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Photoshop Layer History

Adding Layer History capabilities into Adobe Photoshop
 
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What about this idea, a Photoshop plugin entitled "Layer History". What it does is provide History for each unique Layer. (see link to a mockup picture of it:

<< URL moved to links section, below >>

- it captures pretty much anything about how a layer was created including brush strokes - the user can move back in time by jumping to one of the previous states and modifying its content (while still maintaining later states) and thus creating a potential uniquely different compounded result. For example,i am able to say, select a brush stroke state and then select a different Brush type, Mode type, opacity which would automatically update the stroke inside the document to the new modifications, but also keeping the other states (possibly other brush strokes, etc) that follow it. - it stores information about when the entry was made and allows for internal commenting, creating folder sets (you can select a group of states and organize them under folders for quicker access), color states based on type and by sets, reshuffle states, and modify them. Because the Layer history information can get huge (e.g. Brush strokes) there is a compression technique while it stores Layer History information inside the PSD file (while saving). - discard management options that can allow the user to select the # of states (or types of states) that can be in the window before they are discarded (or converted into a Snapshot). - Because subsequent entries may be the same e.g. multiple Brush strokes, it is able to know when more than 1 entry is of the same type and thus this icon appears to the left of the first of its type. When the user clicks the arrow it collapses (hides) all states of that type (leaves the 1st entry though) thus clearing out space for the user inside this window. If the user clicks the collapse arrow again (now shown as an expand arrow) it re-expands the content revealing all the items of that type.

quantass, Apr 16 2003

[quantass]'s mockup-image URL as a link http://www.codeguru...c86b&postid=684129)
(moved from the idea text) [bristolz, Oct 04 2004]

[link]






       Not sure about the photoshop whazzit. Croissant for "quantass".
bungston, Apr 16 2003
  

       Very nice concept. +  The layers palette in general suffers from any sort of management system and is really daunting to navigate in those files with large numbers of layers, particulary when there are lots of layers that have had mask channels and layer effects applied.   

       If you had a very good history mechanism for each layer I think an argument could be made that the total number of layers used in a typical production psd would be reduced and be more manageable.
bristolz, Apr 16 2003
  

       Clever. I hope you'd be able to turn it off to save memory/processing power.
(Adobe have probably done this already and put it on the shelf for Photoshop 9 or something, in that annoying way they have of putting only just enough cool new things in each release to make people buy it.)
hippo, Apr 17 2003
  

       Photoshop 7 is a vast departure from 6, [hippo]. Entirely new brush/paint engine, unlimited layers and many other changes. It was not incremental. They (Adobe) seem to take the difference between point releases and whole version releases seriously.   

       To [Rods Tiger]'s comment, I mention that there are already applications out there that use .psd files as organizing documents much as you describe. Sonic Solutions DVD authoring system allows you to build sophisticated "motion menus" externally in Photoshop. The .psd files are then imported into the authoring application with the layer metadata (layer naming and transfer mode info, mostly) used to cause different interactive behaviors when the DVD is played.   

       There are also custom demo applications around that use .psd files as their main asset. This allows a designer to build entire application prototypes in one .psd file with button states, etc., expressed as layers. Want a button? Just name the layer "name-btn-down" or "name-btn-over" or whatever and the authoring app, automagically, knows how to handle it.   

       Now, if they'd just fix the .pdf mess.
bristolz, Apr 17 2003
  
      
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