# Keeping just one part of the development history



## africalass (May 9, 2012)

Hi

I have another (hopefully quick!) question that I haven't yet found an answer to on the forums.

I have an image, poorly taken due to circumstances, but I'd like to keep it.  I have done all sorts of adjustments in tone and curves etc..  I have also used some adjustment brushes and painstakingly painted over an area and added various effects to this one section.

I am still not pleased with the result and would like to start again.  However, if I go right back to the beginning of history then I also lose all my brush strokes.  Is there a way to either reset everything (minus brushstrokes), or a way to just keep that one section of history?

Also, I have been using the sharpening tools in the develop module for my photos, individually working this out.  However, I see that in the export options that when creating my jpegs there is another sharpen for screen option.  Should I select this too, or is this just for people that haven't used sharpen in the develop module?

Many thanks for your time.


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## gregDT (May 9, 2012)

I think there are two options to choose from, a version or a snapshot.

A version will make a duplicate of your image for you to use. A couple of points to bear in mind. First it's not actually a separate image just a second set of instructions in the database applied to the image. As always the actual image remains untouched until you export it. SO with a version you can go mad and be in no danger of doing anything dreadful to either your current edits or your original image. If you combine this with stacking you can keep several 'versions' of the same image together.

A snapshot rather than being a separate copy of the image in the database is a check point in your history. You still work on a single image but at certain key points in your edit you can create a snapshot. You could go back to the relevant history step but that might be hard to find and as you can name each snapshot with a meaningful name it makes navigating through the history panel a breeze. I might add a snapshot called 'Just before I do something crazy to my image' .

For your requirements I would use a version as it makes keeping track of an image easier. You could in theory make several versions of your image and then compare them together to see which was the most successful edit. Stack them together for easy management as well.


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## Jim Wilde (May 9, 2012)

Just a point of clarification, I think by 'version' Greg means "Virtual Copy".


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## clee01l (May 9, 2012)

You can always go back to any step in history.  You can also make a make a Copy of your Settings.  Whether you reset the current image history to the first step ot mak a Virtual copy and reset that, You can begin by making a copy of JUST the brush Stroke Settings.

In the Develop Module, Click on {Settings}{Copy Settings...} 
This will bring up the Copy Settings dialog.  Check the check boxes for the Local Adjustments, Crop and anything else that you want to apply to the next iteration. 
In the Reset image (Original or VC) select {Settings}{Paste Settings} This will apply only the setting(s) that you copied.


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## gregDT (May 10, 2012)

TNG said:


> Just a point of clarification, I think by 'version' Greg means "Virtual Copy".



Yup  I've no idea where version came from? maybe a throwback to Nikon Capture NX2 or some other former application. Thanks for the correction.


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## Ozgood (May 10, 2012)

I have a simular question.  LR4 keeps track of all my history steps on an image.  Let's assume I have completed five steps 1,2,3,4,5

Is there any way I can remove step 3 and keep 1,2,4,5?  Or do I need to delete 3,4,5 and then manually re-do 4 and 5?


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## clee01l (May 10, 2012)

Ozgood said:


> I have a simular question.  LR4 keeps track of all my history steps on an image.  Let's assume I have completed five steps 1,2,3,4,5
> 
> Is there any way I can remove step 3 and keep 1,2,4,5?  Or do I need to delete 3,4,5 and then manually re-do 4 and 5?


Ozgood from NOVA, welcome to the forum.  All you need to do with is reverse the effect of "Step 3".    Lets say "Step 3" was an exposure adjustment that took the prior Exposure value of +1.85 and reduced it by -0.90 to result in a value of 0.95. 
To reverse this all you need to to is add another Exposure adjustment  of +0.90 so that the Exposure is back to +1.85 after Step 5   This will work on all steps that adjust a single parameter.  For something like AutoTone that acts upon several parameters, it is a little complex, you just need to reverse all of the parameters that were affected by AutoTone. Steps that involve crops or adjustment brushes can also be reversed although it is probably best to explain the approach using specific examples for specific cases.


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## Ozgood (May 11, 2012)

That would work too.


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## africalass (May 11, 2012)

Thanks so much for these answers and help.  I have used virtual copies before, and find them really helpful - especially if I want to try out the more dramatic effects.  But this doesn't help with the wanting to keep just part of the edits from the middle of the history.  I find the suggestion and copy and pasting the local adjustments (or whatever) very useful and will be using this feature.  Big thanks Greg, Cletus, Jim.


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