Hi,
This is somewhat of a rant so please excuse my frustration. New user to On1 so I am working with their Getting Started tutorial. When I open Photo Raw it does not look like the Tutorial. First, the left panel had Presets and I could not see anything else. Twenty minutes of searching led me to a small icon in the bottom left corner. Clicking on it and the presets disappeared. Now I am working on the right panel, Layers and effects. I have a panel on top labeled "Target Mask". It's not in the tutorial and I cannot find "Target Mask" in the User Guide. Does anybody know what this is? Can it be hidden?
Sorry for the rant but I get frustrated when tutorials don't match the product.
Thanks,
Bob Schoner
Adapting to new software is always challenging, particularly as similar named sliders won't necessarily do the same thing.
ON1 PhotRaw 2026 increases the learning difficulty as it combines the raw editor with pixel editing (Photoshop) capabilities.
A few comments that I hope will help.
Edit Module:
View Menu:
Preset Browser - set to "one column" and "List". This gives you a simple text list and takes away visual clutter.
Preview Background : I use white as I like to have a reference "Pure White" when editing.
Window Menu:
Enable "Solo" mode to minimise open menus.
The Properties panel (Masking/Blending Mode/Text) can be nested Right (default), Left or "Floated". I float the properties panel in the upper right next to the right hand menus. The Properties panel is set "Auto Collapse" which just leaves a simple, relatively unobtrusive, Menu bar. Mousing over the menu bar displays the full menu.
In the Properties panel you can change the colour and opacity of the colour mask from its default red. I match C1 and use a luminous green colour
.
Preferences menu:
General:
Small item but you can change the colour of the Menu accents. Again I match C1 and use Orange which I find more noticeable than the default blue.
Set "Double Click" in Browse to enable "Edit" mode.
I change the default Browse Cache to an SSD.
System:
I allocate the "Scratch Folder" to a SSD.
Key Word AI:
I turn off all options.
Brilliance AI:
I have Fine tuned the settings to my own preferences by applying Brilliance AI to a wide range of images.Purely personal:
Amount: 70
Temperature: -3
Midtones: +3
Vibrance: -3
Contrast: +3
Keyboard Shortcuts:
There are keyboard shortcuts for most actions in ON1 PhotoRaw. I have a Stream Deck and find this very helpful as it allows you to easily use this functionality providing one key access and, more importantly, labelled keys .
For example, I mimic C1's Speed Edit functionality so that I just press and hold a Strean Deck key and use the Scroll Wheel to adjust exposure, contrast, highlights etc. without having to have focus on the relevant sliders.
ON1 and others provide copious YouTube tutorials and the latest ones explain the changes to the UI. Hopefully they will help.
Any other questions come back to this thread, these forums are for helping each other out.
Ian
