Hints, tips, and tricks
From Filter Forge Wiki
This is a collection of hot tips, cool tricks and hidden Filter Forge secrets!
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Note:
Feel free to add anything you might find usefull.
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Filter Forge
Updating filters
when you go into the filter library download and you see all those filter categories on the left side and the number of filters to download next to that, open any category and click on the first filter. then, scroll down to the bottom of that list and hold down the shift key and left click again. this will highlight ALL the filters. then, over to the right of that there is a button that says something like 'add to downloads'. click on that. then, underneath that the 'download' button should become highlighted. click on that and you'll then download all those filters without having to check each one separately. do this with all the categories and it makes downloading all 600+ filters a LOT easier.
Another way to download filters is to select a category, then press Ctrl+A to select all the filters in that category and then Insert to add them all to downloads.
Copying color
Both in Filter Forge as well as the Filter Editor you can right click on any color chooser field which will give a copy and paste option.
No more lifesavers
Select a filter of your choice, click File > New Image, then set the size you want to render at, this will let you render at huge sizes like 2000x2000 if you want rather than the default 600. Note that you can also set the alpha value of the 'New Image'.
Filter Editor
Select Subtree to clean up
When you finish a filter there's always some loose ends that get left behind (especially with complicated filters). To get rid of all the loose components you right-click the Result-component and from the appearing menu click 'Select Subtree'. Then zoom out and move the entire selection way over to somewhere else. You'll see all the loose ends get left behind and you can safely delete those.
Finetune adjustments by using a maximum and minimum Threshold
When applying adjustments like Brightness/Contrast it's always hard to see when the images starts clipping ( = large, even patches of black or white). You can see the clipping if you attach two Threshold components to that result. One with zero threshold (white) and one with 100 threshold (black), and no smoothing of course. Now you can easily adjust your Brightness or Contrast and throw away the Thresholds when you're done. You want your thresholds to remain perfectly black and white, so in the example below the 'White point' in the Levels component is set too far since the upper (black) Threshold is not entirely black.
Copy paste
you can copy and paste components if you already have one component of that type open. simply right click on the component and hit copy. then right click on the grid/workspace and pick paste. you'll get an exact copy of your component. this also works for whole sub-trees. it will copy the entire sub-tree to the workspace.
Lock preview
there is a 'lock preview' checkbox in the upper left of the editor side. you can also lock a given component's preview by simply double right clicking ON the component itself. Lock Preview also works when you press Enter.
Filter Controls
in the Results component there is a white box attached to the component that says 'Filter Controls'. If you click on this you can see ALL of the controls currently connected to the filter and adjust them as desired. This is very handy for seeing the previews you want to view and for setting the default switch setup. You can also select the 'Filter Controls' by clicking 'f' on you keyboard.
Two first presets
When you are editing, a save tends to overwrite the first preset. When you have a first preset that you are satisfied with make a duplicate of it in your presets. You can now safely edit and save away. When you're done and about to submit, put the good preset back and delete the duplicate.
Image as gradient
An image can be used as a gradient. ()
Drag and drop
You can drag components from Component Bar directly into inputs
Hexagons and triangles
For hexagons and triangles that are as close to 'perfect' as possible use these values in Rhomb 2...
Repeat H: 97 Repeat V: 56
H = V * sqrt(3)
Just remember to add a zoom somewhere down the line.
Jump to component
In the Component Bar if you type the first letter of a component, it will jump/send you to the component that starts with the letter you've typed or jump/send you to the next components with the same initial letter.
Component rendering
When you open a filter in the Filter Editor for the first time, the Result Component is selected by default. Quickly deselect it and watch all the greyed out thumbnails getting rendered blazingly fast. Now be adventurous, re-select any component and watch the thumbnails rendering slowly again. (This is best observed with complex filters of course.)
Smoothing
A good method to make resized black and white elements crisp again if they were pixelated in the resizing process. Use a combination of the get alpha then apply a blur with a value of 1 which smooths the outline then feed this into a theshold. This won't work with stuff with huge amounts of detail but for shapes it works great and makes the edge smooth again.
Simple circle
Add a frame module, set the top 3 colors to a color of your choice i selected white, and leave the last black, set frame and margin width to 0 and corners to 100, now add a Set Alpha module and feed the output of the frame into both the set alphas inputs, this will give you a simple white circle you can modify further.
3D wireframe cube
Add a frame, set the top 3 colors to white ect and leave the last black, set frame width to 40, margin width to 8, corners to 0, Add a Kaleidoscope module, set the mode to Hexagon and everything but shape size to there min value, set shape size to 80, you will now have a transparent style 3d cube, add an invert module, then set alpha feeding into both inputs, then add another invert and you will have a 3d wireframe cube shape.
Gradient blend something
Saving 1 blend component in 2 occasions: Add 2 'Profile Gradient (PG)' (1st 0º and 2nd rotate 90º): 1st occasion: Get the 1st PG output and connect to Color1 in the 2nd PG, you will get the same as you've used a Blend component as Screen/Opacity 100%. 2nd occasion: Get the 1st PG output and connect to Color2 in the 2nd PG, you will get the same as you've used a Blend component as Multiply/Opacity 100%.
Multiple Blend Cascades
If you are using multiple blends coupled one after the other and using normal blend mode, there is often a way to combine them all in one Multiblend component, and the result usually even renders faster.
Keyboard shortcuts
Filter Forge
Filter Editor
===Enter===Enter: Lock Preview
===Escape===Escape: closes the Component Bar
===Ctrl+T===Ctrl+T: selects the component's subtree
Alt: Holding Alt temporarily inverts the current Move Subtree setting
Forum
You can now use the "Image" button to insert images into your forum posts
