Pixelore Instructions

Everything you need to get started and work efficiently with Pixelore.

Quick start

1. Open a folder — use File → Open Folder (or Ctrl+O) and pick a directory containing your photos. The film strip at the bottom loads all supported images.
2. Select a photo — click any thumbnail to load it into the main editor view.
3. Adjust — click Auto Enhance for one-click correction, or use the sliders on the right panel for manual control.
4. Export — use File → Export (Ctrl+E) to save the edited image to a folder of your choice.

Editing a photo

Pixelore's editor has four main areas:

• Preview pane (center) — shows the current image with your adjustments applied in real time.
• Film strip (bottom) — thumbnails of every photo in the open folder. Click to switch, or use ← / →.
• Adjustment panel (right) — sliders for exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, saturation, vibrance, and temperature/tint.
• Tools panel (left) — crop, background blur, and other spatial tools.

Auto-enhance

The Auto Enhance button analyzes the image's histogram and scene characteristics, then applies a balanced set of corrections. It's a great starting point for further manual tweaks.

Pixelore also learns from your adjustments over time — if you consistently push exposure up or pull contrast down, Auto Enhance adapts. This learning happens entirely on your computer; no data is uploaded.

Batch processing

To apply the same adjustments to multiple photos:

1. Edit one photo to the look you want.
2. Open Edit → Copy Adjustments.
3. Select other photos in the film strip (Ctrl+click or Shift+click for a range).
4. Choose Edit → Paste Adjustments.
5. Export all selected photos at once through File → Batch Export.

Duplicate finder

Open Tools → Find Duplicates to scan the current folder for visually similar photos. Results are grouped; within each group you can:

• Preview each candidate side by side.
• Mark photos to keep or remove.
• Send removed photos to the system trash (they're recoverable until the trash is emptied).

Background blur & crop

Background blur — use the Blur tool in the left panel to isolate your subject. Draw over the subject to mask it; the rest is blurred with an adjustable radius.

Crop — click the crop icon, drag the handles to reframe, and optionally pick a fixed aspect ratio (1:1, 3:2, 4:5, 16:9). Press Enter to apply.

Exporting

When exporting you can choose:

• Format — JPEG (adjustable quality), PNG (lossless), or TIFF (for further editing in other tools).
• Dimensions — keep original, resize to a max edge, or fit to a specific width/height.
• Naming — keep the original name, append a suffix (e.g. _edited), or use a custom pattern.

Keyboard shortcuts

On macOS, replace Ctrl with ⌘.

Supported formats

Tips & troubleshooting

Slow preview on large RAW files

Pixelore decodes RAW on first load and caches a preview. Initial load of a folder with hundreds of ARW files can take a moment. Subsequent browsing is fast.

Photos look different after export

Some color profiles differ between in-app preview and exported JPEGs. Pixelore embeds sRGB in exports by default — check File → Export → Color Profile if your workflow needs a different space.

Auto-enhance feels too aggressive / too mild

Pixelore adapts to your editing patterns over time. Keep making manual tweaks after Auto Enhance — within a few dozen edits, the defaults will drift toward your style.

Resetting learning data

If you want to start fresh: Help → Reset Learning Data clears the local JSON in your system temp directory. Your photos are unaffected.

Still stuck?

Reach out at info@takecontrolsoft.eu, or open an issue on GitHub. We typically respond within a business day.