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Using Develop Mode

Changes you make in Develop are applied to the entire image. When adjusting your images in Develop, the original file is never changed. The changes are saved in a separate file, and are applied each time you open the image. This allows for non-destructive developing of your images, and it is recommended that you do most of your image adjustments in Develop.

When you open a developed image in Develop, it displays the settings you previously left them at. This allows you to revisit the image at any time to adjust the previous settings.

For more information on how develop settings are saved, see How ACDSee Saves Changes to Images.

Developing an Image

To Develop an Image:

Select Develop mode.
In Develop, in the Tune tab, select General, White Balance, Lighting, Advanced Color, Tone Curves, Soft Focus, Cross Process, Split Tone, Post-Crop Vignette, or for RAW files: Output Color Space.
On the Details tab, select Sharpening, Noise Reduction, or Chromatic Aberration.
On the Geometry tab, select Lens Distortion, Rotate & Straighten, Perspective, Crop, Vignette Correction.
On the Repair tab, select Repair or Red Eye Reduction.

Saving and Canceling

When you have finished developing an image, you can choose from one of the many options for saving your image, depending on what you want to do next.

To Save the Image and Return to the Mode You Were in Previously:

Click Done.
Select one of the following:
- Save: Save your changes.
- Save as: Save a copy of your developed image with a new name or format.
- Discard: Discard your changes.
- Cancel: Remain on the same image in Develop with your changes intact, without saving the image.

If you want your changes saved automatically (without the prompt to save), select the Auto Save checkbox. Then next time you switch to a new image your changes will be saved automatically without the prompt. You can change this setting back by clicking Tools | Options and selecting the Automatically save Develop Mode adjustments checkbox on the Develop Mode page.

To Save the Image and Continue Processing Other Images:

Click Save.
Select one of the following:
- Save As: Save a version of your developed image with a new name or format and switch to the updated image.
- Save a Copy: Save a copy of your developed image with a new name or format, and continue to work on the original file.
- Export: Export one or more copies of your developed image with the option to specify a format and size for each.
- Copy to Clipboard: Copy the developed image to the clipboard.
Save a Copy is useful for making multiple versions of an image while continuing to work from the original file instead of a new processed copy. For example, if you take a RAW image and save a copy of it as a JPG, instead of switching to this lossy JPG image, you remain on the unprocessed RAW file with the settings still intact.

To Discard Changes to the Image and Return to the Mode You Were in Previously:

Click Cancel.

Save is not available for RAW file formats because you cannot directly save changes to a RAW file.

Restoring Original Settings

You can discard your Develop settings and revert to the original image. For more information, see Restoring original images.

Histogram and Image Viewing Controls

While developing an image, you can adjust the magnification with the zoom controls, located in the bottom right corner.

It is extremely useful to have both the Exposure Warning and Histogram preview open while you are adjusting exposure. Below the histogram, percentage of the pixels underexposed and overexposed is shown.

Histogram	Displays the histogram preview for the current image. The histogram preview shows the red, green, and blue color channels of the photo. Keeping the histogram open is particularly useful when adjusting exposure, as the histogram reflects all adjustments as you make them. When the histogram is enabled the icon is blue, and gray when disabled. At the bottom of the histogram, icons appear to notify you if there is a loss in details in the highlights , or loss in details in the dark areas of the image. Numbers beside these two icons represents the percent of pixels that have lost details in either the shadows or the highlights.
Clipped Shadows and Highlights	Displays clipped shadows and highlights. Click the icon or press E on the keyboard, to highlight over- and under-exposed areas of the image. When the shadows and highlights tool is enabled the icon is yellow, and gray when disabled.
Undo/Redo	Undo to discard all changes made on the current tab. Redo to return to the options that you had selected prior to clicking Undo.
Reset	Discards the settings that you have selected and revert to the default settings for each individual group. When you apply changes using one of the groups, the reset button turns blue. Click on the reset button to reset the image to its default settings.
Preview	Turns on or off changes you have made within the group. This button is available in each group, so you can view the effects of each group's develop settings. When the icon is green the group's changes are visible. A gray icon indicates that the changes are hidden.
Develop Settings	Resets Develop Settings to Last Saved, Default, or Last Used. You can also save your settings as a preset, copy, or paste them.
Display Full Screen	Displays the image on a full screen. Press F to view full screen. Press any key to return to Develop.
Actual Size	Returns the current image to its actual size.
Navigator	The Navigator icon only appears when the image is magnified or if the Actual Size icon has been clicked. Click the Navigator icon to display a small duplicate of your image. Then drag your cursor to the section of the image you would like to see magnified. Release the cursor to settle on an area of the image.
Fit Image	Reduces the image to fit within the Develop mode area.
Show Original	Toggles the changes on or off, to compare your changes to the original.
Zoom slider	Increases the size of the image if you drag it to the right, decreases the size if you drag to the left.
Zoom drop-down list	Displays a list of zoom sizes to select.

Viewing Images

You can view other images by clicking on the filmstrip at the bottom of the screen. Or, click the arrows on the Done button to select an image to develop.

Customizing the View

You can detach the Develop and Edit panes to suit your workflow.

You can also customize how the groups expand and collapse within the pane. From the View menu, select:

Expand all groups: Expands all the groups in pane.
Collapse all groups: Collapses all the groups that are open.
Auto-collapse groups: This is the default setting. This setting automatically collapses groups and keeps the group you're working in open. This is useful for keeping groups in one pane without having to scroll.
Filmstrip: Toggles the filmstrip display on or off.