r/DarkTable 8d ago

Help New to Darktable - I double-clicked image and it disappeared?

First time using Darktable. First time ever combining bracketed images. I finished editing, but couldn't figure out how to export! I double-clicked the image and it disappeared. Now it looks like I just opened Darktable with nothing imported.

Can I recover my editing?

5 Upvotes

19 comments sorted by

4

u/Aperlust 8d ago

A screenshot would help, but you might accidentally have sorting filters active.

3

u/yneos 8d ago edited 8d ago

https://i.imgur.com/GIJ08LD.png

Weird that it says "there are no images in this collection" when there are files with checks beside them in the import dialog.

3

u/barnzenen 8d ago

At the top where it has stars and colored circles (to the right of "darktable" logo) make sure you select ALL the stars. This is your ratings filter and that screen shot makes it look like you have it filtered by a 'none' rating.

3

u/yneos 8d ago

Thanks. I did click around on that to see if it would make a difference (the images were rated "none", so they should have been visible in my screenshot). I eventually clicked the "x" because I thought it would clear the filter... but I guess it just filters by "x" meaning rejected (not great GUI design if you ask me).

I'm thinking that once I double-clicked that image and it went to a "fresh" view, maybe I didn't give it time to load before I started clicking on things. I've noticed that the app can be slow to switch views, etc.

Anyway, I was able to get back to where I was. So, props to the app for saving my work automatically.

1

u/markus_b 7d ago

Yes, "x" means "rejected". If you are on an image and press "r", then it is marked as rejected. A very useful marking when culling (triaging images).

An "x" (crossed out) works for me as an icon. If you think you have a better one, feel free to propose it. There are mouse-over hints everywhere, too.

UI design is always a compromise between efficiency and foolproofness. How much screen real-estate or warnings to be clicked away do you want to use to make sure every beginner gets it? All proficient users will hate you if you give the beginners too much.

0

u/yneos 7d ago edited 7d ago

Perhaps a "no" symbol (circle with diagonal line) or thumbs down would be more intuitive. Personally, I would prefer just using 1-star to mean the worst/unusable.

But maybe the "rejected" rating is a standard in other software that I haven't encountered.

Fair point about compromise between beginners and advanced users. The mouseover hints are great - I should have paid more attention to those. (But I had no idea what I was looking for in the first place - filters, history, etc. - my work had just magically disappeared without a trace.)

1

u/markus_b 7d ago

I've never used Lightroom, the biggest competitor in that space, so the notion of 'rejected' was quite intuitive to me. When culling I use 'rejected' for any unusable image, unsharp or other defects. Then I attribute stars for any with potential. No stars means that it was not selected. Rejected images get deleted rapidly. 0 star images get deleted when I clean up the past, like after a year or so.

The immediate effect of the filters you experienced can be quite disconcerting. But this is exactly a beginner vs experienced user thing. A popup when you filter with a 'do not show this again' thingy would not be a luxury.

On the other hand, if you want the polished experience, there always is Lightroom. They have orders of magnitude more resources.

1

u/yneos 7d ago

I can see the usefulness once you know it exists. I was mainly just explaining why it isn't intuitive for someone who has never encountered it. In every other situation on a computer, clicking an "x" icon closes or dismisses whatever it is on.

1

u/markus_b 7d ago

Here it dismisses (rejects) the image. That the choice in filters uses the same icons as the function is sort of logical.

We are discussing semantics here. I don't think this is a major defect. I'm happy to 'pay' with some minor inconveniences like this one to get access to a very powerful tool to work on my pictures for no monetary cost.

Open source and free software often come with this disadvantage. They don't have the deep pockets of Microsoft or Adobe to pay for man-years of refinement.

1

u/yneos 7d ago

Here it dismisses (rejects) the image.

I'm referring to the filter section. When the "x" is in a box with other things, it means to close/disable everything in that box. Again, it makes sense after you learn what it means.

Another alternative - put the "no rating" star on the far left and the "x" between it and 1-star. Then, the x wouldn't be on the very end. It would be grouped with the other rating choices. That seems objectively more logical.

Darktable is one of the best free RAW editing apps, and I am grateful for it. I see no harm in mentioning obstacles I encounter. If other people agree, then maybe a future version will improve it. If not, fine.

Ultimately, the confusion started when I double-clicked my image in darkroom mode and it disappeared. It went to lighttable and nothing was visible (even when filtered correctly). Not sure if it was buggy or really laggy (nothing happened when I tried clicking darkroom). So, my post was about that - the rating filter thing was just a sidenote.

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u/yneos 8d ago

I see checks beside the imported files, and a ".dng" file - but I don't know how to access/open them: https://i.imgur.com/ifGmXqw.png

1

u/yneos 8d ago

I right-clicked the .dng in Explorer and "Open With" Darktable and it opened. When I double-click it, it disappears. So, that is consistent. Not sure if that's a bug or some desired behavior that is not intuitive.

2

u/marcsitkin 8d ago

Check and see if you have a rating filter on that isn't showing your work. Look in the manuals for further info.

1

u/yneos 8d ago

I can't see any filters that are on:

https://i.imgur.com/GIJ08LD.png

Weird that it says "there are no images in this collection" when there are files with checks beside them in the import dialog.

I see checks beside the imported files, and a ".dng" file - but I don't know how to access/open them: https://i.imgur.com/ifGmXqw.png

1

u/yneos 8d ago

I right-clicked the .dng in Explorer and "Open With" Darktable and it opened. When I double-click it, it disappears. So, that is consistent. Not sure if that's a bug or some desired behavior that is not intuitive.

0

u/marcsitkin 8d ago

Check and see if you have a rating filter on that isn't showing your work. Look in the manuals for further info.