smadell

Because of changes in the way some Adjustment Layers are coded, I have posted updated versions of this macro (and of several others). While the existing macros, downloaded from this page, still work, the updated macros are a little bit cleaner and do not display the "nag screen" about updating a legacy adjustment. Download the updated version here:

In the past few years, I have posted a number of Macros for anyone who wants them. Some have been more widely downloaded than others. With the release of version 1.7, however, I have found that a number of them are using Adjustment Layers that have been updated by Serif. The macros now contain a step invoking the "legacy" version of the adjustment which , once the macro completes, is then automatically updated to the new version. So far, so good. But, version 1.7 puts up a notification stating that the adjustment has been updated, and this notification appears each and every time the macro is invoked. Even though the notification eventually goes away on its own, it's certainly an eyesore if you use the macros more than sporadically. Bummer. So, I am attaching updated versions of the macros that have been affected by this change. These include the Infrared Simulation Effect as well as the more-recently posted Saturation Mask macros. They are labelled as "v1.1" macros, since they have been re-coded with the new versions of the adjustments. Additionally, minor changes were made to the Infrared macro such that all the added layers are contained within a Group (which can be easily turned on or off with a single click). Both of these are attached to this post, and can be downloaded here. They are macro categories and therefore should be imported into the Library panel (not directly into the Macros panel). You can feel free to delete the older versions, although those older macros will still work - they will just give you the "nag screen" each time they are invoked. For reference, here are links to the original posts for both sets of macros: Infrared Simulation: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/40759-infrared-simulation/ Saturation Masks: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/76900-saturation-masks-a-simple-method/ Please enjoy the updated macros. Infrared Simulation v1.1.afmacros Saturation Masks v1.1.afmacros

Glad to help! Your question got me to re-visit the Quick Mask, which I rarely use, to remember all the details for myself. Always nice to learn some of the basics all over again.

If you press Q, or choose Quick Mask in some other way, with no active selection, your entire image should be covered by a red overlay. As you know, you use the paint brush to create the selection. If you are choosing the paint brush, but you are seeing a "circle with no preview," chances are that your brush has defaulted to Black. It is not uncommon at all for the Paint Brush tool to default to black when you first choose it. Check it out and, if needed, switch it to white (you can just press X to do this) and your Quick Mask will probably start working again. Also, check the Paint Brush tool settings - are your opacity, flow, and hardness choices appropriate or are they causing your selection to be so limited as to be invisible?

Just a random thought (from a non-programmer). Since the selection(s) are feathered, the amount of selection in any given pixel in that feathered region varies between 0 and 100 percent. Inverting the selection seems like it should just give the exact opposite selection. However, since the residual is a really thin "line" is it possible that this represents a "rounding error"?

I just developed a Raw file in the AP Beta. Here's the Lens Correction filter from after the development. The camera, lens, and focal length are correctly identified.

I almost never do my Raw development in AP, so I can’t tell you from memory. I will check this out tomorrow morning, and get back to this thread.

The Picker can only be activated if you click on one of the color ranges (the 6 right-most circles) rather than the “Master” circle, which is what is chosen by default.

This is a screen grab (just made a few minutes ago) from Beta build 127. I'm on a Mac, but Focal Length has been in my EXIF Summary for multiple builds, now.

IndigoMoon... Focal Length has been added to the EXIF Summary, as of version 1.7.

Do you have a document open?

My absolute pleasure.

So, I didn't initially realize that the top picture was pre-processed by the drone, and the bottom picture was the one you were having problems with. I have never had Affinity Photo do this to a panorama, but I also have ZERO experience with drone photography, and perhaps this is part of the problem. Nonetheless, you can still use the Mesh Warp tool to correct that unfortunate bend on the right side (and could apply it in multiple places, if the situation warranted it): Un-Bend Horizon.m4v

When I've had curved horizons (whether from stitching panoramas, or from lens distortion) I've used the Mesh Warp tool very successfully. It's simple, but it's destructive, so you might want to do it on a duplicated layer. See the short video below... Un-Curve a Horizon.mp4

I can’t say which method I like better. I don’t use gradients that often, truth be told. I can see benefits to both. It is a radical enough change that it will upset a few apple carts, of that I am sure.

So, I was thinking about it and I realized what another of your issue was. The gradient dialog box is the place where we typically have gone to set additional nodes (above and beyond the first and last one) and to set the mid-points between those nodes. It turns out that once you lay down your gradient (with first and last nodes) the cursor turns into a variation on a Node tool cursor. If you position it over the gradient line, you can add additional nodes, and you can move all of the mid-points around. If you make an existing node active and press the Delete key, you can remove that node. So, a lot of the work can be done right on the gradient itself without going through the dialog box as an intermediary. I can see where this would be quite helpful in positioning nodes (as, for instance, in creating vignettes) and so forth.

If you look at your workflow, once you have laid down the gradient on the Fill layer, one of the nodes remains active. Because this is the case, clicking the gradient color selection tool in the Content Toolbar gives you the color wheel - this is to set the color of the selected node. Once you click on the Fill Layer in the Layers panel, it deselects the nodes. Because of this, you get the typical Gradient color chooser so that you can first pick a node with which to work. If you think about that way, it is not causing you to increase the number of steps you take; it is decreasing those steps. I'll admit it will take some getting used to, having gotten accustomed to the "old way." But, if you think about it, it makes sense that you can set the color directly once the node is active.

As noted in Build 118, user parameters for macros are still mostly missing in the latest build (120). No gear icons found for most steps when using "Edit Macro..." and the User Parameters programmed for my existing macros (mostly) no longer show up. See also:

Thanks again for everything, Andy.

Many of the macros I have created (in 1.6.x and in 1.7.x) have utilized User Defined Parameters. For the most part, these have disappeared! When I choose "Edit Macro..." for a macro which I know has used these parameters, the problem seems to be that the "gear" icons for macro steps are no longer present. As an example, I recently posted a macro called "Paint by Numbers" in which I allowed the end user to specify about 5 sliders before the macro finalized itself. Now, the macro presents only 1 such slider. In the case of the Paint by Numbers macro, the gear icons for the Posterize Adjustment, and for the Brightness and Contrast adjustment, just aren't there any more. The only gear which remains is for Opacity. I have not tested all of the adjustments to see which ones have "survived," but this is a big step backward. I am hoping that this is a programming oversight rather than a true regression in capabilities.

Andy... I know this is more a cosmetic change than a functional one, but thank you (!) for adding "Focal Length" to the EXIF Summary. It was the one piece of data I thought was missing, and it's nice to have it so readily available. I continue to enjoy this application so much!

I am attaching an Affinity Photo macro that turns a photo into a “Paint by Numbers” image. The attached file is a macros category, and should be imported through the “hamburger” menu at the top right of the Library panel. The category can also be imported into the iPad version of Affinity Photo, although there is one important limitation (more on this later). When you use the macro, it creates a Group called “Paint by Numbers Effect.” All of the changes are inside of this group, so you can turn it on and off simply. Once you look inside the group, you will see multiple layers. From bottom to top, these are: 1) Original Image - Merge Visible This is a “merge visible” version of your photo. It includes all of the editing you may have done up until that point. 2) Posterization Adjustment This is a Posterize adjustment layer, and is meant to reduce the number of colors/tones used in the effect. 3) Outlines This is a separate layer, created (in part) by using a Detect Edges filter. It provides outlines for the areas of color. This mimics the outlines that were present on the Paint by Numbers boards we used as kids. 4) Normalize Colors This is a copy of the original Merge Visible image, and has its blend mode set to Color. This is used to reset the posterized colors to more natural ones. 5) Adjust Brightness & Contrast This is a finishing adjustment, and can provide a better final effect. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Once you click the macro, you will be presented with a default version of the effect. A dialog box allows you to set a number of parameters. As you change each of these parameters, the Paint by Numbers effect is updated. You are asked: Posterize - How Many Colors? The default value is 4, but values between 3 and 6 generally give good results. If your image is a portrait, judging the final result by looking at what the different values do to the subject’s face is a good idea. Outlines - Adjust the Opacity The default is 50%. Adjust this upward to make the outlines more prominent; adjust it downward to make the outlines less obvious. Set to 0 to make them go away entirely. Finish - Adjust the Brightness Finish - Adjust the Contrast The default is 10% brightness, and 20% contrast. Adjust these up or down to give you final effect the desired finish. When you click Apply, the effect is finalized. Obviously, you can manually change any of the settings after the fact. However, you should know that while the number of posterization levels for the image is non-destructive, the originally chosen number is also used to create the outlines, and this is a destructive change. Although you can change the posterization level after the fact, it is not advisable to do this. The outlines might no longer line up with the individual areas of color. Also, for some reason, the iPad version of Affinity Photo handles the macro pretty well but will not allow you to change the number of posterization levels before finalizing the effect. It is baked in at 4 levels. You can change this after the fact, but (as above) the number of levels in your posterized image may not match your outlines very well. Here is the macro in action. The original image is top left; the parameters dialog is shown in its default state, and then changed during the course of the macro; the final effect is shown top right As always, I am one person with one computer and have not tested this in every possible scenario. Try it and, if you like it, keep it and enjoy it. This forum has provided me with so many good ideas and answers to questions; this macro is my attempt to “pay it forward.” [Note: Credit where credit is due. I am indebted to Dave Straker, whose recent YouTube video gave me some excellent ideas for this macro. Dave’s channel is called “InAffinity,” and is a steady source of helpful information. Thanks, Dave!] Paint by Numbers.afmacros

I discovered FastRawViewer last year, and I love it. I use it to cull Raws, and for that purpose only. But, even with that limited use, it’s a pretty sweet deal. I always rely on the histogram functions. I frequently check the “boost shadows” and “inspect highlights” feature, to see if a raw file is worth keeping. I will sometimes use the “details” and “edges” feature, but have found this to be less helpful. I really never use the white balance and exposure adjustments, since those are stored in .xmp sidecars, which I cannot then use. I can VERY quickly move through my Raw files, assign a star rating to the keepers, and then filter only those keepers (based on the rating) to copy them to another folder. Yes, for me, FastRawViewer is a one trick pony. But it’s fast, and it’s cheap, and the idea that I can see the Raw histogram instead of a JPG histogram makes it well worth the $20 price.

And... make sure that you have the trial version of Affinity Photo, not Affinity Designer. The inpainting tool only shows up in Photo.

I agree - it does look suspicious! Don't know how to explain it, unless the screen draw procedures are different before and after the sharpening is applied.