User Guide changes for v.10.2 General Editing Procedure (revised function of undo/redo buttons) The image in the main window can be operated on with the edit menu functions. You can use these functions in any order, and the changes are accumulated for the current image and shown in the main window. The Toolbar [undo] and [redo] buttons can be used to review the before/after results for the last 99 edits of the current image. These buttons also work during an image edit to review the before/after results of the current edit function. When finished with an image, use [save] or [save-as] to replace the original file or save to a new file. Tone Mapping (rewritten to be less technical) Tone mapping increases the apparent brightness range of an image by increasing local contrast. It is especially useful to improve HDR images, but can also be applied to any image. HDR images often seem "flat" because the contrast between nearby pixels has been reduced to make the overall contrast fit within the available range (normally 8 bits per color). Tone Mapping increases the contrast between nearby pixels without increasing the overall contrast. It relies on the nature of human vision: contrast within a small angle is perceived more strongly than contrast over a large angle. Tone mapping also brings out subtle details (low contrast) that would otherwise be hard to notice. Other methods can also be used: adjusting the brightness curve can increase contrast for a selected brightness range (possibly at the expense of others). Flattening the brightness distribution can spread the available contrast more evenly. Increasing color intensity and saturation can also bring out more detail. These methods operate globally: all pixels of a given color and brightness are processed the same. Tone mapping processes pixels differently depending on the brightness of surrounding pixels and is more effective at enhancing detail. In the dialog, the graphic curve determines how much local contrast is increased depending on local contrast. The left end of the x-axis corresponds to low-contrast pixels and the right end high-contrast pixels. Normally the left side of the curve would be raised to increase the contrast of low-contrast pixels. The Constrain slider below the curve regulates the internal algorithmic calculation, from no constraint on the left to full constraint on the right. If moved too far to the left, the image will show artifacts (bright or dark "rays"), so push it right until these disappear. The curve can be dragged with the mouse and its effect on the image will show up in a few seconds (depending on image or area size and CPU speed). The constraint slider also needs a few seconds to show up in the image. If more contrast is wanted, raise the curve. If uniform areas (e.g. sky) become mottled, pull the left end of the curve down to reduce amplification for low-contrast pixels. In some cases it will be best to select different areas of the image and process them separately, e.g. more conservative for sky, more aggressive for textured surfaces like stone walls. View EXIF Data (table added) Fotoxx uses the following EXIF keys: Date/Time Original Edit Tags function - image date Keywords Edit Tags function - image tags Rating Edit Tags function - image stars Edit Status history of fotoxx edits applied to the image Edit EXIF data (new section) A specific EXIF key can be added or revised. Enter the key name and press [fetch] to retrieve existing data, if any. Enter the new data and press [save] to save the new or revised data. Input the key name in lower case and without blanks, e.g. the key "User Comment" in View EXIF Data would be entered as "usercomment". Delete EXIF data (new section) This function allows deletion of a specified EXIF key, or all EXIF data at once. Input a key name in lower case and without blanks, e.g. the key "User Comment" in the View EXIF report would be entered as "usercomment".
