StarTools

Hi
I am using 1.7.418a and after turning tracking off if do not want to denoise straight from the options offered I do not get to be able to denoise at all.
Denoise was last available in 1.7.401a
In the later versions of 1.7 with the advent of the tracking button on the left hand side panel I can not manually invoke denoise as there are no buttons for it.
Perhaps I am missing a trick.

The two Denoise modules are available when you switch Tracking off (indeed - you will notice the Tracking button has moved into the position they previously occupied to better reflect the top-to-bottom workflow).

The usefulness of the "preview-only" modes was limited (I don't think anyone used them in this way to be honest); the same preview functionality could be accomplished by switching Tracking off, and then cancelling out of the module (or Undo-ing) when done previewing.

Launching the Denoise module when Tracking is no longer available, is of course not recommended as you lose all the benefits of signal tracking that could have informed the Denoise modules about per-pixel noise grain development characteristics. But perhaps it is useful if you are trying to denoise an image from another application.

In the latter case, you can switch Tracking on, and indicate that the dataset was stretched. This lets StarTools reverse an assumed sRGB curve (as a proxy for missing signal evolution infortmation), actually yielding better results than the old way of launching Denoise with Tracking off. Indeed, JPEGs denoised this way tend to come out very, very well.

In 1.7.420 the label will change form "Track" to "Track/NR" to indicate its relationship to noise reduction.

I hope this helps and makes sense!

Thank you for replying.
I like using StarTools because it allows me to be flexible in what I use and when, while I recognise that certain modules make more sense to use in certain places, i.e bin at the start and not half way through, but I am not restricted to that behaviour, so I am at odds why I am now being restricted when I use denoise. there are also certain commands like repair, heal, shrink or synth that can only be done with tracking off, yet I might want to denoise more than once, before and after using them or just after using them.

You are not restricted though? You were never able to "keep" the result while Tracking was on when launching Denoise or Denoise 2 prematurely through the buttons that were removed (e.g. the modules functioned in preview mode). And if you really want, you can still Denoise any non-tracked image by turning Tracking on, indicating the dataset has been stretched, then turn Tracking off again, and then avail of - in some cases such as JPEGs straight from a camera - improved denoising (as Tracking can now take into account the knowledge that an image was stretched with a typical sRGB curve).

No functionality was lost, but the UI now has two fewer elements, while the recommended workflow (as depicted by the buttons when read left-to-right-top-to-bottom) makes more sense, while also avoiding a frequent support query ("help, the keep button in the denoise module isn't working!").

Does that address you concern?

Thank you for your further reply. the best thing I can do now then is carry on using and report back 'if' I reach a blockage