ON1 Effects 2021 for Mac: A Comprehensive Guide

Source: 爱上MAC  |  Software download link: ON1 Effects 2021 for Mac

ON1 Effects 2021 is a powerful professional-grade photo effects and filter application that can run as a standalone program or seamlessly integrate as a plugin into Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. It brings together a massive collection of high-quality filters, presets, textures, and borders, and offers fine-grained local adjustment tools, all designed to provide photographers and designers with a one-stop creative effects solution.

I. Detailed Overview of the Core Interface and Workspace

The interface of ON1 Effects 2021 is intuitively designed and is mainly divided into the following core areas:

• Top Menu Bar and Toolbar: Includes basic tools such as file operations, view controls, zoom, crop, and transform.
• Left Panel – Presets and Effects Browser: This is the creative core. It lists all built-in presets (such as Portrait, Black & White, Cinematic, etc.), filters (such as Dynamic Contrast, Color Grading, Lens Blur, etc.), textures, and borders in categorized folder form. Click any effect to preview it in real time.
• Central Area – Image Preview and Editing Canvas: Displays the image currently being edited. Supports multiple view modes (such as before-and-after comparison and split-screen comparison).
• Right Panel – Effect Stack & Adjustment Panel:
  • Effect Stack: Manages all added effects and adjustments in a layered format, allowing you to reorder, toggle on/off, duplicate, or create masks.
  • Adjustment Panel: When a specific effect layer in the stack is selected (such as “Color Enhance” or “Color/Tint & Saturation”), this area displays all the fine-tuning sliders for that effect, such as exposure, contrast, color balance, etc.
  • Local Adjustment Tools: Located below the adjustment panel or in a separate tab, including brush, gradient filter, radial filter, lasso tool, etc., used for non-destructive editing of specific areas of the image.
• Bottom Panel – History & Preset Favorites: Records all operation steps, allowing you to undo at any time. You can also save commonly used presets here for quick access.

II. Complete Workflow: From Opening to Export

1. Launch and Create/Open Project

Method: After launching the software, select a single image in the startup window or via the menu bar “File” > “Open”. For batch processing, use “File” > “Browse” to open the browser window, select multiple images, then right-click and choose “Edit in Effects”.

Shortcut (Open): Cmd + O

2. Applying and Combining Effects

Steps:

1. In the preset browser on the left, browse by category or use the search box to find an effect.
2. Click any preset (e.g., “Classic Black & White”), and it will automatically be added as an effect layer to the top of the effect stack on the right.
3. The effect intensity can be controlled via the “Opacity” slider at the top of that effect layer.
4. Repeat steps 1-2 to stack multiple effects. In the effect stack, drag effect layers up or down to change their application order, producing different final results.

3. Making Fine Adjustments

Steps:

1. In the effect stack, click the effect layer you want to fine-tune (e.g., “Color Tone/Saturation”).
2. The adjustment panel on the right will immediately switch to the detailed controls for that effect.
3. Drag the various sliders (such as Highlights, Shadows, Hue, Saturation, etc.) to make precise adjustments.
4. To adjust global base parameters (such as Exposure, White Balance), click the “Add Filter” button at the bottom of the stack and select the corresponding filter under the “Basic” category.

4. Using Local Adjustment Tools

Steps:

1. In the effect stack, select an effect layer.
2. At the top of the right panel, click the “Mask” button (the icon is a dashed line inside a circle), or use the tools in the local adjustment toolbar (brush, gradient, etc.).
3. Select the Brush tool and paint on the image to show or hide the current effect only in that area. You can adjust brush size, feathering, and flow.
   
   Shortcut (brush size): Use the [ and ] keys to quickly shrink/enlarge the brush.
4. Use Gradient or Radial filter to create smooth transition adjustment areas.

5. Add textures and borders

In the left panel, switch to the “Texture” or “Border” category, and click your preferred style to add it. Select them in the effects stack to control properties such as blend mode, opacity, and scale in the adjustment panel.

6. Export the final image

Steps:

1. After completing all edits, click the “Export” button in the upper-right corner of the interface.
2. In the export dialog that appears, set:
   • File format: JPEG, TIFF, PNG, etc.
   • Quality and size: Adjust the image size and output quality.
   • Output folder: Choose the save location.
3. Click “Export” to finish.
   
   Shortcut (export): Cmd + E

III. Advanced Tips for Common Features

• Advanced use of stacked masks: After adding a mask to an effect layer, you can right-click the mask icon, select “Duplicate Mask,” and then paste it onto another effect layer to quickly reuse complex selections.
• Using control points for color grading: In the “Color Tuning” filter, use the control points on “Color Balance” or “Color Curves” to finely adjust the hue and saturation of highlights, midtones, and shadows separately, achieving cinematic-level color grading.
• Creating and managing custom presets: After adjusting a set of effect parameters, right-click on an empty area of the effect stack, select “Create Preset,” and save it to a custom folder. In the future, you can apply it with one click, greatly improving batch processing efficiency.
• Non-destructive cropping and transformation: Operations performed using the “Crop” and “Transform” tools in the toolbar will not permanently delete pixels, and you can always re-enter the tools to make adjustments.

IV. Common Problems and Solutions

V. Keyboard Shortcuts Summary (Mac Version)