop palette.
Adjust the color, tone, or sharpness of the entire photo
In the Tools panel, click the Standard tab, and adjust the
settings you want in the Basic Adjustments section.
Edit a selected area only
1. Click the Open Layer Manager button in the upper-right
corner of the window.
2. In the Layers palette, click the +Adjust button at the top of
the palette. A new editing layer is created.
3. Click a Region tool, such as the Circle Region tool, click an
area that you want to adjust, and adjust the Size, Feather,
or other settings at the bottom of the Layers palette.
4. In the Basic Adjustments section of the Tools panel, adjust
any of the settings you want — the changes apply to the
adjustments, and other edits apply only to the active image.
To edit a photo
1. In the Browse panel, navigate to the folder you want.
The Thumbnail panel displays the photos that are in the folder.
2. Click a thumbnail to display it in the Preview panel.
3. Experiment by trying any of the editing actions in the following table.
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Tip: There are some handy ways to undo actions. Here are a few you can try:
To undo one action at a time, press Ctrl + Z or Command-Z.
To reset a Tools panel slider to its original setting, double-click the slider name.
To clear all the changes that you've made to a photo, right-click the thumbnail, and choose Settings > Apply Default
Settings from the context menu.
To show your edits on a new version
In the Thumbnail panel, right-click or Control-click an edited photo (master version), and from the context menu, choose
Version > New Version from Current.
Note: You can confirm that a photo has been edited by looking for the Edit icon in the corner of the thumbnail.
A new thumbnail appears next to the thumbnail of the master version. By default, versions use the following naming
convention: original file name + version number (_v2, _v3, ...).
Three edited versions based on the same master file
You can now return to the master version and edit it in a new way and create another version. To start from the original
settings, you can clear the edits made to the master version by right-clicking or Control-clicking the thumbnail, and
choosing Settings > Apply Default Settings from the context menu.
Tip: Whether you choose to create a new version before or after editing a master version depends on your workflow.
For example, if you know that you want to make several versions from the outset, you can create a version before you
start editing, so you can always see how the original master file looks. If you want to quickly fix a photo, you can
simply edit the master version—you can create other versions later if you want. The non-destructive nature of editing
in Corel AfterShot Pro gives you maximum flexibility.
For more information about editing photos, see
Editing photos
.
Step three: Exporting photos for sharing and print
After you organize and edit your photos, you can share your work by exporting your photos. Exporting lets you save your
photos to a standard file format so that you can share your work on the Web, via email, or use your files in other
applications. You can also output your files to print. There are a number of standard output choices, called batches, that
let you output quickly, but you can also create a custom batch. For example, you can choose file type, quality, color space,
and image size. You can also set a naming convention to rename the files when they are output and you can apply
presets. For more information about outputting, see
Exporting images
.
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To get you started quickly, let's use standard batches to save to JPEG and print a couple of 5 x 7 inch photos.
To output to a full-sized JPEG
1. In the Thumbnail panel, select one or more photos that you want to output.
2. Do one of the following:
In the Browse panel, click the Output tab, and in the Batch Output section, drag the thumbnails to JPEG Full Size.
Press F (shortcut key assigned to JPEG Full Size batch).
3. In the Select a Destination dialog box, choose a folder where the files will be saved.
After you select a destination folder, files are saved automatically to that folder for the rest of the session. You can change
the destination and access other output settings by double-clicking a batch name in the Batch Output or Printing section.
To print to a standard print size
1. In the Thumbnail panel, select two photos that you want to print.
2. In the Browse panel, click the Output tab, and in the Printing section, drag the thumbnails to a batch name, such as 5x7
Qty.2. Numbers appear next to the batch name, (0 of 2), to indicate the number of photos printed and the total number
of photos in the batch.
3. Double-click the batch name to preview the print job in the Print Settings dialog box.
4. In the Print Layout section, enable the Scale crop or Scale reduce option (matches the photos to the selected print ratio)
and preview the results.
5. Choose your printer from the drop-down list in the bottom left corner.
6. Click Print.
Moving on
Now that you have been introduced to the basics, here are some additional topics that will provide you with more
detailed information:
Understanding the Library
Managing your Library
Editing photos
Organizing, keywords, and metadata
Exporting images
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Welcome to Corel AfterShot Pro
Action
Traditional image-editor
Corel AfterShot Pro
Open files that
you want to edit
File > Open File, open one or
more files.
As a workflow application, you tend to work with folders, so click the
File System tab, and click a folder. You can then right-click to import
the folder to the Library or click a thumbnail and start editing.
Edit files
Start editing each open file,
when finished, the editing
information is saved to the
file.
Start editing, creating one or more looks (versions) for each photo. The
edits are saved automatically to a sidecar file (XMP) so that your
original file is never affected. You can really experiment, even between
editing sessions.
Save the files
File > Save, usually for each
file that you want to output,
save to the file format you
want (such as JPEG). You
either overwrite your existing
file, or create a new file.
Select as many thumbnails (photos or looks) as you want, and to
export to a standard JPEG, press F. Want TIFF? Press T. New files are
created, your original file is never affected.
*Corel AfterShot Pro lets you export multiple files at one time, and
offers a range of settings that let you customize your output. Choose
File > Export or right-click any of the batch presets in the Batch Output
section of the Output tab to access the settings.
What is Corel AfterShot Pro?
Corel AfterShot Pro is a fast, flexible workflow application for digital photos, including RAW formats, JPEG, and TIFF. Corel
AfterShot Pro is designed to help you organize, optimize, and output your photos. You can work with individual photos
or tap into powerful and flexible multi-image processing options that let you adjust and output your photos so you can
print them or share them via email or the Web. Corel AfterShot Pro is completely non-destructive; your original image files
are always safe. You can use Corel AfterShot Pro on its own, or with your favorite image editing software.
For a full list of learning resources, from the menu bar choose Help > Learning Center.
How is Corel AfterShot Pro different from other image-editing software?
There are a few things that set Corel AfterShot Pro apart from traditional image-editing software. Let's take a look at these
differences.
What is photo workflow?
Photo workflow refers to all the activities that occur between the initial image capture and the final photo output.
Photographers have very different workflows, depending on the volume of photos they take and what they do with the
photos. Your workflow might be as simple as downloading images from your camera's memory card and printing them
on a printer that is attached to your computer. A photo workflow might also include any of the following:
organizational tasks, such as adding keywords and star ratings so you can search and sort your images
editing and adjusting photos to correct, enhance, or creatively manipulate photos
backing up and archiving photos
sharing photos through email or on the Web
printing photos in-house, through online printing services, service bureaus, or prepress facilities
Corel AfterShot Pro supports a wide range of workflow options and working styles to ensure that you can get the best
quality from your photos in the least amount of time.
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Asset management lets you catalog your original digital photos as master files and view, add,
browse and search photo metadata. As your photo library grows from hundreds to thousands of
photos, maintaining a coherent, organized, searchable library becomes critical. Corel AfterShot Pro
provides all the tools needed to catalog your current photographs, and makes it easy to add to your
library.
Image editing lets you adjust and correct elements such as exposure, white balance, detail, and
distortions. You can get creative with a variety of editing features that you can apply to an entire
photo or a selected area. For example, you can use selective editing to select one color area in your
photo and apply a color to that area without affecting the rest of the photo.
Output generation lets you share the photos that you have worked on in Corel AfterShot Pro. Your
photos can be output in a wide range of formats that you can print, email, or share on the Web.
The powerful Batch Conversion feature lets you take advantage of multi-image processing.
Photo workflow: 1. Transfer photos from your camera to your computer, 2. Import the photos into Corel AfterShot Pro, 3. Edit your photos, creating one or
more versions, 4. Export a version to a JPEG or TIFF file.
Corel AfterShot Pro is organized into three workflow areas: Asset management, Image editing, and Output generation.
What's new in AfterShot Pro?
Corel AfterShot Pro 2 builds on its strengths: fast RAW processing, flexible non-destructive editing, and powerful photo
workflow and batch control.
NEW! 64-bit power
Now 30% faster! Get even more processing power and remove memory limitations with the new 64-bit architecture of
AfterShot Pro 2. Access more memory and get more stability and responsiveness app-wide. Combined with AfterShot
Pro’s world famous multicore performance, AfterShot Pro 2 is 4x faster than the leading RAW processing
software—delivering faster results and saving you even more time.
NEW! Updated RAW camera profiles
AfterShot Pro 2 includes support for 26 new camera profiles and supports RAW files from all major camera
manufacturers. With support for more than 250 camera profiles overall, new camera profiles are being updated
throughout the year!
NEW! Complete High Dynamic Range (HDR) tools
Create stunning photos with intense visual contrast using new High Dynamic Range (HDR) tools. Combine multiple
exposures to create a single, stunning HDR photo. Within the all-new AfterShot HDR module, apply Smart Photo Fix,
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White Balance, Brightness/Contrast, Fill Light/Clarity, Local Tone Mapping, High Pass Sharpening, and Digital Noise
Removal.
NEW! Workspace enhancements
Enjoy a more fluid workflow with a modern, streamlined interface. Enhanced Zoom delivers better previewing of smaller
images, and a new Image Reset button that lets you undo all your changes and view your original photo in a single click.
NEW! Easier batch processing
The powerful batch processing dialog of AfterShot Pro has been redesigned to make it simpler and faster to configure any
batch processing task. This new dialog features the same new clean interface common throughout AfterShot Pro 2.
New! Red eye removal
AfterShot Pro 2 has a new Red Eye Removal feature. This feature gives you precise control when cleaning up red eye in
your photos.
NEW! Bigger Images, Better TIFF performance
New 64-bit performance provides AfterShot Pro 2 with the ability to now support much larger images including files of up
to 250 megapixels in size. More power means that AfterShot Pro 2 now supports TIFF format files larger than 30MB.
New! Local Contrast
The new Local Contrast feature helps you recreate the look of high-end camera lenses and make objects within an image
pop by bringing out the texture and contrast in your photos.
NEW! Noise reduction by Athentech
Optimize your images with the new Perfectly Clear noise reduction from Athentech. Adjust the noise reduction to get the
precise look you want.
Enhanced! Plug-in support
When you buy AfterShot Pro, you’re not just buying the most powerful RAW photo editing software available, you’re
buying into a comprehensive photo editing community. That means you have access to a wide array of 32-bit plug-ins
and plug-in developers. Browse our library of plug-ins at www.aftershotpro.com/plugins. These plug-ins are 32-bit—our
64-bit plug-in SDK will also be available.
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Corel AfterShot Pro workspace
The Corel AfterShot Pro workspace includes the following elements:
1. Menu bar
The menu bar is used to access common functions and features. For example, you can import folders, set your
preferences, or access the Help.
2. Top toolbar
This toolbar contains a variety of search, metadata, layer, and viewing commands.
3. Preview panel
The Preview panel lets you view a large version of the photo that is selected in the Thumbnail panel. When Multi-Image
View is enabled, the Preview panel displays previews of all the selected thumbnails. You can view image adjustments and
zoom into or out of the selected images.
4. Tools panel
Like the Browse panel, the Tools panel has tabs for pages that contain a number of sections. For example, the Standard
page displays the Histogram, Basic Adjustments, and Presets sections. Sections can be pinned so they stay visible.
The Tools panel can be hidden so that more room is available for viewing your images. Just click the arrow at the top
of the Tools panel tabs to hide or show this panel.
5. Status bar
The Status bar lets you view information about the current image and access viewing controls such as Toggle Multi-Image
View and Lock Position and Zoom. Soft-proofing and Clipping Warning controls are also accessible here.
6. Thumb Zoom toolbar
This toolbar contains the Thumbnail Size control which lets you adjust the size of the thumbnails in the Thumbnail panel.
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7. Thumbnail panel
At the bottom of the main Corel AfterShot Pro window, this panel shows thumbnails for the folder, container, search or
browse category selected with the Browse panel. All the images in the folder are initially visible in the Thumbnail panel, but
you can filter the images to show only the thumbnails that match a specific set of criteria.
8. AfterShot Pro toolbar
This toolbar contains editing tools and viewing options for the Preview panel.
9. Browse panel
The Browse panel is your main access point for your photos. The panel has tabs for the Library, File System, and Output
pages. Some pages are further divided into sections. For example, the Library page consists of a Catalogs section and a
Metadata Browser section. The Browse panel can be hidden so that more room is available for viewing your images. Just
click the left arrow at the top of the Browse panel tabs to hide or show the panel.
There are many ways to adjust and customize the Corel AfterShot Pro workspace. For more information, see
workspace
.
Adjusting the
Understanding non-destructive editing
Corel AfterShot Pro is a non-destructive image editor, meaning that adjustments you make to your images in Corel
AfterShot Pro will never alter the data in the original image. You are free to experiment as much as you want, knowing
that you can always revert to the original version. As a non-destructive image editor, the adjustments you create are
stored either in a sidecar XMP file, within the Corel AfterShot Pro catalog database, or both. This means that when you're
ready to share or export your work, you need to output the versions you want to a standard file format.
When you edit a photo in Corel AfterShot Pro, a new version is created that contains the adjustments you've made. Corel
AfterShot Pro allows more than one set of image adjustments to be made on a single photo, allowing you to efficiently
make many versions of a single image. Creating a new version does not make a copy of the original master file, but rather
just allows you to apply different image adjustments and metadata to the same Master file.
Photo workflow: 1. Transfer photos from your camera to your computer, 2. Import the photos into Corel AfterShot Pro, 3. Edit your photos, creating one or
more versions, 4. Export a version to a JPEG or TIFF file.
XMP files
Corel AfterShot Pro stores its settings in an XMP file that is slightly different from other popular image editors and photo
management applications. We do this to prevent Corel AfterShot Pro from overwriting settings created by other
applications and to circumvent limitations inherent in the current XMP standard (such as only being able to export the
metadata from one version at a time, or the inability to save different settings for a RAW file and a JPEG that were created
in camera as a RAW+JPEG pair).
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Corel AfterShot Pro uses a similar, but slightly different filename to store this enhanced XMP data. The XMP filename is
created by simply adding ".xmp" to the end of the complete filename of the image file it describes (while many other
applications build the XMP filename by first dropping the image file extension (like "jpg", "nef" or "cr2") before adding
"xmp"). So a Corel AfterShot Pro XMP file would look like img_0000.jpg.xmp while an XMP from other applications for the
same image would simply be img_0000.xmp.
Corel AfterShot Pro lets you create a standard XMP file that other applications will read, but this limits the settings to
those officially supported by the XMP standard (one set of metadata per image file).
Shared XMP data
Other applications store image adjustments in sidecar XMP files, and metadata added in other applications can be
imported into Corel AfterShot Pro. These include:
Star ratings
Color labels
Flags (called 'Picks' or 'Selects' in other applications)
Keywords and categories
IPTC and EXIF data
Likewise, applying any of these settings to images in Corel AfterShot Pro will write this data back to the XMP file for those
images. Many applications allow you sync settings from XMP files with the settings they hold in their internal databases.
After the sync process is complete, adjustments made in Corel AfterShot Pro appear in those applications as well.
For more information, see
Organizing, keywords, and metadata
.
XMP data exclusive to Corel AfterShot Pro
Settings from image editing tools within Corel AfterShot Pro and other applications are also stored within XMP files;
however, these settings are not shared amongst applications from different manufacturers. This is due to the technical
differences in implementing various image adjustment tools. These differences in how the various tools are implemented
give each application its own image quality characteristics, and prohibit image adjustment settings from being shared
between applications.
Using Corel AfterShot Pro in no way limits what you can do with your images or which applications you can use to edit or
manage your digital photographic files.
How metadata is processed when you import files
Corel AfterShot Pro reads and collects metadata embedded in image files, in Corel AfterShot Pro XMP files and standard
XMP files. The process and order of collecting metadata from these various sources is shown below.
1. If a Corel AfterShot Pro XMP file exists, metadata is read from this file and no other metadata is imported.
2. If no Corel AfterShot Pro XMP file is found, metadata is read from Standard XMP files.
3. If XMP content is embedded in the image file, this is read next and is added to any previously found XMP data, but
common fields found in any other source are ignored.
Understanding the Library
Your Library is where you store one or more catalogs of photos. It is a key part of the asset management system. It lets
you access the master files (original photos) as well as all the versions that you create. You can read photo metadata, and
search and browse for photos based on the associated metadata.
Review the information in this section, and when you're ready to start importing, see
Importing images
.
The Corel AfterShot Pro Library and catalogs
If you choose to use Corel AfterShot Pro's asset management features, you will start by importing images into a catalog.
This catalog is where data and metadata for your photos will be stored. The Library consists of one or more catalogs,
which store data such as:
Links to original master files (path information and file information)
Metadata for image searching and browsing
Image adjustment settings, and a complete editing history
Previews and thumbnails
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Catalog-specific settings
Batch Output
presets
File Type & Size
Comments
Asset management is optional
Although importing your photos to the Library is recommended, it is not required. You can still view and edit photos and
use the RAW file conversion features without adding files to your Library. How? You simply click the File System tab and
navigate to the photos in the Directory View.
When would I not want to import photos?
Here are some examples of cases where you may choose not to import photos:
If you simply want to see what photos are on a memory card or other storage device. For example, if you want to grab
a few RAW files from your friend's memory card, you can use the File System tab to find and view the photos. You can
then copy only the photos that you want to your computer and import those photos.
If you already have an asset management application and don't want to replace it. For example, perhaps you have
third-party software that copies and builds an image folder structure.
If you have many photos that you need to import and you simply want to get started quickly.
Features available after importing photos to the Library
After you import your photos to a catalog in your Library, you have full access to the following features:
Browsing multiple folders — select multiple folders and view all the thumbnails in the folders and subfolders in one flat
view.
Full editing history — an editing log is maintained for every change that you make to photos and versions over time. If
you do not import your photos, the edit log is maintained only for the current session (the log is cleared when you exit
the application).
Image search — find images by searching for filename, EXIF, IPTC or other metadata.
Metadata browsing — browse through your catalog using EXIF, IPTC or other metadata.
Image stacks — group versions from one or many master files together into stacks.
Offline image browsing — find and manage images that are stored on offline media like CDs, DVDs or external hard
drives.
Initial image settings — Corel AfterShot Pro stores the first set of adjustments found for every image when you import.
This lets you quickly revert to these settings at any time. The Initial Settings might be the same as the Default Settings,
or they might be different because they include any edits or adjustments made in Corel AfterShot Pro before importing.
Understanding the export process
Exporting takes the previews that you see in Corel AfterShot Pro and creates new image files that you can print, share on
the web, or use in other applications. Since Corel AfterShot Pro is a non-destructive image editor, the image adjustments
and optimizations you create in Corel AfterShot Pro are only accessible to other applications when exported to standard
file formats, such as JPEG and TIFF.
A batch lets you export one or more images and lets you customize the output. For example, you can rename the files as
they are processed and change the file type. There are two main types of batch operations:
File Output batches — convert versions to a new image file that can be accessed by any other application.
Copy Output batches — lets you copy the master files. This option lets you copy or move files from one location to
another. You can also perform many of the same actions as you can with File Output batches.
For more information about exporting, see
Exporting images
.
File Output batches
Corel AfterShot Pro comes with several batch output presets to convert the versions you create to standard file formats.
You can customize any of these batches.
The following batches have been created for you:
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Batch Output
presets
File Type & Size
Comments
JPEG Full Size
JPEG Image type, 90% image
quality
Same Pixel Dimensions as the
master file
Converts to sRGB colorspace. Ideal for printing and general output.
JPEG Proof
JPEG Image type, 80% image
quality
Half Height, Half Width of the
master file
Converts to sRGB colorspace, ideal for sharing on the Web
16-bit TIFF
TIFF Image type, with 16
bits-per-pixel color data
Same Pixel Dimensions as the
master file
Ideal when exporting images for editing in other applications (must
support 16-bit images)
8-bit TIFF
TIFF Image type, with 8
bits-per-pixel color data
Same Pixel Dimensions as the
master file
Ideal for exporting images so you can use them in other
applications that do not support 16-bit images
Copy Output batches
Platform
Requirements
Windows
Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, or XP, with the latest service pack (32-bit and 64-bit
editions)
(earlier versions of Windows should work but are not supported)
Intel® Pentium® 4 or later or AMD Athlon™ 64 or later (multi-core processer recommended)
2 GB RAM required (4 GB or more recommended for HDR)
400 MB of available hard-disk space required
1024x768 resolution with 16bit color display (1280 x 768 resolution with 24 bit or higher color
display recommended)
Internet connection required for online help or program update
CD/DVD drive for installation (Optional)
Mac
Mac OS®X 10.6.8 or later (32bit and 64bit editions)
All Intel® Macs model are supported
A Copy batch does just that — it copies the master versions added to the batch to a predefined location or locations,
optionally renaming the destination files. A Copy batch will copy all sidecar files that accompany the images added to the
batch, ensuring that XMP and other sidecar files are kept together with the original files.
Copy batches are great for automating backups and for downloading images from camera memory cards.
System requirements
Corel AfterShot Pro is a multi-threaded application that can provide fast performance on a wide range of computers —
from computers with 4, 8, or 16 CPU cores, to netbooks, notebooks, and older desktop computers. The application is
available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
Please see the full list of system requirements below.
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Platform
Requirements
2GB of RAM
250 MB of available hard-disk space required
1024x768 resolution with 16bit color display
Internet connection required for online help or program update
CD/DVD drive for installation (Optional)
Linux
Fedora® Core 10 or Ubuntu® 8.04 or later (32bit and 64bit distributions)
Intel Pentium 4 or later or AMD Athlon™ 64 or later
2 GB of RAM
250 MB of available hard-disk space required
1024x768 resolution with 16bit color
Nikon
D40, D40x, D50, D60, D70, D70s, D80, D90, D100, D200, D300, D300s, D610, D700, D800, D800e, D4,
D3s, D3x, D3, D2x, D2h, D2xs, D2hs, D1, D1h, D1x, P6000, D3000, D3100, D3200, D5000, D5100,
D5300, D7000, Df, Nikon 1 AW1, Nikon 1 J1, Nikon 1 V1, P7000
Canon
EOS: D30, D60, 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, 70D. 5D, 5D Mark II, 5D Mark III, 7D, 1D, 1D Mark II, 1D
Mark IIn, 1D Mark III,1D Mark IV, 1Ds, 1Ds Mark II, 1Ds Mark III, 300D, 350D, 400D, 450D, 500D, 550D,
600D, 1000D, 1100D, Kiss F
Powershot: G1 X, G2, G3, G5, G6, G9, G10, G11, G12, G15, G16, S40, S45, S50, S60, S70, S90, S95,
S100, S120, Pro1, SX1
Canon sRAW and mRAW formats
Olympus
E-1, E-3, E-5, E-10, E-20, E-30, E-300, E-400, E-410, E-420, E-450, E-500, E-510, E-520, E-600, E-620,
E-M1, E-M5, E-P1, E-P2, E-P3, E-P5, E-PL1, E-PL1s, E-PL2, E-PL3, E-PM1
C5050z, C5060wz, C7070wz, C8080wz, SP-310, SP-320, SP-350, SP-500uz, SP-510uz, SP-550uz, XZ-1,
OM-D E-M5
Stylus 1
Pentax
K20D, K200D, K100D Super, K10D, K100D, K110D, *ist DS2, *ist D, *ist DS , *ist DL, *IST DL2, K2000, K-m,
K-7, K-x, K-5, K-r, K-01, K-50, Q7, Q10, 645D
Samsung
GX-1L, GX-1S, GX-10, GX-20, NX5, NX10, NX11, NX100, NX200
Sony
NEX-A7, NEX-A7R, NEX-3, NEX-5, NEX-5N, NEX-5T, NEX-7, NEX-C3, NEX-F3, a33, a35, a37, a55, a55V,
a57, a65, a77, a100, a200, a230, a290, a300, a330, a380, a390, a350, a450, a500, a550, a560, a580,
a700, a850, a900, a3000, DSC-R1, DSC-RX10, DSC-RX100II, DSC-RX1R, RX100
Supported cameras and file formats
You can read (open and view) or write (save and export) to a wide range of file formats.
Readable file formats
RAW files from a wide array of digital cameras are supported as well as JPEG and TIFF files. The table below lists many
supported cameras, but for a list that includes the latest cameras, please visit www.aftershotpro.com.
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Panasonic
DMC-GM1, DMC-GX7, L1, L10, LF1, LX1, LX2, LX3, LX5, FZ8, FZ18, FZ28, FZ30, FZ35, FZ38, FZ40, FZ45,
FZ50, FZ100, FZ150, G1, G2, G3, G10, GF1, GF2, GF5, GH1, GH2, GX1
Leica
DIGILUX 3, V-LUX 1, V-LUX 2, V-LUX 3, D-LUX 2, D-LUX 3, D-LUX 4, D-LUX 5, M8, M9, X1, Digital
MODUL-R8, Digital MODUL-R9, C
Minolta
DiMAGE A1, DiMAGE A2, DiMAGE 7, DiMAGE 7i, DiMAGE 7Hi, MAXXUM 5D, MAXXUM 7D, DYNAX 5D,
DYNAX 7D, DiMAGE A200, ALPHA-5 DIGITAL, ALPHA SWEET DIGITAL, Alpha-7 Digital
Kodak
DCS Pro 14n, DCS Pro 14nx, DCS Pro SLR/c, DCS Pro SLR/n
Ricoh
GX-100, GX-200, GR Digital II, GR Digital III, GXR, GXR P10
Fuji
X100
TIFF
Images
Up to 250 megapixels (40960 px on the long side for 64-bit; 20480 px on the long side for 32-bit), RGB
colorspace (CMYK, grayscale or TIFFs with alpha channel not supported)
Some adjustment tools are more limited or are not available (Highlight Recovery) with TIFF files.
JPEG
Images
Up to 250 megapixels (40960 px on the long side for 64-bit; 20480 px on the long side for 32-bit), RGB
colorspace (CMYK or grayscale not supported)
Some adjustment tools are more limited or not available (Highlight Recovery) with JPEG files
Writable file formats
File
Type
Filename
Extension
Bit Depth
Comments
JPEG
JPG, JPEG
8 Bit
JPEG files are the most common image files, and are ideal for sharing on the web,
by email, or for sending to online printing facilities. JPEG files are limited to 8-bit
color, and are compressed by a user-selectable amount.
Corel AfterShot Pro uses a 0-100 scale to set the JPEG quality level. A setting of 100
produces a very large file that has no compression artifacts. A setting of 50 will
produce visible artifacts, but will also result in a much smaller file. The default
setting is 80 for proofs and 90 for full size JPEGs.
TIFF
TIF, TIFF
8 Bit or 16 Bit
TIFF files use only lossless compression, ensuring that 100% of the detail from the
original image is preserved. TIFF files can be either 8–bit or 16–bit, and produce very
large file sizes.
Corel AfterShot Pro can save images to the file formats listed in the table below.
About image compression
Image Compression is the process of lowering the image file size so you can store more photos in a fixed amount of
space. There are two types of compression:Lossy or Lossless.
Lossy Compression results in the loss of data during the compression process. This means that the compressed image will
lack some detail and image information. Small amounts of lossy compression (for example, JPEG compression set at a
level of 90 or higher) produce images that are very similar in detail and image quality to the original image. More
aggressive compression settings (for example, compression numbers like 50 or 70) produce noticeable compression
artifacts and detail loss.
Lossless Compression reduces the file size with no loss of data, and therefore no loss of image quality.
About image size
In film photography, understanding the size of an image was simple — it was simply the size of the print. With digital
photography, things are a little more complicated. There are at least three different aspects to the size of a digital
photograph:
17
File Size — typically measured in megabytes (MB), this measures to the amount of disk or memory card space
consumed by the image file.
Pixel Size — measured in pixels or megapixels, this is measures the number of individual pixels or colored dots that
comprise the image.
Print Size — measured inches, millimeters, or other physical units of measure. Any time a measure of length, like
inches or centimeters, is used to describe a digital image, they are referring to Print Size.
Every digital photograph from a given camera will start out with the exact same Pixel Size, which will be something like
6000x4000 pixels, or about 24 megapixels and corresponds to the number of photo sites or pixels your camera's sensor
has. However, the File Size for different photos from the same camera will vary. This is based on image content and is due
to compression techniques used to make the file as small as possible. Generally speaking, a higher megapixel camera will
produce larger files.
Print size is determined by two things: Pixel Size and how many pixels to print in a given physical size, commonly called
DPI or dots per inch or PPI, pixels per inch. For example, the 6000x4000 pixel image from the example above, when
printed at 300 DPI will be approximately 20 inches by 13.3 inches (6000 pixels / 300 pixels per inch = 20 inches).
Changing only the DPI in no way affects the file size on the photo or the pixel size, it only changes the Print Size. For
example, changing that same image to 600 DPI, which would yield a 10 inch by 6.6 inch print.
DPI and Print Size only matter when printing an photo; DPI is irrelevant to images on screen, in email, or otherwise
viewed, edited or used on a computer. Pixel Size alone determines how much information or "quality" in stored in the
image file.
Cropping and resizing
Cropping an image is used to recompose the shot to include only portions of the original image, or to change the Aspect
Ratio — the height relative to the width — of the photo. If you have several images from the same camera that you want
to print the same size, some after cropping and some without cropping, then the DPI of those images must be different.
Resizing allows you to make the Pixel Size larger or smaller than the original image. To continue the example from above,
suppose you cropped a portion of the image from the center of the frame, say 1500 by 1200 pixels. A "Full Size" output
image from this cropped image would be 1500 by 1200 pixels — much smaller than your original image. You could print
this image at 10 inches by 8 inches — but that would be at 150 DPI (passable, but lower print quality). If you wanted to
make an image in Corel AfterShot Pro that had the same pixel dimensions as the original file, you would need to upscale
— or stretch the image. Upscaling does not add information or quality to the photo, it is not generally recommended
because it will not print significantly better results than before the image was upscaled.
Note: For more information about cropping, see
Cropping
.
When DPI or Print Size matters
If you print from within Corel AfterShot Pro, then DPI and Print Size will be handled for you automatically by our Print
Output system. If your images are only shown on computer screens, in email or in other electronic forms, then DPI and
Print Size are meaningless.
DPI and Print Size only matter when you output images from Corel AfterShot Pro to be printed by someone else.
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Library and catalogs
In this section, you'll learn about
the Library
creating catalogs
About the Library
Your Library is where you store one or more catalogs of photos. It is a key part of the asset management system. It lets
you access the master files (original photos) as well as all the versions that you create.
A catalog is a collection of photos and their associated image data. In essence, a catalog is a database that can be
managed within Corel AfterShot Pro. Catalogs contain master files, thumbnails and preview images, image settings,
image adjustments, and catalog-specific preferences.
The Library can be accessed from the Browse panel. The Library page contains the Catalogs section which lists all the
folders and photos that you have cataloged by importing. For more information about importing to the Library, see
Importing images
.
The Library page in the Browse panel contains the Search box, the Catalog section, and the Metadata Browser.
About catalogs
When images are first imported into a Corel AfterShot Pro catalog, the initial settings used for that image are taken from
a Corel AfterShot Pro XMP file if one exists. If no Corel AfterShot Pro XMP file is found, metadata settings (keywords,
rating, labels, IPTC or XMP tags) are read from standard XMP files, or the image file itself.
Catalog versus XMP
After images have been imported into a Corel AfterShot Pro catalog, changes to any image or metadata settings are
stored within the Corel AfterShot Pro catalog. The changes can be written back to the AfterShot Pro XMP files manually
by selecting the thumbnails for the images you want, right-clicking one of the thumbnails, and selecting XMP > Write
AfterShot XMP files. Alternately, you may choose to have Corel AfterShot Pro always keep the XMP files up to date. You
can do so in the General preferences by enabling the Allow automatic AfterShot .xmp creation for photos in Catalogs check
box.
Multiple catalogs
Most people can easily work with one catalog. All photos are imported to the default catalog, and you can easily search
and filter to find the photos your want in the catalog. However, if you take photos for different reasons, professional
versus personal for example, you can create separate catalogs. Corel AfterShot Pro lets you build, open, and work with
many catalogs from your Library simultaneously. This allows you to group, backup, and manage sets of files as catalogs,
while preserving the ability to browse, search, and access any image in any open catalog. For more information about
creating catalogs, see
Managing catalogs
.
19
Importing images
When you import images into Corel AfterShot Pro, they are added to a catalog. You can choose to import an entire
folder, a folder and all the subfolders it contains, or you can selectively import one or more files within a folder.
Importing is a process that you control. If you add a new folder or subfolder to your computer, you must import the new
folders if you want to add them to your Library. If you have added several subfolders or individual images to an existing
folder structure, you can reimport from the root folder to ensure that you catch all the new items — duplicate catalog
entries are not created if you import a photo from the same source location more than once.
To import a folder
1. Do one of the following
Click File > Import Photos from Folder. In the dialog box, navigate to the folder you want and click the Select Folder
button.
In the Browse panel, click the File System tab, and in the Directory View, right-click the folder you want, and choose
Import Folder from the context menu.
2. In the Import Photos dialog box, confirm that the Source Folder button displays the name of your folder.
To include subfolders, enable the Include images from subfolders check box.
3. Confirm that the Import into Catalog button displays the name of the catalog you want to use. If you want to create a
new catalog, click the button.
4. (Optional) Enable the Apply Import Settings check box and enter any keywords that you want to apply to all the photos
within the folder. You can also apply presets in the same way.
5. Click Begin Import.
Note: All the photos in the folder are cataloged. To check your catalog, click the Library tab, and navigate to your
folders in the Catalogs section. Note that the files are not copied when they are cataloged — they are referenced from
their original location.
Tip: If you don't want to import all the photos in a folder, you can open the folder, and in the Thumbnail panel, select
the thumbnails for the photos that you want to import. Click File > Import Selected Files, and choose the import
settings you want in the Import Photos dialog box.
Managing your Library
Your Library consists of catalogs and the files and versions that each catalog contains. You can move, copy, rename, and
delete one or more files or versions at a time to get organized. You can also manage your Library by creating more than
one catalog, and control which catalogs are accessible by opening or closing catalogs.
For more information about versions, see
Versions.
Moving and copying versions
You can move or copy versions to a new location.
Note: When you move or copy a version, the master file and all related versions are copied or moved.
To move or copy versions
Do one of the following:
To move a version, drag the thumbnail from the Thumbnail panel to the folder of your choice in the Browse panel.
To copy a version, hold Ctrl or Command while dragging the thumbnail from the Thumbnail panel to the folder of
your choice in the Browse panel.
Renaming versions
You can choose to rename your versions by using renaming formats if you want to rename several versions at one time
with a consistent format.
20
The Rename Versions dialog box has the following controls and features:
Format — choose from a list of existing formats.
New Name — lets you enter a renaming format. For example, if you use [jobname] or [jobseq] in the New Name box,
you can enter a job name in the Job Name. The sequence [jobseq] format remembers the last number used in any
previous renaming for this job name, and will continue numbering where it left off.
Next [rseq] — if you include [rseq] in the New Name box, that text will be replaced with a unique, incrementing
sequence number that will start over the next time you rename versions. This control allows you to set the number.
Reset [jobseq] — restart the numbering for the job name sequence selected.
Rename all Versions derived from Master Versions — enable this check box to number the master versions sequentially
and any related versions with the same name (adds "_v1", "_v2" etc to each version). If you do not check this option,
each version is given a unique name.
For more information about how to use renaming formats, see
Renaming formats
.
To rename one or more versions
1. Select the thumbnails for the versions that you want to rename.
2. Press F2 or right-click and select Version > Rename Version.
3. Edit the New Name field, using text or renaming formats like [date]. Or, select an existing renaming format from the
Format drop-down list.
The Preview updates as you edit the New Name field to show you the results of the renaming format.
Deleting versions
You can delete a master version (which represents the original photo, or master file) at any time, but different things
happen when you delete a master version versus other types of versions.
Deleting a master version
When you delete a master version, all associated versions are also deleted. The original master files are moved to your
computer's Recycle Bin. Review any messages that appear to confirm the action.
Deleting non-master versions
When you delete versions which are not master versions, there is no impact to the original master file — the version
thumbnail and associated data is removed from the sidecar XMP file.
Note: When Multi-Image View is enabled, only the single active version is removed, not the entire selection.
To delete a master file or version
Select the thumbnails of the master versions that you want to delete and do one of the following:
Press Delete.
Right-click a thumbnail and choose Version > Remove Version.
If you have selected a master version, a message appears to warn you that the original file for the master version will be
moved to the Recycle Bin.
21
Managing catalogs
You can create one or more catalogs in your Library. Although you may choose to use one catalog for simplicity, using
multiple catalogs lets you create logical groups so you can search, browse, edit, store, and backup specific groups of
images at a time without needing to access or open the rest of your Library.
You can create a new catalog at any time. You can open or close catalogs. When you close a catalog, it does not display
in the Library. To access the Library, click the Library tab on the Browse panel.
To create a new catalog
1. Right-click inside the Catalogs section of the Library, and select Catalog > New Catalog, or click File > New Catalog from
the menu.
2. In the Create and Choose New Catalog Folder dialog box, choose an empty folder or create a folder.
3. Click Select Folder.
The new catalog appears in the Catalogs section.
To open an existing catalog
Right-click inside the Catalogs section of the Library, and select Catalog > Open Catalog, or choose File > Open Catalog
from the menu.
To close a catalog
In the Catalogs section of the Library, right-click the catalog that you want to close, and choose Catalog > Close
Catalog.
Portable Catalogs
Individual catalogs for Corel AfterShot Pro can be used in only one session at a time, but they can be accessed from a fast
(local) network from multiple Corel AfterShot Pro applications. If the master files are accessed by two machines differently
(mapped as different network drives on Windows, or mounted differently on Linux or Mac) then you'll need to edit the
Catalog Preferences to select the proper root folder. For example, assume that you access master files stored on a local
hard drive D: on your main desktop computer and store the AfterShot Catalog on that drive also, but have a second
computer that accesses the same catalog and master files from the main desktop computer. On this second machine, the
D: drive is mapped as X:. If you imported images into a Corel AfterShot Pro catalog on the main desktop computer and
then opened that same catalog on the second computer, Corel AfterShot Pro would look for those master files on the
second computer's D: drive instead of on X:.
To solve this, you can create movable catalog paths inside the catalog that is shared by the two machines, and set the
location of the movable catalog path differently to account for the different ways these two machines access the same
catalogs and master files.
To create a moveable path
1. On the main computer, click the Library tab and right-click the catalog into which you have imported files from a
shared location (if your catalog is open, you'll see a letter that represents the network drive your catalog is mapped to).
2. In the context menu, click Set Movable Paths.
3. In the Set Moveable Catalog Paths dialog box, click Add.
4. In the Select a Local Directory dialog box, choose the drive that holds the imported images that you want to share
across the network. Try to stay as close to the root of the directory as possible
5. Click Select Folder to set this drive as a moveable catalog path. This does not affect how Corel AfterShot Pro accesses
master files on this first machine, but it prepares the catalog for updating on the second machine. Click the Add Note
button to capture path information related to where the folder is stored on the drive that you selected.
6. Close Corel AfterShot Pro on the first machine. Now you can copy your catalog to another computer.
7. Map the catalog drive of the main computer as a network drive.
8. On the second computer, open Corel AfterShot Pro.
9. Click File > Open Catalog, and import your catalog.
22
10. In the Library, right-click the catalog and choose Set Moveable Paths from the context menu.
11. Click Set, and navigate to the drive where the cataloged files are referenced.
12. Click Select Folder, verify the paths in the Set Moveable Paths dialog box, and click OK.
Note: it is not necessary to set a movable catalog path before importing images, nor before opening the catalog on a
second computer as long as you remember the original file locations.
23
File System mode
File System mode lets you access and edit uncataloged photos. It is a quick way to access any supported image file on
your computer, without needing to import images into a catalog. It's a good way to access photos that you may not keep,
but when you don't import photos, you'll miss out on some features that are only possible when working on images in a
Corel AfterShot Pro catalog. If you start working with photos in File System mode, you have the option of importing the
photos to a catalog later.
For more information about File System mode, see
Image settings in File System mode
Since the File System mode does not maintain a persistent catalog, the image adjustment and metadata settings are
written to a Corel AfterShot Pro XMP file after each adjustment. Each time you browse to a new folder, Corel AfterShot
Pro will scan the folder, removing any files from Corel AfterShot Pro that have been deleted from your computer, adding
any new images found, and refreshing the settings for all existing files with the latest settings found in the XMP files. This
ensures that what you see in Corel AfterShot Pro in File System Mode matches exactly what is saved on your computer.
This also means that the edit history (as seen in the History palette) is reset between each session.
Note: If you're editing in File System mode and Library mode, it can cause issues — edits to photos may not be visible
if you edit the same file in both File System mode and Library mode (the information is written to the file in a different
way). Therefore, it is recommended that after you import a file into a Library catalog, you always access the file from
the Library.
Working in File System mode
In File System mode, finding images in Corel AfterShot Pro is the same as finding images in Windows Explorer, Mac Finder
or other file manager applications.
Whether you choose to work from File System mode or Library mode, you can manage your files is the same way. For
more information, see the following topics:
Moving and copying versions
Renaming versions
Deleting versions
Understanding the Library
.
24
Editing photos
The image editor in Corel AfterShot Pro is completely non-destructive, so you are free to experiment and edit your images
as much as you want, knowing that you can always revert to the original version. All the edits that you make and
metadata that you add is stored either in a sidecar XMP file, within a Corel AfterShot Pro catalog, or both.
To view or use your image adjustments in other applications, you need to export the image. For more information about
exporting your files, see
The original file is always protected. The master version is based on the original file, but you can create as many versions as you like.
Because your original file is always protected (as a master file), when you edit a photo, your edits are viewable within
Corel AfterShot Pro on a representation of the master file called a master version. You can create as many additional
versions as you like. When you create a version, the application does not need to make a copy of the master file, the
information is efficiently stored in the XMP file or catalog, so you can create as many versions as you like without taking
up much storage space.
The application automatically saves each edit that you make to a photo, so your editing workflow between photos is
smooth. A complete history is kept for all the photos that you have imported into your Library, so you undo or redo
changes at any time. Note, if you are working on photos that have not been added to the Library, the edit history is only
retained for the current editing session. For more information, see
About adjustment tools
Most editing tools and controls can be found in the Tools panel. When you click the Standard tab, you can access the Basic
Adjustments section, which contains the most common adjustment controls. Other tabs, such as Color, Tone, Detail, and
Metadata, let you access additional tools and more advanced controls and options. For example, the Basic Adjustments
section includes Fill Light. Fill Light also appears in the Exposure section of the Tone page. In the Exposure section, there is
an additional control, Range, that lets you fine-tune the Fill Light adjustment. Adjusting Fill Light in one place will update
the Fill Light setting in all sections — these are just different views of the same control.
The image below shows , and some common controls. The Tools panel can be resized, sections can be pinned, and you
can choose to hide or show the panel. There are different ways to adjust the controls in the Tools panel. You can also
reset controls to their original setting and hide or show the results of a setting.
Exporting images
.
Using the History palette
.
25
To
Do the following
To resize the Tools panel
Position your pointer along the left edge of the panel, and drag when your pointer
changes to the resizing arrows.
Pin a section so that it displays
regardless of which page is
active
Display the section you want, and click the Pin icon in the upper-right corner. To
unpin the section, click the icon again.
Hide the Tools panel
Click the Toggle Right Panel button at the top of the panel.
The Basic Adjustments section of the Tools panel
Why are some tools and controls not available?
Some tools and controls are not available under the following conditions:
The file that you are trying to edit is not available (for example, the files are stored on an external drive that is not
currently connected to the computer)
If you have a layer or selection and the tool or control can be applied only to entire images
The tool is not compatible with the file format. For example, the following tools can be applied only to RAW files:
Highlight Recovery
Custom White Balance (Temp and Tint sliders)
White Balance Presets (Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, etc...)
To resize, pin, or hide the Tools panel
To adjust a setting
Do one of the following:
Drag the slider
Double-click the corresponding number for the setting and type a new value
Using a mouse with a wheel, position your pointer over the control name or slider, and roll the mouse wheel to
adjust the setting
To reset a slider to its original setting
Double-click the slider or control name.
To hide or show the results of a setting
In the Tools panel, mark or unmark the check box to the left of the adjustment tool.
26
Standard tools
When you click the Standard tab on the Tools panel, you can access some of the most commonly used image editing
tools. Grouping these frequently used adjustments together in one place means that you can perform basic edits quickly
without switching between tabs. The controls are divided into three sections: Histogram, Basic Adjustments, and Presets.
Histogram
A histogram is a visual representation of the data that makes up your image. The left side represents the darker areas in
your image, the right side represents the highlights, and the height of the colored curves shows you how many pixels of a
given value are found in your image.
Basic Adjustments
This section holds the most commonly used image adjustment controls. Many photographers will likely find most of the
controls they need in this section.
AutoLevel
AutoLevel examines the tonal range of your image and sets the black and white points to be at points such that a fixed
percent of the image will be pure black and pure white. There are two edit boxes in AutoLevel: the left box sets the
percentage of the image to be set to pure black and the right box sets the percentage to be set to pure white.
Perfectly Clear
Perfectly Clear, powered by Athentech Technologies Inc., is a simple way to quickly optimize your images. Perfectly Clear is
award-winning technology that automatically optimizes the lighting for each and every pixel while maintaining true color
and zero clipping. Perfectly Clear also removes abnormal tint and restores faded photos. It also uses medical imaging
technology to improve contrast and sharpen.
There are three settings within Perfectly Clear that control how much tint adjustment is performed when Perfectly Clear is
enabled:
Tint Max — applies the full range of tint correction
Tint Min — limits the tint correction, allowing some tint change to occur, but preserving some of the original tint
Tint Off — tint correction is turned off. All other aspects of Perfectly Clear are still applied. Use this setting to preserve
the color of your original image.
White Balance
For RAW images, you can select among several preset white balance settings, such as As Shot, Click White, and Custom
Kelvin.
Different light sources have different characteristics or warmth that affects how your camera captures images. White
Balance lets you adjust the overall color in the image, ensuring that colors are accurately reproduced in your photos. You
can select a White Balance preset, such as Sunny, Shady, Tungsten, or Flash, or you can use the Click White tool (on RAW,
JPEG, or TIFF files) to select a neutral colored object in your image (something that should appear as a neutral gray) which
will adjust all the colors in your image to make the point that you clicked neutrally colored.
To set white balance with the Click White tool
1. In the White Balance section of the Basic Adjustments page, click the Enable the Click White tool button or press I.
2. In the Preview panel, experiment by clicking a neutral area of your photo. The ideal place to click is on a neutral grey
that is not overexposed (pure white) or underexposed (pure black) on the image you want to adjust. Clicking different
spots will result in different corrections.
3. To fine-tune the white balance, adjust this with the Temp slider.
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Straighten
Straighten rotates your image to level a horizon or otherwise straighten your image. For more information, see
Straightening
.
Exposure
Exposure performs an overall exposure correction, either brightening or darkening all portions of your image.
Highlights
Recovers detail from apparently overexposed portions of the image.
Fill Light
Fill Light brightens shadows and the darker portions of the image without overexposing highlights, and with minimal
effect on midtones.
Blacks
Blacks controls the black point in the image. Values lower than zero remove black from the image; values higher than zero
darken the image. The Histogram section displays the changes in the image.
Saturation
Saturation adjusts the intensity of the colors in the image. High saturation settings boost colors and provide rich, vivid
color. Low saturation settings produce pastel and more muted colors. Setting Saturation to zero produces a pure
monochrome, black-and-white image.
Vibrance
Vibrance is a version of saturation that performs a more gentle correction to skin and other image areas that are already
richly saturated.
Hue
Hue changes the colors in an image, rotating the "color circle" by the amount indicated by the slider. For example, if the
Hue slider is set to 60, then 60 is added to the original hues in your image, so greens become cyan, blues become
magenta, and reds become yellow.
Contrast
Increasing Contrast makes the dark areas in the image darker, and the bright areas brighter.
Sharpening
Sharpening an image makes the high detail portions of the image stand out more by making the edge details more
pronounced.
Note: Fine detail control tools like Sharpening should be applied and evaluated while looking at a 100% Zoom of the
image, either in the Preview panel or by using the Magnifier.
RAW Noise
RAW Noise reduces noise in RAW files only.
Keywords
The bottom of the Basic Adjustments section includes a Keywords area that shows the keywords for all selected versions.
When you have multiple versions selected, the following color coding is used:
red — the keywords apply only to some of the selected versions
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green — the keywords apply only to the active version
no color — the keywords apply to all selected versions
Presets
Presets are a great way to help speed up your workflow. You can save your favorite adjustments to presets, create
keyword presets, or combine a wide range of photo editing in a preset that can be applied with one click.
For more information, see
Adjustment Presets
.
Color tools
The Color tab in the Tools panel lets you access tools focused on color control. The controls are organized into five
sections: Curves, Color Correction, Color Balance, White Balance, and Color Management.
Curves
The Curves section is an intelligent combination of standard Curves and Levels tools found in many image editing
programs.
The Curves section includes the following controls:
Apply Curves — enables or disables Curves.
RGB drop-down — allows selecting of individual color channels, or the combined RGB mode.
Before/After drop-down — switches the display from showing the histogram before curve adjustments are applied and
after adjustments are applied
Left White Arrow — sets the input 255 (white) point. Dragging this arrow down shifts the histogram left, making the
image darker.
Bottom White Arrow — sets the output 255 (white) point. Dragging this arrow to the left brightens your image, but it
can clip highlight details.
Left Black Arrow — sets the input 0 (black) point. Dragging this arrow down shifts the histogram to the left, making the
image darker.
Bottom Black Arrow — sets the output 0 (black) point. Dragging this arrow to the right deepens the shadows, and can
clip shadow detail.
Bottom Grey Arrow — sets the output 128 (gray) point. Dragging this arrow to the right shifts the midtones to higher
values, brightening the image; dragging the arrow to the left darkens the image.
Click inside the Curve tool — click inside the curve tool itself to set or adjust the curve. You can set multiple points and
drag to fine-tune your tone control.
AutoContrast — click this button to set the output white and black points based on image content. It uses the AutoLevel
values (highlight and shadow) to perform a one-time adjustment to increase contrast. The main difference between this
tool and AutoLevel is that the output white and black values can be more easily adjusted than the AutoLevel values.
Black Point tool , Gray Point tool , White Point tool — click a tool, then click the image in the Preview panel
to set the black, gray, or white point to the values of the pixel that you click.
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