Amount function in Image Window

[hjoseph7]

Excuse me for my ignorance, but when I open an Image Window why is the "Amount" of the Transformation I have chosen allways pointing to 100% ? For example if I choose Unsharp Mask to sharpen an image, the Amount slider is already at 100%. Does that mean that just by choosing this function I have sharpened the image 100% ? Most Photo Editing packages work the other way around. They start at zero and you increase the amount, but with PWP you have to decrease the Amount. Am I correct ?

[jsachs]

Many transformations in PWP have an Amount control which is used to blend the result of the transformation with the original input image. In addition to the slider which runs from 0% (the input image is simply copied to the output image) to 100%, you can also use this control to select a mask for the input image that specifies a varying amount based on the brightness of the mask image. When a mask is selected, the slider splits into two parts - a black and white slider. These two sliders in turn determine the amount for areas where the mask the black and white respectively, with intermediate values taking effect where the mask has an intermediate gray level.

Generally with no mask, the Amount slider is used to scale back the effect of the transformation. With a mask it is usually used to restrict the action of the transformation to some part of the image.

For more details, see the manual or help file.

[hjoseph7]

Thanks, when the slide is positioned all he way to the righ or at 100% it means the maximum transformation has beeen applied to the output image. The reason I got confused is that for some transformations the effects are very subtle and its' hard to tell when you move the slider to the left, if anything is changing at all. Then again, it could be my old eyes.

[den]

For any transform with a 'select mask' button and the Preview is in Auto update mode, the transform Amount can be switched to 0% from its adjusted slider position by "Shift-left mouse click Hold" over the 'select mask' button. If a mask is present, the the Mask white/black amounts are switched to 0%.... i.e., the Preview will 'Blink' to an Amount equal to 0% and when the "Shift-left mouse click Hold" is released, the Preview returns to the adjusted Amount.

[MikeG]

Good tip! Much more convenient than moving the slider.

Thanks, Den,

Mike.