Some of the new features and enhancements have been common knowledge
for a month or so now, but for those who haven't been following the
Lightroom forums here's a quick summary of what's New and
Improved in Lightroom Beta 3:
- Enhanced User Interface Design
- Enhanced Filters in Library module
- Watched Folder
- Crop and Rotate Tool in Library module
- User specified Develop preset applied during import
- Enhanced Zoom (Fill, Fit, 1:1 and 4:1) in Library and Develop
modules
- Before and After Views in the Develop module
- History of edits in the Develop Module (see Update
information on Page 3 of this review)
- Enhanced Rotate (Straighten) Tool in Develop module
- Improved interoperability with Photoshop CS2
- Black Point Compensation added for improved print quality
- Dedicated Web module for Flash and HTML output with native FTP
client
- Specify output resolution added to export settings dialog
- Enhanced print options including selective metadata and per-image
Identity Plate watermarks
The list of new features and enhancements highlighted above might
appear short, but appearances can often be deceptive. That said and
before discussing the new features, I think it's important to reiterate
some of the comments made by Adobe at the time Lightroom
was first announced. Firstly, and even though some pundits seem hell
bent of declaring the opposite, Lightroom is not a rushed
reaction to Aperture. OK, so Lightroom was announced
after Aperture with many core features missing, but that doesn't
make it a reaction to Aperture. Lightroom is still a
work-in-progress project. Missing features doesn't mean that they won't
be included in the final product, more likely that they aren't yet
ready for the public beta. Also, whilst modules such as Print
are virtually complete others are still very fluid. For example,
participants of the Lightroom forum will note that a module
named Describe, which was previewed at various Epson Print
Academy events over recent months is nowhere to be seen in the
public version of Beta 3. So, what's the Describe module and why
is it not included? The Describe module is dedicated to metadata
entry, but still requires a lot of work, so the Team have decided not
to include it with this beta release.
Now we get back to what has been included in Beta 3. When you first
launch the Lightroom after installing Beta 3 you'll see an alert
dialog which indicates that your existing library is about to be
updated, and that this could take a few minutes. If you have many
thousands of images in your library the actual time can be quite
lengthy (10 minutes plus is not uncommon). Fortunately, the library
only needs to be updated once. When the library update is complete the
application will launch and you'll be greeted with an enhanced UI. The
more observant will notice that the panel headers have a more rounded
appearance and some new buttons added to the Status Bar. Other
buttons have been repositioned or removed altogether. The functions
associated with removed buttons are now accessed via the menus or
keyboard shortcuts (e.g. Export (Cmd+Shift+E) and Import
(Cmd+Shift+I)).
Enhanced UI in Library
Module
The screen modes such as Lights Dim, Lights
Out, Full Screen with Menubar and Full Screen remain
virtually unchanged from the previous betas. Hitting the "L" key
cycles through Lights Dim and Lights Out, and hitting the "F"
key cycles through Full Screen with and without the Menubar.
Lights Out mode in Library
Module
I don't want to dwell too much on the obvious, so
you'll forgive me for moving onto more important features (i.e. those
requested by users during during Beta 1 and 2). For example, Watched
Folder support - one in the eye for those who said the
developers weren't listening! In the Import preferences, you can
set the Auto-Import to automatically import images into a
specified folder.
Import Module - defining the
"Watched Folder"
The Team have also provided fields for Naming
images, Keywords, appending Development Presets and
Metadata. No doubt a few users will find some aspect that doesn't
quite match with their specific workflow, but the functionality that
has been provided will far exceed the expectations of many more.
Configuring Auto-Import dialog
So, assuming your camera has the facility for
Tethered Shooting you're all set for automatic import from the
camera directly into Lightroom. I've tried the feature with my
Canon EOS 1DM2 and it works well, as does dragging and dropping of
existing image folders.
This next screenshot shows the modified module
selection and thumbnail preview panel as it appears when the Library
module is selected. The most obvious changes are the addition of a
dedicated Web module (more later), a 4:1 zoom ratio, and
repositioning of the EXIF data in the Quick Develop
panel. Hopefully, 2:1 zooming will be added some time in the near
future. Also, as mentioned above, Quick Develop now sports a
simplified version of the Crop and Rotate tool. Crop takes the
form of a popup menu with options for preset and user definable aspect
ratios. The Sync Crop Angle button enables the crop rotation
angle associated with the most selected image to be applied to
multiple selected images. The actual rotation angle is applied using
the Rotate tool found within the Develop module.
Module selection bar now
sports a Web Module
Another popular feature request dating back to Beta 1 was for the
inclusion of a Hierarchical keywording system. However, even
though it was included in Beta 2 many users still asked that it be
provided; with some going as far as to say it was a make-or-break
feature. Why they kept "banging the drum" for a feature that already
existed is a bit of a mystery, but they did. Anyway, hierarchical
keyword support is still included in Beta 3, but it now functions
differently to Beta 2. So, what's the difference? Well, Beta 3 uses the
concept of "explicit" keywords whereas Beta 2 (and most other
similar applications) use "implicit" keywording. I show an
example of hierarchical keyword system below.
Example keyword being entered
as a "Child"
Using above example: with "implicit" keywording
assigning "Bison" to an image would automatically assign "Wildlife",
whereas only "Bison" is assigned with "explicit" keywording. Something
tells me that this change (hopefully only temporary) is going to result
in some very negative feedback. The important thing here is that
keywording is not finished and the development team are still very much
open to user suggestions, which should be made via the Lightroom
forums. Fortunately, as the following screenshot shows, the
hierarchical structure is created, it's just not applied in the manner
most users are familiar with.
Keyword panel showing
hierarchical structure
Another sign that the development team has been paying
attention to user feedback is demonstrated in the way new Shoots
are created. If you select an existing Shoot then press the "add
(+)" button to create a new Shoot a small dialog is opened
and you're offered the opportunity to make the new Shoot a
Child of the selected Shoot. You're also able to move
any already selected images into the new Shoot.
Enhanced dialog for creating a
new Shoot
Many have asked for better Rating filters and the ability to
manually sort their images (i.e. shuffle mode). Both features have been
included in Beta 3, and will likely see further improvements in the
future. The Rating Filter now has options to filter out
images on the basis that they've been given a rating that is: Higher,
Lower or Only "n" number of stars. For now,
Manual Sorting is limited to simple drag and drop within the
selected Shoot (i.e. you must not have Entire Library
selected).
Improved Rating Filters
The last item I want to mention for the Library module is how
Lightroom handles off-line storage. From the outset Lightroom has
supported off-line storage, but it wasn't easy to find. Beta 3 has
introduced some changes that make it a bit more accessible and
therefore easier to use. Nevertheless, I can see many users not even
realising that the feature exists.
"?" denotes images cannot
be found, but the symbol also holds the key to a
secret feature ;-)
15
November 2006
The Unitary Library and Off-line Storage
tutorial has been updated to reflect the UI changes found in Lightroom
Beta 4.1 -
Link to
tutorial
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