lighttable

module controls

storage options

target storage

The type of location to store your selected images. A number of different back-ends are implemented, including file on disk, LaTeX book template and various web albums. Depending on the selected target, you will be asked to provide additional information, such as filenames or account name and password.

filename template

Define the folder and file to which the image will be exported. This can be automatically generated using several pre-defined variables. See the variables section for details.

output directory selector

The button beside the filename template entry opens a dialog to select the parent directory for export.

on conflict

Choose what to do if the generated filename conflicts with an existing file on export:

• create unique filename: Automatically choose a unique new file name by appending an integer to name of the conflicting file.

• overwrite: Automatically overwrite existing files. This option will present you with a confirmation dialog in order to protect you from accidental data loss – you can disable this in preferences > security > ask before exporting in overwrite mode. Note: This dialog is not presented per-file but as a one-off confirmation before the export job starts.

• skip: Do not export images where the destination filename already exists.

format options

file format

Choose the file format for the exported image. Additional options will appear (below) depending on the selected format.

quality

The quality of the exported file. Higher values lead to larger file sizes. The default quality (95) is a good setting for very high quality exports (e.g. for archiving or printing purposes). If you need a good compromise between size and quality (e.g. for online image display or uploads) you should consider a value of “90” instead.

bit depth

The number of bits used for each color channel. More bits means less posterization/color banding.

compression

The type of compression to use.

compression level

For export formats where compression can be specified, the compression level specifies how much compression to apply. The higher the level, the more the data will be compressed, at the cost of more CPU cycles.

b&w image

For TIFF export format, it is possible to save a monochrome image. This setting controls whether the resulting file encodes the shades of gray as separate RGB channels, or as a single grayscale channel. The latter option will result in smaller files.

global options

set size

Choose how to measure the maximum size of your exported image

• in pixels (for file): Enter the maximum width and height in pixels.

• in cm (for print): Enter the maximum width and height in cm and define the image’s dpi. The equivalent size in pixels will be automatically calculated.

• in inch (for print): Enter the maximum width and height in inches and define the image’s dpi. The equivalent size in pixels will be automatically calculated.

• by scale (for file): Enter a multiplier to specify by how much the exported image should be scaled compared to the input image. For example, entering a value of 0.5 will result in an output image with half the width and height (in pixels) of the original image.

dpi

If units of cm or inches are chosen, set the dpi of the output image. The dpi will also be stored in the Exif data of the exported image. It will be automatically set to 300 if “in pixels” or “by scale” is chosen.

max size

Set the maximum width and height of the exported image(s) in pixels, cm or inches (depending on the selected unit) – zero means that no constraint will be set on that dimension. Exported images will be constrained so as not to exceed either of these values, while retaining the correct aspect ratio. Set both to zero to export with the original dimensions (after cropping). If the entered values exceed the original dimensions Ansel will either export with the original dimensions or upscale the image, depending on the “allow upscaling” parameter.

allow upscaling

Set to “yes” to perform an upscaling step if the user-defined maximum width and height exceed the original dimensions of the image. If set to “no” the exported image’s dimensions will not exceed the dimensions of the original image (after cropping).

high quality resampling

Set this to ‘yes’ to perform high quality resampling on the image. The image will be processed in full resolution and only downscaled at the very end. This can sometimes result in better quality, but will always be slower.

store masks

Store masks as layers in exported image. Only works for some image formats (currently TIFF and XCF).

profile

The output color profile. Select “image settings” if you want the settings in the output color profile module of the individual images to be respected.

intent

This option lets you define the intent – the way in which Ansel will handle out-of-gamut colors. See rendering intent for a more detailed description of the available options.

style

Choose a style which Ansel will combine with the existing history stack to generate the output image. These history items are only added temporarily – the original history stack is not overwritten. You can use this feature to add processing steps and parameters that you want to be applied specifically to images before export. For example you may define a style that adds a stronger level of sharpening when you produce scaled-down JPEG files for the internet or add a certain level of exposure compensation to all of your output images.

mode

When applying a style during export this option defines whether the history stack items of that style replace the original history stack of the image or are appended to it. Technically speaking, in append mode history stack items of the style will constitute separate instances of the respective modules on top of any existing ones (see also multiple instances). As a consequence the original history stack will remain in effect with the new items being applied in addition. This way you can apply an overall adjustment (e.g. exposure) to a number of exported images while respecting the settings of each individual image.

export

Press this button to start a background job to export all selected images. A bar at the bottom of the left hand panel displays the progress of the export job. Furthermore a notification message pops up reporting the completion of each individual export. You may click on the pop-up to make it disappear. You may abort the export job by clicking on the “x” icon located close to the progress bar.

Note: Images that are selected but currently hidden (because they are members of a collapsed group) will not be exported.

module controls

selective copy…

Copy parts of the history stack from the selected image. A dialog appears from which you may choose the items to copy from the history stack. If more than one image is selected, the history stack is taken from the image that was selected first. Double-click on a history item to copy that item only and immediately close the dialog.

copy

Copy the complete history stack from the selected image. If more than one image is selected, the history stack is taken from the image that was selected first.

Information relating to internal display encoding and mask management is considered unsafe to automatically copy to other images and will therefore not be copied when using this button.

module controls

The following buttons are shown in the module’s UI by default:

Open from disk

Add existing images to the darktable library without copying or moving files. If you only add a single image to the library it will be automatically loaded in the darkroom.

Import from camera

Create copies of images from the filesystem and then add those copies to the Ansel library.

module parameters

Click on the “parameters” label or the expander button beside it to display the following additional options.

module controls

select all

Select all images in the current collection.

select none

De-select all images.

invert selection

Select all images in the current collection that are not currently selected.

select film roll

Select all images in the current collection that are in the same film roll as the currently-selected images.

select untouched

Select all images in the current collection that have not yet been developed.

module controls

The module controls are spread over two tabs for manipulating the image files and the related metadata.

images tab

remove

Remove the selected images from the darktable library without deleting them. Removed images can no longer be viewed or edited within darktable but the image files remain on the filesystem along with any XMP sidecar files. As darktable keeps the XMP files up-to-date with your latest development history, you can fully restore your work later by re-importing the images.

delete / delete (trash)

Remove the selected images from the darktable library and remove any associated XMP sidecar files from the filesystem. If no duplicates of a removed image remain in the darktable library, the image file itself is also deleted. You can control whether this action irrevocably deletes the files or attempts to put them into your system’s trash bin with a configuration item in preferences > security. A second configuration item in the same tab allows you to control whether or not to be prompted before deleting images.

move

Physically move selected images (the image files plus all associated XMP sidecars) to another folder on the filesystem. If an image with the given filename already exists in the target folder the source image will not be moved.

copy

Physically copy selected images (the image file plus all associated XMP sidecars) to another folder on the filesystem. If an image with the given filename already exists in the target folder it will not be overwritten – instead a new duplicate will be generated with the same history stack as the source image.

create hdr

Create a high dynamic range image from the selected images, and add the result to the library as a new image in DNG format. Images need to be properly aligned, which implies that they have been taken on a sturdy tripod. You can also generate HDRs with programs like Luminance HDR, and later import them into darktable for further processing. Note that darktable can only create HDR images from raw files.

duplicate

Create duplicates of the selected images within darktable. Duplicate images share the same image file, but each duplicate has its own XMP sidecar file and a separate entry in darktable’s library database. This allows you to test different edits on the same image.

rotation

Perform a clockwise or counter-clockwise rotation on the selected images. A third button can be used to reset the image rotation to the value stored in the image’s Exif data. This feature is directly linked to the orientation processing module – adjustments made here are automatically converted into a history stack item for that module.

copy locally

Create local copies of the selected images on the local drive. These copies will then be used when the original images are not accessible (see local copies).

resync local copy

Synchronize the XMP sidecar of the local copy of each selected image with the copy in external storage, and remove the local copies. Note that if a local copy has been modified and the external storage is not accessible the local copy will not be deleted (see local copies).

group

Create a new group from the selected images (see image grouping).

ungroup

Remove the selected images from their group (see image grouping).

metadata tab

metadata type checkboxes

Choose the types of metadata (ratings, tags, metadata, colors, geo tags) that you want to operate on.

copy

Copy the chosen types of metadata from the selected image onto the clipboard. If you have more than one image selected, or no images selected, then this button is unavailable.

paste

Paste any metadata in the clipboard onto the selected images.

clear

Clear the chosen types of metadata from the selected images.

mode

When pasting metadata onto images, this option controls whether the metadata on the clipboard should be merged with the existing metadata (merge), or should replace it entirely (overwrite).

refresh exif

Refresh the Exif data from the source file. Warning: this may overwrite some tags and metadata that you have altered in darktable (such as star ratings).

monochrome

Flag the image as monochrome, meaning that it will receive any monochrome-specific workflow treatment that is offered by the processing modules.

color

Remove the monochrome flag from the image so that it will receive the default workflow treatment that is normally used when developing color photos.