Photo Browsing - Bug fix and enhancement requests

Discuss Photomator and photo editing.
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2022-06-15 14:53:20

Hi Pixelmator team,

Generally really enjoying v2 over here, and after some recent bug fix releases things are looking much better!

There are a couple of issues I'm still having, though. They seem like minor issues, but fixing them would make a significant difference to the usability of the app.

1. Filmstrip

The filmstrip gets out of sync with the photos that actually exist in a few ways, and displays some strange behaviour.

a. The wrong image is shown as selected in the filmstrip (i.e. different to the image that is shown on screen).
b. Images that have been deleted are still shown in the filmstrip.
c. Sometimes, when long-tapping on an image in the filmstrip, the context menu that appears is shown above the wrong photo.

I think these things all tend to happen when you have deleted some of the photos in the album you are viewing, and also going in/out of showing the image full screen (so that the filmstrip itself gets hidden/shown). If it's relevant, I'm almost always looking at photos in an album when using Pixelmator Photo.

2. ‘Unable to read this image’

I frequently see this error when browsing through photos. I’m viewing a photo, and using the arrow keys to go back and forth between photos, and this error is shown after selecting one of the photos. Tapping ok closes the image and takes you back to the grid view. Sometimes this happens very frequently - maybe once every 10 to 15 images selected. Other times it might not be seen as frequently.

3. Keyboard shortcut for Delete

The keyboard shortcut for deleting a photo still hasn’t been reinstated. I used to find it very useful to be able to browse through similar photos to pick a favourite (especially compared to the stock Photos app, which does that annoying thing of playing a fraction of a second’s worth of the live photo before showing the still), but the process is now too slow without a keyboard shortcut to delete photos.

Thanks!

Joe
User avatar

2022-06-24 09:03:24

by Joe Fryer Hi Pixelmator team,

Generally really enjoying v2 over here, and after some recent bug fix releases things are looking much better!

There are a couple of issues I'm still having, though. They seem like minor issues, but fixing them would make a significant difference to the usability of the app.

1. Filmstrip

The filmstrip gets out of sync with the photos that actually exist in a few ways, and displays some strange behaviour.

a. The wrong image is shown as selected in the filmstrip (i.e. different to the image that is shown on screen).
b. Images that have been deleted are still shown in the filmstrip.
c. Sometimes, when long-tapping on an image in the filmstrip, the context menu that appears is shown above the wrong photo.

I think these things all tend to happen when you have deleted some of the photos in the album you are viewing, and also going in/out of showing the image full screen (so that the filmstrip itself gets hidden/shown). If it's relevant, I'm almost always looking at photos in an album when using Pixelmator Photo.
Have you tried this more recently, the last update did seem to fix most of the Filmstrip issues. Are these still apparent now?
2. ‘Unable to read this image’

I frequently see this error when browsing through photos. I’m viewing a photo, and using the arrow keys to go back and forth between photos, and this error is shown after selecting one of the photos. Tapping ok closes the image and takes you back to the grid view. Sometimes this happens very frequently - maybe once every 10 to 15 images selected. Other times it might not be seen as frequently.
I have never seen that one myself, it could be a network issue (might be worth looking at your broadband speed, or for any security settings that could be causing issues with iCloud syncing. Perhaps try using a different DNS server (OpenDNS or CloudFlare perhaps). That's just a guess though, and only a suggestion of something to try.
3. Keyboard shortcut for Delete

The keyboard shortcut for deleting a photo still hasn’t been reinstated. I used to find it very useful to be able to browse through similar photos to pick a favourite (especially compared to the stock Photos app, which does that annoying thing of playing a fraction of a second’s worth of the live photo before showing the still), but the process is now too slow without a keyboard shortcut to delete photos.
I disagree a little, I don't want an easy way to accidentally delete images. Personally I prefer a mark as 'Rejected' kind of operation, where they can be then reassessed in a separate folder (we do need Smart Folders on the iPad Photos), then move them to the Trash. I'd rather have a slower and more fiddly process for deletions, so that you have a couple of opportunities to correct any errors (either with keypresses, or of judgement).

As for the playing Live images, have you set the option in Settings?

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Cheers

Andy
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2022-06-30 13:20:02

Hi Joe! It would be great if you could share some more information with us over email so we would be better able to reproduce these issues on our end and understand what's going wrong. In particular, we'd need some screenshots of your device specs (your Settings > General > About screen), as well as your Apple Photos and Pixelmator Photo settings (Settings > Photos; Settings > Photo; Pixelmator Photo > Gear icon).
It would also be great if you could share some sample photos you've experienced issue 2 with, and some screen recordings of these issues if you're able to reproduce them. You can use our upload server to share the files, and send the link to us via email at support@pixelmator.com.
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2022-07-21 11:14:23

by simonasd Hi Joe! It would be great if you could share some more information with us over email so we would be better able to reproduce these issues on our end and understand what's going wrong. In particular, we'd need some screenshots of your device specs (your Settings > General > About screen), as well as your Apple Photos and Pixelmator Photo settings (Settings > Photos; Settings > Photo; Pixelmator Photo > Gear icon).
It would also be great if you could share some sample photos you've experienced issue 2 with, and some screen recordings of these issues if you're able to reproduce them. You can use our upload server to share the files, and send the link to us via email at support@pixelmator.com.
Thanks simonasd for the reply - I've sent an email with further information, as requested 🙂
User avatar

2022-07-21 11:38:29

by Andy Hewitt
Have you tried this more recently, the last update did seem to fix most of the Filmstrip issues. Are these still apparent now?
Yeah, this does actually seem to be improved in the latest version, although I thought I had still seen at least the issue with the wrong image appearing as selected. Going to keep an eye on it.


I have never seen that one myself, it could be a network issue (might be worth looking at your broadband speed, or for any security settings that could be causing issues with iCloud syncing. Perhaps try using a different DNS server (OpenDNS or CloudFlare perhaps). That's just a guess though, and only a suggestion of something to try.
This can’t be due to a network issue as I have ‘Download and Keep Originals’ enabled for my iCloud Photo Library.


I disagree a little, I don't want an easy way to accidentally delete images. Personally I prefer a mark as 'Rejected' kind of operation, where they can be then reassessed in a separate folder (we do need Smart Folders on the iPad Photos), then move them to the Trash. I'd rather have a slower and more fiddly process for deletions, so that you have a couple of opportunities to correct any errors (either with keypresses, or of judgement).
Even with the keyboard shortcut, you would still get a confirmation alert from the system (‘Allow Photo to delete this photo from you library’, or whatever it says), which would be a barrier to accidental deletions. The way it is at the moment, you have to tap-and-hold on the photo (either in the filmstrip, or the album thumbnails view), and then tap delete in the context menu that appears, which is slow and frustrating.

I do agree that a reject-then-delete workflow would be a nice addition, though.


As for the playing Live images, have you set the option in Settings?

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Yes, I have this disabled. It doesn't play the full Live Photo, just a tiny portion of it before it settles to the actual still photo, which makes it difficult to compare the tiny differences between two very similar photos (picking the best of two photos that are basically duplicates). This is using the arrow keys on a physical keyboard, btw.