Making a duplicate of an image is darktable is a process requiring very few mouse clicks and no typing. It essentially creates another sidecar file, automatically renamed. The duplaicte shows in the filmstrip and so can readily be selected.
I have read Rawpedia about his topic in RT but my understanding seems to describe a more laborious process. If the previous Profile Processing operation was to save an update to the default profile (say ‘MyBase.pp3’, held in .config/… in Linux), then the process to create a duplicate requires traversing my folder structure to find the ‘correct’ place in which to save a new sidecar file. Which should be next to the image file, if following the RawPedia recommendation and if I can actually remember which folder the image file is in. I also have to remember to modify the name of the profile. Later on I might have to traverse the folder structure again to find the additional sidecar file if I wish to load it.
There is no appearance of a duplicate in the filmstrip and no indication of which profile has been loaded against an image. In fact it seems perfectly possible to load any profile against any image - which totally surprises me.
This might mean I have not correctly understood how to:
create a duplicate sidecar/processing profile
switch quickly, easily and securely between alternative profiles
The duplicate/clone feature doesn’t exist. There are feature requests and discussions on github.
The amazing thing with pp3’s is that they are presets and edits. The same file can be loaded onto any image, saved out etc. This means that in practice you can save multiple pp3’s next to the same file and just load them one after the other. There won’t be multiple thumbnails though which is a shame.
Imho the most practical way of working with duplicates right now is to
Open the same folder in RT and your file manager. (made easy by copying the path from RT)
Duplicate the pp3 of your active image using the file manager.
Keep the naming the same just add a descriptive suffix say IMG12210.RAW-portrait-crop.pp3 to your duplicate copy.
Continue in RT with your new edit and create another IMG12210.RAW-landscape-crop.pp3 when you’ve reached a state.
After lots of edits you’ll have a number of files next to each other:
IMG12210.RAW
IMG12210.RAW.pp3
IMG12210.RAW-portrait-crop.pp3
IMG12210.RAW-landscape-crop.pp3
IMG12210.RAW-black-and-white.pp3
Once you’ve decided that the crops were a mistake by reloading the pp3 or looking at exports you can move those pp3’s into an Archive subfolder.
So you’re essentially creating snapshots by making a copy of the pp3 at critical points. It’s a different mindset from the clone/duplicate but surprisingly workable. The key is using the file manager as the RT interface will as you mention forget “where you are” and start in strange folders as it’s primarily designed for saving styles/presets.
What I find interesting is the way my brain has understood the relevant section of the manual ( Sidecar Files - Processing Profiles). At no point of my multiple reading of this section did I understand that this functionality was available.
In fact I still can’t ‘see’ it. I have also browsed through the Editor section in RawPedia, paying special attention to the Filmstrip. I didn’t find the discussion on the functions available by right-click on a filmstrip object. I’m getting too old.
No, it’s just learning… when you’re “accustomed” to software (or something else), anything new seems more complex and requires learning. Ergonomists talk about mental load.
From there, many things seem simple or complex.
Yes, I think I have created almost the same effect - in my thinking - by working from first principles. It is a meticulous process and there-in lies its downfall: I too easily make mistakes in any process, especially if it is meticulous. Even more though, I am horrified at the damage I can do to my edits by being able to associate any processing profile with any image. In the hands of a fool like myself, this is a recipe for a lot of rework (thank god we live in the age of non-destructive editing!).
On further reflection, I think that the default ‘state’ of RT should be that a sidecar processing profile can be applied to an image only if they have the same filename. This restriction could be set/removed in preferences. But that idea is somewhat extreme (there are not many users as clumsy as me), so I won’t be submitting an ‘issue’ on github anytime soon.
That would really hamper the flexibility of the pp3 format. What about dynamic profiles or “normal” profiles saved in the Processing Profile menu? They are imho critical to an efficient RT workflow.
As long as you manage your pp3’s as snapshots and treat the current one as live edit you’ll always have the old ones to revert to. The named snapshots will never be overwritten. Once you load a pp3 your default IMG0001.RAW.pp3 will get overwritten. pp3’s are tiny files and can be hoarded without consequences.
Yes, I appreciate this. At this time I will have to constrain my enthusiasm to use this method, I just upgraded the hard disks in my system, so file storage is not an issue and probably won’t be in my lifetime. I also look forward to a potential functional enhancement which would make a duplicate function available in RT with the simplicity, ‘low-cost’ and ease of use of the duplicate function in dt - which I use a lot, because of those very characteristics.
It sounds like duplicate image is a nice feature that should be adapted in RT or ART. I have just come to take it for granted in DT and I believe Lightroom offers something similar. It can be very handy.
One could create a link instead of copying. I don’t know if it’s available on any file manager GUI, but one can always use the command ln original.raw virtual-copy.raw. Interestingly, even Windows has this feature, at least on NTFS: How to create a hard link in Windows using mklink command? - Super User
