To call the AKVIS LightShop plugin you should open an image in your photo editor and select the plug-in from the list of effects. For this purpose use the command Filter –> AKVIS –> LightShop in Adobe Photoshop; the menu item Effects –> Plugins –> AKVIS –> LightShop if you work with Paint Shop Pro; or Effects –> AKVIS –> LightShop if you use Corel PHOTO-PAINT.

To launch the standalone version of AKVIS LightShop follow the instruction:

• On a Windows computer:

  - In the main menu: press the button Start and select from the pop-up menu the command AKVIS – LightShop.

  - Using the program's shortcut on the Desktop: put the cursor on the icon of the program AKVIS LightShop and double-click it with the left mouse button.
  

• On a Macintosh computer:

  - Using Finder: select the folder Applications on the side bar of the Finder window, select the application AKVIS LightShop and double-click it.

AKVIS LightShop workspace looks like this:

In the upper part of the workspace window there is a Control Panel with the following buttons:

• The button (only in the standalone version) allows opening an image for processing.

• The button (only in the standalone version) allows saving image to the disk.

• The button (only in the standalone version) allows printing the image.

• The button allows displaying the current light effect (chosen from the preset list, edited or newly created) in the Image Window.
• The button (only in the plugin version) allows applying the result and closing the plug-in's window.
• The button calls the dialog window Options. In this dialog box you can set rendering parameters of the light effect elements and indicate the folder for presets to be saved, etc.
• The button calls information about the program.
• The button opens Help.
• The button allows selecting the interface language. To switch to another interface language left-click the button and select the language you prefer from the fall-out menu.
• The button allows closing the plug-in's window without applying the result.

Image Window

In the left part of the workspace there is an Image Window, where you can see the image loaded in the photo editor.

The light effect (chosen from the presets list, edited or newly created) is displayed in the Image Windows only after you press the button .

If a part of the image was selected in the photo editor before you called the plug-in AKVIS LightShop, you can activate the check-box Display selection to see properly only the selection; the unselected parts will be semi-transparent.

The Black background check-box allows to temporarily hide the image replacing it with a black background. In this way you can clearly see all elements of a light effect. When the Black background check-box is disabled, you see the image as it will be shown in the photo editor.

You can scale the image in the Image Window using the buttons and or the slider under the window. By clicking the button or moving the slider to the right, you increase the scale. By clicking the button or moving the slider to the left, you reduce the scale.

You can change the scale of the image by entering a new coefficient into the scale field and by pressing the button Enter (Return on Macintosh) afterwards.

Besides, you can use key combinations to change the scale: + and CTRL++ (Command++ on Macintosh) to increase the scale, - and CTRL+- (Command+- on Macintosh) to reduce the scale.

To scroll the image in the Image Window, press the spacebar and, keeping it pressed, drag the image using the left mouse button.

In the left part of the AKVIS LightShop workspace, under the Image Window, common parameters are set: Color, Brightness, Opacity, Scale, Angle, and Blend mode.

In the right part of the workspace you can see two Tabs - Presets and Effect Settings. You can switch between the tabs to see the corresponding panels.

Presets

In the Presets panel you can see thumbnails of ready-to-use light effects.

The program LightShop comes with a number of ready-to-use light effects created by AKVIS. These light effects (as '.xml' files) are located in the folder Presets in the program folder (AKVIS\Lightshop\Presets in Windows, AKVIS LightShop/Presets in Macintosh). If you move this folder to a different location, the presets will not be displayed in the Presets tab.

In the presets list you can also see the presets created by the user and saved into the folder specified in the Options dialog (the Options dialog box is called with the button ).
By default, the user presets are saved:
in Windows into the folder Documents and Settings\User\Application Data\AKVIS LLC\LightShop\Presets
in Macintosh into the folder Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/AKVIS LLC/LightShop/Presets.
You can specify a different folder. In the presets list you will only see the presets saved in the specified folder.

The chosen preset thumbnail is marked with a red frame. Under the presets list you can see the description of the chosen preset.

The button Edit allows editing the chosen light effect preset. As you press the button Edit, you automatically switch to the Effect Settings tab, where you can see the elements of the chosen light effect as well as the properties and modifiers of every element. You can add new elements to the light effect, edit the elements properties, or remove certain elements from the preset.

The button Delete removes the chosen light effect from the presets list.

The button New allows creating a new light effect. As you press this button, you automatically switch to the Effect Settings tab, where you can add elements to the new light effect and set properties and modifiers for every element.

Effect Settings

In the Effect Settings panel you can set the parameters of a light effect. A light effect consists of a set of simple elements. You can adjust properties and modifiers for every element, group them, and adjust properties and modifiers for groups.

The structure of a light effect is presented as a tree. The thumbnail of the chosen element or a group of elements is shown in the Preview window on the right of the tree.

Under the elements, tree properties and modifiers for the chosen element or a group of elements are set.

Use the button Reset to cancel all unsaved changes. When you create a new light effect, the button Reset stays grayed out until the light effect is saved to the disk.

The button Clear deletes all elements of the light effect and their settings.

The button Save As allows saving a light effect to the disk. When saving a light effect, you should set a name for it and give additional information about the effect (optional).