How are you using the history stack

Software darktable
1

Hi

I am using darktable and II was wondering what you are using the history stack for. Does it actually have a benefit in your image processing?

The things I use it for are basically only two things.

  • Check what I did, but a lot of the time I compress the history stack because I played around and there are a lot of useless steps in there.
  • Comparison to a previous edit.

The actual applied modules, their order and values are all under the active modules. I could go back by just turning off modules and then take a snapshot to compare my last edit with a previous one.

I guess I was wondering if it really has that much benefit to be itā€™s own view.

2

I mostly use it as a quick undo, and secondly to see what Iā€™ve done to an image.

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3

I use it much like Mica said, and itā€™s an essential part of my workflow.

You can compress the view if you donā€™t find it that useful.

4

So the only real difference between the ā€œHistory stackā€ and the ā€œshow active modulesā€ would be that with the histpory stack I can see what I did in what order and if I went back to a module to tweak some more while with the ā€œshow active modulesā€ I see what is actually applied in what order.

Main reason why I asked is that I litereally just noticed the ā€œshow active modulesā€ and it seems to me a lot more direct and comfortable than the ā€œhistory stackā€

5

I, too, frequently click lower down the history stack to gain a ā€œwhere have I come from?ā€ before and after impression. I donā€™t use the snapshot functionality much; maybe its just my laziness in not mastering snapshots.

However the history stack really comes into its own when used to apply some (or all) of the edits made to one pic to others in lighttable.

For an example that often hapens for me:

  • I have a whole bunch of pics taken at the same time, but all are underexposed.
  • I canā€™t easily determine which capture is best without tweaking the exposure.
  • So I do this for one image; at the same time Iā€™ll add denoising, modify the shapening, maybe the tone mapping, white balance.
  • I then use the history stack options to paste those same transformations to the other pics - sometimes 20 or more - that are similar on raw import

So no Iā€™m in a position to compare apples with apples, so to speak, and make my choice on which images I will keep and finetune more.

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6

Besides all that was already stated, I also use it to ā€˜createā€™ a style that can be reapplied to more photos afterwards.

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7

Iā€™ve used it in the past when exporting a colour image vs a black and white one.

Iā€™ll do my sharpening, noise reduction, levels and colour adjustments for a colour output image.

Then Iā€™ll edit a another curve and monochrome module to suit the black and white image; Crtl + E for black and white export and then use the history stack to get back to the colour image.

Happy days.

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8

I usually stack multiple images so I edit one photo and then copy the history stack to apply to all so that I can get similar edits.

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