1 - One of the best features in Darktable is its retouch module. -Any in the pipeline?
2 - Ability to add a creator signature using a transparent layer with the signature preset is missing
3 - ability to use layers is missing
-Any help with knowledge about these issues is appreciated.
Retouching - RawTherapee does have a Spot Removal tool. Anything more serious, like dodge/burn/toning/clone stamping/healing/etc is not possible.
Watermark - There was some work done very early on but that had a very low prio and was never implemented/finished (#833).
Layers - I donāt think layers will be part of RawTherapee anytime soon (if at all). Iām not a developer, but I think this will be rather hard to implement in the way RawTherapee is set up.
BTW: You can, very selectively, use layers in RT: Local Adjustments module ā Colour & Light tool ā Merge file option ā Change None to either of the 3 other options. But Iām sure this isnāt what you had in mind 
RawTherapee is not a Swiss knife and never will be, it was created with RAW editing in mind. The above mentioned asked for features are much better done in dedicated raster graphics software like, for instance, GIMP, Krita or PhotoShop (or ImageMagick in case of the signature/watermarking).
You can, however, file FRs in github if you think these do need to be part of RawTherapee.
Thanks Jade_NL,
Your help is much appreciated.
BUT, this information leads me to stay with Darktable, as it already has āhealingā tools (in recent times, wildlife photos seem to occur more and more in the vicinity of man-made objects/ waste).
-Cleaning our planet is done when the subjects are already goneā¦-So the photos have to be taken withā¦ and healedā¦
There are different tools out there for different ways of processing images, and thankfully the FOSS community has us covered in that regard. DT is powerful, but it doesnāt suit my style. For me, RT is the superior RAW processing machine. When I need to move pixels around, or utilize layers, my last step is to export to GIMP and complete my work there.
Each to his/her own Rick.
Personally, when finalizing things already in jpeg, I prefer using PDN, but thatās also because I use windows.
I used GIMP, through it stumbled upon DT, and found it to be a full match for me (does for me everything I needed from GIMP + some the GIMP kinda complicates).
For jpeg, PDN is easy to use, fast and accurate.
Admittedly, there are no layers and clipping tools (as in DT or Lightroom), but there are other innovative tools like āLocal adjustmentsā which do not need this.
It uses the concept of RT-spot (using color gaps, and transitions) to delimit actions (in a way we can assimilate to an overlay of layers, when using several RT-spots).
This can be supplemented by āexcluding spotā which allow action zones to be cancelled. I was asked to add masks (which do not appear in ābasicā mode)
For more information see
https://rawpedia.rawtherapee.com/Local_Adjustments
jacques
jdc,
Thanks for your response.
I only brought MY issues, because by enlarge, I find RT to be a potentially more powerful tool than DT.
However, in DT I can store custom presets for each of my filters, so if need be, I can recombine them in a new way (some - like filmic and denoise modules - are elaborate and to preserve workflow, you want to preset them, instead of fiddle with them for each photo).
Also, the thumbnail ābrowserā, I use to incorporate sets of filters for a batch of photos, and only then tweak them (inside a larger group), and can selectively or collectively apply a full preset batch of filters to all or some. I also export the final selection as a batch, using this selective ability, and would welcome such an ability also in RT.
Please read the chapter about processing profiles Sidecar Files - Processing Profiles - RawPedia (rawtherapee.com). Here you will find how you can save your own preset and reuse it whenever you need it
Thank you CastingShadows for your referral.
Will do.
ā¦OK read it. -āsidecar filesā are also in existance in DT with xml instead of RTās pp3.
Processing profiles, I already implemented in RT successfully, as I have also something like it in DT (called 'styleās), but those include a sequence of preset filters, and not individual ones. I was referring to an option to save presets PER FILTER. I believe thatās different, and is not addressed in the book.
Partial profiles enable what youāre looking for. A module preset is really just a tiny āstyleā. In RT the concept is generalised and you use pp3 files for all such settings. If you have lots of profiles you can organise them hierarchically by creating folders and subfolders in your profile directory. Just use your file manager to move files around and this will be reflected in the profile menu.
Hi nosle,
I might have āmissed the markā here.
partial profiles, as far as I know cannot be implemented in succession on the same photo, thus they are only as a starting point for tweaking, or āas isā.
The presets that I referred to can be used like building blocks, with already preset values without the need to tweak every one of them afterwards.
-Again, āstylesā in DT work the same as āprofilesā in RT. However, there is no parallel to user presets for each profile, where you can pick and chose to compile a new āprofileā as needed. For this you have to tweak for each photo the desired filters.
The workflow time saving with such an attribute is immense.
Usually, I start with over 5000 photos, cull them to ~ 1000, and only then start processing. The desired end result is ~ 30 photos, or less. So, the more glow I can bring to my work, the better it is and more beneficial.
On average I take ~ 10,000 - 15,000 photos per week.
We might be talking past each other but my workflow is such that I have a number of profiles that I apply to any photo. The default auto applied profile as a starting point. Then various subject, problem and output specific partial profiles I apply āon topā . These latter profiles may be presets for handling dynamic range, output size, lens profiles (for exif less vintage lenses) bokeh portraits to avoid sharpening backgrounds, black and white recipes, film grain etc. Most are presets in single modules which are applied in any number of configurations/layers on top of the base profile.
RT would be basically unworkable without this workflow.
Iām out and about and on my phone but the little āfile treeā icon by the profile settings top right in the editor determines if profiles are stacked or replaced. To save a partial profile you ctrl click the disk icon top right and check the settings you want to save in the profile.
Thanks nosle,
Iāll try the stacking option.
I was not aware of it (DT it appears in the options of each filter, so I did not know to look for a"local" option, inside the āglobalā one, i.e., profileā¦
Cheers - happy walkaboutā¦
For completeness and other users Iāll link to rawpedia and show some screenshots. Rawpedia, the Rawtherapee manual has a relevant section at Sidecar Files - Processing Profiles - RawPedia
The RT processing profile handling is simple but powerful. Even my Dynamic Profile Rules are made up of several small profiles that are dynamically applied based on camera, iso, lens etc. layering up to a final default rendering. The fact that you can manage them using the file browser and the file naming means itās fairly easy to keep complexity in check.
Thanks nosle for doing this.