layers details in GC 9.2?

[herve_5]

This is a question coming from a GC 8.x user… When GC9 appeared, I didn't upgrade for the first time since v1 because none of the new features brought me anything. But I noticed there was some initial layer consideration in the software, to a degree I didn't really understand at the time.Today I see the latest release sports a dedicated layers menu : where can I find some detail about it?An simplified example of what I have been doing with various other softwares up to now would be the following process, to correct an underexposed photo:- duplicate image to a second layer- turn said layer to black & white- apply small-radius blur filter- adjust layer intensity and substract it from initial imageThis way I can retrieve "almost totally black" areas in backlighted photos for instance.This involves being able to perform some operations between layers (at least, substractions for instance).I tried manipulating the layers menu in GC9.2 demo, but didn't really understand how it works. Among others, there seems to be an item to show/hide a layers palette that just does not show anything here —presumably I didn't understand the way things work.Any help welcome!TIA,Herve

[thorstenlemke]

Dear Herve,you can do nearly all now (just check the layer menu).Only the operations between the layers are not supported, yet. You can only define the opacity.Which operations are required?Thorsten This is a question coming from a GC 8.x user… When GC9 appeared, I didn't upgrade for the first time since v1 because none of the new features brought me anything. But I noticed there was some initial layer consideration in the software, to a degree I didn't really understand at the time.Today I see the latest release sports a dedicated layers menu : where can I find some detail about it?An simplified example of what I have been doing with various other softwares up to now would be the following process, to correct an underexposed photo:- duplicate image to a second layer- turn said layer to black & white- apply small-radius blur filter- adjust layer intensity and substract it from initial imageThis way I can retrieve "almost totally black" areas in backlighted photos for instance.

[herve_5]

Thanks Thorsten for such a fast answer!Basically I used to "substract" the intensity value of my new layer from the baseline one (I think this is also called "incrustation" in Photoshop IIRC), but this potentially can be done by inverting it and somehow playing with opacity then. I'll try again, as soon as GC9 will have stopped telling me I'm "using GC for 149 days" when I've been using it for maybe 14 years In the meanwhile, I think I sorted out what I missed for not seeing changes between "show and hide layers palette". I now believe this is a faulty french translation. In french the menu says "masquer la palette des calques" that indeed means "hide layers palette" when what it does is turning the selected layer from visible to hidden -I'd say in french "masquer le calque", "hide the layer", or, more talkative, "masquer le calque selectionne", hide selected layer.

[herve_5]

Back again onto layers. I just tried to copy and paste the background image into a new layers and process it there, e. g. converting it to black and white. It seems I can't -indeed I don't understand if/how I can work only  inside the topmost layer. What I get, even if I select this top layer and "close the eye" on the bottom one, is a process that concerns everything apparently. Converting to B&W for instance seems to flatten all layers and leaving me with a single-layered B&W image. I suppose I could copy it, reopen the original file, add a new layer, and paste it there but I didn't try yet (and this would be very clumsy).Is there a way to duplicate the original image into a new layer and apply processes to this layer only?TIA!Herve

[thorstenlemke]

Dear Herve,a mode change will flatten.Just use Change Brightness/Contrast… and change the saturation to 0.ThorstenOn 20.05.2014, at 22:01, fh.sainct@laposte.net [gcmac] <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Back again onto layers. I just tried to copy and paste the background image into a new layers and process it there, e. g. converting it to black and white. It seems I can't -indeed I don't understand if/how I can work only  inside the topmost layer. What I get, even if I select this top layer and "close the eye" on the bottom one, is a process that concerns everything apparently. Converting to B&W for instance seems to flatten all layers and leaving me with a single-layered B&W image. I suppose I could copy it, reopen the original file, add a new layer, and paste it there but I didn't try yet (and this would be very clumsy).Is there a way to duplicate the original image into a new layer and apply processes to this layer only?TIA!Herve

[herve_5]

Thank you Thorsten for this —it definitely works indeed. I just bought the upgrade to v9