Last updated on May 6, 2024
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This page presents the features and elements that are common to all Nik Collection plug-ins. Exceptions and differences in features of certain plugins are identified in each section.

Preferences

Overview

This section shows the options and preferences common to all plugins, with the following exceptions:

The Nik Collection plugin preferences let you specify options in the following tabs:

To access Preferences:

General tab

The General tab is dedicated to the general operation and behavior of the Nik Collection plugins, and offers the following options (from top to bottom):

* By default, if you do not change this option, the previously used setting will be applied.

** The file format settings in the General tab do not apply to the Export mode.

***Changes are applied the next time you launch the plug-in.

Export tab

This tab is dedicated to the Quick Export mode*, and offers the following options** (from top to bottom):

Files created with the Quick Export mode are renamed FileName_NIK.extension (for example: DSC01234_NIK.tif).

*The settings are for Quick Export only and do not apply the save file options in the General tab.

**You need to click on the different options in order to modify them.

Workspace tab

This tab lets you manage the categories’ library in the plugins, except :

For full details about categories management, please take a look at the Managing categories, filters and presets page of this user guide.

Advanced tab

In this tab, you will be able to set the following options:

*Except Viveza, which has no support for graphic acceleration.

**Changes will apply the next time one of the plugins is launched.

***For more details about the Advanced tools and behavior, please check the Local adjustments page of this user guide.

To save your Preferences:

IMPORTANT

Common options or settings modified in one of the plugins preferences will apply to all Nik Collection plugins.

Interface

This page looks at the common elements of the Nik Collection interface. Individual features are presented in the relevant plugin chapters.

Overview

Common interface (e.g. in Nik Color Efex).

The Nik Collection interface is composed of the following elements:

  1. The upper toolbar
  2. Image display area
  3. Left panel (Filters and Presets)
  4. The right panel (tools)
  5. Lower bar (plugin version)
Mac/PC menu bar.

In the plugin version, the menu bar at the top of the window contains the following elements:

In standalone mode, the menu bar includes the following elements:

The upper toolbar and display modes

The upper toolbar includes the comparison and zoom tools.

The Compare buttons let you compare your image before and after correction:

Quick compare
Split compare
Side compare

The Zoom buttons let you adjust the size and enlarge the image:

Easy zoom

You can zoom in and out easily by using the mouse scroll wheel or your trackpad.

When zooming in on the image, a floating navigation window is anchored in the top right corner of the image display area (you cannot move it). You can move around the floating navigation preview window by grabbing the tile or clicking in it.

Fit/Fill display mode.
Zoom and browse window.

The image display area (plugin and standalone modes)

This is where the image is displayed, on a medium gray background, which you can change in the Settings.

Below the image you will find the following information:

  1. If you have opened several images, a floating scrollbar lets you switch between them.
  2. File name and extension. If the image has EXIF metadata, the shooting and equipment settings will also be displayed.
  3. You will also see the non-destructive changes check box and the Convert to Dynamic object check box, if the plugin was opened from Photoshop.

In the standalone version, if no image is open, the display area lets you drag images into it:

The image display area (standalone mode).

The left panel

The size of the left panel is not adjustable but you can hide or unhide it in different ways:

The content of the left panel varies according to the plugin and its filters and settings, but there are common sections and functions:

  1. Search field
  2. Categories
  3. Presets/Filters
  4. Filtering by Favorites and Recently Used
  5. Last Edits
  6. History
Common components of the left panel.

To hide or unhide the content of a section, click on the chevron on the right. The figure indicates the number of filters or presets in each section and, depending on the section, you can use the double arrow to save, import or export a filter or preset.

For further details about the categories, filters, presets and search field, refer to the Managing categories, filters and presets section of this page.

Last Edits

This section stores the last 15 corrections, filters or settings used, recorded in the form of thumbnails bearing the date and time of execution, from one session to the next.

If you hover the mouse over the thumbnail, a trash icon appears to let you remove it.

History

The History section shows all the processing and correction steps of your image, from top (oldest) to bottom (most recent).

To view the image at a particular stage, click on the stage in question in the list. The selected step is displayed in yellow, all previous steps (above) are white, and all subsequent steps (below) are grayed out: if you correct the image at this point, the grayed out steps will not be applied to the image.

In split or side-by-side display mode, you can apply a step to the left view from the history by moving the History selector (the yellow arrow on the left edge of the section).

Instant Help (Nik Analog Efex)

The Instant Help section displays tool descriptions when you hover over with the mouse, it is activated or disabled in Help > Open/Close Instant Help.

Filtering by Favorites and Recently Used

All Nik plug-ins presets and filters can be marked as Favorites by clicking on the star to the left of the thumbnail. A favorite is indicated by a yellow star, you can cancel it by clicking on the star again.

In each section you can filter the filters and settings by favorites or recently used:

You can combine the two buttons, the section will display the filters and the settings according to the “or” criteria. To disable filtering, click on the buttons.

The right panel

The size of the right panel is not adjustable but you can hide or unhide it in different ways:

In addition to the specific tools for the different Nik Collection plug-ins, there are a number of common items (from top to bottom):

*For more details, please refer to the Local adjustments section, near the end of this page.

When you scroll the contents of the right panel upwards, the Loupe, Histogram and Mode section disappear from view.

By clicking the pin located in the top right corner of the title bar of the loupe, histogram and mode selection sections, you will lock them, so that all other tools will scroll below .

Whatever your choice here, the Quick Export and Switch to buttons stay visible.

Quick Export

The quick export function will help you to save your work quickly and easy from any plugin to a preselected format and destination folder. This allows you to create, on the fly, TIFF or JPEG versions of your ongoing work. To the contrary of the Apply button, Quick Export won’t close the plugin and the images, which lets you carry on editing work.

The destination folder and the file format can be set for all plugins in the Preferences, Export tab. Please check the Preferences section of this page.

Using Quick Export

You can use Quick Export anytime during your editing session:

The exported images will not show up in the current plugin, and won’t be imported in your catalog, if you use Lightroom Classic as your host program.

Switch to another plugin

You can switch directly from one Nik Collection plugin to another, without having to save your work in the plugin currently in use, and without having to return to your host application. This will speed up your workflow considerably, both in stand-alone mode and from a host program.

In this way, you’ll be able to combine filters and effects from two or more plugins, or follow a standard workflow, such as denoising in Nik Dfine, then switching to Nik Color Efex to apply creative rendering and, finally, sharpening according to output media in Nik Sharpener, before saving your work and returning to your host program. 

The edits are applied and saved each time you switch to another plugin and, in Photoshop, a new layer (or smart layer if you use the non-destructive edit mode) will be automatically created.

With the help of Quick Export, you can even save a version of your image at each step.

Using Switch to

You can use Switch to anytime during your editing session:

If you are working in non-destructive mode, the corrections will be applied before switching to the other plugin, and non-destructive mode will be checked. 

However, if you return to the first plug-in, and despite the choice of non-destructive mode: 

Loupe

The loupe is always visible, regardless of the tools used. You can hide it by clicking on the chevron in the top right corner of the section.

The loupe permanently displays an image that is set to 1:1 (or 100%) of the image area covered by the mouse. It is divided by a vertical yellow line, the left-hand side showing the image before processing and the right-hand side after processing.

The preview in the loupe can be locked in any place on the image by clicking on the pin and then in the image (inclined pin: inactive, vertical pin: active).

When you enable one of the zoom modes, the loupe is centred by default. You can move around the image by grabbing the tile or by clicking in the floating navigation window.

To move around in the loupe, you need to unlock the pin.

Histogram

The Histogram section is also always visible, regardless of the tools used. You can hide it by clicking on the chevron in the top right corner of the section.

The histogram shows the distribution of the brightness levels of the pixels in the selected image, with dark tones on the left, medium tones in the center, and light tones on the right, with the peaks corresponding to the number of pixels per brightness range. The histogram can show all channels or individual channels by clicking on the buttons:

Because you can see brightness values by channel, you will be able to precisely set your tonality (exposure, contrast) and color preferences.

The histogram can also be used to display the clipped values in the image, shown as color masks corresponding to the RGB channel and/or the complementary color affected.

To show the clipping masks, click in the histogram or on the button(s) in the top corners: left for clipped shadows and blacks, and right for clipped highlights and whites.

Clipping indicators (left: lowlights, right: highlights).
Colored masks designate clipping of the corresponding color channel.

The sections

Although the tools and sliders will depend on the Nik Collection plugin and selected filter, this is also the case for the different icons found in the right panel sections*:

  1. A checkbox to disable/enable all section tools and settings (for a quick comparison of an image with and without corrections and effects).
  2. A filter effect mask option**.
  3. 3 lines icon to reset the tools (with the option to retain local adjustments) and copy/paste local adjustments.
  4. An “X” button to close the section (which also disables the effects and corrections applied).
  5. A chevron to collapse or expand the contents of the section.
  6. The round arrow icon resets all edits of the relevant section to their default settings.

*Some of the plugins have additional items, such as special display options or a checkbox to toggle the edits on/off. Please look at their respective pages for more information.

**For more information about the filter mask option, please check the Nik Color Efex page.

Lower bar (plugin version)

In plugin mode, the bar contains the following information and functions:

  1. File source: indicates the name of the host application.
  2. Cancel: cancels the current processing and corrections and closes the plugin. The image in the host application is not modified.
  3. Apply: saves the processing and corrections and closes the plug-in. The image in the host application is modified. If multiple images are opened the button will display Apply all.

Managing categories, filters and presets

Starting with Nik Collection 7 (May 2024), category and preset management, located in the left panel, has been redesigned to facilitate search, organization and user workflow. It has also been standardized across all plug-ins.

The interface

The management section of the left panel is organized as follows:

  1. The preset or filter search field.
  2. The Categories* section, presented as clickable blocks to display the presets or filters they contain. Categories are grouped into Nik categories, i.e. those supplied with plug-ins, and Personal categories, created by the user.
  3. A list of presets and/or filters (if applicable).
  4. Workspace management via Preferences.

Note that Nik Dfine and Nik Sharpener Output don’t offer “Nik” categories, filters or presets delivered with the respective plug-ins, even though the Nik category button is present.

Nik Presharpener, on the other hand, has no left-hand panel and therefore none of the management tools presented here.

The search field

The left-hand panel features a search field for filters or presets:

To reset the search, click on “X” in the input field.

The categories

The Categories section groups together all the filter or preset categories offered by the plug-ins concerned. It consists of the following elements:

  1. The “+” button to create a personal category or access the workspace manager.
  2. A switch to disable the display of the categories section. When disabled, all items are grayed out, but you can still activate a category or filter by clicking on it (which will activate the switch).
  3. Filter buttons to display only Nik or Personal categories:
    • By default, no button is clicked, all categories are displayed.
    • A yellow button indicates the category whose display is active, a gray button indicates display not activated. Only one button at a time can be active.
    • To deactivate a button, and therefore the display of associated categories, click on it.
  4. The star-shaped filter button for favorite categories. An activated button is yellow, otherwise grey. Filtering by favorites can be combined with Nik and/or Personal category selection.
  5. The list of categories presented in paving blocks.
  6. A scrollbar for browsing the list of categories.
  7. Display of the name of the selected and active category.
  8. Navigation buttons to move to the next or previous category.

Category boxes are presented in two columns. When a category is selected, it is highlighted in yellow, and the associated filters and/or presets are displayed below, in the left-hand panel. A white border appears when a category is hovered over with the mouse pointer. Each category box contains the following elements:

  1. The category name.
  2. The clickable star to give/remove favorite status to the category.
  3. The 3-dot menu for the following actions:
    • Make a copy to: allows you to copy the contents of a category, either into an existing personal category, after clicking on the Find category field and entering a category name, or by creating a category by clicking on the Create button (a dialog box allows you to enter the name).
    • Hide: hides the category in the Categories section.
    • Rename: changes the name of a personal category.
    • Delete: deletes the category and its contents (the contents remain available in the Custom or Imported categories, or in the native Nik category from which the preset originated).

*Applies only to personal categories. A Nik category cannot be renamed or deleted.

The Imported and Custom sections of versions prior to Nik Collection 7 (May 2024) have been integrated into the Categories > Personal section.

The filters and the presets

With Nik categories
If you click on a Nik category, a list of filters and/or presets will appear below it, in the left-hand panel. The items displayed depend on the plug-in used:

With Personal categories

By clicking on Personal, the following categories are displayed*:

Except Nik Presharpener, which has no left panel and no category, filter or preset manager.

Workspace management

You can also, in each plug-in, switch to the preferences to set up your workspace in the left-hand panel, to display only the categories you want.

To access these settings :

On the left, you can filter by category family. Here are your options:

  1. Select categories (All, Nik, Personal).
  2. Hide/show the desired category by clicking on the eye.
  3. Hide the desired category by clicking on the 3 dots > Hide (to display the category again, click on the eye).
  4. Set a category as a favorite by clicking on the star.
  5. Use the 3-dot menu to copy the contents of a category into a personal category. At this stage, you can also create a category, and a search field makes it easy to find a category if your list grows. You can also rename your personal categories.
  6. A padlock to the right of the name indicates a category delivered with Nik Collection, which means you can’t modify its content*, rename it or delete it (you can only hide it if, for example, you don’t use it).

*However, you do have the option of modifying a Nik category after copying it into the Custom category. There, you can remove or add the tools you want).

Note that all changes made in the Workspace tab of the preferences apply immediately and, therefore, do not require a restart of the plug-in concerned.

Create a category

You can create your own categories, called Personal:

Manage the presets

Nik Collection lets you save corrections and renderings in the form of presets, meaning you can easily reuse them on other images and share them with other users.

On this page you will find common features to creating, managing, and sharing presets, except for the following plugins:

Creating a custom preset

You can create and save a custom preset at any point in the workflow:

By default, custom presets are saved in the Custom category (Personal categories).

Copying a preset to another category does not remove it from the original category.

Managing custom presets

You can make the most of your customized presets with the following functions:

  1. Rename: click on the preset name below the thumbnail to activate the input field. After entering the new name, confirm with Enter.
  2. Mark as favorite: click on the star to the left of the preset (the star turns yellow). Click again to cancel (star reverts to grey).
  3. Export: hover over the preset to display the buttons on the right in the thumbnail. By clicking on the top button, you’ll be able to export the preset, with the aim of sharing it. A system dialog box allows you to choose the save location, before clicking Open.
  4. Update: after modifying or adding corrections to a custom preset, hover over the thumbnail to display the buttons on the right. Click on the curved arrow to update the preset with the modified or added corrections.
  5. Delete: hover over the preset to display the buttons to the right of the thumbnail. Click on the trash can to delete it, and a dialog box will ask you to confirm (you can disable the warning by checking Don’t show again).
  6. Add to category: see below.

Add presets to other categories

  1. By default, customized presets are saved in the Custom category (Personal categories). From here, however, you can assign them to another personal category, whether existing or not:
  2. Click on the Custom category.
  3. In the list of preset thumbnails, identify the desired preset.
  4. Click on the 3-dot button to the right of the thumbnail (opposite the preset name).
  5. In the context menu, go to Add to category and then, in the submenu, select the destination category.
  6. To create a category on the fly, click on Create then, in the dialog box, enter the name and confirm by clicking on Create. The preset will be automatically assigned to it.
  7. If you already have a long list of categories, enter the name in the field to facilitate the search.

Sharing custom presets

Custom presets are exported as instructions in simple text files in “.json” format. Weighing just a few Kb, they can be easily shared as attachments in your e-mail or messaging services. The file name is that of the preset.

Exporting custom presets
There are two ways of exporting custom presets, whether in the All, Custom, Imported or any other personal category:

Import custom presets

To import custom presets, you need to go through the Custom, All or Personal categories, rather than the Imported category:

Imported presets can be renamed, marked as favorites, exported and deleted, in the same way as custom presets. You can also add them to other categories, in the same way as custom presets (see Adding presets to other categories, earlier in this page).

However, it is not possible to update settings: to do this, apply the imported preset, modify the settings in the right-hand panel, then create a custom preset.

Local adjustments

Overview

Advanced and Classic modes

From Nik Collection 7 onwards, the advanced local adjustments are used by default. Their architecture, possibilities and algorithms are different than the legacy local adjustments, and, at the end, they offer more possibilities, power and flexibility. 

However, the classic (legacy) local adjustments, which only include control points and lines, as you can find them in the previous versions (up to and including Nik Collection 6), are still available in the following scenarios:

In that case, you will have the choice of keeping your edits as they are, or modify them, to convert them into the advanced mode.

If you need to switch from advanced to classic modes, and the other way around, go into the Preferences, Advanced tab, and check Smart management of U Point technology. A Mode section will show up in the right panel, below the Histogram section, where you will be able to toggle the Classic and Advanced modes.

The local adjustments in Nik Collection consist of 4 tools:

They allow you to make corrections to portions of an image, intuitively and with great precision. Here is how they work:

This section looks at general use of the user interface as well as the Local adjustments features found across Nik Collection. Specific correction, functions and tools are discussed in the chapter of each Nik Collection plugin.

Control points

Description

Control points are based on U Point technology (developed by Nik Software and acquired by DxO Labs in 2017) which makes it possible to make a precise selection without needing a mask or any other complex tools. U Point is simply an abbreviation of “you point.” Each of the Nik Collection plug-ins includes control points.

A control point selects by measuring a number of parameters, specifically – the brightness and color of the pixels to which it is applied. U Point technology then automatically selects the elements and areas of the image that represent similar features to where the control point is affixed, thus creating a selection mask whose size is defined by a slider or by dragging the circle/ellipse with the mouse.

If two or more control points are affixed on top of each other, the masks will overlap:

A color picker is also available to measure brightness and color offset of the active control point.

Using control points

Control lines

Description

Control lines are also based on U Point technology. They can be used as graduated filters to correct larger parts of the image. The operation of a control line is the same as a control point, where the central point detects the brightness and color of the overflown pixels. You can also use the color picker to modify the measurement.

Using control lines

Control Polygons

Description

The control polygons are based on the U Point technology and principles too, but offer to the user a different way to achieve local selection. As the control point and line, the main dot (the first when you click in the image) detects the brightness and color of the overflown pixels. You can also use the color picker to modify the measurement.

Using control polygons

Luminosity Mask

Description

The Luminosity Mask doesn’t rely on the U Point principles. Instead, it allows you to correct an image based on a brightness range you can adjust with a high precision, including the transition levels (fall-off).

Using the luminosity masks

Linking the local adjustment tools

If the possibility to group/ungroup the different local adjustment tools through the right panel is gone (from Nik Collection 7, in May 2024), you still have the possibility to link multiple local tools and adjustments:

Common control sliders

Overview

Each Nik Collection plugin has common sliders as well as other sliders that are unique to it, and you will find them in two locations:

When moving a slider attached to a local adjustment tool dot, the equivalent slider in the right panel will also move, and vice versa.

Sliders attached to a local adjustment dot are positioned below by default, but they adapt to the image, so will not be masked by elements of the interface. For example, if you place a control point or line at the bottom of the image, the sliders will be positioned above the edge. The same applies with the left and right edges; sliders will be positioned on the right or on the left respectively.

Sliders also have the following features (except for the luminosity mask):

The labels are an abbreviation of the corresponding tool; the names are displayed in full when you mouse-over them.

Selective Color Sliders

Selective color sliders let you extend or reduce the selectivity range of the color covered by a control point, line or polygon. This way, you will be able to cover hue and brightness level changes in your correction (e.g. to take into account variations in skin hues or blue sky):

The effect of the selective color sliders being subtle, use the black/white mask for the control points, lines and polygons (see Managing local adjustments section, afterwards).

Diffusion/Feathering slider

The Diffusion (control points)/Feathering (control polygon) slider lets you adjust the hardness of the boundaries of the selected area:

The hardness of the edges also varies with the size of the area, the smaller it is, the harder the edges will be.

The effect of the Diffusion/Feathering slider is also subtle, use the black/white mask for the control points, lines and polygons (see Managing local adjustments section, afterwards).

Managing the local adjustments

Local adjustments section

The local adjustments section, located in the right panel, lets you manage the different local tools (control point, control line, control polygon and luminosity mask) applied to the image, shown as a list. Active tools are indicated in yellow.

  1. Add buttons: these buttons create a control point, control line, control polygon or luminosity mask to apply local settings.
  2. Show/Hide mask :
    1. the button above the list lets you show/hide black/white masks of all control points and control lines,
    2. the button in the list lets you show/hide the black/white mask of the relevant control point or control line individually.
  3. Show or hide local settings: lets you show or hide the sliders at the local adjustment dots, in the picture.
  4. Show/Hide Effect:
    1. the checkbox above the checklist deactivates or re-activates all control points and control lines applied to the image, as well as the related corrections and adjustments,
    2. the checkbox in the list disables or individually reactivates the control point or control line, as well as the related corrections and adjustments.
  5. Delete: Click on the trash to clear the currently selected control points/lines.
  6. Reset: Resets all sliders and associated settings of the selected local adjustments in the list to zero.
  7. Duplicate: By clicking this button, you duplicate the current selected local adjustment tool. You can also duplicate a tool by clicking on it while pressing Alt (PC) or Option (Mac), then dragging the mouse to position the duplicate.
  8. Invert: Reverses the mask of selected control points or control lines.
  9. List of local adjustment tools: the active tools indicated by a yellow icon and white name are selected and therefore modifiable, white indicated tools are inactive and, therefore, unchangeable. When you link many local adjustment tools, their relevant icons in the list are yellow (and active).
  10. Color picker: the color picker allows you to do offset brightness/color measurements to refine the corrections. It is not available with the luminosity masks, and when multiple local adjustment tools are linked. To use it with a control point, control line or control polygon, you need to click on the icon. An active color picker is indicated by a small orange dot next to it in the right panel*.

*If you use the color picker for an offset measurement, you can go back to the measurement made by the local adjustment dot by moving the picker next to the dot.

Neutral local adjustments

Here, the neutral control point protects the image from the effect of the control line.

Another functionality provided by the local adjustment tools is the so-called “neutral” control point, control line, control polygon or luminosity mask. It acts as a protection.

Indeed, if you apply a local adjustment to selectively correct an image element and that, despite your efforts, the correction affects another element or other image portion that you do not wish to alter, putting a neutral local adjustment tool on this element will prevent the corrections of the other tool being applied.

Neutral local adjustment tools can be selected and used as follows:

Here too, the use of black and white masks will help you to verify the action and interaction of the local adjustment tools, whether they are normal or neutral.

The normal and neutral local adjustment tools can be overlapped, meaning that you can put, for example, a neutral control point or whatever within the range of another control point (or whatever).

Rename the local adjustment tools and masks

You can rename your local adjustment masks, which can quickly become numerous, to help you manage them:

Renaming does not change the order in the list, and there is no automatic alphabetical ordering. Nor can you change the order by drag and drop.

Shortcuts

ActionPCMac
Clipped highlightsShift + HShift + H
Clipped shadowsShift + SShift + S
Add a FilterShift + Click on a FilterShift + Click on a Filter
Add a RecipeShift + Click on a RecipeShift + Click on a Recipe
DiscardCtrl + ZCmd + Z
RedoCtrl + YCmd + Y
Update qssFF
Filename previewPP
Show/Hide Control sectionsTabTab
Apply FilterEnterReturn
Cancel FilterEscEsc
SaveSpaceBarSpaceBar
Zoom avantCtrl + “+”Cmd + “+”
Zoom outCtrl + “-“Cmd + “-“
Zoom to FitCtrl + 0Cmd + 0
Zoom to 100 %Ctrl + Alt + 0Cmd + Alt + 0
Add a + Control PointCtrl + Shift + ACmd + Shift + A
Add a – Control PointCtrl + Alt + Shift + ACmd + Option + Shift + A
Delete a Control PointDelDel
Duplicate a Control PointCtrl + D, Alt + drag, or Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + V to pasteCmd + D, Alt + drag, or Cmd + C to copy and Cmd + V to paste
Expand/Collapse Control PointEE
Group Control PointsCtrl + GCmd + G
Ungroup Control PointsCtrl + Shift + GCmd + Shift + G

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