XnView Software

Hello Pierre ... and everyone

It could be nice to have the "use alpha" and "show mask" (why is it not labeled "show alpha" btw ?) somehow integrated into the viewer bar - (I could design icons for that if you are interested)...

but what would actually be even better, is to have theses functions integrated into an extended "channel manager/selector" toolset on the viewer's toolbar that would provide:
1.instant visualization of the available channels for any selected image
2.quick selection of the channel to use/display.

the advantage of such a toolset would be amazing for image formats holding multiples channels/layers like exr, rpf, etc.. while still providing enhanced usability for more popular format. (being able to display rgba channel individually would alreay be nice)

what do you think ?

can't wait for the next version of MP

Hello,
I agree, an extra toolbar (with for example, some boxes to check or uncheck) is a good idea for quickly enable or disable the "layers" (channels : Red,Green,Blue,Alfa. + "show transparency" + "show mask" + "apply the ICC Profile" + "show Grid" + ...) and maybe with the possibility to add or subtract an (or some) other(s) channel(s) from an other image.

here is a mockup of how I imagine it could be:

what do you think ?

Extremely well done, Thibaud.

...and I like the chromatic icons better than the monochrome ones.

How do you see the grid option working?

if nested dropdown in toggle button is too much, you could off course simply enable/disable the dropdown with the 'aux channel' toggle button just next to it:

JohnFredC wrote: How do you see the grid option working?

to be honest I never used it.
there is a display grid button already present in MP viewer toolbar.
i just slightly changed it and placed it along the other display function buttons

I see...

I thought perhaps you meant to imply a grid specific to the channel functionality... perhaps for displaying a "pixel" grid on an image. This would differ from the current use of the generic XnView grid (which is already much - if incompletely - improved in MP)

...perhaps your approach could extend to HSL, also.

...and be available in the Compare panel.

What do you think :

exellent, my vote for second line (with cubes).

Those are nice to look at but I think they are confusing.

If a user is coming to XnView from the 3D modeling software world, a cube with one face filled implies something entirely different from "channel".

A user might confusedly think that the face refers to an x, y, or z axis, a camera view, or a construction plane.

If it sounds weird that such a misinterpretation might occur within the context of a GUI for viewing color channels, IMHO the 3D software realm has already staked a claim to what those visual metaphors mean to most users.

So the first one is better?

xnview wrote:So the first one is better?

The first group is better than the second group, but not as good as Thibaud's.

Honestly, I think it is important to include the "R", "G", and "B" in the icons. That way there will be no ambiguity about what they represent.

Perhaps a good solution would be your first group overlaid/composited with the letters representing the channel colors.

personally i have no prob with the second group, I find it really good.
much better than the the first group imho (alpha channel is so directly identifiable)

actually i find them much more readable than what I did.

Personally I vote for the second group and the first line (the landscape ,and the alpha channel here, is really directly identifiable), I also like the RGBA but the RGBA is mostly intuitive in English (so not in all Languages), and I also think than the 3D cubes concept must be reserved for 3D functionalities.
But for me, at least one icon is missing:the bistable function :"apply the embedded ICC Profile on the fly" for this picture !
PS: The alfa channel icon function in this case, also means for me, apply(on/off) the png, ... alpha channel or the gif transparency.

(the landscape ,and the alpha channel here, is really directly identifiable)

How many landscape photo to you have that hold a relevant alpha channel ?
Most of the image that are generated with a usable alpha channel are actually very often coming out of a 3d renderer precisely... (hence the relevance of the 3d cube)
I also like the perfect match of the 3 visible faces with the 3 (rgb) channels. where in the first line, having that same mountain visible in red, green, blue make little sense when you think about it.

and I also think than the 3D cubes concept must be reserved for 3D functionalities

Yeah right, there is so many 3d functions in xnviewMP.

PS: The alfa channel icon function in this case, also means for me, apply(on/off) the png, ... alpha channel or the gif transparency.

that is the last icon function: 'use alpha' ,
the black and white icon is for 'show alpha'.