Toolboxes on Ansel

Transitioning from darktable to Ansel

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This page was first written in January 2023, right after the fork, and listed what had already diverged from darktable 3.8/4.0. A lot has happened on both sides since. The sections below summarize the major changes; the gory technical details live in the news section of the website.

What changed in Ansel since 2023

Performance and reliability

The pixel pipeline has been completely overhauled: modules run about 1.8× faster on CPU and 1.6× faster on GPU than darktable, and — more importantly — the pipeline cache was rewritten so that disabling a module, using a color picker or re-exporting an already-exported image does not recompute the whole thing. That makes Ansel 4 to 100× faster than darktable to refresh the image. Memory management was rewritten too: Ansel knows exactly how much RAM it uses and stays within the budget you set, instead of darktable’s hand-wavy “performance profiles” that have no predictability.

Install

Sun, 11 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Dependencies for Source Builds

If you plan to build from source, the Ansel repository ships per-platform dependency installer scripts in packaging/. Use the script matching your OS (for example ./packaging/install-deps-ubuntu.sh, ./packaging/install-deps-macos.sh, or ./packaging/install-deps-windows-msys2.sh).

Understanding Ansel’s releases

Ansel channels

Ansel development and release path follows 3 channels :

A production channel :
1. Linked to the Git master branch ,
2. Contains tested code supposed to work reliably for daily use,
3. Contains features found under the Done column, in the project management board .
A pre-release channel :
1. Backward-compatible with the production channel (so you can switch from one to another without breaking your image edits),
2. Linked to the Git candidate branch ,
3. Contains code to test before integration in production channel but still relatively safe to use,
4. Contains features found under the Testing column, in the project management board .
An experimental channel :
1. non-backward-compatible with either the production or pre-release channels,
2. Linked to the Git dev branch ,
3. Contains features found under the In progress column, in the project management board ,
4. This channel needs to be used aside of the production install since it contains prototypes of new modules, new versions of old modules, and other features that will upgrade the version of the Ansel database, making it incompatible with previous versions. It can also contain prototypes that will never make it in production.

At all time, the project management Kanban board will show what changes are being currently worked on in the non-production channels, with links to their pull request and issue, to help traceability of changes and bug reports.

Install on Linux

Sun, 11 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Prerequisites

Install your GPU OpenCL drivers if you have a GPU :

For Nvidia GPUs, OpenCL support is part of the CUDA proprietary driver and is not available with the open-source Nouveau driver:
- add Nvidia’s repository to your package manager ,
- install the CUDA packages ,
- Reboot.
- It is highly discouraged to manually install drivers through runfiles (.run) as it is riddled with problems you will need to manually fix everytime the Linux kernel is updated.
For AMD GPUs, the AMDGPU-Pro driver is recommended:
- download the relevant driver ,
- extract the archive ,
- Run the installation script:
  - If you want only the OpenCL driver, without video drivers and OpenGL (assuming your system already has some of those working): ./amdgpu-pro-install -y --opencl=pal,legacy --headless,
  - If you want the complete GPU stack (OpenCL/OpenGL, Vulkan, video drivers): ./amdgpu-pro-install -y --opencl=pal,legacyè
- Reboot.
For Intel embedded GPUs, the Neo driver provides support for OpenCL 3.0 on relatevly recent
- official driver releases contain the Ubuntu .deb packages, you need to install intel-opencl-icd_xxxx.deb,
- The safest way is to locate the intel-opencl-icd package in your distribution’s repository, and install it. It can be part of optional or third-party repositories for distributions leaning a bit too hard toward open-sourcery (Debian/Fedora).

If you don’t have a GPU, a manual build is recommended to get the best performance possible (see below).

Install on Windows

Sun, 11 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Prerequisites

Install your OpenCL GPU drivers if you have a GPU.

On Windows 11, it seems that the system OpenCL drivers for Intel embedded GPU cause issues (black images), especially with newer generation CPU. You may want to remove Windows drivers and install Intel ones .

See the caveats section below for more details.

EXE package (recommended)

The Ansel project provides an official .exe package, built for the stable, pre-release and experimental channels. This is the recommended way of installing Ansel, since it is fresh from the repository, always up-to-date and ships updated lens databases for Lensfun.

Install on Mac OS

Sun, 11 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Build from source (Homebrew, recommended)

This method is derived from the repository scripts in packaging/macosx/.

Prerequisites

Install Xcode Command Line Tools:
```
1xcode-select --install
```
Install Homebrew from https://brew.sh/ (use the default prefix: /opt/homebrew on Apple Silicon, /usr/local on Intel).

Steps

Clone the repository and submodules:

1git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/aurelienpierreeng/ansel.git
2cd ansel
3git submodule init
4git submodule update

Install build dependencies:
```
1./packaging/macosx/1_install_hb_dependencies.sh
```
This is the canonical dependency list used by CI and packaging.
Build and install into the local install/ directory:
```
1./packaging/macosx/2_build_hb_ansel_custom.sh
```
Edit packaging/macosx/2_build_hb_ansel_custom.sh if you need custom CMake options.
(Optional) Create a macOS application bundle (can be signed if you have a Developer ID):
```
1export CODECERT="your.developer@apple.id" # optional
2./packaging/macosx/3_make_hb_ansel_package.sh
```
The bundle is generated at install/package/Ansel.app.
(Optional) Generate a DMG image from the bundle:
```
1./packaging/macosx/4_make_hb_ansel_dmg.sh
```
The output is Ansel-<version>-<arch>.dmg in the install/ directory.

Running the build

Development install (after step 3):
```
1./install/bin/ansel
```

From the app bundle (after step 4):

1./install/package/Ansel.app/Contents/MacOS/ansel --configdir ~/.config/ansel --cachedir ~/.cache/ansel/

Notes and limitations

The DMG is not notarized. If Gatekeeper blocks it, remove the quarantine attribute:
```
1xattr -d com.apple.quarantine Ansel-*.dmg
```
The DMG is only guaranteed to run on the same macOS version it was built on.
Homebrew package versions define the library versions bundled into the app.

MacPorts method (legacy, Intel-only)

A legacy Intel-only method using MacPorts exists in packaging/macosx/BUILD.txt. It includes custom patches for exiv2, gnutls, and gtk-osx-application, and uses gtk-mac-bundler to produce a DMG. Use this only if you specifically need a MacPorts-based build.

Install OpenCL drivers

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

OpenCL is a vendor-agnostic and cross-platform way of offloading computations to the GPU. GPUs are designed specifically to handle pixel operations, with an optimized memory layout and a massively multi-core architecture¹ allowing for fast and energy-efficient image processing.

But OpenCL can only be used for background computational (offline rendering) tasks and cannot be used to render the GUI in real-time, which is the realm of OpenGL.

The architecture of Ansel and darktable pixel pipeline is flawed in that regard, because the output of (fast) OpenCL computations has to be sent back to the (slow) Gtk 3 thread, which paints the processed image within the GUI (along with the rest of GUI controls) using only a single CPU core. This is the biggest performance bottleneck in darktable and Ansel, and the reason why it is a rather slow application.

Configuration files

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The configuration files of Ansel are located in :

$HOME/.config/ansel for Mac OS and Linux
C:\%LOCALAPPDATA%\ansel on Windows.

Default configuration files

anselrc: contains all user preferences except presets and styles. This may be opened in any text editor for manual edit if any preference makes the software crash at startup.
keyboardrc: contains all user-defined keyboard shortcuts.
data.db: contains user presets for modules, styles, tags and locations. This is an SQLite database. It is backed-up before updating to a new release and automatic snapshots can be configured (see below).
library.db: contains all images known to Ansel, along with their directories (dubbed film rolls). Like the previous, it is an SQLite database backed-up before updating to new releases and with optional snapshots.

The frequency of snapshots can be defined in the software global Preferences -> tab Storage -> section Database -> entry Create database snapshots and how many snapshot to keep. By default, Ansel saves one snapshot every week when closing the software.

Import configuration from darktable

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Ansel is based on darktable 4.0 and configuration files of darktable 4.0.1 and prior can be seemlessly imported by Ansel, such that you recover your tags, styles, presets, and library of images.

Warning

Importing darktable 4.2 database into Ansel will make you lose the settings of filmic RGB, sigmoid and highlights reconstruction modules for all edits using them. Sigmoid is not and will never be supported into Ansel, and the nonsensical changes made to filmic RGB in darktable 4.2 will never be ported to Ansel. All other modules should still work.

Importing usual darktable configuration files

Note

Debugging

Sun, 22 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Ansel is written in the C language. While C pretends to be portable (runs the same on all operating systems), many little things need to be contextually adapted to each OS using slightly different code. Also, depending on hardware and on the version of the dependencies, even on Linux, some discrepancies can occur between distributions.

That is to say that bugs are almost impossible to anticipate when programming, and the default state of a computer program is buggy. Reporting bugs properly is the only way to help cleaning up the unforseen pathological cases.

Getting started

Thu, 15 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ansel is a non-destructive RAW photo editor. It never modifies your original files: every change is stored as a recipe (an editing history) in a library database, and only written out to a real image file when you export. This means your originals stay safe, edits are reversible forever, and the same recipe can be applied to many images at once.

This section is a quick bootstrap. Each step links to a more detailed page and to the relevant view.

Import images

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Basics

Ansel backbone is a library of images, saved as an SQLite database into ~/.config/ansel/library.db. Since Ansel is a non-destructive photo editor, editings are saved as histories of settings, along with image metadata, as text¹ into the library database. The application of editing histories over raw images, as to produce output raster images, is the export step.

The library is also used to keep track of image collections (by tags, folders, EXIF, editing time, etc.). Because of this, we need to make the library aware of new images : it is the import step. This will initialize a new database entry with metadata and a virgin history for each imported picture.

Editing images

Thu, 15 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Understanding non-destructive editing

Before diving deeper into how to use the software, we should stop here to explain its general paradigm : non-destructive editing.

Once you imported images to Ansel, what you really did is only to create an entry for them into the library database. The modifications you make on these images are never written to the original images, which are actually never changed. This is a strong design requirement aiming at protecting your input RAW images from any kind of corruption.¹ Ansel will not even let users change the EXIF date and time in the original files.

Library and collections

Thu, 15 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ansel keeps a database of all images it knows, that is all images that were imported, until you actively remove them from the library (global menu : File 🡒 Remove from library). The library stores the filesystem path of the images, their metadata and their editing history.

Warning

Ansel does not listen to the content of filesystem folders, meaning it will not be notified if imported images are (re)moved on the filesystem. You will need to manually update the pathes if that is the case, or you can move those files directly with Ansel (under the global menu File).

Ansel will then perform database extractions based on arbitrary user criteria : those are called collections. They are built in lighttable from the library toolbox and from the include toolbar. Ansel has no concept of gallery or virtual folder that you create first, then to which you add arbitrary images. Instead, in Ansel, you attach tags to images, then collect all images having a certain tag (or any kind of metadata, base folder, etc.), possibly mixing filters and search criteria to narrow-down the search : this is what makes a collection.

Image selection

Thu, 15 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ansel allows batch-applying editing histories (through copy-pasting, or through styles) or metadata. The target images for those batch-operations are selected images. But even single-image operations (like opening in darkroom to edit, or editing metadata, copy/pasting, etc.) use selections.

Selections are particular objects in Ansel, because :

They are remembered between reboots and across ateliers (views) changes,
They are global in the sofware and used to pass on lists of images between lighttable and other ateliers,
They are disabled and inactive within an atelier (except for the lighttable), which use active images instead (contextual selection),
They are necessarily a subset of the current filtered collection (as displayed in the lighttable),
They can be set only from the lighttable view (no selection can be performed or used from the filmstrip),
They can be turned into a temporary collection themselves, by using the Restrict to selection button in the include/filter toolbar of the lighttable.

Selected images will appear highlighted in the lighttable. Because selections are used to perform (possibly harmful) write operations, Ansel forces “hard” interactions (pressing on an hardware button) on thumbnails to define them. These allowed interactions are :

Shortcuts and keyboard interaction

Sat, 10 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ansel interface is designed to support two mutually-exclusive modes of interaction and navigation: through pointing devices (mouse or graphic tablet) and through the keyboard. Compared to Darktable, many interactions that required combinations of both have been removed, which makes the workflows more efficient.

Shortcuts and available actions

Ansel exposes app-wise actions and GUI controls to keyboard bindings through pathes like Darkroom/Modules/Exposure/Black point, where the left-most member of the path is the view and the right-most member is the actual control being bound. A such path defines an human-readable unique identifier that also says where the control is located in the application GUI.

Views

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Ansel separates its functionality into several views, each dedicated to one task:

Lighttable: Manage, sort, cull and tag your image collection. This is the default view, loaded at startup, and you can return to it from anywhere by pressing Escape.
Darkroom: Develop a single image. Open it from the lighttable by double-clicking a thumbnail, or by selecting a picture and pressing Enter.
Map: Show geo-tagged images on a map and geo-tag new images manually. Hidden by default; enable it in the preferences.
Print: Send images to a printer. Hidden by default; enable it in the preferences. Not available on Windows, as it relies on CUPS .
Studio Capture: Dedicated view for tethered shooting sessions.
Slideshow: Display images full-screen as a slideshow, processing them on the fly. Hidden by default; enable it in the preferences.

You switch views from the Ateliers menu in the top menu bar, which lists every available view and the shortcut to reach it (the current view is greyed out). The darkroom is the exception: because it needs an image to open, you enter it from a lighttable or filmstrip thumbnail, not from the menu.

Global menu

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The global menu bar sits at the top-left of the header and is available in every view. It gathers the application-wide commands, image operations, history and style management, maintenance tasks, display settings, view switching and help. It is the central reference point of the interface: most commands that are not a per-module setting live here.

Note

Coming from Darktable: many commands that were previously buried inside side-panel modules, cryptic icon buttons or undocumented keyboard shortcuts have been collected into this menu. “Modules” that were really just grids of buttons (image actions, view toolbox, selection helpers…) became menu entries.

Using the menu

Click a menu title to open it, or press Alt to reveal the underlined mnemonic letters and press one to open the matching menu. Once a menu is open, navigate all menus with the arrow keys and trigger an entry with Enter.
Entries that have a default keyboard shortcut show it on their right. All these shortcuts are defaults that you can change from Edit → Keyboard shortcuts… (see shortcuts and keyboard interaction).
Many entries act on the active images — that is, the images currently selected in the lighttable or filmstrip. When nothing is selected, those entries are greyed out.

The menus are described below in their bar order.

Tavolo luminoso

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The lighttable view is the default view loaded when Ansel is started, and allows you to view and manage your image collection. It will noticeably allow you to:

Cull your images, assign then ratings and ultimately decide which images are worth keeping and editing,
Filter your images based on ratings, base folder, or any metadata supported by the software (EXIF/IPTC/XMP),
Apply metadata, like title, description, tags, GPS coordinates, or correct EXIF date/time,
Copy-paste editing histories between images or apply styles, individually or in batches,
Export images editing histories to final files.

Lighttable content

All the images known to Ansel are stored in a database, the library. The lighttable shows thumbnails of a subset of this library, called a collection. A collection is created by filtering the images from the library using criteria, first from the library toolbox, then from filtering/include toolbar.

Undo/redo

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Most changes made within the lighttable are recorded and can be reverted to a previous state. This includes modifications to color labels, ratings, geo-localization, tags, metadata, orientation, copy/paste of history, image duplication, or application of a style. The undo/redo facility is unlimited in the number of steps while in the lighttable, but it is reset each time you switch to a different view.

Press Ctrl+Z to undo the last modification and Ctrl+Y to redo the last undone one (if any). These are also available from the global menu, under Edit 🡒 Undo / Redo.

Copy and paste history

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Transfer the editing recipe from one image to one or many others. The result is a merge of the source history into each destination image — not a blind overwrite — which means you have fine-grained control over how conflicts between the two histories are resolved.

Copy-paste is available from the Edit menu in any view, and the keyboard shortcuts work in both the lighttable and the darkroom.

Warning

Digital asset management

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Beyond editing pixels, Ansel keeps track of your images and the work you do on them. This is digital asset management (DAM): organizing, describing, rating, grouping and safeguarding your collection so it stays searchable and recoverable over time.

The pages in this section cover how that information is stored and used:

Sidecar files — how edits and metadata are saved alongside your originals as XMP files, and importing sidecars from other software.
Star ratings & color labels — ranking and classifying images for culling.
Metadata and tagging — descriptive text and keywords.
Image grouping — stacking related images together.
Local copies — working off-site and re-synchronizing later.
Thumbnails — how previews are generated and cached.

Sidecar files

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Ansel is a non-destructive image editor and opens all images in read-only mode. Any data created within Ansel (metadata, tags, and image processing steps) is stored in separate .XMP sidecar files. These files are stored alongside the original Raw files and allow Ansel to store information about the images as well as the full editing history without touching the original raw files. When you import an image into Ansel for the first time, an XMP file is automatically generated. The generation of XMP files can be disabled in preferences > storage > xmp but this is not recommended in normal use.

Importing sidecar files generated by other applications

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

When importing an image, Ansel automatically checks if it is accompanied by a sidecar file. As well as looking for files named <basename>.<extension>.xmp and <basename>_nn.<extension>.xmp (Ansel’s XMP file naming formats) Ansel also checks for the presence of a file in the form <basename>.xmp (the naming format for Lightroom’s XMP sidecar files). Files with the latter naming format will be read by Ansel but will not be written to. Once the image has been imported, Ansel will generate an additional XMP file using its own naming convention.

Local copies

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Many users have huge image collections stored on extra hard drives in their desktop computer, or on an external storage medium (RAID NAS, external hard drives etc.).

It is a common requirement to develop a number of images while travelling using a laptop and then later synchronize them back to the original storage medium. However, copying images manually from the main storage to the laptop and back is cumbersome and prone to errors. The “local copies” feature of Ansel has been designed to directly support these use cases.

Thumbnails

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Each image in the current collection is represented by a thumbnail in the lighttable view and filmstrip module. A cache of the most recently used thumbnails is stored in a file on disk and loaded into memory at startup. The size of this cache can be adjusted in Preferences > Processing > CPU, GPU, Memory.

Thumbnail creation

Si crea una miniatura quando un’immagine viene importata in Ansel la prima volta, dopo che un’immagine viene modificata in Camera Oscura, oppure quando si rivisita un’immagine la cui miniatura non è più disponibile.

Star ratings & color labels

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

La valutazione con le stelle e le etichette colore ti aiutano a mettere ordine e classificare le immagini a seconda dei tuoi criteri. La valutazione e le etichette colore di un’immagine possono essere mostrate sulle miniature nel Tavolo Luminoso e nel modulo anteprime.

Star ratings

You can give an image a rating from zero to five stars. Whenever you import images, each image receives a default rating which you can define in the import module. You can also mark an image as “rejected”.

Image grouping

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Raggruppare le immagini aiuta a migliorare la struttura e rende più chiara la tua raccolta di immagini quando visualizzata nel Tavolo Luminoso.

You can combine images into a group by selecting them and using the global menu Image 🡒 Group images (Ctrl+G). Likewise, remove selected images from a group with Image 🡒 Ungroup images (Ctrl+Shift+G).

Duplicated images are automatically grouped together. Similarly, if you import multiple images from the same directory, having the same base name, but different extensions (eg. IMG_1234.CR2 and IMG_1234.JPG), those images automatically form a group.

Metadata and tagging

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Ansel ti permette di archiviare informazioni aggiuntive sulla tua immagine per renderle più facili da ricercare e raggruppare. Queste informazioni sono salvata nel database di Ansel e nel file sidecar XMP, inoltre possono essere incluse nell’immagine esportata.

Metadata

Metadata (e.g. title, description) is free-format text that usually differs for each image. You can add metadata to images in the metadata editor module.

Tagging

Tags are usually shared between multiple images and are used to categorise and group them. You can add tags to images in the tagging module.

Camera Oscura

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The darkroom view is where you develop a single image. The center area shows the picture currently being edited; the left panel holds peripheral tools (navigation, scopes, snapshots, history…), and the right panel holds the image-processing modules.

Open the darkroom from the lighttable by double-clicking a thumbnail, or by selecting an image and pressing Enter. Return to the lighttable with Escape (or the home button in the header). You can switch to another image without leaving the darkroom by enabling the filmstrip (Ctrl+Shift+F) and clicking a thumbnail in it.

Darkroom view layout

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The darkroom surrounds the center image with a left panel of peripheral tools, a right panel of image-processing modules, and a bottom toolbar of visual-assessment overlays. An optional filmstrip (Ctrl+Shift+F) can be shown along the bottom for quick navigation through the current collection.

Left panel

Shown and hidden with Ctrl+Shift+L. It holds the peripheral tools that support editing (but do not themselves process pixels):

Navigation: Navigate and zoom the center view via a thumbnail overview. Sits at the top of the panel.
Scopes: A graphical depiction of the image’s tones and colors (histogram, waveform, vectorscope…). The global color picker, used to sample colors from the image, is part of this module.
Snapshots: Take and compare snapshots against the current edit.
Duplicate manager: View and manage the duplicates (versions) of the current image.
Mask manager: View and edit the drawn shapes used by masks.
History of changes: The editing history of the current image, where you can step back to any previous state, compress or reset the history.
Image information: Display EXIF and IPTC information about the current image.
Notes: Free-text notes attached to the image.

Note

The pixelpipe

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The pixelpipe is the ordered sequence of processing modules that turns your original RAW file into the image you see and export. Each module takes the output of the previous one as its input, applies one operation, and hands its result to the next module — exactly like a stack of adjustment layers, applied from the bottom up.

flowchart LR
RAW([RAW file]) --> M1[module 1] --> M2[module 2] --> M3[module n] --> OUT([output image])

Nothing is ever written back to your original file: the pixelpipe is re-run on demand from the RAW plus your history stack, both for the on-screen preview and for the final export.

The anatomy of a processing module

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The basic element of image processing in Ansel is the processing module. In order to process a raw image a number of such modules act on the input image in sequence, each performing a different operation on the image data. For those familiar with Adobe Photoshop, the concept of a processing module in Ansel is analogous to that of an adjustment layer in that both make an incremental adjustment to the image, building on top of the adjustments that came before.

The pixelpipe & module order

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The ordered sequence of processing modules operating on an input file to generate an output image is known as the “pixelpipe”.

L’ordine della pixelpipe è rappresentato graficamente dall’ordine in cui i moduli vengono mostrati nell’interfaccia utente – la pixelpipe inizia con l’immagine RAW in fondo alla lista dei moduli, e applica uno ad uno i moduli di elaborazione, impilando elaborazioni livello dopo livello dal basso verso l’alto, finché non raggiunge la somma della lista, dove restituisce l’immagine elaborata completamente.

The history stack

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

La coda di sviluppo registra l’intera storia delle modifiche per una data immagine, nell’ordine in cui queste modifiche sono state applicate. Viene salvata nel database di Ansel e nel file “sidecar” XMP ed è persistente tra le sessioni di modifica.

Each time a processing module is enabled, disabled, moved or amended a new entry is added to the top of the history stack.

The history stack can be queried and modified within the history stack module in the darkroom.

Undo and redo

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Mentre stai modificando la tua immagine, Ansel registra tutte le modifiche che fai all’immagine. Questo significa che è possibile annullare a ripetere i cambiamenti per recuperare uno stato delle modifiche precedente. Nota che lo strumento annulla/ripeti è illimitato nel numero di passi mentre si modifica un’immagine, ma viene resettato ogni volta che la camera oscura passa ad una nuova immagine.

Premi Ctrl+Z per annullare l’ultima modifica e Ctrl+Y per ripetere l’ultima modifica annullata (se presente).

Masking & blending

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Each processing module takes its input from the preceding module in the pixelpipe, performs its operation on the image data, and then hands the output to the next module in the pixelpipe.

L’output di un modulo può essere opzionalmente processato nuovamente (combinato) con i suoi dati di input prima di essere passato al modulo successivo. Questo processo aggiuntivo è chiamato fusione – i dati di input e output vengono riprocessati utilizzando algoritmi chiamati operatori di fusione o modalità di fusione.

Blend modes

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Blend modes define how the input and output of a module are combined (blended) together before the module’s final output is passed to the next module in the pixelpipe.

Le modalità di fusione classiche, progettate per RGB riferito allo schermo (limitate tra 0-100%), definiscono implicitamente nei loro algoritmi il fulcro al 50% (grigio) o al 100% (bianco), a seconda della modalità di fusione. Siccome lo spazio colore riferito alla scena non è soggetto a queste limitazioni, il fulcro necessita di essere stabilito dall’utente durante l’operazione di fusione nello spazio colore RGB (riferito alla scena). Il parametro aggiuntivo fulcro fusione verrà mostrato all’utente quando si usa uno di queste modalità di fusione in questo spazio colore. L’effetto dipende dall’operatore utilizzato. Per esempio, valori al di sopra del fulcro potrebbero venire illuminati di più e valori al di sotto illuminati di meno, o viceversa.

Masks

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Masks allow you to limit the effect of a module so that it only applies to certain parts of the image.

Una maschera può essere considerata come un’immagine in scala di grigi dove ogni pixel ha un valore compreso tra 0 e 1.0 (o tra 0% e 100%). Questo valore è l’opacità ed è utilizzata per determinare quanto il modulo coinvolge ogni pixel.

Le sezioni seguenti spiegano come costruire maschere in Ansel.

Drawn masks

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Con le maschere disegnate puoi costruire una maschera disegnando forme direttamente sopra l’immagine. Le forme possono essere usate da sole o in combinazione. Dopo che una forma è stata disegnata su un’immagine può essere regolata, rimossa, o riutilizzata in altri moduli.

Shapes are stored internally as vectors and are rendered with the required resolution during pixelpipe processing. Shapes are expressed in the coordinate system of the original image and are transformed along with the rest of the image by any active distorting modules in the pipe (lens correction, rotate and perspective for example). This means that a shape will always work on the same image area regardless of any modifications that may be subsequently applied.

Parametric masks

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

La maschera parametrica offre un minuzioso controllo della selezione di come i pixel individuali vengono mascherati. Questa viene creata creando automaticamente una maschera di fusione intermedia sulla base di parametri stabiliti dall’utente. Questi parametri sono le coordinate colore invece che le coordinate geometriche utilizzate nelle maschere disegnate.

Per ciascuno dei canali dati di un modulo (es. Lab, RGB) e molti altri canali virtuali (es. tonalità, saturazione) puoi definire una funzione di opacità per canale. A seconda del valore di ciascun pixel per un dato canale dati, questa funzione calcolerà un fattore di fusione tra 0 e 1 (100%) per il dato pixel.

Combining drawn & parametric masks

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Maschere parametriche e disegnate possono essere usate in combinazione per creare un’unica maschera che può essere applicata ad un modulo.

Ci sono due elementi principali che controllano come le maschere vanno combinate individualmente: l’impostazione di polarità di ciascuna delle maschere (definita dal pulsante più o meno) e la selezione dell’opzione “Combina le maschere”.

La casella combinata “combina le maschere” contiene le seguenti opzioni, che stabiliscono come le maschere disegnate e parametriche verranno combinate assieme.

Mask contours

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Quando una maschera parametrica o disegnata è attiva, vengono mostrati ulteriori cursori che permettono di rifinire ulteriormente la maschera.

details threshold (deprecated): This control allows you to alter the opacity of the mask based on the amount of detail in the image. Use this slider to select either areas with lots of detail (positive values) or areas that are flat and lacking in detail (negative values). The default (zero) effectively bypasses details refinement. This is mostly useful to apply sharpening and blurring effects that ignore out-of-focus (bokeh) regions or to sharpen only blurry parts, preventing over-sharpening of in-focus regions.

Note

Raster masks

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Come descritto nelle sezioni precedenti, il risultato finale di una maschera per un modulo (l’effetto combinato di qualsiasi maschera disegnata e parametrica) è un’immagine raster in toni di grigio che rappresenta l’intensità con la quale il modulo debba essere applicato su ogni pixel. L’immagine raster è conservata internamente per i moduli attivi e può essere utilizzata in seguito per gli altri moduli nella pixelpipe.

Come per qualsiasi altra maschera, se il valore di opacità per un pixel nella maschera raster è zero, l’input del modulo ne risulta inalterato. Se l’opacità è 1.0 il modulo ha pieno effetto sul pixel. Per ogni valore tra 0 e 1.0 l’effetto del modulo viene applicato proporzionalmente alla posizione.

Processing modules

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Split-toning

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Blend two CAT16 plus RGB mixer corrections across brightness keyframes.

The split-toning module applies two independent color transforms:

one keyed on the dark tones,
one keyed on the bright tones.

Each keyframe combines:

a chromatic adaptation defined by a correlated color temperature in CAT16,
a 3×3 RGB channel mixer working in the pipeline working RGB space.

The two transforms are then interpolated according to the scene luminance of each pixel. This makes the module suitable both for creative split toning and for technical correction of mixed illuminants, for example cool bounce light in the shadows combined with a warmer direct illuminant in the highlights.

Color primaries

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Edit RGB/CYM primary control nodes in dt UCS and remap colors through a procedural 3D LUT.

The color primaries module is a secondary color-grading tool built around the six additive and subtractive primaries:

red,
yellow,
green,
cyan,
blue,
magenta.

Each of these control nodes is sampled inside the internal RGB gamut and converted to dt UCS HSB. The module lets you change the hue, saturation and brightness of those six reference colors, then interpolates the resulting RGB shifts through a cylindrical local field to build a dense 3D LUT.

Color equalizer

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Remap colors through a procedural 3D LUT driven by perceptual hue-ring controls.

The color equalizer module is a secondary color-grading tool. It lets you define color shifts on three hue rings expressed in dt UCS HSB space, then converts those shifts into a dense RGB 3D LUT that is applied to the image.

The user interface is meant to stay perceptually even:

The editable graphs work in hue, saturation and brightness dimensions of dt UCS HSB,
The underlying LUT is built in RGB code values and applied as a 3D cube transform,
The interpolation between user nodes is smooth and periodic over hue.

Because the final effect is applied through a 3D LUT, hue, saturation and brightness edits can interact in a more global way than in curve-only modules. This makes the module well suited to creative color remapping and palette design, but more robust across dramatic changes.

Photographic grain

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Simulate photographic grain from a stochastic stack of silver-halide crystal layers.

This module implements a production version of the model presented in Stochastic photographic grain synthesis from crystallographic structure simulation . The goal is not to add generic noise, but to discretize the scene-referred image into finite crystal footprints that capture and deplete light through an emulsion stack.

Unlike simple additive noise, the module works with crystal-shaped grains, a per-layer filling ratio, and a remaining-light model. Each crystal captures a flat tone averaged over its own footprint, so image detail finer than the grain size is not preserved inside the grain.

Drawing

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Paint premultiplied RGBA layers directly in darkroom and save them as pages inside a TIFF sidecar.

This module is a true painting layer system. It is not a local-adjustment mask editor and it is not a clone/heal tool like retouch. Instead, it creates and edits independent raster layers that are composited over the current image in the pixelpipe.

The intended use cases are:

Hand painting,
Dodging and burning with a brush,
Color glazing,
Painterly overlays,
Matte painting on top of a photograph,
Texture painting,
Soft masking or erasing with a pressure-sensitive tablet.

The TIFF sidecar is saved as 16 bits floating point, compressed losslessly, in scene-linear working RGB space (the colorspace ICC profile is included in the file), with premultiplied alpha. It can be modified in any software that supports this.

Final resampling

Sat, 21 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This module has always been in the pixel pipeline but was hidden in darktable GUI. Ansel 0.0 exposes it to allow users to fix a mistake in the default pipeline order of darktable.

Action

When exporting images to save them to a file, the picture is processed at full resolution and then rescaled to the specified output size by this module.

Final resampling is never used when producing previews, for the lighttable thumbnails or in the darkroom, because in this case images are resampled earlier in the pipeline, for better rendering speed. It has no effect if the image is exported at its full (original) resolution either.

Astrophoto denoise

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Remove image noise while preserving structure.

This is accomplished by averaging each pixel with some surrounding pixels in the image. The weight of such a pixel in the averaging process depends on the similarity of its neighborhood with the neighborhood of the pixel being denoised. A patch with a defined size is used to measure that similarity.

Siccome la riduzione del rumore è un processo che consuma molte risorse rallenta l’elaborazione della pixelpipe in maniera significante. Considera di ritardare l’attivazione di questo modulo verso la fine del tuo flusso di lavoro.

Blurs

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Simulate physically-accurate blurs in scene-referred RGB space.

Blur types

Three types of blur are provided:

lens blur: Simulates a lens diaphragm with a configurable number of blades and blade curvature to create synthetic bokeh.
motion blur: Simulates the effect of camera motion with a configurable path.
gaussian blur: This is not really an optical blur but can be used for denoising or for creative effects using blend modes

A diagram at the top of the module shows the shape of the blurring operator (known as the point spread function ). The module will turn each luminous point from the scene into a blot shaped like the displayed blurring operator, with the size of the blot defined by the blur radius.

Censorize

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Degrada parte dell’immagine in maniera gradevole a vedersi, al fin di anonimizzare persone/oggetti o nascondere parti del corpo.

Il modulo censura lavora nello spazio colore RGB lineare per applicare una sfocatura gaussiana e un rumore di luminosità gaussiano che sia fisicamente accurato.

Oltre all’anonimizzazione, questo modulo può essere usato per vari scopi creativi, ad esempio:

Combine a simple blur with a multiply blend mode to create a realistic bloom (Orton effect).
Combine a simple blur with a subtract blending mode and low opacity to create an unsharp mask , similar to the sharpen module but in an RGB scene-referred space.
Add noise to create artificial grain.

Nota: Il metodo di anonimizzazione fornito da questo modulo, per favorire l’estetica, non è sicuro dal punto di vista forense. Alcune tecniche forensi potrebbero essere in grado di ricostruire il contenuto censurato nella sua struttura, soprattutto per forme semplici e testi (es: targhe, numeri delle vie).

Chromatic aberrations

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Corregge le aberrazioni cromatiche.

Al contrario del modulo aberrazioni cromatiche del raw, questo modulo non richiede dati raw in ingresso.

Workflow

Per ottenere i migliori risultati, ti consigliamo di procedere come segue:

Attenuare le aberrazioni cromatiche quanto più possibile nel modulo correzione obiettivo usando il selettore scorrevole per il TCA.
Aumentare l’intensità in quel modulo per vedere meglio il suo effetto.
Incrementare il raggio finché le aberrazioni cromatiche scompaiono. Se questo non è abbastanza, prova ad abilitare l’impostazione “Aberrazione cromatica molto ampia”.
Scegliere la guida con cui si ottiene il massimo risultato in termini di nitidezza e artefatti.
Ridurre l’intensità per evitare di sbiadire troppo i colori.

Per i casi più complicati puoi anche provare come segue:

Color balance

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

An advanced module which brings color-grading tools from cinematography into the photographic scene-referred pipeline.

This module is not suitable for beginners with no prior knowledge of color theory, who might want to stick to the global chroma and global vibrance settings until they have a good understanding of the dimensions of color.

Introduction

Il color-grading è una parte importante dell’elaborazione immagini. Può aiutare a rimuovere dominanti di colore non desiderate e può anche consegnare un guizzo creativo di colore che aggiunge atmosfera alla tua immagine. Nei giorni della fotografia su pellicola, la maggior parte dell’atmosfera cromatica veniva ottenuta con le emulsioni della pellicola e gli elementi chimici di sviluppo, con alcune tempistiche per il colore eseguite sotto l’ingranditore con un filtro colorato. Questo consumata risorse costose ed era il larga parte riservato all’industria del cinema, dove il lavoro veniva eseguito da un colorista.

Color calibration

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

A fully-featured color-space correction, white balance adjustment and channel mixer module.

This simple yet powerful module can be used in the following ways:

To adjust the white balance (chromatic adaptation), working in tandem with the white balance module. Here, the white balance module makes some initial adjustments (required for the demosaic module to work effectively), and the color calibration module then calculates a more perceptually-accurate white balance after the input color profile has been applied.

Color look up table

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

A generic color look up table implemented in Lab space.

The input to this module is a list of source and target points and the complete mapping is interpolated using splines. The resulting look up tables (LUTs) are editable by hand and can be created using the darktable-chart utility to match given input (such as hald-cluts and RAW/JPEG with in-camera processing pairs).

Module controls

color board: The color board grid shows a list of colored patches. The colors of the patches are the source points. The target color of the selected patch is shown as offsets which are controlled by sliders beneath the color board. An outline is drawn around patches that have been altered (where the source and target colors differ).; Fai click su una casella per selezionarla, o usa il menù a tendina o il selettore colore. La casella selezionata al momento è evidenziata con un quadrato bianco, e il suo numero viene mostrato nel menù a tendina più in basso.

Color reconstruction

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Recuperare informazioni sui colori nelle alte luci tagliate.

A causa della natura dei sensori digitali, le alte luci sovraesposte mancano di informazioni valide sui colori. Molto spesso appaiono in bianco neutrale o mostrano una dominante colorata, a seconda di quali altri passi di elaborazione dell’immagine sono coinvolti. Questo modulo può essere usato per “guarire” le alte luci sovraesposte rimpiazzando il loro colore con uno più appropriato. Il modulo agisce sui pixel la cui luminanza eccede una soglia definita dall’utente. I colori da usare come rimpiazzo vengono presi dai pixel vicini. Per la selezione del colore vengono prese in considerazione sia la distanzia spaziale che di luminanza.

Color zones

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Selectively adjust the lightness, saturation and hue of pixels based on their current lightness, saturation and hue.

This module works in CIE LCh color space, which separates pixels into lightness, chroma (saturation) and hue components. It allows you to manipulate the lightness, saturation and hue of targeted groups of pixels through the use of curves.

You first need to choose whether you wish to adjust (select) pixels based on their lightness, saturation or hue. You can then use three curves, on their respective tabs, to adjust the lightness, saturation and hue of ranges of pixels selected via this method.

Contrast equalizer

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Adjust luminance and chroma contrast in the wavelet domain.

This versatile module can be used to achieve a variety of effects, including bloom, denoise, clarity, and local contrast enhancement.

It works in the wavelets domain and its parameters can be tuned independently for each wavelet detail scale. The module operates in CIE LCh color space and so is able to treat luminosity and chromaticity independently.

A number of presets are provided, which should help you to understand the capabilities of the module.

Crop

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Crop an image using on-screen guides.

This module appears late in the pipeline, meaning that the full image can remain available for source spots in the retouch module. For best results, you are advised to use the rotate and perspective module to perform rotation and perspective correction (if required), and then perform final creative cropping with this module.

Whenever this module is in focus, the full uncropped image will be shown, overlaid with crop handles and optional guiding lines.

Curve

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

A classic digital photography tool to alter an image’s tones using curves.

Activate the color picker on the left to show the picked values in the graph (Ctrl+click or right-click to use the picker in area mode). Numerical (Lab) values of the input and output (see below) at the selected spot or area are shown at the top left of the widget.

A second color picker to the right can be used to automtaically create new nodes based on the sampled area. Ctrl+click+drag to alter the created nodes to have a positive curve for the selected area; Shift+click+drag to create a negative curve.

Demosaic

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Control how raw files are demosaiced.

Bayer filters

The sensor cells of a digital camera are not color-sensitive – they are only able to record different levels of lightness. In order to obtain a color image, each cell is covered by a color filter (red, green or blue) that primarily passes light of that color. This means that each pixel of the raw image only contains information about a single color channel.

Denoise (profiled)

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Un modulo di riduzione del rumore, facile da usare e altamente efficiente, adattato ai profili rumore individuali di un’ampia gamma di sensori.

Uno dei problemi di molti algoritmi per la riduzione del rumore è che danno per assunto che la varianza del rumore sia indipendente dalla luminosità del segnale. Profilando le caratteristiche del rumore del sensore della fotocamera a differenti ISO, si può stimare la varianza a luminosità differenti, e l’algoritmo di riduzione del rumore può essere regolato per addolcire il rumore più uniformemente.

Diffuse or sharpen

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

La diffusione è una famiglia di processi fisici per il quale le particelle si muovono e si disperdono gradualmente nel tempo, da una sorgente che le genera. Nell’elaborazione delle immagini, la diffusione avviene principalmente in due posti:

Diffusion of photons through lens glass (blur) or humid air (hazing),
Diffusion of pigments in wet inks or watercolors.

In entrambi i casi la diffusione rende l’immagine meno nitida, “perdendo” particelle e ammorbidendo le variazioni locali.

Dithering

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

This module eliminates some of the banding artifacts that can result when Ansel’s internal 32-bit floating point data is transferred into discrete 8-bit or 16-bit integer output format for display or export.

Although not an inherent problem in any of Ansel’s modules, some operations may provoke banding if they produce a lightness gradient in the image. To mitigate possible artifacts you should consider activating dithering when using the vignetting or graduated density modules. This is especially relevant for images with extended homogeneous areas such as cloudless sky. Also watch out for banding artifacts when using a gradient drawn mask.

Exposure

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Increase or decrease the overall brightness of an image.

Questo modulo può operare in due modalità:

manuale: Imposta l’esposizione, il livello del nero e la soglia di tosaggio manualmente.
automatic (RAW images only): Use an analysis of the image’s histogram to automatically set the exposure. Ansel automatically selects the exposure compensation that is required to shift the selected percentile to the selected target level (see definitions below). This mode is particularly useful for automatically altering a large number of images to have the same exposure. A typical use case of automatic mode is deflickering of time-lapse photographs.

Module controls

modo: Sceglie il modo operativo (automatico/manuale).
compensa l’esposizione delle fotocamera (modo manuale): Rimuove automaticamente la correzione esposizione della fotocamera (presa dai dati Exif dell’immagine).
exposure (manual mode): Increase (move to the right) or decrease (move to the left) the exposure value (EV). To adjust by more than the default limits shown on the slider, right click and enter the desired value up to +/-18 EV.; The color picker tool on the right sets the exposure such that the average of the selected region matches the target lightness defined in spot exposure mapping options.
soglia di tosaggio (modo manuale): Stabilisce quale percentuale di valori luminosi debba essere tagliata nel calcolo dell’esposizione e del livello del nero. Usa il selettore colore per campionare una porzione dell’immagine per essere usata in questo calcolo.
percentile (modo automatico): Stabilisce la posizione di riferimento sull’istogramma per la correzione automatica dell’esposizione. Un percentile del 50% indica una posizione nell’istogramma dove il 50% dei pixel è al di sopra di quella esposizione e il restante 50% ne è al di sotto.
livello target (modo automatico): Indica il livello desiderato per la correzione dell’esposizione (in EV) relativo al punto di bianco della fotocamera.
black level correction (manual and automatic modes): Adjust the black level point to unclip negative RGB values.

Note: Do not use the black level correction to add more density in blacks as this can clip near-black colors out of gamut by generating negative RGB values. This can cause problems with some modules later in the pixelpipe. Instead, use a tone mapping curve to add density to the blacks. For example, you can use the relative black exposure slider on the scene tab of the filmic rgb module.

Filmic

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Rimappa la gamma tonale di un’immagine riproducendo la risposta di tono e colore della pellicola classica.

Questo modulo può essere usato sia per espandere che per contrarre la gamma dinamica della scena per adattarla alla gamma dinamica dello schermo. Protegge i colori e il contrasto nei mezzi toni, recupera le ombre, comprime le alteluci luminose e le ombre scure. Le alteluci hanno bisogno di maggior cura quando si devono preservare i dettagli (es: nuvole).

Framing

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Generate a frame around the image.

The frame consists of a border (with a user-defined color) and a frame line within that border (with a second user-defined color). Various options are available to control the geometry and color of the frame.

Module controls

border size: The size of the frame as a percentage of the underlying full image.
aspect: The aspect ratio of the final module output (i.e. the underlying image plus the frame)
orientation: The orientation of the frame (portrait/landscape). Select ‘auto’ for Ansel to choose the most reasonable orientation based on the underlying image.
horizontal/vertical position: Select from a set of pre-defined ratios to control where the underlying image will be positioned on the horizontal/vertical axis. You can also right click and enter your own ratio as “x/y”.
frame line size: The percentage of the frame line size, relative to the border size at its smallest part.
frame line offset: The position of the frame line, relative to the underlying image. Choose 0% for a frame line that touches the image. Choose 100% for a frame line that touches the outer border.
border color / frame line color: A pair of color selectors which allow the border and frame line colors to be defined. Clicking on the colored field will open a color selector dialog which offers a choice of commonly-used colors, or allows you to define a color in RGB color space. You can also activate a color picker to take a color probe from the image.
show guides: Tick the box to show guide overlays whenever the module is activated. Click the icon on the right to control the properties of the guides. See guides & overlays for details.

Graduated density

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Simula un filtro a densità neutra graduata, in modo tale di correggere l’esposizione e i colori in maniera progressiva.

Sullo schermo viene visualizzata una linea che permette di modificare col mouse la posizione e la rotazione del gradiente.

Per questo modulo è risaputo che provochi artefatti di “banding” in alcune condizioni. Dovresti considerare l’attivazione del modulo dithering per alleviare il problema.

Module controls

densità: Imposta la densità del filtro (in EV). Un valore basso sottoespone leggermente mentre un valore alto crea un filtro più intenso.
intensità (durezza): La progressività del gradiente. Un valore basso crea una transizione dolce, mentre un valore alto rende la transizione più improvvisa.
rotazione: la rotazione del filtro. Valori negativi ruotano in senso orario. La rotazione può essere impostata anche trascinando con il mouse la fine della linea di gradiente.
tonalità: Sceglie una tonalità per dare una dominante colorata al gradiente.
saturazione: La saturazione della dominante colorata da aggiungere al gradiente (predefinita ad un colore dominante neutrale di 0)

Grain

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Simula la grana della pellicola analogica. La grana viene elaborata sul canale L dello spazio colore Lab.

Module controls

ruvidezza: La dimensione della grana, rapportata per simulare un valore ISO.
intensità: L’intensità dell’effetto.

Haze removal

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Riduce automaticamente l’effetto di polvere e foschia nell’atmosfera. Questo modulo può anche essere usato più in generale per dare alle immagini un accento di colore in più soprattutto nelle aree dell’immagine con basso contrasto.

La foschia assorbe luci dagli oggetti nella scena ma è anche una sorgente di luce diffusa di sfondo. Il modulo di rimozione foschia stima inizialmente, per ciascuna area dell’immagine, l’ammontare di foschia nella scena. Quindi rimuove la luce diffusa di sfondo in base all’intensità locale e recupera la luce originale degli oggetti.

Highlight reconstruction

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Attempt to reconstruct color information for pixels that are clipped in one or more RGB channel.

Se questi pixel sono rimasti parzialmente tagliati in uno o due canali, possono risultare in colori non realistici nell’immagine. Per esempio, pixel con i canali verde e blu entrambi tagliati, appariranno rossi senza alcun recupero delle alteluci.

Sono disponibili tre metodi di recupero:

taglio alteluci: blocca tutti i pixel al livello del bianco (es: tagliando i canali colore rimanenti). Questo metodo è il più utile quando il ritaglio (“clipping”) delle alteluci avviene su oggetti desaturati di natura (es: le nuvole).
ricostruisci in LCh: Analizza ciascun pixel con almeno un canale tagliato e tenta la correzione del pixel ritagliato (nello spazio colore LCh) usando i valori degli altri pixel nel blocco interessato nel sensore (3 altri pixel per sensori Bayer o 8 per sensori X-Trans). Le alteluci recuperate rimarranno monocromatiche, ma più luminose e con maggiori dettagli che usando “taglio alteluci”. Questo metodo funziona correttamente con una curva base ad alto contrasto, la quale produce alteluci desaturate. Come “taglio alteluci” questo metodo è una buona opzione per oggetti desaturati di natura.
ricostruisci colore: Usa un algoritmo che trasferisce le informazioni colore dai pixel non ritagliati nelle vicinanze alle alteluci tagliate. Questo metodo funziona molto meglio nelle aree con colori omogenei ed è particolarmente utile sui toni della pelle con alteluci che sfumano dolcemente. Notare che questo metodo può produrre artefatti “a labirinto” sulle alteluci dietro a bordi con alto contrasto, per esempio in caso di strutture correttamente esposte davanti ad uno sfondo sovraesposto.
guided laplacians: Use an algorithm (derived from the diffuse or sharpen module) to replicate details from valid channels into clipped channels and to propagate color gradients from valid surrounding regions into clipped regions. This is a slow and computationally-intensive method designed for maximum smoothness and seamless blending of the reconstructed regions into their neighborhood, and is designed primarily to reconstruct spotlights and specular reflections. This mode is available for Bayer sensors only.

Note: When using the highlight reconstruction included with the filmic module it may be useful to avoid using this module in clip highlights mode (so that filmic has more information to work with).

Hot pixels

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Automatically detect and eliminate hot pixels.

I pixel bruciati sono pixel che hanno fallito a registrare la quantità di luce correttamente. I pixel bruciati individuati vengono sostituiti dalla media dei pixel confinanti.

Module controls

soglia: Quanto il valore di un pixel deve deviare da quelli adiacenti per essere considerato come un pixel bruciato.
intensità: L’intensità con cui i pixel bruciati devono essere fusi con i pixel circostanti.
determina da 3 vicini: Estende l’identificazione dei pixel bruciati – considera un pixel come bruciato se almeno tre (invece che quattro) pixel adiacenti deviano oltre il livello di soglia.
marca i pixel corretti: contrassegna visualmente sull’immagine i pixel corretti e visualizza il numero dei pixel bruciati che sono stati riparati.

Input color profile

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Define how Ansel will interpret the colors of the image.

This module takes the color space used by the image source (e.g. camera, scanner) and converts the pixel encodings to a standardized working color space. This means that subsequent modules in the pipeline don’t need to be concerned with the specifics of the input device, and can work with and convert to/from a common working color space.

Where an image has been captured in a raw file, the input color profile module will normally apply either a standard or enhanced color matrix specific for that camera model, which will be used to map the colors into the working profile color space. If color space information is embedded in the image, the input color profile module will use this information when mapping the colors to the working profile color space. The user can also explicitly specify a color space for the incoming image, and can even supply a custom ICC color profile specifically made for the input device.

Lens correction

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Automatically correct for (and simulate) lens distortion, transversal chromatic aberrations (TCA) and vignetting.

This module identifies the camera/lens combination from the image’s Exif data and uses the external lensfun library to provide correction parameters.

If your system’s lensfun library has no correction profile for the automatically identified camera/lens combination, the controls for the three photometric parameters (below) are replaced with a warning message. You may try to find the right profile yourself by searching for it in the menu.

Levels

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Adjust black, white and mid-gray points in RGB color space.

The rgb levels tool shows a histogram of the image, and displays three bars with handles. Drag the handles to modify the black, middle-gray and white points in lightness (in “RGB, linked channels” mode) or independently for each of the R, G and B channels (in “RGB, independent channels” mode).

Moving the black and white bars to match the left and right borders of the histogram will make the output image span the full available tonal range. This will increase the image’s contrast.

Liquify

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Move pixels around by applying freestyle distortions to parts of the image using points, lines and curves.

Nodes

Each of liquify’s tools is based on nodes. A point consists of a single node and a line or curve consists of a sequence of linked nodes defining a path.

Each instance of the liquify module is limited to a maximum of 100 nodes – for more nodes, use additional instances. However, please note that the liquify module consumes a lot of system resources.

Local contrast

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Enhance the image’s local contrast.

This is achieved using either a local laplacian (default) or unnormalized bilateral filter. Both modes work exclusively on the L channel from Lab. The local laplacian filter has been designed to be robust against unwanted halo effects and gradient reversals along edges.

Module controls

mode: Choice of local laplacian filter or bilateral grid. The following sections define the controls available for each of these modes.

Bilateral grid

coarseness: Adjust the coarseness of the details to be adjusted.
contrast: Control how strongly the algorithm distinguishes between brightness levels. Increase this parameter for a more contrasty look.
detail: Add or remove detail. Higher values increase local contrast.

Local laplacian

To understand the parameters of the local laplacian filter, one can think of it as applying a curve to the image, similar to the following graph:

Lut 3D

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Transform RGB values with a 3D LUT file.

A 3D LUT is a tridimensional table that is used to transform a given RGB value into another RGB value. It is normally used for film simulation and color grading.

This module accepts .cube, .3dl, .png (haldclut) and .gmz files. Uncompressed 3D LUT data is not saved in the database or the XMP file, but is instead saved to the 3D LUT file path inside the 3D LUT root folder. It is therefore important to back up your 3D LUT folder properly – sharing an image with its XMP is pointless if the recipient doesn’t also have the same 3D LUT file in their own 3D LUT folder.

Negadoctor

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Process scanned film negatives.

You can obtain an image of a negative using a film scanner, or by photographing it against a white light (e.g. a light table or computer monitor) or off-camera flash.

Preparation

If the image of the negative was obtained using a digital camera, then in order to obtain accurate colors in the final image, you will need to take the following points into consideration:

Orientation

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Rotate the image 90 degrees at a time or flip the image horizontally and/or vertically.

The module is enabled by default and the orientation (rotation) is automatically set based on the image’s Exif data.

Module controls

transform: Double click the label to reset to the default transformations
rotate counter-clockwise: Rotate the image 90 degrees counter-clockwise
rotate clockwise: Rotate the image 90 degrees clockwise
flip horizontally: Flip the image (mirror) horizontally
flip vertically: Flip the image (mirror) vertically
show guides: Tick the box to show guide overlays whenever the module is activated. Click the icon on the right to control the properties of the guides. See guides & overlays for details.

Output color profile

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Manage the output profile for export and the rendering intent to be used when mapping between color spaces.

Ansel comes with pre-defined profiles sRGB, Adobe RGB, XYZ and linear RGB. You can provide additional profiles by placing them in $Ansel/share/Ansel/color/out and $HOME/.config/Ansel/color/out (where $Ansel is the Ansel installation directory and $HOME is your home directory).

The output color profile may also be defined within the export module.

Module controls

output intent: The rendering intent for output/export. Rendering intent can only be selected when using LittleCMS2 to apply the output color profile (this can be changed in preferences > processing). If Ansel’s internal rendering routines are used, this option is hidden. For more details see rendering intent.
output profile: The profile used to render colors for output/export. The profile data will be embedded into the output file (if supported by the file format) allowing other applications to correctly interpret its colors. As not all applications are aware of color profiles, the general recommendation is to stick to sRGB unless you know what you are doing and have a good reason to do otherwise.

Raw black/white point

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Define camera-specific black and white points.

Questo modulo si attiva automaticamente per tutte le immagini raw. Vengono applicate impostazioni predefinite per le fotocamere supportate. Solitamente non sono richieste modifiche al default.

Module controls

livelli di nero 0-3: I livelli di nero specifici per la fotocamera dei quattro pixel nello schema Bayer RGGB. Pixel con valori inferiori a questo livello vengono considerati come non contenenti dati validi.
punto di bianco: Il livello di bianco specifico per la fotocamera. Tutti i pixel con valori oltre questo è probabile che vengano tagliati e verranno gestiti in base al modulo recupero alteluci.
flat field correction: Use flat field correction to compensate for lens shading. This field only appears for applicable Raw files and will automatically use any GainMap embedded in the Raw. You can choose to disable this correction if desired.

Raw chromatic aberrations

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Corregge le aberrazioni cromatiche delle immagine raw.

As this module operates on non-demosaiced raw data, the underlying model assumes an uncropped photographic image as input. It is therefore likely to fail when you zoom in, as it is only able to operate on the visible portion of the image. The module will therefore be bypassed at high zoom levels, and a “bypassed” message will appear at the top of the module. This limitation only applies to interactive work and not to the final export.

Raw denoise

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Perform denoising on raw image data before it is demosaiced.

Questo modulo è stato convertito da dcraw .

Module controls

soglia rumore: La soglia per l’individuazione del rumore. Valori più alti portano a una riduzione del rumore più aggressiva e una maggiore perdita di dettaglio nell’immagine.
coarse/fine curves: The noise of an image is usually a combination of fine-grained and coarse-grained noise. These curves allow the image to be denoised more or less depending on the coarseness of the visible noise. The left of the curve will act on very coarse grain noise, while the right of the curve will act on very fine grain noise.; Raising the curve will result in more smoothing, while lowering it will result in less smoothing. As an example, you can preserve very fine-grained noise by pulling down the rightmost point of the curve to the minimum value.

Retouch

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

RImuove elementi indesiderati dalla tua immagine: clona, guarisci, sfuma e riempi, usando forme disegnate.

This module includes a “heal” tool (based on the heal tool from GIMP), as well as “fill” and “blur” modes. It can also take advantage of wavelet decomposition, allowing the image to be separated into layers of varying detail (from coarse to fine) which can be selectively retouched before being recombined to produce the output image.

Rotate and perspective

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Corregge automaticamente le linee convergenti, una forma di distorsione della prospettiva. Il meccanismo alla base è ispirato dal programma ShiftN di Markus Hebel. Questo modulo permette anche di regolare la rotazione dell’immagine.

La distorsione della prospettiva è un effetto naturale che avviene quando si proietta una scena tridimensionale su un piano bidimensionale, e comporta che gli oggetti più vicini sembrino più grandi degli oggetti più lontani. Le linee convergenti è un caso speciale di distorsione della prospettiva, vista molto di frequent nelle fotografie architettoniche – le linee parallele, quando fotografate da un angolo, si trasformano in linee convergenti che si incontrano in un punto di osservazione all’interno o all’esterno della cornice dell’immagine.

Rotate pixels

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

I sensori di alcune fotocamere (come le Fujifilm FinePix S2Pro, F700, e E550) hanno un pattern Bayer orientato diagonalmente, al posto della solita disposizione ortogonale.

Senza correzione questo porterebbe a un’immagine inclinata con gli angoli neri. Questo modulo applica la rotazione richiesta.

Ansel identifica le immagini che hanno bisogno di correzione usando i dati Exif e attiva automaticamente questo modulo quando necessario. Per altre immagini il modulo rimane sempre disabilitato.

Scale pixels

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Alcune fotocamere (come la Nikon D1X) hanno le celle dei sensori rettangolari invece che quadrati. Senza correzione questo porterebbe a immagini distorte. Questo modulo applica il ridimensionamento necessario.

Ansel identifica le immagini che hanno bisogno di correzione usando i dati Exif e attiva automaticamente questo modulo quando necessario. Per altre immagini il modulo rimane sempre disabilitato.

Il modulo non ha controlli.

Sharpen

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Sharpen the details in the image using a standard UnSharp Mask (USM).

This module works by increasing the contrast around edges and thereby enhancing the impression of sharpness of an image. This module is applied to the L channel in Lab color space.

Note: The USM algorithm used in this module performs blurs in Lab color space, which can produce undesirable effects, and is no longer recommended. Instead use the presets offered by the contrast equalizer module for deblurring or the local contrast module for general sharpness.

Surface blur

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Smooth image surfaces while preserving sharp edges using a bilateral filter.

This module can be used to denoise images, however you should be aware that bilateral filters are susceptible to overshoots and Ansel offers much better alternatives. For example, the astrophoto denoise module uses a non-local means denoising algorithm, and the denoise (profiled) module provides a choice between non-local means and wavelet denoising algorithms.

The surface blur module blurs noise within the surfaces of an image by averaging pixels with their neighbors, taking into account not only their geometric distance but also their distance on the range scale (i.e. differences in their RGB values). It can be particularly useful if one RGB channel is more noisy/needs more smoothing than the others. In such a case, use the color calibration module to examine the channels one by one, in order to set the blur intensities accordingly.

Tone equalizer

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Scherma e brucia preservando il contrasto locale.

It works in linear RGB space and utilizes a user-defined mask to guide the dodging and burning adjustments, helping to preserve local contrast within the image.

Il seguente diagramma descrive come funziona l’equalizzatore toni:

Unbreak input profile

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Crea una curva di correzione ai dati immagine. Richiesto nel caso in cui abbiate selezionato un particolare profilo di ingresso nel modulo profilo colore di ingresso module.

If you decide to use an ICC profile from the camera manufacturer in the input color profile module, a correction curve frequently needs to be pre-applied to image data to prevent the final output from looking too dark. This extra processing is not required if you use Ansel’s standard or enhanced color matrices.

Vignetting

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Apply a vignetting effect to the image.

Vignetting is a modification of the brightness and saturation at the borders of the image in a specified shape. Many of the parameters listed below can also be modified with a graphical control that overlays the image when the module has focus, showing the shape and extent of the effect.

Note: This module is known to provoke banding artifacts under certain conditions. You should consider activating the dithering module to alleviate this.

Watermark

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Render a vector-based overlay onto your image. Watermarks are standard SVG documents and can be designed using Inkscape .

You can also use bitmap (PNG) images.

The SVG processor in Ansel can also substitute strings within an SVG document, allowing image-dependent information to be included in the watermark.

User-designed watermarks should be placed into the directory $HOME/.config/Ansel/watermarks. Once in place, use the reload button update the list of available watermarks.

White balance

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Adjust the white balance of the image by altering the temperature and tint, defining a coefficient for each RGB channel, or choosing from list of predefined white balance settings.

The default settings for this module are derived from the camera white balance stored in the image’s Exif data.

White balance is not intended as a “creative” module – its primary goal is to technically correct the white balance of the image ensuring that neutral colored objects in the scene are rendered with neutral colors in the image. For creative color operations, it is usually better to use other modules such as color calibration or color balance.

Toolboxes

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

A toolbox is a collapsible tool docked in one of the side panels. Unlike the darkroom processing modules, toolboxes do not modify pixels — they help you browse, organize, inspect, export and annotate images, or assess the picture being edited.

Each view shows only the toolboxes relevant to its task, so the same panel position can hold different tools depending on whether you are in the lighttable, the darkroom, the map or the print view.

Styles

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A style is a named, saved editing recipe — a subset of a history stack that can be applied to any number of images. Styles let you reuse looks, technical corrections, or module configurations without having to redo them from scratch.

Styles are accessible from two places:

The Styles menu in the menu bar, which lists all your styles and applies them in one click.
The Styles toolbox module, available as a floating window via Styles → Manage styles…

Applying a style

Click any style name in the Styles menu to apply it to all currently active images. If Ask merge settings before apply is enabled (the default), a merge settings dialog appears first. See the copy-paste history page for a full explanation of what merge position and pipeline order mean.

Notes

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Write per-image notes that live next to your files and render as Markdown. Such notes can be to-do lists, memos, contacts of the persons in the image, tips or instructions for collaborators, etc.

The module opens in preview by default; switch to edit to change the source text. The Markdown parsing needs Ansel to be build with CMark , which is optional. If Ansel was not built with this library, it will be rendered as plain text.

Clipping warning

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Highlight areas of the image that may exhibit luminance or gamut clipping.

When an image is sent to a display device, each pixel is normally represented as a set of 3 numbers, representing the intensity of the red, green and blue primary colors in the output color space. Because the output color space is usually closely related to hardware with physical limations, there is a maximum permitted value for the [R,G,B] channels, representing the maximum available intensity for that color space. Similarly, there is also a minimum value below which pixel values will be mapped to zero. When we try to convert from a larger color space to the final output color space, any values exceeding this maximum will be clamped to the maximum value, and any values below the minimum will be clamped to zero. This process is called “clipping” and it will lead to lost detail, or “incorrect” colors for any pixels with clipped channels.

Color assessment

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Assess colors and brightness in your image using ISO 12646:2008 recommended viewing conditions.

When developing an image, the way we perceive brightness, contrast and saturation is influenced by the surrounding ambient conditions. If an image is displayed against a dark background, this can have a number of adverse effects on our perception of that image:

Exaggeration of the perceived exposure makes the image seems brighter than it really is. This is nicely illustrated by the Adelson checkerboard shadow effect .
A decrease in the perceived saturation in the image makes the colors seem less rich than they really are (the Hunt effect).
A decrease in the perceived contrast in the image makes the tones seem flatter than they really are (Bartleson-Breneman effect 3)

The end result is that the final image can end up being too dark and overly-processed in terms of contrast and color saturation. To avoid this, the “ISO 12646:2008” standard makes some recommendations about the conditions under which the colors of an image should be assessed. The color assessment module in the darkroom places a frame around the image to help the user better assess the colors in the image, along the lines of those recommendations.

Duplicate manager

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

View and switch between the versions (duplicates) of the current image. Every version shares the same underlying file but keeps its own independent editing history, stored in its own XMP sidecar, so each can be edited without affecting the others.

In the darkroom left panel, the duplicate manager lists each version of the current image with a preview thumbnail and a version number:

Press and hold a thumbnail to preview that version in the center view.
Double-click a thumbnail to switch to that version and edit it.

Creating versions

New versions are created from the global menu, so they also work on a lighttable selection:

EXIF and IPTC

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Display the EXIF and IPTC information (metadata) embedded in an image, plus a number of extra fields Ansel maintains (filmroll, version, local copy, etc.). The module is available in most views, in the left panel.

As you hover thumbnails in the lighttable or filmstrip, the panel updates to show the image under the cursor. This is a read-only preview and changes nothing.

When several images are selected and no single image is highlighted, the module shows only the fields that are identical across the selection; differing fields display <various values> instead.

Export

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Export the selected images to final files.

Open the export panel from the global menu, File → Export… (Ctrl+Shift+E). Files can be exported to a file on disk, email, various online storage locations, a web album, or a book template.

Module controls

Storage options

destinazione

E’ il tipo di destinazione per l’esportazione delle immagini selezionate. Sono implementati un certo numero di tipologie, incluse file su disco, modello libro LaTeX e vari web album. A seconda della destinazione selezionate, verrà richiesto di fornire ulteriori informazioni, quali il nome del file or nome e password di un account.

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.

selezione cartella

Il pulsante affianco il template nome file apre la finestra di dialogo per selezionare la cartella per l’esportazione.

sul conflitto

Seleziona cosa fare quando il nome file generato è in conflitto con un file esistente sulla cartella di destinazione:

crea nome file unico: Sceglie automaticamente un nuovo nome file univoco aggiungendo un numero intero al nome del file in conflitto.

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.

salta: Non esporta l’immagine quando il nome file già esiste nella destinazione.

Format options

formato file: Seleziona il formato file per l’immagine esportata. Ulteriori opzioni appariranno in basso a seconda del formato selezionato.
qualità: La qualità del file esportato. Valori più alti risultano in file più grandi. La qualità di default (95) è un buon valore per esportazioni di altà qualità (per archiviazione o stampa). Se hai esigenza di un buon compromesso tra dimensione e qualità (ad esempio per mostrare su internet le immagini) puoi considerare un valore di “90”.
profondità di bit: Il numero di bit per ciascun canale colore. Più bit significano meno separazione dei toni (posterization)/bande di colore (color banding).
compressione: Il tipo di compressione da utilizzare.
livello di compressione: Per i formati di esportazione dove la compressione può essere specificata, il livello di compressione indica quanta compressione applicare. Più alto è il valore e più i dati verranno compressi, al costo di maggior impegno della CPU.
immagine BN: Per il formato di esportazione TIFF è possibile salvare immagini monocromatiche. Questa preferenza controlla se il file risultante deve codificare i toni di grigio come canali RGB separati o come un singolo canale a scala di grigio. Con la seconda opzione si ottengono file più piccoli.

Global options

imposta dimensione

Scegli come misurare la massima dimensione dell’immagine esportata

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

in cm (per stampe): Inserisce la massima larghezza e altezza in cm e stabilisci i DPI dell’immagine. La dimensione equivalente in pixel verrà calcolata automaticamente.

in pollici (per stampe): Inserisce la massima larghezza e altezza in pollici e stabilisci i DPI dell’immagine. La dimensione equivalente in pixel verrà calcolata automaticamente.

in scala (per file): Inserisci un moltiplicatore per specificare di quanto l’immagine esportata deve essere ridimensionata rispetto all’immagine di input. Per esempio, inserendo un valore di 0.5, si otterrà un’immagine di output con metà dell’altezza e della larghezza (in pixel) dell’immagine originale.

dpi

Se l’unità di misura selezionata è cm o pollici, imposta i dpi dell’immagine di output. Il valore verrà anche archiviato nei dati Exif dell’immagine esporata. Verrà impostato automaticamente a 300 se viene selezionato “in pixel” o “in scala”.

dimensioni massime

Imposta la massima larghezza e altezza (in pixel, cm o pollici a seconda dell’unità di misura selezionata) delle immagini esportate – zero significa che non vi saranno vincoli impostati per la specifica dimensione. Le immagini esportate verranno ridimensionate per non superare i valori impostati, ma verranno mantenute le proporzioni corrette. Imposta entrambe a zero per esportare con le dimensioni originali (dopo il ritaglio). Se i valori inseriti sono maggiori delle dimensioni originali, Ansel può esportare sia con le dimensioni originali che allargare (upscaling) l’immagine, a seconda dell’opzione “Permetti upscaling”.

permetti upscaling

Impostare su “Si” per permttere l’allargamento (upscaling) dell’immagine quando la massima larghezza e altezza definita dall’utente ecceede le dimensioni originali dell’immagine. Se impostato su “no” le dimensioni dell’immagine esportata non eccederanno le dimensioni dell’immagine originale (dopo il ritaglio).

ricampionamento ad alta qualità

Impostare quest’opzione su “si” per eseguire un ricampionamento ad alta qualità sull’immagine. L’immagine verrà processata a risoluzione massima e ridimensionata soltanto alla fine del rpocesso. In alcuni casi questo potrà risultare in maggiore qualità, ma il processo sarà sempre più lento.

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. 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.

Filmstrip

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The filmstrip can be used to quickly switch between images. The images shown are the same as those displayed in the lighttable view and are defined by the currently-selected collection.

Find location

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Search for a location on the map. You must be connected to the internet to use this feature.

To use this module, type in a place name or address, press Enter and a list of results will be shown. Click on an item in the list and the map will zoom to that location. An outline covering that location or a pin pointing at the location will be displayed.

An outline (polygon) can be used to create a user location. Check the max polygon points parameter in the map settings module to ensure that sufficient points are available for a polygon to be displayed.

Focus peaking

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Identify which parts of the image contain high-contrast details, like edges and textures, which usually indicates that those areas are in focus.

Enable focus peaking from the bottom toolbar in the darkroom, or via Overlay focus peaking in the lighttable display options. The sharp parts of the image are highlighted with a yellow, green and blue overlay:

Focus peaking works by filtering out most of the image noise, measuring the intensity gradients in the image and calculating average and standard deviation statistics. When the gradient of an edge differs significantly from the mean, the associated pixels are marked with a “heat map” indicating how sharp the edge is.

Gamut check

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Highlight areas of the image that may exhibit gamut clipping.

Click the gamut-check icon in the bottom toolbar to enable it. Gamut check and soft proof are mutually exclusive modes.

Right-click on the icon to open a dialog with configuration parameters – these are the same as for the soft proof option.

You might also like to consider using the clipping warning, which also provides under- and over-exposure warnings as well as a gamut check similar to that offered by this module.

Geotagging

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Import and apply GPX track data to a selection of images, and correct image date/time.

This module — labelled Datetime and GPS in the panel — is common to the lighttable and map views. The map view provides an enhanced mode that allows you to preview the position of the images along the GPS tracks while adjusting the images’ date/time offset and time zone.

Workflow overview

Il ricevitore GPS calcola la posizione corrente basandosi sulle informazioni che riceve dai satelliti e la registra in un file GPX assieme alla data/ora corrente. I dati Exif delle immagini contegono anche loro un timestamp (data e ora) a seconda delle impostazioni della fotocamera. Il modulo geotagging legge il timestamp dell’immagine, ricerca la posizione nel file GPX a quella determinata data/ora, e registra le coordinate relative (latitudine/longitudine/altitudine) nel suo database e nel file XMP relativo all’immagine.

Global color picker

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The global color picker samples colors from the current image, displays their values in several color spaces, and lets you store and compare samples from different locations. It is part of the scopes module (the Color picker and Live samples sections), in the darkroom left panel.

Activate it with the color-picker button. It keeps sampling until you turn it off or leave the darkroom.

Note

This global color picker is distinct from the local color pickers found inside many modules (e.g. RGB curve), which set that module’s parameters. The two do not work in the same color space: the global picker samples at the end of the preview pipeline (display space), whereas a local picker reads the input or output of the module it belongs to.

Controls

Point / area mode: Click the picker button for point mode (a small spot under the cursor). Ctrl+click or right-click for area mode (the average over a drawn rectangle).
Statistic (mean / min / max): In area mode, choose whether to display the mean, minimum or maximum channel values of the sampled region. (In point mode the three are identical.)
Color mode: Choose the color space in which the sampled values are shown. Values converted to spaces other than the native display space are approximate.
Color swatch: A patch of the sampled color is shown next to the numerical values; click it to enlarge it. Right-click the numerical values to copy them to the clipboard.

Hover any value for a tooltip with more detail, including RGB and Lab values and an approximate color name.

Guides & overlays

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

A number of commonly-used compositional guides can be overlaid on your image while you are editing. These can be enabled either globally (all the time) or locally (when certain modules are active).

Other darkroom functionality also draws colored overlay lines on the image (for example, drawn masks). An option is also provided to change the color of those overlays (see below).

Global guides

Left-click the guides-and-overlays icon in the bottom toolbar to globally display guide overlays. The overlays remain on until you click the button a second time to switch them off.

History stack

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The History of changes module, in the darkroom left panel, shows and lets you navigate the history stack of the current image.

It lists every change of state — a module being enabled, disabled, moved, or having a parameter changed — for the current image, newest at the top. Each entry is one user change, so a module can appear several times.

Navigating the history

Click an entry to return the image to that point in its history.
Shift+click an entry to expand the corresponding module in the right-hand panel without changing the current edit — useful for inspecting a step.
Hover an entry for a tooltip listing exactly what changed in that step compared to the previous one, which helps track down unintended adjustments.

The selected history state is remembered: it is safe to quit, leave the darkroom or switch image after stepping back, and you will return to the same state.

Library

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Filtra le immagini mostrate nel tavolo luminoso e nel pannello dei provini utilizzando le proprietà delle immagini. L’insieme delle immagini filtrate è chiamato una raccolta.

Importing images into Ansel stores information about them (filename, path, Exif data, data from XMP sidecar files etc.) in Ansel’s library database. A collection is defined by applying filtering rules to these attributes, thus creating a subset of images to display in the lighttable view and the filmstrip module.

Locations

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Create areas or locations and organize them as hierarchical tags.

A location is shown as a shape on the map when selected. Initially each location is represented as a square or circle and can be changed to a rectangle or ellipse by adjusting the shape’s width and/or height.

A location can also be created from an OpenStreetMap region (city/country) polygon. To achieve this, first make sure the max polygon points parameter is large enough (some country polygons use more than 150,000 points). Then select the desired location in the find location module. When the corresponding region shape is displayed, a polygon symbol becomes available in the “shape” control (see below). Select it to create the new location.

Lua scripts installer

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

This module provides an interface for installing darktable lua scripts. The first time it is run, instructions are displayed in the module.

It can be disabled with an option in preferences > lua options.

Map settings

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Select preferred map data from various providers. Some will provide additional layers (satellite view etc.) which you can toggle.

Module controls

map source

Choose the provider to source map information from.

max polygon points

The find location module doesn’t display polygons with more points than this for performance reasons. Usually a country polygon has between 50,000 and 150,000 points.

show OSD

Choose whether to display the OSD controls at the top-left of the center view.

filtered images

Check this box to display only the images from the current collection (those shown in the filmstrip) in the center view. Un-check the box to display all images in the current library, where those images have associated GPS data. You can also toggle this option by pressing Ctrl+S.

max images

The maximum number of thumbnails to display on the map.

group size factor

Increase or decrease the size of area that causes images to be grouped.

min images per group

The minimum number of images that need to be placed in the same position in order to automatically create an image group for them.

thumbnail display

Define what information to show on the map display

thumbnails: Display image thumbnails along with a counter.

count: Just display the number of images (to free space on the map). Hover over the number of images to show the corresponding thumbnail(s). A count-only marker behaves the same way as a normal image thumbnail, in terms of color coding, scrolling, drag and drop etc.

none: Show nothing.

You can also cycle through these options by pressing Shift+S.

Mask manager

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The mask manager — labelled Masking & Blending in the darkroom left panel — creates, renames, edits, groups and deletes the drawn shapes used by masks. It shares its shape system with the per-module masking & blending controls: a shape drawn here is the same object a module can use as a mask, and vice-versa.

The top row of buttons creates new shapes — the same brush, circle, ellipse, path and gradient tools as the drawn mask interface. Below them is a list of every mask and shape defined for the current image.

Metadata editor

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Edit the metadata of selected images.

I metadati sono del testo in formato libero (titolo, descrizione, autore, editore, diritti etc…) che descrive le tue immagini.

When several images are selected having different values for a given metadata field, the module displays for that field – if you choose to apply changes, these fields will not be changed. If you right-click on the field the different values are listed at the end of the contextual menu. Select one of the values in the menu to apply that value to all of the selected images – the change will be saved once you press the “apply” button or the Enter/Tab key.

Navigation

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Zoom and pan the current darkroom image.

At the top of the darkroom left panel, the navigation module shows a full preview of the current image with a rectangle marking the area currently visible in the center view. Drag the rectangle to pan the zoomed-in view.

The current zoom level is displayed to the right of the preview. Click it for quick access to common zoom levels.

The module can be expanded/collapsed like any toolbox — from its header, through the global action search, or via a shortcut you assign to its focusing action. Center-view zoom is also controlled directly: see zoom and pan.

Print settings

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Manage settings for the print view and initiate printing.

Module controls

Printer

Stampante: Seleziona una stampante tra quelle installate.
Media: Il tipo di supporto caricato sulla stampante (Carta normale, Carta fotografica, ecc.)
Profilo: Il profilo ICC della stampante per la carta utilizzata. Questo è il profilo specifico per la stampante e la carta. Questo profilo è responsabile dell’ultima trasformazione dello spazio colore applicata all’immagine con l’obiettivo di ottenerre una stampa di alta qualità.
intent: The print rendering intent (“perceptual”, “relative colorimetric”, “saturation” or “absolute colorimetric”). See rendering intent for more details.
Compensazione del punto di nero: permette di modificare il punto di nero del profilo di output, che solitamente è più luminoso del profilo di input. Questo parametro dovrebbe essere “attivo” quando l’intento è impostato a “Colorimetrico relativo”.

Image layout

Larghezza/altezza immagine: Questo campo informativo visualizza le dimensioni reali dell’immagine sulla carta, usando le unità di misura selezionate.
Fattore di scala: Questo campo di informazione mostra il fattore di scala dell’immagine per adattarsi alla carta. Se il suo valore è minore di 1 l’immagino è ridotta, altrimenti è ingrandita. È un fattore importante di cui tener conto dato che un valore troppo grande (ingrandimento) potrebbe portare ad una stampa di bassa qualità. Viene inoltre mostrato il valore corrispondente di dpi (dots per inch - punti per pollice).
Allineamento: Seleziona l’allineamento dell’immagine sulliarea.
new image area button: Create a new image area. Drag and drop on the canvas to place it. If the option snap to grid is activated the area can be easily aligned to the grid lines. An image can be placed into this area by dragging it from the filmstrip and dropping it on the new area.
delete image area button: Remove the currently selected image area from the composition.
clear layout button: Remove all the image areas leaving the canvas empty.

The following four fields represent the position of currently selected area on the page – the top/left corner on the first line and the width/height of the area on the second line.

Raw overexposed warning

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Highlight areas of the image where color channels of the raw input file are clipped.

Clipped color channels imply an overexposed image with loss of information in the affected areas. Some of this information may be recoverable using the highlight reconstruction, color reconstruction or filmic modules.

Click the raw-overexposed icon in the bottom toolbar to show/hide the warning overlay. Right-click the icon to open a dialog containing the following configuration parameters.

Scopes

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The scopes module, at the top of the darkroom left panel, provides graphical depictions of the image’s tones and chromaticity. It also hosts the global color picker.

Drag the bottom edge of the module to resize the scope vertically.

Note

For performance, the scopes are computed from the lower-resolution preview pipeline (the same image shown in the navigation module), not from the full-resolution center image. Fine detail may therefore not be represented exactly.

Choosing what to show

Use the hamburger menu in the module header to access the following sub-menu items:

Snapshots

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Store snapshots of the center image and compare them against the current edit.

A snapshot is a frozen bitmap of the darkroom center view, taken at any point during editing and later overlaid onto the current view for a side-by-side comparison while you tune a module. It can also be combined with the history of changes to compare a snapshot against different stages of development.

Taking and comparing snapshots

Click take snapshot to capture the current center view. Each snapshot is listed above the button; its name reflects the module selected in the history and its position at the time it was taken.

Soft proof

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

View your image rendered using a selected color profile.

Click the soft-proof icon in the bottom toolbar to activate soft-proof display mode. This lets you preview your image rendered through a printer profile, to see how colors will end up on the final print. A “soft proof” message at the bottom-left of the image confirms you are in soft-proof mode.

Right-click on the icon to open a dialog with the following configuration parameters. For each of these parameters, the list of available profiles is read from $ANSEL/share/ansel/color/out and $HOME/.config/ansel/color/out (where $ANSEL represents Ansel’s installation directory and $HOME your home directory).

Tagging

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Attach tags to images, and manage the tag dictionary.

Le etichette forniscono un modo di aggiungere informazioni alle immagini usando un dizionario di parole chiavi. Puoi anche gestire le etichette in gerarchia, il ché può essere utile quando diventano molte.

Tags are physically stored in XMP sidecar files as well as in Ansel’s library database and can be included in exported images.

In Ansel, attaching tags is also the way to build collections: a collection is the dynamically-queried set of all images sharing a given tag, always kept up to date. So the everyday job of this module — attaching a tag to images — is the same act as “putting images into a collection”. The tag dictionary itself (creating, renaming, deleting, importing and exporting tags) is a separate, occasional, housekeeping task and lives in its own window.

Mappa

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The Map view is optional and needs to be activated in Preferences > Other views. It allows you to see where your geo-tagged images were taken, and to add location information to non-geo-tagged images.

The Map view shows a world map with the images in the current collection pinned to their geo-tagged location (if available). This requires that images are tagged with location information. Some newer cameras, including smartphones, are already equipped with GPS receivers. Other cameras may need additional GPS hardware to do this.

Presentazione

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The Slideshow view is optional and needs to be activated in Preferences > Other views. It allows you to watch a slideshow of your current collection with the associated filtering rules and sort order applied.

To learn more about how to define the collection and filtering rules, see the section on collections.

The next section provides more details on the usage of the Slideshow view.

Usage

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The slideshow view is still in an early stage of development with only a basic set of features.

 1
 2spacebar start and stop auto-advance mode which automatically switches
 3 to the next images every five seconds by default.
 4
 5ESC leave slideshow mode and return to lighttable view.
 6
 7
 8+ or increase delay between each image.
 9up arrow
10
11- Or decrease delay between each image.
12down arrow
13
14left-click or
15right arrow or switch to the next image of the collection.
16right shift-key
17
18right-click or
19left arrow or switch to the previous image of the collection.
20left shift-key

Hint: To take full advantage of your screen size, put Ansel into fullscreen mode by pressing F11 and hide the border-controls by pressing the B key.

Stampa

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The Print view is optional and needs to be activated in Preferences > Other views. This view allows you to print your images. Because printing is not easy, there are many technical aspects to be taken into account.

After selecting an image in the Lighttable view you can enter the Print settings module to adjust printer settings and initiate printing.

Questo modulo supporta il profilo ICC della stampante, un passaggio praticamente obbligatorio se vuoi ottenere una stampa di qualità vicina a ciò che vedi sullo schermo.

Print view layout

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

L’area centrale visualizza la disposizione dell’immagine sulla carta (la zona bianca). Potresti vedere dei bordi grigi intorno all’immagine a rappresentare l’effettiva area di stampa (la pagina ad esclusione dei bordi).

The filmstrip below the image allows you to select more images.

Overlays

When the mouse is over the bounding box of an image, its width and height are shown along its top and left, respectively. Margins between the bounding box and the page edge are notated next to the dotted lines extending out from each side of the bounding box. All measurements are shown in the units as chosen in the print settings module.

Variables

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Ansel supports variable substitution in a number of modules and preference settings. For example:

Defining file names in the export module and import tool,
Displaying image information in the darkroom’s image information line,
Displaying image information in the lighttable’s overlays and tooltips (see preferences > lighttable)
Placing text on an image in the watermark processing module.

Most, if not all text entries that use variables implement auto-completion as soon as you start typing $(.

Preferences & Settings

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Ansel comes with a number of user-configurable preferences. These can be adjusted in the preferences dialog, which can be reached via Edit > Preferences in the global menu. Preferences are separated into tabs, each of which is described in more detail in the following sections.

Any altered settings (i.e. those that differ from their default state) are highlighted with a bullet beside them. If you change a setting that needs a restart to take effect, a message will appear as a reminder after you exit the preferences dialog.

General

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Control the overall look and feel of Ansel.

interface language: Set the language of the user interface. The system default is marked with an * (needs a restart)
theme: Set the theme for the user interface. Aside from any aesthetic considerations, the recommended interface color for color evaluation is middle gray. Visual perception is affected by ambient brightness, and a low user interface brightness causes all kinds of illusions. Using a dark interface to retouch photos can therefore lead to excessive retouching (abuse of contrast and saturation) and to a photo that is too dark when printed. It is therefore highly recommended that you use one of the “grey” themes for retouching work as these are designed so that the user interface approximates middle gray (default “Ansel”).
use system font size: Select this option to use the font size defined by your system. If unchecked, you may enter a custom font size in the box below (default on).
font size in points: If the “use system font size” option is switched off, enter a font size (in points) for Ansel to use. The font size will be changed immediately.
GUI controls and text DPI: Adjust the global GUI resolution to rescale controls, buttons, labels, etc. Increase for a magnified GUI, decrease to fit more content in the window. Set to -1 to use the system-defined global resolution. The default is 96 DPI on most systems. (needs a restart)

CSS theme modifications

In addition to selecting a pre-built theme you can also apply additional CSS customisations of your own to tweak the look-and-feel of Ansel.

Tavolo luminoso

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Control functionality in the lighttable view and modules.

General

hide built-in presets for utility modules: If enabled, only user-defined presets will be shown in presets menu for utility modules – built-in presets will be hidden (default off).
show image time with milliseconds: Choose whether to include milliseconds when displaying time values (default off). If set, milliseconds are shown in the image information module and can also be used in the geotagging module.

Thumbnails

use raw file instead of embedded JPEG from size: When generating thumbnails for images that have not yet been processed in the darkroom, if the thumbnail size is greater than this value, generate it by processing the raw image data. If the thumbnail is below this size, use the JPEG preview image embedded in the raw file. Once an image has been processed in the darkroom, thumbnails will always be generated from raw data (you can revert back to the JPEG preview by discarding history). To render thumbnails with the best quality choose “always”.
high quality processing from size: If the thumbnail size is greater than this value and is being generated from raw data, it will be processed using the full quality rendering path, which is better but slower (default 720p). To render thumbnails with the best quality, choose “always”.
delimiters for size categories: Size categories are used to allow different thumbnail overlays to be shown depending on the thumbnail size. A pipe delimited set of values defines at what image sizes the category changes. The default value of “120|400” means that there will be 3 categories of thumbnail: 0-120px, 120-400px and >400px.

Camera Oscura

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Control functionality in the darkroom view and associated modules.

General

pen pressure control for brush masks: Controls how the pressure reading of a graphics tablet impacts newly generated drawn mask brush strokes. You can control the brush width, hardness and opacity. “Absolute” control means that the pressure reading directly defines the attribute with a value between 0% and 100%. “Relative” means that the pressure reading adjusts the attribute between zero and the pre-defined default value (default off).
smoothing of brush strokes: Sets the level for smoothing of drawn mask brush strokes. Stronger smoothing leads to fewer nodes and easier editing at the expense of lower accuracy.
scroll down to increase mask parameters: By default, scrolling your mouse up increases the value of the relevant shape parameters in drawn masks. Set this preference to reverse the behavior (default off).
pattern for the image information line: Set the information to be displayed in the image information line, at the right of the top-most toolbar. You can use any variables in the variables section as well as $(NL) for a new line. You can also include formatting (bold, italic, colors etc).
border around image in darkroom mode: Display the center image in darkroom mode with an outside border of the given number of pixels (default 20).
show loading screen between images: Show gray loading screen when navigating between images in the darkroom. Switch this option off to just show a simple toast message and leave the previous image in place until the next image is loaded. Note that switching this option off can be very useful to quickly compare duplicate images, however, there might be issues with long loading times (leading you to think the next image has already loaded) and you may observe visual artifacts while the next image is loading (default on).

Modules

display of individual color channels

Control how individual color channels are displayed when activated in the parametric masks feature. You can choose between “false color” and “gray scale” (default “false color”).

hide built-in presets for processing modules

If enabled, only user-defined presets will be shown in the presets menu for processing modules – built-in presets will be hidden (default off).

show the guides widget in modules UI

Enable this to show the local guides & overlays interface directly within the UI of the modules that support it (default on).

show right-side buttons in processing module headers

Choose whether to show the four buttons (mask indicator, multi-instance menu, reset, presets menu) on the right-hand-side of the module header for processing modules. These buttons will always appear when the mouse is over the module. At other times they will be shown or hidden according to this preference selection:

always: always show all buttons

active: only show the buttons when the mouse is over the module

dim: buttons are dimmed when mouse is not over the module

auto: hide the buttons when the panel is narrow

fade: fade out all buttons when the panel narrows

fit: hide all the buttons if the module name doesn’t fit

smooth: fade out all buttons in one header simultaneously

glide: gradually hide individual buttons as needed

(default always)

prompt for name on addition of new instance

If enabled, when creating a new instance of a processing module, a prompt will be immediately displayed allowing you to set a name for the new instance (default on).

Other views

Sat, 21 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Enable optional views:

Once you restart Ansel the enabled view(s) will be available in the Ateliers menu.

These views are all hidden by default to spare some computing resources.

Processing

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Control how images are processed.

Image processing

always use LittleCMS 2 to apply output color profile: If this option is activated, Ansel will use the LittleCMS 2 system library to apply the output color profile instead of its own internal routines. This is significantly slower than the default but might give more accurate results in some cases.; If the given ICC is LUT-based or contains both a LUT and a matrix, Ansel will use LittleCMS 2 to render the colors regardless of this parameter’s value (default off).

Security

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Control whether warning messages are shown before undertaking certain activities.

General

ask before removing images from the library: Always ask before removing image information from Ansel’s library database, where the xmp file is retained (default on).
ask before deleting images from disk: Always ask before deleting an image file (default on).
ask before discarding history stack: Always ask before discarding the history stack of an image (default on).
try to use trash when deleting images: Instead of physically deleting images from disk, attempt to put them into the system’s trash bin (default on).
ask before moving images from film roll folder: Always ask before moving an image file (default on).
ask before copying images to new film roll folder: Always ask before copying an image file to a new location (default on).
ask before removing empty folders: Always ask before removing any empty folder. This can happen after moving or deleting images (default off).
ask before deleting a tag: Always ask before deleting a tag from an image (default on).
ask before deleting a style: Always ask before deleting a style (default on).
ask before deleting a preset: Always ask before deleting a preset (default on).
ask before exporting in overwrite mode: Always ask before exporting images in overwrite mode.

Other

password storage backend to use: The backend to use for password storage. Options: “auto” (default), “none”, “libsecret”, “kwallet”.
executable for playing audio files: Define an external program which is used in the lighttable view to play audio files that some cameras record to keep notes for images (default “aplay”).

Performance

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Opencl

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The background

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Processing high resolution images is a demanding task requiring a modern computer. In terms of both memory and CPU power, getting the best out of a typical 15, 20 or 25 Megapixel image can quickly take your computer to its limits.

Ansel’s requirements are no exception. All calculations are performed on 4 x 32bit floating point numbers. This is slower than “ordinary” 8 or 16 bit integer algebra, but eliminates all problems of tonal breaks or loss of information.

How opencl works

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

As you can imagine, the hardware architecture of GPUs can vary significantly. There are different manufacturers, and even different generations of GPUs from the same manufacturer may not be comparable. At the same time GPU manufacturers don’t normally disclose all the hardware details of their products to the public. One of the consequences of this is the need to use proprietary drivers under Linux, if you want to take full advantage of your graphics card.

Activating opencl in Ansel

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Using OpenCL in Ansel requires that your PC is equipped with a suitable graphics card and that it has the required libraries in place. Most modern graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD come with full OpenCL support. The OpenCL compiler is normally shipped as part of the proprietary graphics driver and is used as a dynamic library called libOpenCL.so. This library must be in a folder where it can be found by your system’s dynamic linker.

Setting up opencl

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The huge diversity of systems and the marked differences between OpenCL vendors and driver versions makes it impossible to give an comprehensive overview of how to setup OpenCL. We only can give you an example, in this case for NVIDIA driver version 331.89 on Ubuntu 14.04. We hope that this will serve as a basic introduction and will help you to solve any problems specific to your setup.

The principle OpenCL function flow is like this:

Possible problems & solutions

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Ansel will detect OpenCL run-time errors automatically. On detecting an error, it will then reprocess everything on the CPU. While this will slow down processing it should not affect the end result.

There can be various reasons why OpenCL might fail during the initialization phase. OpenCL depends on hardware requirements and on the presence of certain drivers and libraries. In addition all these have to fit in terms of maker, model and revision number. If anything does not fit (e.g. your graphics driver – loaded as a kernel module – does not match the version of your libOpenCL.so) OpenCL support will likely not be available.

Scheduling profile

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Ansel can use the CPU and one or several OpenCL capable GPUs. Depending on the relative performance of these devices, users can choose among certain scheduling profiles to optimize performance. This is achieved by setting the configuration parameter Preferences > Processing > CPU, GPU, Memory > OpenCL scheduling profile, which offers the following choices:

default: If an OpenCL-capable GPU is found Ansel uses it for processing the center image view while the navigation preview window is processed on the CPU in parallel. This is the preferred setting for systems with a reasonably fast CPU and a moderately fast GPU. The exact allocation of devices to the various pixelpipe types can be finetuned with the “opencl_device_priority” configuration parameter (see multiple devices).
very fast GPU: With this scheduling profile Ansel processes the center image view and the preview window on the GPU sequentially. This is the preferred setting for systems with a GPU that strongly outperforms the CPU.
multiple GPUs: This setting addresses systems with multiple GPUs whose relative performance does not differ significantly. Whenever a processing job is started Ansel uses any currently idle GPU but not the CPU. Users of systems with a variety of GPUs will need better control on their relative priority. They would be better off selecting the “default” profile and fine-tuning their system with the “opencl_device_priority” configuration parameter (see multiple devices).

On first start-up or after any detected change in the GPU configuration of your system Ansel tries to identify the best suited profile for you. You can change it at any time in Preferences > Processing > CPU, GPU, Memory.

Multiple devices

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The scheduling of OpenCL devices can be optimized on most systems using the “OpenCL scheduling profile” settings. However, if your system is equipped with more than one GPU, you might want to set the relative device priority manually. To do this you need to select the “default” scheduling profile and change the settings in the “opencl_device_priority” configuration parameter.

It is important to understand how Ansel uses OpenCL devices. Each processing sequence of an image – to convert an input to the final output using a history stack – is run in a pixelpipe. There are four different types of pixelpipe in Ansel. One type is responsible for processing the center image view (or full view) in darkroom mode, another pixelpipe processes the preview image (navigation window). There can be one of each of these two pixelpipes running at any time, with the full and preview pixelpipes running in parallel. In addition there can be multiple parallel pixelpipes performing file exports as well as multiple parallel pixelpipes generating thumbnails. If an OpenCL device is available, Ansel dynamically allocates it to one specific pixelpipe for one run and releases it afterwards.

Opencl still does not run for me

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

As has been mentioned, OpenCL systems come with a huge variety of setups: different GPU manufacturers and models, varying amounts of GPU memory, different drivers, different distributions etc..

Many of the potential problems will only appear with very specific combinations of these factors. As the Ansel developers only have access to a small fraction of these variations, please understand that we might not be able to fix your specific problem. There is not much we can do if we are unable to reproduce your issue.

Memory & performance tuning

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Memory requirements

Processing a raw image in Ansel requires a great deal of system memory. A simple calculation makes this clear: For a 20 megapixel image, Ansel requires a 4x32-bit floating point cell to store each pixel, meaning that each full image of this size will require approximately 300MB of memory just to store the image data. In order to actually process this image through a given module, Ansel needs at least two buffers (input and output) of this size, with more complex modules potentially requiring several additional buffers for intermediate data. Without further optimization, anything between 600MB and 3GB of memory might be required to store and process image data as the pixelpipe executes. On top of this is Ansel’s code segment, the code and data of any dynamically-linked system libraries, as well as further buffers that Ansel uses to store intermediate states (cache) for quick access during interactive work.

Storage

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Database

check for database maintenance: Indicates when darktable should check for database fragmentation and perform maintenance. Options are “never”, “on startup”, “on close” and “on both”. Each of these is also available with an additional “(don’t ask)” option to perform the checks automatically without prompting (default “on close”).
database fragmentation ratio threshold: Fragmentation ratio (in per cent) above which database maintenance should be performed (subject to the selection made in the option above) (default 25).
create database snapshot: Specifies how often Ansel should create database snapshots. Options are “never”, “once a month”, “once a week”, “once a day” and “on close” (default “once a week”)
how many snapshots to keep: Number of snapshots to keep after creating a new snapshot, not counting database backups taken when moving between Ansel versions. Enter “-1” to store an unlimited number of snapshots. (default 10)

Xmp

write sidecar file for each image

XMP files provide a redundant method of saving the changes that you have made to an image, in addition to the changes saved to Ansel’s database. This option allows you to choose when to write these files. Choose from:

never: Don’t write XMP files. This can be useful if you are running multiple version of Ansel for development/testing purposes but is not normally recommended

on import: An XMP file will be written as soon as you add an image to Ansel’s library and will be subsequently updated each time you edit it

after edit: An XMP file will be written the first time you perform an edit on an image and will be updated on each subsequent edit. Importing will not generate an XMP file by default.

It’s strongly recommended that you choose either “on import” or “after edit”. XMP files provide a useful fail-safe so that you don’t lose data if your database becomes corrupted. Backing up your raw file plus the accompanying XMP file will allow you to fully restore your work at a later date by re-importing your edit history back into Ansel (default “on import”).

Miscellaneous

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Interface

load default shortcuts at startup: When launching the application, Ansel loads default shortcuts first, and then loads user-defined shortcuts on top. This allows default shortcuts to be overridden with a new action but prevents them from being deleted (since the deleted shortcut will be automatically reloaded on the next restart). Deactivate this preference to stop loading default shortcuts on startup – only load the user-defined ones (including any defaults that you have not subsequently deleted or overridden). This makes deletion easier but also means that you will not benefit from new shortcuts added in future versions without first re-enabling this preference (default on).
scale slider step with min/max: When activated, the default step-size, when altering sliders, will depend on the current min/max values for that slider (default on).
sort built-in presets first: Choose how the presets menu is sorted. If this option is enabled, built-in presets are shown first. If the option is disabled, user presets are shown first (default on).
always show panels’ scrollbars: Defines whether the panel scrollbars should be always visible or activated only depending on the panel content (default on). (needs a restart)
position of the scopes module: Choose whether to show the scopes module in the left or right panel (default right). (needs a restart)
method to use for getting the display profile: This option allows the user to force Ansel to use a specific method to obtain the current display profile for color management. In the default setting “all”, Ansel will choose to query the X display server’s xatom or the colord system service. You can set this option to “xatom” or “colord” to enforce a specific method if the two methods give different results. You can run the Ansel-cmstest binary to examine your color management subsystem.

Shortcuts with multiple instances

It is possible to create multiple instances of many processing modules. In this scenario it is not always obvious which instance should be controlled by keyboard shortcut operations. The following options control rules that are applied (in order) to decide which module instance keyboard shortcuts should be applied to.

Shortcuts

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Some actions in Ansel can be performed with a keyboard shortcut. A table of key shortcuts is available in Help > Table of key shortcuts.

Note: The table shows different key shortcuts for different Views.

Assigning key shortcuts

For the time being shortcuts can only be defined or changed by editing your $HOME/.config/Ansel/shortcutsrc file. There is no support for MIDI-devices in Ansel.

Deleting default shortcuts

When launching the application, Ansel loads default shortcuts first, and then loads user-defined shortcuts on top. This allows default shortcuts to be overridden with a new action but prevents them from being deleted (since the deleted shortcut will be automatically reloaded on the next restart).

Presets

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

This menu provides an overview of the presets that are defined for Ansel’s modules, and allows you to modify some of their properties.

Pre-defined presets (those that are included by default within Ansel) are shown with a lock symbol. Their properties cannot be changed.

User-defined presets can be imported from exported .dtpreset files using the “import” button at the bottom of the screen. You can export all user-defined presets to a single directory using the “export” button.

Lua options

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

lua scripts installer don’t show again: Check this box to hide the lua scripts installer in the lighttable if no lua scripts are installed.

Color management

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Ansel employs a fully color managed workflow:

Input color specifications are taken from embedded or user-supplied ICC profiles or (in the case of raw files) from a library of camera-specific color matrices.
Ansel automatically reads the display profile of your monitor (if properly configured) for accurate on-screen color rendition. Multiple-screen setups are fully supported as long as a system service like colord is in place and properly configured to inform Ansel of the correct monitor profile.

Display profile

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

For darktable to faithfully render colors on screen it needs to find the correct display profile for your monitor. In general this requires your monitor to be properly calibrated and profiled, and it needs the profile to be correctly installed on your system. darktable queries your X display server’s xatom as well as the system service colord (if available) for the right profile. If required you can enforce a specific method in preferences > miscellaneous.

Rendering method

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Ansel può renderizzare i colori sia con l’algoritmo interno sia usando la libreria esterna LittleCMS2. Il metodo interno di Ansel è più veloce di quello esterno di un ordine di magnitudine. L’opzione esterna fornisce una scelta dell’intento di rendering e può offrire, in alcuni casi, un’accuratezza leggermente più alta.

You can change the default method in preferences > processing > always use LittleCMS 2 to apply output color profile

Nota: se il profilo ICC è basato su LUT (Look Up Table) o contiene entrambi, LUT e matrice, Ansel userà LittleCMS2 per renderizzare i colori a prescindere dal valore del parametro di configurazione.

Rendering intent

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

If rendering with LittleCMS2 is activated (see rendering method) you can define how to handle out-of-gamut colors when converting between color spaces. A selection box in the export, output color profile, and soft proof modules gives you a choice of the following rendering intents:

perceptual: Best suited to photographs as it maintains the relative position of colors. This is usually the best choice.
relative colorimetric: Out-of-gamut colors are converted to colors having the same lightness, but different saturation. Other colors remain unmodified.
saturation: Saturation is retained but lightness is slightly changed.
absolute colorimetric: Keep the white point.

Spazi colore di Ansel

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Le immagini di input sono sia file RGB (come i JPEG o i TIFF) or file RAW della fotocamera. Entrambi conservano le informazioni visive come combinazione di colori primari (rosso, verde e blu) i quali assieme descrivono l’emissione di luce da ricreare su un monitor.

La seguente immagine illustra questo concetto.

Unbounded colors

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Gli schermi e la maggior parte dei formati file immagine possono codificare solo intensità RGB che sono confinate all’interno di un certo intervallo. Per esempio, le immagini codificate con 8 bit possono contenere solo valori tra 0 e 255, immagini a 10 bit da 0 a 1023, e così via… Gli standard grafici assumono che il valore massimo di questo intervallo, a prescindere dal suo reale valore, rappresenterà sempre la luminosità massima che il dispositivo di visualizzazione è in grado di renderizzare, di solito tra 100 e 160 Cd/m² (Candela per metro quadrato, nit) a seconda dello standard reale. In generale chiamiamo questo valore il “100% riferito allo schermo”. Il valore minimo dell’intervallo, codificato con 0 a prescindere dal numero di bit utilizzati, diventa quindi lo “0% riferito allo schermo”. Il 100% codifica bianco assoluto, lo 0% codifica il nero assoluto.

Possible color artifacts

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

There are some infrequent situations that still can lead to problematic results unless the user takes some action. Some modules in Lab color space rely on the fact that the L channels carries all lightness information, with the a and b channels purely representing chroma and hue. Unbounded colors with negative L values are especially problematic to these modules and can lead to black pixel artifacts.

E’ stato riscontrato che sorgenti di luce blu altamente saturate nell’immagine sono giuste candidate per pixel con valori negativi di L. Se sei coinvolto in fotografia da palcoscenico dovresti portare grande attenzione a queste luci nell’immagine.

Dimensione dei colori di Ansel

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Questa sezione definisce le proprietà percettive del colore, sia concettualmente che quantitativamente, in modo tale da caratterizzare e quantificare in Ansel gli aggiustamenti creativi e correttivi al colore.

Definitions

Le proprietà del colore come “saturazione”, “luminosità” (brightness) o “tono” (lightness) sono arrivati all’uso comune ma sono in larga parte abusati e spesso usati per intendere cose diverse. Nella scienza dei colori, ciascuno di questi termini ha un significato preciso.

Command Line Interface

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Ansel

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The Ansel binary starts Ansel with its GUI and full functionality. This is the standard way to use Ansel.

Ansel can called with the following command line parameters:

 1Ansel [-d {all,act_on,cache,camctl,camsupport,control,demosaic,
 2 dev,fswatch,imageio,input,ioporder,lighttable,lua,
 3 masks,memory,nan,opencl,params,perf,print,pwstorage,
 4 signal,sql,tiling,undo,verbose}]
 5 [<input file>|<image folder>]
 6 [--version]
 7 [--disable-opencl]
 8 [--library <library file>]
 9 [--datadir <data directory>]
10 [--moduledir <module directory>]
11 [--tmpdir <tmp directory>]
12 [--configdir <user config directory>]
13 [--cachedir <user cache directory>]
14 [--localedir <locale directory>]
15 [--luacmd <lua command>]
16 [--noiseprofiles <noiseprofiles json file>]
17 [--d-signal <signal>]
18 [--d-signal-act <all,raise,connect,disconnect,print-trace>]
19 [--conf <key>=<value>]
20 [-t <num openmp threads>]

All parameters are optional. In most cases Ansel should be started without any additional parameters, in which case Ansel uses suitable defaults.

Ansel-cli

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The ansel-cli binary starts the command line interface variant of Ansel which allows images to be exported.

This variant does not open any display – it works in pure console mode without launching a GUI. This mode is particularly useful for servers running background jobs.

ansel-cli can be called with the following command line parameters:

 1ansel-cli [<input file or folder>]
 2 [<xmp file>]
 3 <output file or folder>
 4 [--width <max width>]
 5 [--height <max height>]
 6 [--hq <0|1|true|false>]
 7 [--upscale <0|1|true|false>]
 8 [--style <style name>]
 9 [--style-overwrite]
10 [--apply-custom-presets <0|1|false|true>]
11 [--out-ext <extension>]
12 [--import <file or dir>]
13 [--icc-type <type>]
14 [--icc-file <file>]
15 [--icc-intent <intent>]
16 [--verbose]
17 [--help [option]]
18 [--core <Ansel options>]

The user must supply an input filename and an output filename. All other parameters are optional.

Ansel-generate-cache

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The ansel-generate-cache binary updates Ansel’s thumbnail cache. Invoke this program to generate all missing thumbnails in the background when your computer is idle.

ansel-generate-cache can be called with the following command line parameters:

1ansel-generate-cache
2 [-h, --help]
3 [--version]
4 [--min-mip <0-8>] [-m, --max-mip <0-8>]
5 [--min-imgid <N>] [--max-imgid <N>]
6 [--core <Ansel options>]

All parameters are optional. If started without parameters ansel-generate-cache uses reasonable defaults.

Ansel-cltest

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The Ansel-cltest binary checks if there is a usable OpenCL environment on your system that Ansel can use. It emits some debug output that is equivalent to calling Ansel -d opencl and then terminates.

Ansel-cltest is called without command line parameters.

Ansel-cmstest

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

The Ansel-cmstest binary (Linux only) investigates whether the color management subsystem of your computer is correctly configured and displays some useful information about the installed monitor profile(s).

Ansel-cmstest is called without command line parameters.

Purge_non_existing_images.sh

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 02:19:02 +0100

Find and remove entries from the library database referencing images that no longer exist in the filesystem. You must close Ansel before running this script.

The script can be called with the following command line parameters:

1purge_non_existing_images.sh [-c|--configdir <path>]
2 [-l|--library <path>]
3 [-p|--purge]

Run the script with no options to perform a “dry run”, which generates a report of the missing files without committing any changes to the database.