I’m using v 4.6.1 but for some reason “duplicate image” is giving me an issue
I load a new image into darktable, then create a duplicate to work on. When I go back to the original image and click on it, only the duplicate comes back up. Both still appear on the left side under duplicate though. If I open the original .nef file from file explorer using darktable, the duplicate opens. If I open the same file using say Windows Media etc, then the original opens.
I am not trying to open the .xmp file, just the original as shot.
Did you do any editing before creating a duplicate (not saying that is the issue, just that it is an easy check). Keep in mind that there’s no reason to create a duplicate from an unedited file just to have a file to work on (see below).
When you open the file with another program, you will always get the original image: darktable doesn’t modify its input images, and other programs cannot read darktable’s editing instructions (*). Darktable only writes an edited version of the image on export.
*: xmp files should be read automatically by programs that use them when you open the corresponding image file. You only have to explicitly open the .xmp sidecar when you want to apply it to another image (in dt) or you want to read/edit it (they are plain text files)
As far as I know I imported a .nef file and no editing was done to that file. I will try another and see what happens. I see the original and the duplicate under the duplicate manager, but when I click the original to see the difference between the two, it swaps places with the duplicate and than just the duplicate shows on the main editing screen?
I use duplicates all the time and they behave as I expect. Sorry for repeating what other have already said here but for clarity the duplicate manager does not created a new image, it just creates a new xmp file of a few kb size listing new editing instructions. On the screen shot here you can see an edited picture of the cat which looks nice and bright. Then having used the duplicate feature but selecting the original option it has created an xmp file with my current edits not applied so the cat looks very dull. If I had select the duplicate option it would have duplicated all my current edits and I would see two images of a cat that looked nice and bright.
It is possible in the lighttable view to use the actions on selection module to create a ‘true’ copy of the image file that will be many mb in size and this would be recognized by alternative programs as a second image.
I think your issue is around wanting to see/compare against the embedded jpg. When you move to the darkroom, the xmp/development replaces the embedded jpg.
Are you perhaps seeing this… if you have duplicates and you have say an edited and original. The order doesn’t matter but which ever image you have currently active in the preview if you single click and hold on one of the other duplicates it will quickly swap the preview so you can compare but it does not swap the image. You would have to double click to do this… So here I have the edit above and the original below. Original is loaded in the DT preview… I can toggle as shown…
You are correct. I am trying to compare a duplicate to the original in darkroom and in lightable the original only shows up.
In Darkroom I have the original unedited and the duplicate which is edited. No matter what I do, I can only get the duplicate on the editing screen and cannot toggle between the two to compare.
I have also deleted the original, and any .xmp files from both darktable itself and the location where I store my images to import. I then copy my original .nef file backed up from another drive and put it back where I store my files and then open that original only into darktable.
In that case after I import that original, unedited file back into darktable, somehow the deleted duplicate edited only appears in darkroom and not even the unedited .nef.
I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong or whats happening.
Even if I double click either the original or duplicate, only the duplicate appears on the main editing screen.
I cant follow what you are clicking on the video, but it appears that you are able to toggle between the two images which I cannot do with the image I’m working with.
I’m afraid to try this with another image in fears the same thing will happen.
There is no “original” unedited image. When you take an image, the data is saved as a raw unprocessed data + the camera embeds a processed jpg based on camera default processing. darktable will show the embedded jpg at first until some processing is done on the raw. After that it will show the dt processed image (based on thumbnail settings).
I am left clicking and holding on the duplicate that is not currently the active one. So if I made 7 duplicates and edited them I could go up and down all those small icons and click and hold and the preview will swap to the one you click and hold on… To repeat make 4 duplicates and edit each very differently. Now select one to preview. Now left click and hold on all the little thumbnail images and you will see that version displayed in the preview as long as you keep holding down the left mouse button…
It sounds like you have edited files inside and outside darktable. By that I mean deleted and recopied a file back.
DT stores your edits in a database and a sidecar. If you don’t set it to check your side cars against the database when you open it’s going to use your database. You may have gotten things out of sync. It would be best to use the remove image feature in DT to remove the image and any duplicates and then reimport your image to start all over.
This should leave you with a single thumbnail in lightable. That will show initially as explained above as the embedded JPG. Open this image in darkroom view and it should now be previewed as the raw with default DT modules applied.
From here you can simply go to the duplicate manager and make a duplicate. This creates a second xmp and entry in the database.
They should be identical. Edit one of them as you want. Now as I described above you can left click and hold on the other duplicate ie the UN edited one and the preview will swap. So you can do this back and forth to compare the two or use snapshots
I removed the image using the darktable feature. When I re-import the .nef file, in lightable it is OK but as soon as I go to darkroom the image that appears is the duplicate.
I then go to duplicate manager and click duplicate original, the original shows up as a thumbnail, but matter if I click the original in the thumbnail in duplicate or manager, or below the editing screen, still only he duplicate appears on the editing screen. If I have more than one duplicate I can open each one. Guess Ill keep working on it.
Thank you
Its a bit unclear still what exact steps you are following at least to me… if you make a duplicate and make it monochrome or something clearly different… are you saying that you cant switch between them… I am just trying to resolve what you are doing and make sure that we are talking about the same step… Originally if you import an image and then proceed to darkroom view that image preview will transition from the embedded jpg to the raw with your current default modules… If you then were to do nothing else and make a duplicate at this point choosing the original option or duplicate option would give you the same result since you have nothing applied to the image but the defaults both options in this case will give you the same result so you shouldn’t see any difference in the two… no edit one of them and do something extreme like making it monochrome… now you should clearly have two “duplicates” of your raw file but they should be clearly distinct and you should be able to switch between the two…if you can’t I have no idea what the issue is…
EDIT
Lighttable…middle image no edits so showing the embedded preview. The images on the right and left have been edited and you can tell by the little icon in the corner of the thumb…
Opening the first image in darkroom view by double clicking and the default sigmoid is applied and note how the image has changed…in the thumbs of the duplicate manager you can see the second copy … There could be a little bug as it should match the main preview when in darkroom view… I am going to update my build and if it is still there I will report it… This was DNG so I will try with a strait up raw as well
Hi Todd,
unrelated to the subject I would like to ask you regarding the processing of your dublicated image. In one image I can see that the highlights are reduced and clarity of the image is increased. Using which module you succeed this effect?
This is the screenshot of your image with that effect:
Thank you for providing with the XMP file! Since I do not have your DNG file, I applied the processing steps stored in XMP to a RAW file of mine. But, I could not get the same effect.
In fact, I would like to know only, how you got back the fine details on the highlighted front of the building using DT.
