Finding your way

A first session that teaches the workflow

Find a tool exactly as it appears in the panel through all 39 Develop tools.

Create a small demo catalog or import a manageable folder. In Library, choose a few photos, add a rating and an album, then open one in Develop. Correct light before adding a look, compare before and after, and export a JPEG to a separate folder. This leaves the originals available for a different edit later.

Choose a lesson from the grouped guide, search a control name, or use the Tool reference for a complete index. The following workspace reference explains where commands live.

Welcome to OmaRAW

OmaRAW is a photography library, a RAW developer, a tethered capture desk and an output page in one window. Your photos stay where they are on disk; a catalog holds what OmaRAW knows about them: ratings, keywords, albums and every edit.

When you reopen a catalog, OmaRAW returns to the last selected photo or variant, with its collection, filters and sort order. The filmstrip brings that photo into view. Each catalog remembers its own place. If the photo has been removed, a remaining photo is selected; offline originals stay selected.

The launch screen shows your OmaRAW version, a looping Spectrum animation and a photographer's quote. Click OK or press Enter to open the program. Close the screen or press Escape to quit. The quote changes between launches and works offline; click the photographer's name to visit its source. You can pause the animation, and the Reduced motion preference uses a still image.

AI masking, object removal, RAW denoising and subject tagging include their models and runtime libraries. They work offline after installation, without further downloads or setup. Photos are processed on your computer.

The workflow

1. Browse folders in the Library (Ctrl+I), preview the photos and tick those you want. Import N photos adds them in place, or copies, moves or verifies them into a destination you choose.
2. Cull in Library: stars, picks and rejects, colour labels and keywords, one key per frame with Auto-Advance on.
3. Develop the keepers: white balance, tone, colour, detail and lens on the right, Masks and Retouch above the tool menu, presets and history on the left.
4. Output: export photos, make a print PDF or create a contact sheet. Photo exports use the same processing as Develop; contact sheets use the edited Library thumbnails.

The four workspaces sit across the top: Ctrl+1 Library, Ctrl+2 Develop, Ctrl+3 Capture, Ctrl+4 Output. The filmstrip along the bottom follows you between them.

Finding your way

• Help: press F1 anywhere for this window opened at the current workspace, or click the ? in a panel header for that panel's page.
• Tooltips: rest the pointer on a control, menu command or status-bar item for an explanation. Adjustment sliders say what moving them changes.
• Command search (Ctrl+K): type the name of any menu item and press Return. Hover a result for the same explanation as its menu entry; dimmed results are unavailable for the current selection or workspace.
• Keyboard cheat sheet (?): every shortcut on one sheet. Edit ▸ Preferences ▸ Keyboard changes them.

Where things live

Catalog location is chosen when creating a catalog. Photo storage is chosen when importing: Add links to existing files; Copy or Move uses a destination you choose. The catalog records file locations and edits, while photographs remain separate files. The catalog and photos can be on different drives. Edits are kept beside the catalog. Catalog backups run daily and before every upgrade; File ▸ Catalog Maintenance ▸ Reveal Backups shows them.

Finding commands

The menus group commands by task:

• File: create or open catalogs, import, export, catalog maintenance and quit.
• Edit: undo, redo, selection, shortcuts and Preferences.
• Library: albums, Quick Collection, stacks, duplicates, sidecars and offline files.
• Photo: ratings, flags, labels, variants, rename, move, reveal, remove and trash.
• Adjustments: automatic corrections, copy/paste/sync settings, masks, crop, retouch, presets, snapshots and reset.
• View: browsing, comparison, exposure overlays, Colour Critical, viewer background, panels and workspaces.
• Camera: connection, live view and capture.
• Help: guide, command search, shortcuts and About.

Preferences holds accessibility, automatic sidecar and backup policies, label names, camera profiles and colour management.

Press Ctrl+K to search for a command by name or menu group. Commands keep their existing keyboard shortcuts when their menu location changes.

Using an agent

Installation includes OmaRAW's command-line skill and links it for your user. Start a new agent session to use it. An agent can inspect edits, adjust photos, organise albums and keywords, and export your chosen photographs. Close the OmaRAW window before an agent opens its catalog. Ratings, flags and colour labels remain choices you make in the Library.

Run omaraw skill to check the links, or omaraw skill --link to repair them or set them up for another user. Updating the app updates the packaged skill; existing custom skills are preserved.