Retouching photos
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Translated from the Italian guide. Narciso itself is in Italian, so the names of buttons, menus and fields are shown exactly as they appear on screen, with a translation in brackets where it helps.
With a photo selected on the canvas, the Tool panel (Designer side panels) shows, in the Trasformazioni (Transformations) block, a few tools for retouching it: BKG Remover, BKG Remover +, Scomponi (Break apart), Gomma (Eraser), Gomma magica (Magic eraser) and Inpainting. None of these tools uses AI credits: they are included in the program, with a limit on requests per salon (see below).
Common rules#
- You work on a single photo: not on a group, not on a locked element. With the wrong selection the button is greyed out and the tooltip says «Seleziona una sola foto (non un gruppo)» (Select a single photo (not a group)).
- Scomponi, the two BKG Remover tools, Gomma magica and Inpainting appear only for photos; Gomma also works on shapes and icons.
- Each photo can have only one long job at a time among Scomponi and the two BKG Removers. The job carries on even if you change panel or selection: a spinner turns on the button.
- The result replaces the image in the same frame. Every operation can be undone with Ctrl+Z.
- The files produced go into the salon's archive, but do not appear in Immagini ▸ Personali (Images ▸ Personal).
Removing the background#
One click on the button and the background becomes transparent (the photo stays in the same frame, as a PNG). No start or success notice appears: you only see the spinner until the job ends, and a message if something goes wrong. There are two tools.
| Tool | How it works | When it is best |
|---|---|---|
| BKG Remover | Normally on your computer: the first time, the browser downloads a model of about 178 MB and then keeps it in memory. It switches to a Narciso server (one job at a time for all salons) if the browser has less than 4 GB of memory, WebAssembly is missing, the photo cannot be read or the calculation fails | The result is always the same for the same photo |
| BKG Remover + | Always on an external service with a graphics card, slower | Fine edges (hair, transparencies) and cleaner colours |
Limits: the long side of the result is at most 4096 px (with the +, 3072 px: larger photos come back at a lower resolution); the + flattens onto white any transparency the photo already had. Via the server, the photo can weigh 15 MB at most and must be PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF or AVIF. Per salon: 30 requests every 10 minutes, only one background removal at a time.
Messages:
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Stai già togliendo uno sfondo, aspetta che finisca. (You are already removing a background, wait for it to finish.) | A background removal is already running for the salon |
| Il server è molto occupato, riprova tra qualche istante. (The server is very busy, try again in a moment.) | Queue full |
| La foto è stata modificata mentre toglievo lo sfondo: non ho applicato il risultato, riprova. (The photo was changed while I was removing the background: I did not apply the result, try again.) | You changed the photo in the meantime |
| La foto non è più sulla tela: non ho applicato il risultato. (The photo is no longer on the canvas: I did not apply the result.) | You deleted it |
| Il rimuovi sfondo non è disponibile al momento. (The background remover is not available at the moment.) / Questo modo di togliere lo sfondo non è disponibile al momento. (This way of removing the background is not available at the moment.) | Service not available |
| Non riesco a togliere lo sfondo a questa immagine. (I cannot remove the background from this image.) / Il servizio non risponde, riprova. (The service is not responding, try again.) / L'operazione ha impiegato troppo tempo e l'ho interrotta, riprova. (The operation took too long and I stopped it, try again.) | Error or wait of over 10–15 minutes |
| Non sono riuscito a salvare l'immagine senza sfondo (I could not save the image without a background) | The result was not saved |
Gomma#
Erases with a brush. It is switched on with the Gomma button; on a shape or an icon, the first time, the element is turned into an image (a one-way operation, which can be undone with Ctrl+Z).
- Drag with the left button. Alt + right button switches the eraser on for the selected element.
- The brush size goes from 2 to 400 px (default 60): drag the dot on the edge of the button, or [ makes it smaller and ] makes it larger. The hardness is fixed.
- Esc, another click on the button or the selection of another element switch the tool off.
- Everything is done on your computer, at the original resolution of the photo. Each brushstroke is a step that can be undone with Ctrl+Z, even with the tool on. After a pause of about 2.5 seconds, or when it is switched off, the image is saved (Salvo… (Saving…) appears on the photo; PNG only, maximum 50 MB).
Messages: Seleziona un solo elemento (non un gruppo) (Select a single element (not a group)), Questo elemento non si può cancellare a pennello (This element cannot be erased with a brush), L'elemento è bloccato (The element is locked), Non riesco a leggere l'immagine da modificare (I cannot read the image to edit), Modifica non salvata sul server (la rete non risponde): riprova a fermare lo strumento (Change not saved on the server (the network is not responding): try stopping the tool again), Modifica non salvata sul server (HTTP N): l'immagine resta solo su questo schermo (Change not saved on the server (HTTP N): the image stays only on this screen).
Gomma magica#
You paint the area to remove (in pink): when you release, Riempimento… (Filling…) appears and the area is filled in automatically. It works only on photos («La Gomma magica funziona solo sulle foto», The Magic eraser works only on photos). The shortcuts and the saving are those of Gomma; every fill can be undone.
It works on your computer with a model of about 28 MB, loaded when the tool is switched on, on a window around the area scaled down to 512 px; it puts back only the painted part. Error: Gomma magica non riuscita: … (Magic eraser failed: …).
Inpainting#
Removes or redoes an area of the photo.
- Press Inpainting and paint the area.
- In the Cosa deve esserci al suo posto (vuoto = togli) (What should be there instead (empty = remove)) field, write what should appear, if you want (maximum 600 characters). Empty means removing the area, with its shadows.
- Press Applica (Apply) (it becomes Elaboro…, Processing…). Azzera (Reset) clears the painted area.
With no painted area: «Dipingi prima la zona da rifare» (Paint the area to redo first). The work is done on an external service with a graphics card: it waits up to 6 minutes for «remove» and 14 for «redo». The result is pasted onto the photo and can be undone. Limits per salon: 30 requests every 10 minutes and only one inpainting at a time («Hai già un inpainting in corso, aspetta che finisca.», You already have an inpainting in progress, wait for it to finish.).
Messages: L'inpainting non è disponibile al momento. (Inpainting is not available at the moment.), Non riesco a lavorare su questa zona dell'immagine. (I cannot work on this area of the image.), Il servizio di inpainting non risponde, riprova. (The inpainting service is not responding, try again.), L'inpainting ha impiegato troppo tempo e l'ho interrotto, riprova. (Inpainting took too long and I stopped it, try again.), Inpainting non riuscito (Inpainting failed).
Scomponi#
Scomponi la foto in layer (Break the photo into layers): splits the photo into 5 levels (always five) plus, if it detects any writing, into editable texts.
- Press Scomponi (Scompongo… (Breaking apart…) appears, with the notice Scomposizione avviata: può richiedere qualche minuto (Breaking apart started: it may take a few minutes)).
- The program checks the outcome every 4 seconds and stops after 15 minutes («La scomposizione sta impiegando troppo tempo, riprova più tardi.», The breaking apart is taking too long, try again later.).
- At the end Foto scomposta: N layer e M testi (Photo broken apart: N layers and M texts) appears.
Limits per salon: 10 requests every 10 minutes, one breaking apart at a time («Hai già una scomposizione in corso, aspetta che finisca.», You already have a breaking apart in progress, wait for it to finish.); photos up to 15 MB. Messages: La scomposizione non è disponibile al momento. (Breaking apart is not available at the moment.), Questa immagine non si può scomporre. (This image cannot be broken apart.), Il servizio di scomposizione non risponde, riprova. (The breaking-apart service is not responding, try again.), Non sono riuscito a salvare i layer, riprova. (I could not save the layers, try again.), La foto è stata modificata mentre la scomponevo: non ho applicato i layer, riprova. (The photo was changed while I was breaking it apart: I did not apply the layers, try again.), Impossibile scomporre la foto (Unable to break the photo apart).
A photo that has just been retouched with Gomma, and whose saving has not yet happened, may not be breakable apart until you switch Gomma off and wait for Salvo….