Saving files

[Luke]

Hi All,
I'm new to the forum and also to PicInsight and so please forgive me for asking what is probably a really dumb question.

I can load, calibrate, combine and to some extent process my images to a point that I am quite happy with what i see on the screen but when I come to save my file do a Save As... which is fine but when I try to close the image I get a message that there are processing steps that will be lost if i go ahead

I just can't see what to do to save the file complete with this information

Also if I try to save what looks like a nice image on the screen to a jpeg file, after clicking all the warings, all I get is a dark .jpg image?

I have gone through ALL the great tutorials but every one seems to makes the assumption that file saving is so basic that it is just not worth mentioning how to do it.

Can someone please point me to a tutoria that explains how to properly save my work?

Cheers,
Luke

[Carlos Milovic]

Are you using an active STF on your image? If so, remember that it is a "visualization help", not an actual modification to the image. Disable the Screen Transfer Function as soon as you want to apply a Histogram Transform (or gamma function, or DDP, etc) to avoid any problems.

Also, don't worry too much about those warnings. Juan got a bit paranoid For intermediate files, 32bits FITS format is usually the best option. I also save my final image that way, and then I duplicate it, rescale the image, and save it as jpeg. Since JPEG is a lossy format, only with 8bits, you should avoid it to store raw data, or any intermediate step.

[Nocturnal]

Hi Luke,

welcome to PI and the forum! Carlos already mentioned this but maybe I can spin it differently. If you have an unprocessed linear 32b floating point image such as what gets produced with calibration and stacking you will generally have a very dark picture. If you then save this to jpg PI will squeeze the entire all values between 0 and 1 into 256 buckets because jpg is only 8 bits per color. As Carlos said you need to apply a non-linear stretch, typically a histogram transformation or an aggressive curve before converting to jpg.

If that doesn't get you going, let us know and maybe post some more details if you think there's something else that can help.

[Luke]

Hi Carlos, Sander,
Thank you for your replies.

Basically I have been following the turorials and I can end up with what I think looks like a reasonable image on the screen.

I then make a clone of the original calibrated/combined image and apply the same processing steps to the clone.
I then have a nice looking image that I want to save as a .jpeg so that I can share it with others etc.

At that stage I have already applied streching etc, to the image.
If I then save it as a jpeg file, it's dark?

If the STF is only for visualisation on the screen, then what is the use of it if the image cannot be saved but only exists as long as PI is open?

Carlos, what do you mean when you say "Disable the STF"? Do you mean don't use STF and just the Histogram or DDP to get the image the way I want it?

I'm sorry I these questions seem dumb, but it isn't al all obvious to me.

I can follow the tutorials and end up with a very nice image, but I get to the end of the tutorial and don't know what to do to save the work and end up with something I can see outside of the program.

Is there a turotial or other written document that explains how to save ones work?

Cheers,
Luke

[Harry page]

Hi Luke

I am sure it is the STF that is causing you a problem  As saving is not difficult to do

If the STF is only for visualisation on the screen, then what is the use of it if the image cannot be saved but only exists as long as PI is open?

Some of PI processes need to be run while the image is in its linear form ( Unstretched )  and using the STF enables you to see what is going on 

So when you have finished with things like DBE and colour calibration you must disable the STF ( the reset icon in bottom right hand corner )

Your image will appear again in it true form ( Dark ) and now you make permanent alterations using the histogram tool or curves

If you look at a demo I did of  mr houghy's data you will see how I used STF http://www.harrysastroshed.com/pixinsighthomeinter.html


Regards Harry

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Luke,

Welcome to PixInsight Forum. Harry, Sander and Carlos have already given you good advice. Watching all Harry's videos is most of the advice that I can offer to help you in getting started with PixInsight.

Regarding the "lost processing steps" message, don't worry, at least not for now while you're getting your feet wet with PixInsight. That message is just a remainder about the fact that there's a sequence of processes that you've applied to your image, and when you close it, those processes will be lost. In PixInsight, both the images and the processes that you apply are equally important and can be treated independently each other.

You can save all of your processing steps as a process icon file (a .xpsm file). You first have to create a set of process icons, which is very easy by dragging the blue triangle button from any tool to PI's workspace. Then you can select Process > Process Icons > Save Process Icons from the main menu. Once you have an .xpsm file, you can load it later to retrieve all your processes with their parameters, to reuse them in other projects.

[Luke]

Hi Harry & Juan,
Thank you both very much for your replies.
Harry, I actually knew of the Reset icon, but I didn't realise what it's true function was.
Also thank you for your excellent tutorials. I would have been totally lost without them.
At the risk of being a bit cheeky can I please ask for one more?
"How to publish your images"
Thank you.

Juan, thank you for the clear expanation on creating a process icon. It's exactly what I needed.
Sometimes a simple hint like that can save many hours of searching and head scratching.
Thank you.

Thank you PTeam for an amazing product.

Best regards,
Luke

[Harry page]

Hi Luke

You can ask for anything you like , the question is do I know how to do it 


Juan I believe is going to improve the jpeg saving option and when this is done I will do something 

If you have any more questions please ask as its the best way to learn 

Harry