MikeFromMesa

I have one of those already dug as I need it all the time. I am perfectly willing to share ...

I have one of those already dug as I need it all the time. I am perfectly willing to share ...

I have one of those already dug as I need it all the time. I am perfectly willing to share ...

I am glad to hear that no one has given up and that there is still work going on concerning this issue.
 
I know I have said it before but if the developers would give us the ability to call an external editor it would solve a lot of these problems for a lot of us.

The first MAS version of AP is an excellent editing application and there is the promise of more to come.  However, it is NOT (and is not intended to be) a cheap clone of Photoshop.  If there are things in the PS world that are not present in AP (or flagged in the AP road map as "to come") then don't worry, be happy, and stick with what you know works for you.

We were promised that the Macro Persona which was present in an earlier version of APB would be fixed and included in a later release. That would allow the ability to script actions but I don't know if it would include Record and Playback. These would be very welcome.

Out of curiosity I downloaded NeatImage and installed it on my system to use as a trial. Since it would not work for you in AP I was sure it would not work for me as well, but I was curious if it would work when run through photoFXlab which is Topaz's platform for running plugins from pixel editors. As I have mentioned in other posts all of my Topaz plugins run when called from photoFXlab and it (photoFXlab) does run when called from AP and that is the way I have to use my Topaz plugins for now. Topaz advertises that photoFXlab will also run 3rd party plugins as well so I thought I would give it a try, even though its history of success with other plugins has been spotty.
 
I loaded a tiff, called the photoFXlab plugin and added NeatImage to it as an additional plugin. I then tried to call it but got an error telling me that the trial version of NeatImage would only work with 8 bit images. I changed the document to 8 bits in AP and tried again, but got the same message. I then loaded a jpg into AP and tried again, but got the same 8 bit message. The only reason I am posting this is that it might work without the 8 bit restriction in the trial. I don't know but, if you are interested, you could download the photoFXlab plugin as a trial, run it from AP, add NeatImage and see if it works. It is a bit of trouble but is free as the Topaz trial should work properly for however long the Topaz trial period is and you could see if NeatImage would run through that plugin.
 
Just a suggestion.

> Perfect Effects 9.plugin
 
None of the OnOne plugins will work. They are designed to run through the PS Automation interface and AP does not seem to have any plans to implement that. It is a shame because a simple external app interface would allow someone to run all of the OnOne stuff. I would like that.
 
> ToneMapping.plugin [HDRsoft]
 
I assume you are referring to the Photomatix plugin from HDRSoft. Yes, that also works through the PS Automation Interface.
 
> PTLensPhotoshop.plugin
 
PTLens had a PTLensEdit plugin that I thought might work but I don't have it on my system. Since I use Optics Pro as a workflow tool and since it automatically adjusts for lens correction for all of my lenses, I have not looked into this.
 
> Putting them in the library under com.seriflabs.affinityphoto/ data/ library/ applications support/ plugins gives the same result as having them in another search folder.
 
That is an interesting thought and I have not (yet) tried that. It would be nice to have a central location and my Topaz plugins work differently depending upon where they are located.
 
​I have asked repeatedly for an external editor interface so much of these problems could be bypassed by using the external app for the plugins, but without any success. Topaz has those, OnOne of course, Photomatix and PTLens. I am not familiar with NeatImage and FocusMagic.

Apparently the difference is 5 MB.  :D
 
Well, it seemed funny to me, at least ...
 
The real question in my mind is why the exported file is so much larger than the original. Compression does seem like the most logical answer, but then AP should offer both compressed and uncompressed output. Doubling the size of a jpg has quite an impact, especially when one is storing hundreds or thousands of jpgs on a disk.

I am one of those people who use AP as an external editor for my workflow tool. I have used it with Lightroom but my preferred workflow tool is Dxo Optics Pro (although I have also used CaptureOne). But AP is still my Photoshop replacement for an external editor and I am very happy with it. It has allowed me to drop out of the Photography program (and to stop paying monthly) and there is very little functionality that I have given up to be able to do that. I have lost the Automation functionality in PS, but expect much of that to be restored when Serif adds the Macro Persona back to the package sometime soon) and some of the plugin functionality (but expect that to be restored when the AP developers finish polishing the plugin stuff).
 
For me, even though it is not my main editor, AP has been more than good enough for me to say goodbye to Adobe.

I am reasonably sure that the plugin manufacturers probably think the other way - that the pixel editor developers need to conform to their plugin interface. When I spoke with the Athentech (PerfectlyClear plugin) developers (during a support request) that was their response to me.

I am one of those people who use AP as an external editor for my workflow tool. I have used it with Lightroom but my preferred workflow tool is Dxo Optics Pro (although I have also used CaptureOne). But AP is still my Photoshop replacement for an external editor and I am very happy with it. It has allowed me to drop out of the Photography program (and to stop paying monthly) and there is very little functionality that I have given up to be able to do that. I have lost the Automation functionality in PS, but expect much of that to be restored when Serif adds the Macro Persona back to the package sometime soon) and some of the plugin functionality (but expect that to be restored when the AP developers finish polishing the plugin stuff).
 
For me, even though it is not my main editor, AP has been more than good enough for me to say goodbye to Adobe.

The release notes for the latest beta said that there were some improvements to the PS compatible plugin processing so I tried to use Topaz's ReMask 4. Previously I was presented a message telling me that I needed to create a duplicate layer (even though one existed), but this time I got the message:
 
Transparency is locked, please unclock the transparency.
 
Clearly this message means that I should "unlock" the transparency, not "unclock" it (and I filed a minor bug report about that) but can anyone tell me how to "unlock the transparency" on a single background layer? All I have done is open a raw image, make no adjustments and go directly to the Photo Persona. The layer is selected and a duplicate created so no adjustments have been made (beyond anything AP might do automatically when the image was opened). What am I being asked to do?
 
Thanks.
 

Johalenn, Andy,
 
For what it is worth -
 
OnOne produces plugins that only work through the Photoshop Automation functionality, BUT they also have a free standing app that can be used through functionality that allows calling an external editor and, in fact, this is the way I use it from PhotoLine.
 
External editor functionality would allow AP to call the OnOne app and pass it the image in question. From the OnOne Suite you can then call any of the OnOne modules, do the work that needs to be done and then return the image. It is not a plugin per se, but it does pretty much the same thing and, as I mentioned, I use the OnOne Suite from PhotoLine just as though I was calling the plugin. If AP added the ability to call an external editor it would solve some problems associated with AP right away.
 
1) Topaz plugins could be called through the photoFXLab app for those having problems with the photoFXLab plugin or the normal Topaz plugins (that is me),
2) External apps that do HDR and panos could be called directly from AP thus allowing the AP developers more time to add their own internal functionality,
3) All of the OnOne functionality then becomes available to users of AP,
4) And other apps that might need to be called could be. 
 
Just a suggestion, but it seems to me like an easy way to quickly solve some current (and future) problems.

During beta testing I became used to clicking on the history slider to move forward and backward in accumulated history. I could move the slider either forward or backward in steps or in one complete jump. But since the product launch (or perhaps one or two beta releases before) the slider is no longer working as I am used to.
 
If I have a series of history steps I can drag the slider either forward or backward. If the slider is early in the history, or at the start, I can click on the slider space and move it forward, either in steps or in a complete jump, depending upon the position I use to click. However the backward movement does not seem to work as well. I can move the slider back in steps but can no longer move it to the start of the history. If I click at the start of the slider space it moves back in steps, but will not move completely to the start. To do that I have to drag it. This is not how I remember this tool working before.
 

Leigh:
 
I know the plugin support is coming, and I can wait, but I was wondering if there was any tentative schedule as to when we could expect high profile plugins like Topaz and NIK to function properly. Not a hard-and-fast drop-dead date, but some kind of indication as to whether we are taking about 3 weeks or 3 months.
 
Since launch is coming in 3 days it would be nice to know if we could expect normal plugin functionality in the near or far future.

I looked on vimeo for a tutorial explaining how to create a luminosity mask using AP, but had no luck finding anything. Does anyone have a good set of instructions on how to create a luminosity mask using AP? It would help me stop using the OnOne Suite to create the mask.
 
Thank you.
 
UPDATE:
 
Never mind. Found it in the keyboard shortcuts.
 
The instructions say to use Cmd-Shift-Click but that does not work if you click on the image. You must click on the thumbnail for the layer you want to create the luminosity mask for and then it works. Perhaps that information should be added to the keyboard shortcut list.

Try this instead of duplicating:
 
* Select the layer
* Add new Live Filter (hourglass-icon at the bottom of the layers panel) > High Pass Filter
* In the bottom right of the open window, set the Blend Mode to Soft Light or Overlay
* Now just adjust the Radius

Leigh:
 
I know the plugin support is coming, and I can wait, but I was wondering if there was any tentative schedule as to when we could expect high profile plugins like Topaz and NIK to function properly. Not a hard-and-fast drop-dead date, but some kind of indication as to whether we are taking about 3 weeks or 3 months.
 
Since launch is coming in 3 days it would be nice to know if we could expect normal plugin functionality in the near or far future.

Leigh:
 
I know the plugin support is coming, and I can wait, but I was wondering if there was any tentative schedule as to when we could expect high profile plugins like Topaz and NIK to function properly. Not a hard-and-fast drop-dead date, but some kind of indication as to whether we are taking about 3 weeks or 3 months.
 
Since launch is coming in 3 days it would be nice to know if we could expect normal plugin functionality in the near or far future.

The CaptureOne raw edit is an image that C1 loaded and adjusted. It has applied whatever adjustments were contained in the preset that was used by C1 for that image and that probably means that it has adjusted for noise, exposure, brightness, white and black points, sharpening and several other kinds of adjustments. In C1 you do not have to do that yourself as the preset takes care of it for you. With APB there are only basic adjustments applied to a raw image on purpose so you can adjust it as you wish.
 
If you will post the actual raw and jpg images for us to download and adjust in APB many of us can see how our adjusted images compare to both the jpg (which your camera adjusted) and the C1 image (which C1 adjusted). Bear in mind that both your camera and C1 have applied commonly used adjustments know to mimic the kinds of things viewers like to see. APB makes minimal adjustments so you can adjust it as you wish.
 
Remember also that you don't have to do your basic adjusting in APB. For example I almost always do my basic raw adjustments in either C1 or Optics Pro and use APB as an external editor to do specialized types of adjustments like layers, plugin usage, perspective and the like.

Yeah. Discount for beta testers. That is a great idea. I vote for that!

I was joking, of course! I thought that was clear.

Yeah. Discount for beta testers. That is a great idea. I vote for that!

The installation for RC3 warns that it will reset all of your settings, just as the RC2 installation did. However, after installing RC3, I found that I had not lost any of my settings. The Tools were exactly the same as before the installation, the Open Recent list was not blank and everything else appeared to be as before. 
 
Perhaps the warning is not needed? Oh, and by the way, that is a very nice new logo.