~ubuntu-branches/ubuntu/lucid/fotoxx/lucid : revision 1

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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">

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Fotoxx quick guide

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<tbody>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">File Management

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Index (thumbnails)

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Show thumbnail images -

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files in the current directory (<a href="#navigation">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Open RAW File

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Open a RAW file from a

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digital camera and convert to tiff (<a href="#open_raw">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Open Image File

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">File open dialog - open

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an image file to view or edit (<a href="#open_image_file">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Open Recent File

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Choose from a list of the most recent files opened.

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Save to Same File

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Save current image file back to itself, with no overwrite confirmation.

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Save to New File

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Save current (modified) image to a selected file (<a href="#save_file">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Print Image File

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Arrange images and text

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in a layout for printing (<a href="#print">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Trash Image File

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Move an image file into

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the fotoxx trash bin (<a href="#trash">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Rename Image File

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Rename (series of) image

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files, add sequence numbers (<a href="#rename">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Quit fotoxx

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Exit from fotoxx.

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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</td>

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">These functions modify

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image files  (<a href="#edit_procedure">more</a>).</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Select Area</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Outline an area for

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subsequent editing using the mouse (<a href="#select_area">more</a>).</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Clear Select Area</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Remove area - subsequent

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edits apply to the entire image.</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Flatten Brightness

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Flatten the brightness

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distribution to enhance detail (<a href="#brightness_distribution">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Tune Image

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Edit brightness, color, saturation (<a href="#tune">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Remove Red Eyes</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Click on a red-eye to

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remove it (<a href="#red_eye">more</a>).</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Blur Image

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Blur an image (smoothen

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skin) (<a href="#blur">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Sharpen Image

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Sharpen a blurred image

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(<a href="#sharpen">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Reduce Noise

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Reduce noise (speckles)

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in low-light images (<a href="#reduce_noise">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Trim Image</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Cut out a rectangular

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portion of an image (<a href="#crop">more</a>).</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Resize Image

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Scale an image up or down

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(<a href="#resize">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Rotate Image

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Rotate an image (level a

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tilted image or turn in 90° steps) (<a href="#rotate">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Unbend Image</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Fix perspective problems (<a href="#unbend">more</a>).</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Warp Area

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Distort image within a

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selected area by

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pulling with the mouse (<a href="#warp_local">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Warp Image

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Distort entire image by

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pulling with the mouse (<a href="#warp_global">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Color Depth

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Reduce color depth (posterize) (<a href="#color_depth">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Simulate Drawing

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Transform a photo into a

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simulated pencil or chalk drawing (<a href="#drawing">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Simulate Embossing

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Transform a photo into a

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simulated metallic embossing (<a href="#embossing">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Simulate Tiles

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Transform a photo into tiles (make large pixels) (<a href="#tiles">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Simulate Painting

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Transform a photo into a simulated painting (<a href="#painting">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Edit Pixels

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Edit pixels

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and paint lines or areas using the mouse (<a href="#edit_pixels">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Make HDR Image

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">HDR = high dynamic range

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(<a href="#HDR">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Make HDF Image

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">HDF = high depth of field (<a href="#HDF">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Panorama

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Combine overlapping

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images to make an ultra-wide image (<a href="#panorama">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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</td>

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Tools menu

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Utilities and setup functions.

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Check Monitor

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Display a color palette

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for tuning your monitor (<a href="#check_monitor">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Index Tags and Thumbs

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Re-index tags and

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thumbnails after file rearrangements (<a href="#synch_tags_thumbs">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Brightness Graph

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Show brightness

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distribution graph of current image (<a href="#brightness_graph">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Clone fotoxx

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Open a new window (e.g.

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to compare two images) (<a href="#clone">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Slide Show

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Show images full screen

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(no menu or toolbar) (<a href="#slide_show">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Show RGB

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Show RGB values at

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position of mouse click (<a href="#show_RGB">more)</a>.

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Lens Parameters

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Edit parameters for your

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cameras and lenses (<a href="#Lens_Parameters">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Change Language

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Change the GUI language (<a href="#language">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Create Launcher

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Create a desktop icon / launcher for fotoxx (<a href="#launcher">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Convert Multiple RAWs

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Convert multiple RAW files to tiff with a single command (<a href="#multi_raw">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Burn Images to CD/DVD

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Select images and write them on a CD or DVD (<a href="#burn">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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</td>

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Manage tags

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(keywords) / star ratings / dates  (<a href="#tags_menu">more</a>)

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Edit Tags

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Add or change image

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date / stars rating / tags (keywords) (<a href="#edit_tags">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Search Tags

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Find images with

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desired tags / star ratings / dates (<a href="#search_tags">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">View EXIF Data

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">View image EXIF data

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(date, exposure data, tags) (<a href="#view_exif_data">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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</td>

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">User guide, README,

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change log  (<a href="#help">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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</td>

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td>Toolbar buttons

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</td>

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Index

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Show thumbnail images -

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files in the current directory (<a href="#navigation">more</a>).

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Open

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">File open dialog - open

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an image file to view or edit.

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Prev

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Go to previous image in

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the current directory.</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Next

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Go to the next image in

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the current directory.</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Save

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Save current image file back to itself, with no overwrite confirmation.</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Save As

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Save current (modified) image to a selected file (<a href="userguide-en.html#save_file">more</a>).</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Undo

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Undo (reverse) the

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results of the previous edit function.</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Redo

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Redo the previous undo.

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Undo/redo depth is 50 edits.</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Zoom+

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Magnify the image. A left

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mouse click also magnifies.

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Zoom-

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Reduce the image. A right

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mouse click also reduces.

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Trash</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Move an image file into

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the fotoxx trash bin (<a href="#trash">more</a>).</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Quit

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Exit from fotoxx.

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</td>

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</tr>

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</tbody>

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</table>

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<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="kb_shortcuts"></a>Keyboard Shortcuts

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<tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;">main window

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</td>

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">left / right arrow keys

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">previous / next image

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">plus(+) / minus(-)

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keys

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">zoom bigger / smaller

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Z  key

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">zoom to 100% / fit to

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window

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">R / L  keys

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">rotate 90° right /

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left (temporary)

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">T or X  key

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">open thumbnail index

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window

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Delete key

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">move image to fotoxx trash

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Escape key

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Exit slide show mode or show RGB mode

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Control + s

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Save to original file (no questions asked)

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Control + S

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Save-as: dialog to choose a target file

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Control + q or Q

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Quit fotoxx

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">thumbnail window

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</td>

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">up / down arrow keys

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">move up / down by one row

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of thumbnails

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">left / right arrow keys

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">move to previous / next

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page of thumbnails

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">plus(+) / minus(-)

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keys

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">bigger / smaller

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thumbnail image size

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</td>

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</tr>

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<tr>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">Escape key

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</td>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;">close thumbnail window

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</td>

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</tr>

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</tbody>

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</table>

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License and Warranty

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fotoxx is licensed

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under

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the GNU General Public License v3 (Free Software

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Foundation).

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fotoxx is not warranted for any purpose, but if you find a

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bug, I will try to fix it.

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Origin and Contact

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fotoxx originates from

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the author's web site: <a href="http://kornelix.squarespace.com/fotoxx">http://kornelix.squarespace.com/fotoxx</a>

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Other web sites may

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offer it for download. Modifications may have been made.

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If you have questions,

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suggestions, or a bug to report, contact kornelix@yahoo.de

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Some additional technical notes can be found <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="#technical_notes">here</a>.

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<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="navigation"></a>Navigation

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Press the [index] toolbar button to get a window of thumbnails showing

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image files in the current image directory. Use this thumbnail window

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to scroll around the directory and select files by clicking thumbnails.

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The buttons at the top allow scrolling forward or back by rows or

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pages. Use the file and folder buttons to navigate

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elsewhere if wanted. Make the window bigger to show

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more thumbnails, or use the [bigger] and [smaller] buttons to increase

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or decrease the thumbnail size and change the number of visible

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thumbnails accordingly. Pressing the [index] button in the fotoxx main

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window will bring the index window forward with the current file's

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thumbnail in the upper left corner. Clicking on a thumbnail will bring

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the fotoxx main window forward with the selected image.

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This is a dialog for opening a RAW file from a digital camera. The

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selected file is converted to tiff-48 format (16 bits per RGB color),

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using the program "ufraw". This may need 20 seconds or more to

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complete. When the converted image appears, you can proceed to edit or

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save the image in a normal jpeg or tiff file.

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<a name="open_image_file"></a><big>Open Image File</big>

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This function starts a standard file open dialog, allowing you to

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select an image file or navigate to another directory and select an

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image file. The selected file is opened in the fotoxx main window where

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you can view or edit the file using the menus and toolbar buttons. Drag

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and drop can also be used to open a file: drag the file from Nautilus

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(or another browser) to the fotoxx window or to the fotoxx desktop

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launcher, and fotoxx will open the file. If text is dragged from gedit

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(or another editor supporting drag sourcing), fotoxx will assume the

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text is a filespec and try to open it. Thus you can make a list of

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filespecs within a text file and use this list with fotoxx.

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Effectively, you can use Nautilus or text files to navigate a

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collection of images as an alternative to the fotoxx navigation system.

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<a name="save_file"></a><big style="font-weight: bold;">Save Image File</big> Menu:

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File > Save to Same File, or toolbar button [Save]: saves the

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current

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image file back to itself without confirmation. If the file is a JPEG

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file, the default quality (90) is used. Menu: File > Save to New

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File, or toolbar button [Save-as]: uses a dialog to save the current

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image

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file to a selected file, which can be the original file, another file,

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or a new file. The file type (format) and JPEG

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compression quality can also be selected. An edited image file can be

662

saved in two formats, "tiff" and "jpeg".

663

"jpeg" is

664

normally the best option, since files are compressed to

665

reduce space. You can choose a jpeg quality value in the range 1-100.

666

Lower values give greater compression of file size and less image

667

quality. Values above 70 are generally hard to distinguish from

668

100 (highest quality, large file size). Files

669

may be saved in tiff format with 24 or 48 bits per pixel. The 48 bit

670

tiff format (16 bits per color) only makes sense for files converted

671

from a RAW format supporting more than 8 bits per color. Camera RAW

672

files are typically 12 bits per color. It is rare that the difference

673

between 8 and >8 bits per color can be seen with the eye.

674

675

File sizes for a 10 megapixel image are roughly as

676

follows (depends on amount of detail):

677

678

679

680

681

<tbody>

682

<tr>

683

<td style="vertical-align: top;">tiff-48

684

</td>

685

<td style="vertical-align: top;">tiff-24

686

</td>

687

<td style="vertical-align: top;">jpeg-100

688

</td>

689

<td style="vertical-align: top;">jpeg-90

690

</td>

691

<td style="vertical-align: top;">jpeg-80

692

</td>

693

<td style="vertical-align: top;">jpeg-70

694

</td>

695

<td style="vertical-align: top;">jpeg-50

696

</td>

697

</tr>

698

<tr>

699

<td style="vertical-align: top;">60 MB

700

</td>

701

<td style="vertical-align: top;">18 MB

702

</td>

703

<td style="vertical-align: top;">7 MB

704

</td>

705

<td style="vertical-align: top;">2 MB

706

</td>

707

<td style="vertical-align: top;">1 MB

708

</td>

709

<td style="vertical-align: top;">0.6 MB

710

</td>

711

<td style="vertical-align: top;">0.4 MB

712

713

</td>

714

</tr>

715

</tbody>

716

</table>

717

718

719

720

721

722

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="print"></a>Print Image File

723

724

725

The print menu starts the program printoxx (if installed) with the

726

current image loaded into the printoxx layout window. Printoxx allows

727

you to add images and text to the layout window, change their size,

728

move them around, and print or save the final layout. Printoxx is

729

available at <a href="http://kornelix.squarespace.com/printoxx">http://kornelix.squarespace.com/printoxx</a>.

730

731

732

733

734

735

736

<a name="trash"></a><big style="font-weight: bold;">Trash

737

Image File</big>

738

There is no standard location for the trash folder in Linux, and in

739

practice it varies. fotoxx puts discarded images into a desktop folder

740

named "fotoxx-trash". You can delete it or move

741

it to your distro-specific trash folder.

742

743

<a name="rename"></a>Rename Image File(s)

744

This function can help automate the process of renaming a series of

745

files using a root name (e.g. an event or place name) and a

746

sequence number. It is good for renaming a series of files from a

747

digital camera. Open the first file in the series, input a new name,

748

and press the [rename] button. The next file is then opened. You can

749

use the same name again by pressing the [previous] button and then add

750

a suffix or sequence number. If you are using sequence numbers, press

751

the [ +1 ] button after the [previous] button to get the next sequence

752

number added to the name.

753

754

755

756

757

758

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="edit_procedure"></a>General Editing Procedure

759

760

761

The

762

image in the main window can be operated on with the edit menu

763

functions. You can use these

764

functions in any

765

order, and the changes are accumulated for the current image and shown

766

in the main window. The [undo] and [redo] buttons can be used to review

767

the before/after results for the last 50 edits of the current image.

768

These buttons do not work during an image edit function, but some of

769

these functions have their own method to undo and redo changes during

770

the edit. When finished with an image, use [save] to replace the

771

original file or save to a new file.

772

773

774

775

776

777

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="select_area"></a>Select Area

778

779

780

It

781

is possible to modify part of an image while leaving the rest

782

unchanged. Edit functions normally apply to

783

the entire image. If a smaller image area has been selected, then the following edit functions will be carried

784

out within the selected area: all brightness and color functions, warp area,

785

sharpen, blur,

786

reduce

787

noise, and all art functions. The warp area function works only

788

within a selected area, and the warp image function works only on the whole

789

image. Other

790

functions (trim, red-eye, rotate, resize, HDR, HDF, panorama, unbend) ignore a selected area.

791

792

An

793

area may be selected before starting an edit function, or while an edit

794

function is active. The selected area is immediately active, prior

795

edits are retained, and future edits (those listed above) will apply

796

only to the area. If another edit

797

function is started, the selected area remains active, so it is

798

possible to carry out a series of edits on one area, or one edit

799

function on a series of areas.

800

The menu function Area > Select Area starts a dialog with the following buttons:

801

802

803

804

805

<tbody>

806

<tr>

807

<td style="vertical-align: top; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;">Start

808

</td>

809

<td style="vertical-align: top; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;">start a new area or resume editing previous area

810

</td>

811

</tr>

812

<tr>

813

<td style="vertical-align: top; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;">Finish

814

</td>

815

<td style="vertical-align: top; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;">finish editing an area

816

</td>

817

</tr>

818

<tr>

819

<td style="vertical-align: top; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;">Suspend / Resume

820

</td>

821

<td style="vertical-align: top; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;">suspend or resume editing

822

</td>

823

</tr>

824

<tr>

825

<td style="vertical-align: top; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;">Show / Hide

826

</td>

827

<td style="vertical-align: top; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;">show or hide the area outline

828

</td>

829

</tr>

830

<tr>

831

<td style="vertical-align: top; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;">Delete

832

</td>

833

<td style="vertical-align: top; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;">delete the current area

834

</td>

835

</tr>

836

<tr>

837

<td style="vertical-align: top; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;">Invert

838

</td>

839

<td style="vertical-align: top; font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;">invert the area

840

</td>

841

</tr>

842

</tbody>

843

</table>

844

845

846

847

Start with the [start] button. Use

848

the mouse to outline the target area. Click the

849

left mouse button to define the end points of a series of connected lines.

850

Continue

851

around the target area until it is surrounded with

852

connected lines. When a new line segment is added with a left-click,

853

dragging the mouse from the same position will drag the end of the

854

line. To remove a point, right click on (or very near) the point. The

855

connecting lines will be erased and re-drawn to omit the point. To add

856

a point, drag the mouse from a point on (or very near) any existing

857

line. A new point is added and the lines redrawn to meet it. To move a

858

point, drag the mouse starting at (or very near) the

859

point. When the polygon is nearly closed, click the [finish] button to

860

close the last gap. The selected area is now active and subsequent

861

image edit

862

functions will operate within the area. The [delete] button deletes the

863

area (all edits are retained). A new area can now be started if

864

desired. The [suspend] button temporarily stops editing and releases

865

the mouse to zoom or scroll the image to a new position. The button

866

changes to [resume] and can then be used to resume editing. The [show]

867

button refreshes the dotted lines outlining the area. The button

868

changes to [hide] and can then be used to hide the dotted lines (for

869

better visibility of image edits within the area).

870

The button [invert] inverts an existing area: the entire image

871

is selected except for the existing area. Using [invert] two

872

times returns the original selected area. Inverting a selected area may

873

take a long time for the calculations to complete (explained

874

below). The [blend width] sliding control defines the width

875

of blending into the surrounding image. Edits made within a

876

selected area are blended with the surrounding image over this width.

877

The leftmost slider position gives a hard edge (zero blending), and the

878

rightmost position blends the changes over a width of 300 pixels. This

879

control can be adjusted interactively while editing an area, with

880

instant visual feedback. The select area dialog can be exited and

881

started again later. The blend width can

882

then be revised, affecting current and future edits to the area.

883

Calculations: determining

884

which pixels are

885

inside a selected area, and how far they are from from the nearest edge

886

(for the blending calculation) is very processor intensive. If you have

887

enclosed a large area using hundreds of separate lines, 10 or more

888

seconds may be needed. This calculation is done only once, when

889

finishing a selected area. Subsequent movements of the blend width

890

slider are processed very fast.

891

892

You can leave the select area function with the [ OK ] button and

893

resume it later. When the select area function is started and an area

894

already exists (finished or not), you are asked if you want to delete

895

the existing area and start over. If you select NO, the existing area

896

may continue to be edited.

897

898

The function "Clear Select Area" permanently deletes a selected area.

899

You can temporarily disable an area by starting the select area

900

function and leaving it without using the [finish] button.

901

902

903

904

905

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="brightness_distribution"></a>Flatten Brightness

906

907

908

This

909

is a fast and easy way to compensate for a common limitation in photos:

910

there is not enough

911

range in the brightness to show good detail in all areas. This function

912

finds where there are too many pixels with nearly the same

913

brightness and spreads them apart, compressing other areas to make

914

room. Technically, the brightness distribution is made more uniform

915

(flatter).

916

Move the slider and watch the image, which may lag a moment. Some

917

images will show good results, others not.

918

919

920

921

922

923

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="tune"></a>Tune Image  (brightness/color menu)

924

925

926

This function is used to change brightness, color intensity,

927

color saturation, and color balance (relative RGB levels). You can adjust all of these items as a

928

function of the original image pixel brightness. To illustrate, you

929

could increase color saturation in darker image areas and leave it

930

unchanged in brighter image areas.

931

932

There are 7 response curves for the 7 image attributes of brightness,

933

whiteness, color intensity, color saturation, and color balance (levels of red,

934

green, and blue). The radio buttons select which curve is active and

935

displayed. The curve represents a value (Y-axis) for each level of

936

image brightness (X-axis). The middle Y-value is neutral (no change

937

from the initial value). Higher and lower Y-values represent

938

corresponding higher and lower settings for the 6 attributes. The

939

initial curves are flat at the middle value.

940

941

The buttons [+++] etc. can be used to shift the whole curve in various ways. The curve can also be dragged up or down with the

942

mouse. An anchor point (black dot) is added to the curve wherever it is pulled, and this becomes a constraint for

943

subsequent pulls: the curve will continue to go through this point as

944

other parts of the curve are pulled. Anchor points can be dragged, or

945

deleted by

946

right-clicking them.

947

948

949

950

The image changes in real-time as the curves are moved. Simply move the curves and observe the image until you are satisfied.

951

952

Changing brightness moves all RGB values by the same factor. Defog

953

changes "whiteness", defined as the lowest RGB level in a pixel - this

954

amount can be removed or added to each RGB color. Changing color

955

intensity moves all RGB levels by the same factor within a pixel (no

956

color shift), and the factor is greater for darker pixels. Changing

957

color saturation changes the dominant RGB color(s) within each

958

pixel and moves other colors in the opposite direction, so that overall

959

brightness does not change.

960

961

Note about using defog: this can be used to reduce fog or haze.

962

Initially, pull the center of the curve down to remove "whiteness" from

963

the middle of the brightness spectrum, and push the middle of the

964

brightness curve up to restore the brightness level, if needed. This is

965

only a suggested way to start. It is likely that better results can be

966

obtained by further manipulation of the defog, brightness, and

967

saturation curves.

968

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="red_eye"></a>Remove Red Eye

969

970

971

This function reduces the red-eye effect from electronic flash photos.

972

Two methods are provided. The first is faster but will not handle

973

difficult cases (e.g. the eyelids are just as red as the pupil, making

974

the boundary unclear). The second method is more robust but also needs

975

more time and care.

976

977

To use the first function, left-click on a red-eye one or more times

978

until satisfied. If a red-eye cannot be fixed correctly, right-click to

979

undo the change, and then use the second method.

980

981

The second method can better handle difficult cases where the red-eye

982

is only slightly red and the color difference with the eyelids is too

983

little for the automatic algorithm to distinguish. Place the cursor

984

over the center of the red eye. Hold the left mouse button and drag the

985

cursor down and to the right. A dotted circle will appear enclosing the

986

red eye. Repeat if needed to get the red eye centered in the circle

987

(roughly). Left-click inside the circle repeatedly while watching the

988

red eye darken, and

989

stop when it is dark enough. If you go too far, the eyelids may start

990

to darken. Right-click to undo and repeat if necessary.

991

992

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="blur"></a>Blur image

993

994

995

This function can be used to blur or un-sharpen an image. Each pixel is

996

mixed with neighboring pixels to reduce the differences, making edges

997

fuzzy. Enter a value for blur radius and press [apply] to see the

998

results. A small value mixes each pixel with its nearest neighbors and

999

larger values mix more distant pixels. The contribution from each pixel

1000

decreases with distance, so the nearest pixels have the greatest

1001

contribution. This function is useful to smooth mottled skin tones. You

1002

can use "select area" to limit the blur to a face or part of a face.

1003

1004

1005

1006

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="sharpen"></a>Sharpen Image

1007

1008

1009

This function sharpens a blurry image. Three methods are implemented:

1010

edge detection, unsharp mask, and Laplacian. Edge detection is a simple

1011

algorithm: find adjacent pixels with the largest brightness difference

1012

and increase the difference. This is repeated for several cycles, with

1013

the threshold for brightness difference decreased each cycle. Unsharp

1014

mask is a traditional method also found in Gimp and other tools. It is

1015

fast and effective (a technical description can be found via Google).

1016

The edge detection method gives sharper edges where the contrast is

1017

high and softer edges elsewhere, making it good for portraits (sharp

1018

eyes, smooth skin). For images that are partly sharp and partly blurred

1019

(e.g. depth of field or motion problem), the edge detection method will

1020

affect only the blurry areas, whereas unsharp mask may put "halos"

1021

around edges that are already sharp. The Laplacian method is very

1022

similar to unsharp mask, producing slightly better results in some

1023

cases and slightly worse in others. The radius value limits the

1024

distance over which pixels around an edge are changed. It should be

1025

small (1-2) for images that are slightly fuzzy and larger for poorer

1026

images. Threshold suppresses changes to low-contrast pixels: a higher

1027

values reduces the amplification of low-level irregularities.

1028

1029

For the edge detection method, enter the following parameters:

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

<tbody>

1035

<tr>

1036

<td style="vertical-align: top;">   cycles

1037

</td>

1038

<td style="vertical-align: top;">number of iterations

1039

</td>

1040

</tr>

1041

<tr>

1042

<td style="vertical-align: top;">   reduce

1043

</td>

1044

<td style="vertical-align: top;">brightness reduction threshold per cycle, 80 means 0.80

1045

</td>

1046

</tr>

1047

<tr>

1048

<td style="vertical-align: top;">   threshold

1049

</td>

1050

<td style="vertical-align: top;">brightness change low cutoff threshold

1051

</td>

1052

</tr>

1053

</tbody>

1054

</table>

1055

1056

1057

For the unsharp mask or Laplacian method, enter the following

1058

parameters:

1059

1060

1061

1062

<tbody>

1063

<tr>

1064

<td style="vertical-align: top;">   radius

1065

</td>

1066

<td style="vertical-align: top;">distance pixels around an edge are changed

1067

</td>

1068

</tr>

1069

<tr>

1070

<td style="vertical-align: top;">   amount

1071

</td>

1072

<td style="vertical-align: top;">amount of correction, 100 = normal

1073

</td>

1074

</tr>

1075

<tr>

1076

<td style="vertical-align: top;">   threshold

1077

</td>

1078

<td style="vertical-align: top;">brightness change low cutoff threshold (unsharp mask only)

1079

</td>

1080

</tr>

1081

</tbody>

1082

</table>

1083

1084

1085

1086

Press the button for the method selected and wait a few seconds to see

1087

the result. The default values are suggested starting points. Make

1088

changes and repeat the process until satisfied. You can go back and

1089

forth among the methods to compare which is best for a given image.

1090

1091

1092

1093

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="reduce_noise"></a>Reduce Noise

1094

1095

1096

This function reduces the noise present in photos taken under poor

1097

lighting conditions, making uniform surfaces appear speckled. Choose one of

1098

the three methods described below. Press the

1099

[reduce] button repeatedly while watching the image. If you go too far,

1100

sharpness and detail will be lost. The radius input determines the area

1101

around each pixel that is compared. A default radius is set when a

1102

method is selected, but

1103

other values may work better in some cases. For a large image, these

1104

algorithms may run a minute or longer. To save time, select a small

1105

area and experiment with the different methods and radius settings

1106

until you make a decision, then clear the selected area and apply the

1107

chosen method to the whole image.

1108

1109

The following algorithms are applied

1110

to each RGB color independently.

1111

(1) Flatten

1112

outliers by

1113

color: extreme pixels

1114

(outliers) within a radius are moderated.

1115

(2) Set median brightness by color: pixels are set to the

1116

median value of their neighbors.

1117

(3) Top hat: detect outliers by comparison with

1118

a band of pixels at some distance away. Distance is increased in steps

1119

from 1 pixel to

1120

radius limit.

1121

1122

1123

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="crop"></a>Trim Image

1124

1125

1126

The HDR and panorama functions will leave some black margins around the

1127

edges where the images did not overlap. Use the trim function to remove

1128

these areas, or any other unwanted margins. An initial dotted line

1129

rectangle is drawn, encompassing about 60% of the image. Areas outside

1130

the final rectangle will be discarded. Click anywhere to redraw the

1131

rectangle with the nearest corner at the clicked position. You can also

1132

drag any corner of the rectangle to a new position. When done, press

1133

the [trim] button in the dialog box.

1134

1135

1136

1137

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="resize"></a>Resize Image

1138

1139

1140

Sometimes called "rescale", this function allows setting a new image width and height in pixels, or

1141

as a percent of the original size. You can input the new width and

1142

height directly. Buttons are present for setting the new size to 3/4,

1143

2/3,

1144

1/2, 1/3, or 1/4 of the original size. Using one of these ratios will

1145

minimize loss of resolution. If the lock ratio box is checked, the

1146

original width / height ratio will be preserved, meaning that if one

1147

dimension is changed, the other dimension will be changed to match.

1148

After setting the new dimensions, use the [apply] button to perform the

1149

rescale. The window may look the same, but the image behind it is

1150

rescaled. The status bar shows the new dimensions. The file size is not

1151

updated until the modified image is saved.

1152

1153

1154

1155

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="rotate"></a>Rotate Image

1156

1157

1158

The rotate menu function starts a dialog to rotate the image clockwise

1159

(+) or counterclockwise (-) in steps of 0.1, 1, 10, or 90 degrees. For

1160

a tilted image, use the mouse to drag the right edge up or down until

1161

the image looks level. Use

1162

the 90 degree steps to convert an image taken in vertical format to

1163

horizontal. No resolution is lost with 90 degree rotation. For other

1164

angles, the loss of resolution varies up to about 1/2 pixel. The output

1165

image is increased to accommodate the rotated input image without size

1166

reduction - e.g. a 100 x 100 image rotated 45 degrees will be inside a

1167

new image box of 141 x 141 pixels, and the unused areas will be black. Use the [trim] button to remove these expanded margins.

1168

1169

1170

1171

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="unbend"></a>Unbend Image

1172

1173

1174

Panoramas of nearby subjects (typically buildings or

1175

interior rooms)

1176

may show straight lines that are curved, or buildings that are slanted.

1177

Bending of the images is necessary in the panorama process in

1178

order for the images to fit together. For remote subjects (esp.

1179

landscapes) this is not noticeable. The unbend function can be used to

1180

straighten curved lines and remove the slant from vertical lines.

1181

Vertical and horizontal dotted

1182

lines are drawn over the image, showing the unbend axes. Click or drag

1183

the

1184

mouse near the end of a line to move it. Input values for horizontal

1185

and vertical unbend and watch the effect on the image. Increase or

1186

decrease the values and

1187

repeat until satisfied. Move the axes to change the

1188

centers of unbending. See also "Warp Image" for another method of

1189

correcting perspective problems.

1190

1191

1192

1193

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="warp_local"></a>Warp Area

1194

1195

1196

This function can be used to make distortions within an image.

1197

You can select an image area and drag the mouse to stretch this area

1198

with respect to the rest of the image. The image reacts as if made of

1199

rubber. The movement is maximum at the mouse pointer and

1200

declines to zero at the edges of the selected area. Many mouse drags of

1201

different lengths and directions can be combined to achieve the desired

1202

results. The [undo] button will remove the most recent

1203

stretch

1204

(up to the last 100). When finished, you can select

1205

another area and do some more warping, or select [done] to exit the

1206

function.

1207

1208

<a name="warp_global"></a>Warp Image

1209

This function is useful to correct perspective problems (see also

1210

"Unbend"). Drag the image from any edge, using the mouse. The entire

1211

image will be pulled or pushed in the direction of the mouse, but areas

1212

near the mouse are moved more than more distant areas.

1213

1214

1215

1216

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="color_depth"></a>Color Depth

1217

1218

1219

This function changes the normal 16 bits per RGB color (red, green,

1220

blue)

1221

to

1222

any value between 1 and 16 bits per color. At 8 bits per color, there

1223

are 16.8 million total color combinations. At 4 bits per color there

1224

are only 4096 total colors. Use 1-4 bits for an interesting "poster"

1225

effect.

1226

1227

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="drawing"></a>Simulate Drawing

1228

This function transforms a photo into a black and white high-contrast

1229

image or into a line drawing where only the edges of objects are shown

1230

as black lines on white background or white lines on black background.

1231

The sliding control "contrast" will deepen dark areas to black. The

1232

sliding control "threshold" will convert the image from gray-scale to

1233

black and white. The sliding control "outlines" will highlight

1234

high-contrast pixels (edges of objects) and suppress low-contrast

1235

pixels. This can be black on white or white on black, depending on the

1236

selection of the radio buttons "pencil" and "chalk". Manipulate both

1237

"threshold" and "outlines" to find the best balance.

1238

1239

1240

1241

1242

1243

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="embossing"></a>Simulate Embossing

1244

This function transforms a photo into a simulated relief or embossed

1245

image. The "radius" setting determines the feature size or level of

1246

detail. The "depth" setting determines how deep the features go into

1247

the surface.

1248

1249

<a name="tiles"></a>Simulate Tiles

1250

This function transforms a photo into an array of large monocolor

1251

tiles. You can control the tile size and the thickness of the space

1252

between tiles (caulk, grout).

1253

1254

<a name="painting"></a><big style="font-weight: bold;">Simulate Painting</big>

1255

This function transform a photo into something looking more like a

1256

painting. It reduces the number of colors, maps each contiguous pixel

1257

area having the same color, and then consolidates smaller areas into

1258

adjacent larger areas having the best color match. Four user settings

1259

control this process: "color

1260

depth" sets the number of colors to be used (bits per color). 1 = 8

1261

colors, 2 = 64 colors ... 5 = 32768 colors;  "target group area"

1262

sets a lower limit for areas that will have their

1263

own color: areas smaller than this number of pixels will be absorbed

1264

into an adjacent area with the nearest color match; "req. color match"

1265

sets the minimum color match required for a smaller area to be

1266

consolidated into an adjacent larger area: 0 = don't care (maximum

1267

consolidation), 100 = perfect match required (no consolidation);

1268

"borders" determines whether the colored areas will be delineated with

1269

a

1270

thin black border, like irregular tiles in a mosaic. After using this

1271

function, using the "emboss" function can add interesting texture to

1272

the image.

1273

1274

<a name="edit_pixels"></a>Edit Pixels

1275

1276

1277

This function changes

1278

individual pixels. There are three modes of

1279

operation:

1280

pick, paint, and erase. Pick mode: click anywhere on the image to set

1281

the current color. Paint mode: click or drag anywhere on the image to

1282

paint with the current color. Erase mode: click or drag anywhere on the

1283

image to restore modified pixels to their original color. The button

1284

[color] allows you to pick a color using a color wheel, and it always

1285

shows the current color. The "brush radius" control sets how large an

1286

area of

1287

pixels will be

1288

changed with each mouse click or drag. The "transparency" controls

1289

determine how intensely the color is applied at the center and edges of

1290

the brush. Zero transparency applies the full color immediately whereas

1291

a high transparency (90-99) applies a little color and allows you to

1292

gradually change the color using many clicks or drags (analogous to

1293

spray painting from a distance). Erase also works this way: use

1294

zero transparency to immediately erase, and high transparency to erase

1295

gradually. The [suspend] button releases the mouse so you can use the

1296

mouse to scroll or zoom the image. The button changes to [resume]. The

1297

[undo_last] button removes the last edit (modifications from the last

1298

click or drag operation), and this can be repeated to remove many

1299

recent edits. The memory for undo operations is limited to 100

1300

megabytes, which can be reached if you make many edits using a large

1301

brush (every change to every pixel is saved). It is useful to save the

1302

image after each satisfactory change to free this memory. The amount of

1303

memory available is displayed in the dialog, so you can see when the

1304

limit is approaching. NOTE: zoom the image to 100% or

1305

more when using this function. If the mouse steps are larger than the

1306

image pixels and a small brush is being used, some pixels may be skipped by the mouse and cannot be

1307

painted.

1308

1309

1310

1311

1312

1313

1314

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="HDR"></a>Make HDR Image (high dynamic range)

1315

HDR combines (overlays) two images of the same subject with different

1316

exposure levels (underexposed and overexposed). The combined image has

1317

improved visibility of detail in both the darker and brighter areas, in

1318

effect using information from the brighter image for the darker areas,

1319

and from the darker image for the brighter areas. Many digital cameras

1320

do exposure bracketing: take multiple shots in quick succession with

1321

different exposure levels. You can combine two such images to make a

1322

better one. If the camera is adjusted manually between shots, take care

1323

to keep it level and aim at the same point. Some misalignment of the

1324

two images can be tolerated. If things move between the

1325

two shots

1326

(people, windblown trees), fuzziness and ghosting cannot be avoided.

1327

1328

1329

Open the 1st image file with the [open] button, then select the HDR

1330

menu function. A file open dialog is started to select the 2nd image

1331

file. The two images are aligned and combined automatically. When done,

1332

the

1333

combined image is shown, along with a dialog for manual fine

1334

adjustment. The contribution from each image can be adjusted

1335

independently for different brightness levels in the combined image.

1336

The initial ramp causes the darkest areas to be taken mostly from

1337

the brighter image, and the brightest areas mostly from the darker

1338

image. Use the mouse to pull the curve and change the contributions

1339

from the two input images. This will also add an anchor point that will

1340

not move when other parts of the curve are moved. An anchor point can

1341

be dragged or deleted with a right-click.

1342

1343

<a name="HDF"></a><big style="font-weight: bold;">Make HDF Image (high depth of field)</big>

1344

HDF combines (overlays) two photos of the same subject with different

1345

focus settings, near and far. The near-focus image has close objects

1346

sharply in focus and far objects blurred. The far-focus image has the

1347

opposite condition. The idea is to combine the images so that both near

1348

and far objects are sharp.

1349

1350

Making the two photos: choose a point for the center of the image. Aim

1351

the camera at a near object and depress the shutter button 1/2 way, to

1352

set the focus on this object. Hold the button at the 1/2 position, aim

1353

the camera at the chosen center, and snap the photo. Now choose a far

1354

object and do the same. The camera position should be nearly the same

1355

for both photos, which can be a challenge when the subject is very

1356

close. Camera movement can cause scaling and parallax problems (nearer objects

1357

shifted against farther objects), which may or may not be fixable

1358

within fotoxx.

1359

1360

Processing the photos: in fotoxx, open the first image file, choose the

1361

HDF menu function, and you will be asked to select the second image.

1362

The two images will now be aligned as well as possible. The output

1363

image is a 50/50 mix of the aligned input images. A small amount of

1364

camera movement between the photos is compensated, but this is limited,

1365

and parallax shifts are not compensated at all. When the alignment is

1366

complete, a dialog opens. You can select either input

1367

image and "paint" with the mouse on any area of the output image. This

1368

converts the 50/50 mix to the selected input image for the area being painted. The

1369

radius of the paintbrush can be 1-200 pixels, so you can paint large

1370

areas quickly and control fine detail when needed. If you have

1371

overlapping

1372

near and far objects, time and patience will be needed to make all of

1373

them sharp. The examples in the <a href="http://kornelix.squarespace.com/fotoxx-gallery/">fotoxx gallery</a> took about 5-10 minutes each, but the object overlaps are also minor.

1374

1375

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="panorama"></a>Panorama

1376

1377

1378

This function stitches two images together to make a wide image or

1379

panorama. The images must overlap by 10% or more, so that the program

1380

can find where they coincide and put them together.

1381

1382

Open the left image file first. Select the

1383

panorama menu function. A file open dialog is started to select the

1384

right image file. The two images are initially joined with a small

1385

transparent overlap. A dialog pops up asking you to move the right

1386

image into rough alignment with the left image. Do this with the mouse,

1387

dragging the right image leftwards until it is within a few pixels of

1388

the best match with the left image. Rotate the right image if needed,

1389

by dragging the right edge up or down.

1390

1391

The images should be correctly curved and fit together well. If they do

1392

not fit, you need to set the lens parameters as described under "Lens

1393

Parameters". You

1394

can adjust these parameters within the dialog until the images fit

1395

reasonably well, and this may be good enough for most panorama jobs.

1396

1397

Press [proceed] when rough alignment is finished, and the program will

1398

do fine alignment and join the images. Internally, the images are

1399

shifted and rotated and the degree of match is evaluated. This is done

1400

with increasing image sizes until the best match is found within a

1401

fraction of a pixel. The process needs 10 seconds to 3 minutes,

1402

depending on

1403

CPU speed and image size. A 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 processor with 10 megapixel images needs about 30 seconds.

1404

1405

When fine alignment is complete, the combined image is displayed. A

1406

dialog pops up for fine adjustment of brightness and color match. You

1407

may see a sharp border because the two images do not have the same

1408

brightness and color balance. The [auto] button can be used to perform

1409

an automatic color match, which is usually the best starting point.

1410

This button toggles the auto color match on and off. The other controls

1411

allow you to make additional changes to better match the two images.

1412

Changes are made to both images, in opposite directions. Change the

1413

values for brightness and color and press the [apply] button to see the

1414

results. The "blend width" input governs how the two images are blended

1415

together: the color balance is gradually shifted over this many pixels,

1416

to mask imbalances that cannot be fully corrected. The default is 1

1417

pixel, which makes any brightness or color differences look obvious.

1418

When done, you can use unbend, image warp, rotate, trim, and other

1419

functions

1420

for final adjustments.

1421

1422

Panoramas of three or more images can be done as follows: After joining

1423

the first two images, Start the panorama function again to open and

1424

join a 3rd image. In this manner you can string together several

1425

images. New images are always joined on the right.

1426

1427

Vertical Panoramas

1428

Rotate the images 90° to make them match as a left-right pair.

1429

After doing the panorama, rotate them back.

1430

1431

Panorama Limitations

1432

Panoramas including nearby objects can be tricky: when

1433

the two photos are made, be careful to turn the camera on a vertical

1434

axis through the lens, with minimum lateral movement, otherwise the

1435

images may align poorly due to movement of foreground objects

1436

against the background (parallax). This is not an issue when the

1437

subject is 50+ meters away, since a small lateral movement has little

1438

impact on the image.

1439

1440

1441

1442

1443

1444

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="check_monitor"></a>Check Monitor

1445

1446

1447

Eight color bands are written across the screen with brightness from

1448

zero (black) to 100%. You can use this to adjust the brightness and

1449

gamma of your monitor. The left end of each stripe should be as black

1450

as possible, but you should start to see some color within a few mm

1451

from the left edge. If the completely black portion is wider than this,

1452

adjust the monitor. There are 255 brightness steps from black to 100%

1453

(8 bits per color). The steps are too small to distinguish with the

1454

eye. This evaluation

1455

should be done

1456

in a darkened room (no external light falling on the monitor screen).

1457

1458

1459

1460

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="synch_tags_thumbs"></a>Index Tags and Thumbs

1461

1462

1463

You need to do this after first installing fotoxx, or if you

1464

move or reorganize image files and directories. Nothing is lost when

1465

image files are moved around, but

1466

tag searching will not work, and thumbnail index windows will be slow. The

1467

index function regenerates the tags index file and the thumbnail images

1468

that make the thumbnail windows fast. A dialog will ask

1469

for the topmost directory of your image files.

1470

That directory and any subdirectories containing images will be

1471

processed. The indexing speed depends on CPU and disk

1472

speed and the size of the image files. My collection of 3087 images

1473

(1.7 GB) requires about 6 minutes. Once the images have been indexed,

1474

searching them using tags is almost instantaneous.

1475

1476

1477

1478

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="brightness_graph"></a>Brightness Graph

1479

1480

1481

This function opens a small window that shows a brightness

1482

distribution graph of the current image in the main window. This graph

1483

updates immediately as edit functions change the brightness.

1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="clone"></a>Clone fotoxx

1490

1491

1492

Start a new instance of fotoxx in a new window, starting with the

1493

current image file. This is useful to compare images or to work with

1494

more than one image at a time.

1495

1496

1497

1498

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="slide_show"></a>Slide Show

1499

1500

1501

The image window is enlarged to the whole desktop, and the menu and

1502

toolbar are removed. Use the keyboard for navigation (<a href="#kb_shortcuts">more</a>). Use the escape key to get out of slide

1503

show mode.

1504

1505

1506

1507

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="show_RGB"></a>Show RGB

1508

1509

1510

This function changes the mouse mode. When a point on the image

1511

is left-mouse clicked, the RGB values

1512

are shown in the status bar at the bottom. The values have the format

1513

xxx.ddd, where xxx is the upper 8 bits of the color value, with range

1514

0-255, and .ddd is the lower 8 bits, with range .000 to .999. The lower

1515

8

1516

bits are zero unless the image has been edited. Only the edit functions

1517

for color and brightness affect the lower 8 bits, and this data is

1518

preserved only if

1519

the image is saved in 48 bit tiff format. A right-mouse click restores

1520

the

1521

normal mouse mode (click to zoom), or the escape key can also be used.

1522

1523

1524

1525

1526

1527

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="Lens_Parameters"></a>Lens Parameters

1528

1529

1530

This is a dialog for setting and saving the two lens parameters,

1531

lens_mm and lens_bow, which must be set for each camera/lens used for

1532

panoramas. These parameters govern how fotoxx "bends" the two panorama

1533

input images so that they can fit together accurately. Enter a name for

1534

the lens/camera and the two parameters. Up to four lens/cameras may be

1535

entered. Lens_mm is roughly the focal length of the lens (35mm film

1536

equivalent), and lens_bow is a factor for edge-curving distortion. How

1537

to set these parameters is described here, but you

1538

should read the section on making panoramas first, in order to better

1539

understand the following instructions.

1540

1541

Setting Lens Parameters Automatically

1542

The [search] button in the panorama pre-alignment dialog initiates an

1543

automated

1544

search for optimum lens parameters. Use a suitable image pair: the

1545

subject is 50+ meters away, the images have a low horizon

1546

difference and little relative rotation, and there is plenty of

1547

high-contrast detail in the overlap area. Input your nominal lens focal

1548

length

1549

for lens_mm. Use zero for lens_bow. After doing a decent pre-align,

1550

press the [search] button and wait a while for the results. Do this a

1551

second time and observe the changes. If the values remain consistent,

1552

you can use them for your panoramas. The search function steps through

1553

a range of values for lens_mm,

1554

lens_bow, and the image alignment offsets for x, y, and theta. It

1555

searches for the lens values that give the best alignment results for

1556

the given images. The process needs a minute or more, but you only

1557

need to do this once to characterize a given camera lens. Be sure to

1558

save the results using the lens parameters menu.

1559

1560

Setting Lens Parameters Manually

1561

Make a panorama image of a brick or tile wall with about 40% image

1562

overlap. Within the panorama pre-align process, adjust lens_mm and

1563

lens_bow until the overlapping bricks or tiles coincide.

1564

When making the two images, be sure to turn the camera on a vertical

1565

axis through the lens, minimizing lateral movement and rotation in

1566

other axes - otherwise the images may fit poorly and your factors may

1567

not be optimum.

1568

1569

<a name="language"></a><big>Change Language</big>

1570

This function allows you to change the GUI to one of the available

1571

languages. If your language is not available and you know enough

1572

English, consider making a translation, which is not difficult (<a href="#translations">more</a>).

1573

1574

<a name="launcher"></a><big>Create Launcher

1575

</big>

1576

This function puts a fotoxx icon / launcher on the desktop and enters

1577

fotoxx in the menu system in the category "Graphics". Your system must

1578

be LSB compliant (Linux Standards Base).

1579

1580

<a name="multi_raw"></a><big style="font-weight: bold;">Convert Multiple RAWs</big>

1581

This function converts multiple RAW files within a single directory to

1582

tiff-48 format, using the program "ufraw". First, navigate to the

1583

directory containing the RAW files, then start this function. Input a

1584

filespec with one or more wildcards to match the RAW files you want to

1585

convert, e.g. *.RAW  for Panasonic or  *.ORF  for

1586

Olympus. You can specify more wildcards to further restrict the files

1587

processed, e.g. *RICHOH*.RAW, which matches RAW files from some Richoh

1588

cameras. The files are converted one at a time and displayed in the

1589

main window. Depending on the number of files, this can take a long

1590

time (my 2.4 GHz processor does about 10 files per minute).

1591

1592

<a name="burn"></a><big>Burn Images to CD/DVD</big>

1593

This function enables you to choose image files and burn them into a CD

1594

or DVD. When the function starts, a dialog is started and a window of

1595

thumbnail images is displayed. The dialog shows a list of images for

1596

burning which is initially empty. To select an image, click its

1597

thumbnail and it will be added to the list. You can navigate the

1598

thumbnail window to other directories and choose images randomly. Click

1599

on a file in the list to show its thumbnail in the dialog and also set

1600

the current position for subsequent adds and deletes. The next image

1601

added will be inserted at this position. If the [delete] button is

1602

pressed, the current image will be deleted, and if the [insert] button

1603

is pressed, the last deleted image will be inserted at the current

1604

position. To move an image to a new position in the list: click the

1605

image file (its thumbnail will be shown), press [delete], click another

1606

image and press [insert] - the deleted image will be inserted before

1607

the selected image. The list can also be edited directly: you can use

1608

cut and paste to get the sequence you wish, but be careful to always

1609

cut and paste entire lines only. The [add_all] button will add all the

1610

files in the current thumbnail index. Thus you can use the Search Tags

1611

function to create a thumbnail index, add them all, and than make

1612

adjustments if wanted. The [burn] button will send the list of files to

1613

Brasero to burn a CD or DVD.

1614

1615

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="tags_menu"></a>Tags<big style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans; font-weight: bold;"> - </big><big>General

1616

Principles

1617

</big>Image files can have classification tags (categories, keywords)

1618

assigned to them. These can be used to search a large image library for

1619

those images having desired tags. Typical tags: the main subject of a

1620

photo, the associated event, the location, the person(s), etc. Tags

1621

reside

1622

inside the

1623

image (in the EXIF data) and are independent of its file name or

1624

directory location. You can use a directory hierarchy to

1625

make a physical organization of your images, e.g. directory names

1626

corresponding to year or location or other scheme. You can use file

1627

names for the main subject of the image. Such physical organizations

1628

are useful but optional: you can also put all your images in one giant

1629

directory and keep the numeric file names that come out of the camera.

1630

Regardless of the physical organization, "tags" can be used to create

1631

other organizations, e.g. label all the images of one person over all

1632

years, events, locations, etc. All images having a desired tag or tags

1633

can be found quickly and displayed

1634

in a pageable window of thumbnails, where you can further review

1635

the images and choose those for viewing, editing, or changing their

1636

tags. If you have used directory and file names in a

1637

meaningful way,

1638

you can keep using these, and you can also search for images

1639

using these names as well as tags.

1640

1641

1642

1643

Images may have a date which is pulled from the image EXIF data,

1644

if present, or manually set. Images may have a "star rating" for the

1645

importance of an image. Dates and star ratings can also be used as

1646

search criteria.

1647

1648

The package "exiftool" must be installed for tag editing. This program

1649

is

1650

used by fotoxx to read and write the EXIF data within image files.

1651

1652

Limitations and

1653

Practical Tips

1654

The following are the default limits for tags. These are compile time

1655

constants which can be easily increased if needed, although I believe

1656

they are large enough to exceed practical limits:

1657

o   max. tag length: 30 characters

1658

    o   max. tags for one image file: 300

1659

characters

1660

    o   max. tags for all images: 1000 unique

1661

tags up to 20000 total characters

1662

o   max. tags in a search: 200 characters

1663

The practical limit for the overall number of tags is in the range

1664

100-200. Exceeding this range is possible but will lead to some

1665

practical problems: The window showing available tags will be large and

1666

tags will become hard to find (although ordered alphabetically), and

1667

the point and click method of adding tags will become more cumbersome.

1668

Typing the tags

1669

manually will work, but this may lead to typos and other tag

1670

redundancies. This is a bigger problem when tags are initially being

1671

defined for a library with thousands of images, and less of a problem

1672

afterwards when new images are added in small batches. Searching tags

1673

is also more cumbersome if the window of available tags is huge. If the

1674

tags are broadly defined and fewer in number, the search results will

1675

be larger, but using the search results thumbnail window to find a

1676

smaller set of images is also quite fast. Physical file organization is

1677

also preserved in the thumbnail window (files located together in their

1678

directories will also appear together in the search results). All in

1679

all, my recommendation for the casual photographer is to use fewer and

1680

broader tag categories. Tag search speed is thousands of images per

1681

second on a modern PC with adequate memory.

1682

1683

1684

1685

<big><a name="edit_tags"></a>Edit Tags</big> Open

1686

an image file and then select the edit tags menu. Existing tags

1687

are shown in "current tags". Available tags are shown in the "assigned

1688

tags" window below. One of these tags can be added by pointing and

1689

clicking with the mouse. A tag can be deleted by pointing and clicking

1690

within the current tags. Tags recently added are shown in "recently

1691

added". This is a convenience to make adding tags to a new batch of

1692

images easier, assuming that many of the same tags will be used

1693

repeatedly. Point and click the same way. New tags that have never been

1694

used before (and do not appear in the list) can be added by typing them

1695

in and pressing [create tag].  The date of the

1696

image, if available, is shown as "image date". This may be entered if

1697

missing, or changed. You can enter a full date in the format yyyymmdd

1698

or a shorter format yyyy or yyyymm. A missing month or day is logically

1699

equivalent to "01" for search purposes. The [use last] button fills-in

1700

the date from the last date entered or shown. This is to allow easy

1701

dating of a series of images. You may enter an optional "stars" rating

1702

in the

1703

stars field. Use numeric values, e.g. 5 for a 5-star rating. The dialog

1704

remains open if you navigate to a new image, and the current tags are

1705

filled-in from that image.

1706

1707

<big><a name="search_tags"></a>Search Tags</big>

1708

Use the search tags menu to find images having desired tags. Available

1709

tags are shown and can be chosen with point and click. Use the radio

1710

buttons to select "match all tags" or "match any tag". Press the

1711

[search] button to perform the search. Matching images are displayed in

1712

a pageable thumbnail index window. Choose images to view or edit by

1713

clicking the thumbnails. The set of matching images will remain in

1714

effect for image navigation (the buttons [prev], [next], [next page],

1715

etc.)

1716

until you use the [file] or [folder] buttons to establish a new

1717

navigation set, which will be all images in the same directory as the chosen file.

1718

1719

A

1720

date range may be optionally entered, to further restrict the search to

1721

images within the date range. The format is yyyymmdd. Images

1722

are selected which have a date on or after the first date, if present,

1723

and on or before the second date, if present. Missing mm or dd default

1724

to 01.

1725

1726

A pair of star ratings may be

1727

optionally entered to restrict the results to images having a star

1728

rating within the given range. A missing low value implies zero, and a

1729

missing high value means unlimited.

1730

1731

Directory and file names may also be searched, with simple wildcard

1732

matching. Example: in the input field labeled /path*/file*, enter

1733

*egypt*cairo* to select all files with "egypt" and "cairo" in the

1734

directory or file names. The matching rule is simple: * matches any

1735

sequence of characters anywhere in the full /pathname/filename.

1736

Example:

1737

the file  /home/jack/aaa/bbb/xxx.jpg  would match *aaa* and

1738

*xxx* and *aaa*xxx* but would not match aaa* or *xxx or *aaa/xxx*. You

1739

can enter multiple file search strings separated by blanks, and files

1740

matching any of the strings will be selected. Name matching is not

1741

sensitive to case: both *aaa* and *AAA* would match the previous

1742

example. Note: only the files that have been indexed (menu: tools >

1743

index tags and thumbs) are searched. This is NOT a general file search

1744

function that covers the entire file system.

1745

1746

To find all images with no tags,

1747

search with all-blank tags, stars, dates, and file names.

1748

1749

1750

1751

1752

1753

If the package exiftool is installed, the View EXIF menu will display

1754

EXIF

1755

data in the current image file, if available. EXIF data contains the

1756

date and time of a photo, shutter speed, focal length, pixel

1757

dimensions, etc. Most cameras store this data inside the image. If the

1758

image is edited and then saved, the EXIF data is updated and stored

1759

with the new image. NOTE THAT

1760

THE EXIFTOOL PACKAGE IS REQUIRED IF YOU WANT TO RETAIN EXIF DATA WHEN

1761

AN

1762

IMAGE IS MODIFIED AND SAVED.

1763

1764

1765

1766

1767

1768

<a style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;" name="help"></a>Help Menu

1769

1770

1771

1772

1773

1774

About

1775

This displays a short message about the fotoxx version number, license,

1776

home page, and credits.

1777

1778

User Guide

1779

The user guide (this document) is displayed (created using the WYSIWYG

1780

HTML editor SeaMonkey).

1781

1782

README

1783

Displays the README file distributed with fotoxx, which may contain new

1784

information about installation or dependencies. When

1785

you install a new release of fotoxx, you should look at README and the

1786

Change Log to check if there is anything special you need to be aware of.

1787

1788

1789

1790

Change Log

1791

Displays the change log file distributed with fotoxx, containing details

1792

about functional changes, additions, or bug fixes for the current and

1793

previous releases.

1794

1795

Translate

1796

Displays a short text file which explains how to make a new translation

1797

or change an existing one. This involves editing a text file that

1798

contains English text messages with corresponding translations (<a href="#translations">more</a>).

1799

1800

Home Page

1801

Shows the fotoxx home page from the Internet. Look here for program updates.

1802

1803

1804

1805

1806

1807

1808

<big style="font-family: Bitstream Vera Sans;"><a name="technical_notes"></a>Technical Notes</big>

1809

1810

1811

1812

<a name="translations"></a>Translations

1813

See the menu

1814

Help > Translations  or the text file

1815

TRANSLATIONS for

1816

guidance on how to modify an existing translation or make a new one.

1817

This is a fairly simple process: edit a text file with English text

1818

strings followed by their corresponding translations. See one of the

1819

existing translations as an example: /usr/local/share/fotoxx/locales/fr

1820

(the French translation file). A new translation for language code xx

1821

would be saved at /usr/local/share/fotoxx/locales/xx. After making such

1822

a file, you can test it by starting fotoxx on the command line: $

1823

fotoxx -l xx.

1824

1825

1826

1827

1828

Command Line Options

1829

The following command line options can be used in launchers to simplify

1830

startup:

1831

fotoxx

1832

/.../imagefile.jpg

1833

        #  initial image directory or

1834

file to

1835

open

1836

fotoxx -l lc

1837

1838

#  language code to use for GUI (de, fr ...)

1839

1840

fotoxx

1841

-v                        

1842

#  output version and build date and exit

1843

1844

1845

Status Bar Information

1846

The status bar contains information relevant to the current activity:

1847

navigation:

1848

1234x987x24 0.45MB 56%  edits: 3

1849

HDR/pano:     align: 2345  offsets: +12.3 -23.4 +0.0023 +1.2 -2.3  match:

1850

0.91234

1851

1852

1853

   1234x987x24   image width x height x depth (bits per

1854

pixel)

1855

1856

0.45MB        image file size (updated

1857

when a

1858

modified image is saved)

1859

1860

56%           zoom status,

1861

image

1862

% size

1863

edits:

1864

3      3 prior versions are saved in the

1865

undo stack

1866

1867

2345          HDR or panorama

1868

alignment cycles done (progress indicator)

1869

+12.3

1870

etc.   

1871

alignment offsets: x, y, theta, two y-stretch values

1872

1873

0.91234       image match (creeps up as

1874

alignment improves, reset each stage)

1875

1876

Alignment

1877

Algorithm

1878

5000 high-contrast or "edge" pixels are selected to control

1879

alignment in HDR and Panorama. The actual

1880

pixels used are shown in red during the alignment process, which is

1881

also entertaining.

1882

1883

Alpha Channels

1884

Images having alpha channels (transparency information) can be

1885

processed, but the alpha channel is lost when the processed file is

1886

saved.

1887

1888

Image Deterioration From Repeated

1889

Editing

1890

If you save an edited image file and then use this file later to

1891

perform additional edits, pixel resolution may be lost. It is better if

1892

you do all edits when the image files are first processed, to minimize

1893

image deterioration (or go back to the originals if you still have

1894

them). The following edit functions reduce resolution about 1/2 pixel,

1895

and this error can accumulate from repeated edits: rotate (other than

1896

90 degrees), HDR, panorama, unbend, warp. Resize to a smaller size will

1897

of course reduce

1898

resolution, but using the fraction 1/2, 1/3, or 1/4 gives the best

1899

results. The following functions do not reduce resolution: flatten,

1900

brightness/color, red eye, sharpen, reduce noise, trim, all art

1901

functions.

1902

1903

Source

1904

Code

1905

The C++ source code is heavily commented in the hope that others can

1906

understand and use the code for their own projects. If you have a

1907

technical question about how something works, or a better idea to pass

1908

along, you can write to me at kornelix@yahoo.de.

1909

1910

Questions

1911

and Problems

1912

If you have a question or run into a problem, you can write to me at

1913

kornelix@yahoo.de. If you send any images that work poorly, I can use

1914

these to try to improve fotoxx. If there are any error messages in the

1915

log file  /home/<user>/.fotoxx/fotoxx.log

1916

please send these also.

1917

1918

Technical Reference Book

1919

I recommend the book "Introduction to Image Processing and Analysis" by

1920

Russ and Russ, CRC Press. It is clear and concise. The following

1921

algorithms were adapted from

1922

this book: flatten brightness distribution, sharpen (unsharp mask,

1923

Laplacian), noise reduction (median smoothing, top hat), simulated

1924

embossing.

1925

1926

Acknowledgements

1927

I am grateful for the programs libfreeimage, ufraw, exiftool, and brasero,

1928

which have helped fotoxx evolve much faster than otherwise possible. Of

1929

course this also applies to Gnome, GTK, GDK, pixbuf library, the Gnu

1930

tools and libraries, and Linux in general.

1931

1932

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