The Photo Viewer shows the full size image and provides fast culling, cropping, image rotation and saving.
Prev/Next Windows
When viewing a photograph in the Photo Viewer, there may be one or two smaller windows on either side of the main photograph display.
The left window displays the previous photograph, if there is one.
The right window displays the next photo in the sequence, if there is one.
The side windows are enabled and disabled by this button
View Functions
Zoom
Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out. Zoom will maintain the mouse over the current point in the photograph.
Fit-to-Window
Fit-To-Window is a mode. It will fit the current photograph and all subsequence photographs that are loaded into the Photo Viewer. When a photograph is loaded into the Photo Viewer and Fit-To-Window is disabled, the photograph will positioned in the same position as the previous photograph.
Operations that disable Fit to Window
-
- Zooming in or out
- Panning
- Rotating the image
- Align point to center
- Loupe
Pan
Press and hold the LMB down, then move the mouse. The photograph will then pan.
Loupe Mode
Selecting Loupe set the photograph’s scale to 100% so each pixel on the screen corresponds to one pixel in the photograph. Using the button will zoom the center point. Selecting this icon or the ‘L’ key will zoom to the point under the mouse. Reselect Loupe to revert the zoom.
Editing
You can perform minor edits on photographs and save them to JPEG files.
You cannot edit RAW file images.
Cropping Photographs
Selection
When the mouse is inside the Photo Viewer window, hold Ctrl+LMB down and drag out the selection rectangle
Crop
To apply the crop to the photograph, select this icon or the ‘C’ key
Watch Cropping:
Crop Rectangle Constraint
You can constrain the crop rectangle to various sizes, Right click to see the context menu. Select “Crop Rectangle Constraint”
Auto Crop Rect: Find the largest crop rect possible. Useful when the image has rotation applied. Note that moving or resizing the crop rectangle will disable Auto Crop Rect.
“Unconstrained” : no crop rectangle constraints are enforced.
“Same as image”: uses the ratio of the image currently displayed.
4×6 through 24×36: supported aspect ratios
“Swap Constraint Dimensions”, 4×6 through 24×36 width and height are swapped. 6×4 for example.
After selecting a constraint, it will be applied when dragging out the crop rectangle.
Rotate
Rotate 90° left or right
The rotate buttons rotate the photograph 90 degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise
Rotate arbitrary
To rotate an arbitrary amount, press and hold the Alt key, move the mouse to the edge of the view and press and drag the LMB to rotate the photograph.
Watch Rotating and Image:
Align Photographs
Align photographs us a simple, but powerful feature. This allows fast aligning of features across multiple files.
Double-click on a point on a photo to place that point in the center of the view. Go to the next image(s) and do the same. Then switch to Loupe mode. You will then be able to compare the same feature , up close, across multiple images easily.
Example: Suppose you have three images of a family and you want to see which photo of the boy in the front is sharpest. The video below demonstrates double-click on the boy’s left eye in each of the photographs, then switching to Loupe mode (L-key).
Watch Aligning Photographs:
Exif Data
Click this EXIF icon to display EXIF data for the photograph, if available.
Saving
Save as JPEG
You can save an edited photograph to a jpg. PhotoCull is non-destructive to the original file. The original file is move to a subdirectory called “originals” and the jpg file is written in it’s place.
Crop and save
This button combine two operations in a single step. If there is an existing crop rectangle, it will perforce the crop
This will also perform a non-destructive save. The original will be moved to a sub-directory and the saved file will replace it. Note that only jpg save format is supported.
Crop and save then next
Combines the crop, save as above, then selects the next photo in the sequence. Very useful for rapid processing.
Photo Viewer Shortcuts
| Key | Result |
| ^Z/^Y | Undo/Redo |
| 0-5 | Rate Photo. 0 is unrated |
| F | Fit image to window |
| L | Toggle the Loupe. Zooms in for 1:1 pixel ratio |
| Delete | (Cull) Move photo to the Recycle Bin |
| Left/Right arrow | Previous/next thumbnail |
| Up/Down | Selects image above or below current image. Does not apply to Thumbstrip View |
| Escape | Cancels crop rectangle |
| C | Crop the image to the crop rectangle |
| ^S | Crop and Save. If rectangle crop exists, apply it |
| ^D | Crop, Save and Next. If rectangle crop exists, apply it and save. Go to next image |
| T | Toggles display of prev/nect thumbnails |
Mouse
| Hold LMB (on the image) and move mouse | Pan image |
| Mouse Wheel | Zoom in/out. Disables Fit to Window mode. |
| Double Mouse Click | Centers the image on the double-clicked point. Useful when applying to several images to align their eyes, for example. |
| Alt-LMB (move mouse) | Rotate the image |
| Right Mouse Button | Displays the Context Menu |
You can crop the image by dragging a rectangle around the image
| Hold ^LMB and move mouse | Create crop rectangle |
| Hold LMB (on the crop rectangle) and move mouse | Move the crop rectangle |
| Hold LMB (on the crop rectangle handles) and move mouse | Resize the crop rectangle |
Context Menu
| Locate On Disk | Opens the file in File Explorer |
Crop Rectangle Constraints
| Auto Crop Rect | Finds the largest crop rectangle for the image |
| Unstrained | No limitation on crop rectangle size |
| Same as Image | Restrict the crop rectangle to the same size as the current image |
| 4×5 to 24×36 | Restrict the crop rectangle to specific ratios |
| Swap Constraint Dimensions | Reverse the ratio above. 4×5 becomes 5×4 |
| Confine Crop Rect Inside Image | Restrict the crop rectangle to be inside the current image |
Panel
Check Box | |
| Fit To Window Mode (F) | Fit images to the window. All images will be fit until this is disabled. Disables Loupe mode. |