File Open

File Open Multiple
File Open from Default

These commands are used to load image files into one or more new top-level windows. They display a standard Windows File Open dialog box that lets you select one or more files to open. The only difference between File Open and File Open from Default is the initial folder displayed. File Open starts out with the last folder a file was opened from while File Open from Default starts out with the default folder (which you can set with the File Set Default Folder command). Picture Window supports a number of standard image file types: TIFF, JPEG, PNG, GIF and BMP.

When you open an image file, a File Open transformation is inserted as the topmost image of a new branch of the image tree.

Picture Window can read (but not write) DNG files if you first download and install Adobe DNG Codec 2.0 (not to be confused with Adobe DNG Converter) which can be downloaded from our web site. While this codec lets you open DNG files for convenience, it does so using all default settings and does not provide any of the exposure and color corrections found in a stand-alone raw file converter.

Picture Window can also read (but not write) HEIC files. Support for HEIC files (an Apple iPhone image format), uses the HEIF/HEIC codec Microsoft includes with newer versions of Windows. If you are using an older version of Windows and get an error when trying to open HEIC files, you may be able to fix the problem by installing HEIF Image Extensions from the Windows Store.

If you select a single file, it is opened as a new top-level image -- if you select multiple files, each one is opened as a new top-level image. File Open Multiple is just like File Open, but if you select multiple files the first one is opened and the rest are added to the file list.

As a convenience, if you select a single file and it is a script file, the script file is loaded. Script files cannot be included in the list if you selected multiple files.

When you edit a File Open transformation by double-clicking on its thumbnail in the image browser, the File Open dialog box is displayed. Using this dialog box, you can select a different file to open, or you can create a list of files that can be used as part of a batch workflow.

Tool bar

 Select Files -- This opens a standard Windows File Open dialog box you can use to select one or more files to process. The list of files you select replaces the previous contents of the file list. After selecting one or more new files, the first file in the list becomes the current file and is opened. All the files in the list are selected. Use this button if you want to replace the current file with one or more new files, however changes you make are not passed to downstream images until you click OK or Apply.

 Add Selected Files to List -- This also lets you select one of more files, but appends the selected file pathnames to the list. Files already in the list are not added a second time. Initially, all the new files are selected.

 Run all Selected Files in List -- This initiates batch processing on all the selected files in the current file list, starting with the first selected file.

 Test all Selected Files in List-- This initiates batch processing on the currently selected files in test mode. In test mode, no batch commands are actually executed, but at each step the current pathname, command and image are displayed. You can then click OK or Cancel to continue to the next file or stop. This lets you perform a pre-flight check of the batch process to confirm the files and commands it will process before starting a full batch run.

 Rename Current File -- This lets you rename the current file (the one marked with the red dot). The file list is then updated. The rename command cannot be used to move a file to a different folder. If the file list becomes empty, the current image is replaced with a checkerboard pattern as a place holder.

 Remove Selected Files from List -- This removes the current file from the list.

 Sort List -- This pops up a menu to let you sort the file list by name or by date, in either ascending or descending order

Single/Multiple Batch

This tool bar is grayed out unless the image tree contains two or more File Open transformations each of which has multiple files selected. In this case, it gives you the option of processing files in groups, one file from each File Open. See batch processing for more details

 Single Batch -- Batch processing operates on the selected files in the current file list.

 Multiple Batch -- Batch processing operates simultaneously on the files in all the File Open transformations with multiple files selected.

Caption

This is the caption for the Windows File Open dialog box when it is displayed to select files (see example below). If no caption is entered, the usual "Open Image Files" is used by default. Assigning a custom caption is useful if you save a script or workspace script without names and there is more than one File Open in the workspace. When the script is loaded, Picture Window displays the Windows File Open dialog box to let you select the files. If the script loads more than one file, it can be confusing which one it is asking you to select, so setting a caption can make it clear which one is which.

File List

The file list records the pathnames you have chosen so far. Initially, the file list contains only the name of the file you opened via the File/Open command. You can append additional files to the file list via the Select Files button in the tool bar.

Scroll Bar

If there are too many files to display, a vertical scroll bar appears to the right of the file list. Pathnames are abbreviated if they don't fit on the display -- to see more, you can make the file list control wider or taller by resizing the File Open dialog box.

The Current File

A red dot is displayed next to the current file. The current file is automatically opened and displayed in the main image area and is passed on as the output of the transformation when you click OK or Apply. The current file is also the one currently being processed as a batch workflow works its way through the file list.

Clicking just to the left of an entry in the file list makes it the current file and opens it. You can also use the mouse wheel or the up/down/pg up/pg dn/home/end keys on the keyboard to move the red dot up or down in the list. If you the move the red dot off-screen, it scrolls to maintain the current file in view.

Selected Files

Independent from which file is current, one or more of the files can be selected. Selected files are highlighted with a white background. Deselected files are displayed with a light gray background. Only selected files are processed during batch workflows. Also, certain commands such as Remove Selected Files from List (see above) only apply to selected files.

Clicking on a pathname deselects all currently selected files and selects just the one you clicked on. Ctrl-clicking a pathname toggles is selection. Clicking on a pathname and then Shift-clicking on another pathname selects all the images between them.

Batch Processing

You can initiate batch workflow that automates the sequential processing of all the images in the list, starting with the current file. In this case, the files are opened in turn and the images that depend on them are recalculated. What makes this useful is the ability to include one or more of the batch transformations Export, Print or Slide Show among the images that are recalculated. When a batch workflow is running, these transformations save, print or append images to a slide show each time they recalculate. This lets you define a series of operations and apply them to each of the files in the list to generate a new set of files, a set of prints, or a slide show. By saving the workspace in a script file, you can save your batch workflow and use it again later. For more information on setting up batch operations, see Batch Processing.

Drag and Drop

If you drop files anywhere in a File Open transformation dialog box, the dropped files are appended to the file list. By contrast, if you drop multiple files into the main image area, each one is opened individually.

Tips

Switching Files

If you just want to change the current file, either select a new one from the file list or click the  button on the tool bar, and select one or more new files. The first file in the list is then loaded, and all the transformations below it are recalculated based on the new image.

To copy an entire branch that starts with a File Open, right click on the File Open thumbnail in the Image Browser and select Clone Top Level Branch from the popup context menu. This creates a new branch that starts with a File Open whose file list has been cleared, followed by copies of all the transformations below it. The new File Open then asks you to select one or more new files, loads the first one, and then recalculates the new branch based on the new image.

Note that if the new file has a different size or type from the original, some transformations may not work. For example, if the transformation following the File Open only works on color images, and you change the file to a black and white image, you will get errors until you change the file back to a color image.

Renaming Files

If you want to rename a file you are currently working on, it is important to do so with the  button on the tool bar. If you rename files outside of Picture Window while it is running, the changes will not show up in the file list and you will get an error if you try to open a file that no longer exists.

If you need to save a file with the same name it was opened with, you will need to rename the original file first since Picture Window does not allow you to save with the same name as a file that is currently open. You can rename using File Open, or select the Rename the Open File to: option when you do a File Save.

Using the Windows File Open dialog box

The Windows File Open dialog box is actually a miniature version of Windows Explorer. As such, it is capable of many different file operations such as creating folders and deleting or renaming files.

To delete a file or folder, click on its name to select it and then press the Del key.

To rename a file or folder, select it and then after a brief pause click on it again -- at this point you can type over the name with a new name.

To create a new folder, click on the New Folder button near the top of the dialog box. The appearance of this button depends on the version of Windows you are using.

To select multiple files, Crtl-click on the filenames.

To select a contiguous range of files, click on the first one and the Shift-click on the last one.

As a shortcut for opening a file, double-click on its filename.

To open a sub-folder, double click on it. To go up a level in the folder tree, click the up-arrow icon at the top of the dialog box.

To select other options such as sort order, right click on a blank part of the dialog box between the files to get a popup menu.

Many camera manufacturers, including Sony and Olympus, make free codecs available so Window Explorer (and hence the Windows File Open dialog box) can display thumbnails of raw files. Microsoft also distributes a free extension that can display thumbnails for most raw files. It is available from the Microsoft App Store under the name: Raw Image Extension.

File Extensions

To avoid confusion, Picture Window requires the file extension to match the file type. TIFF files may have an extension of either TIFF or TIF; JPEG files may have an extension of either JPEG or JPG.