I doubt the numbers are quite that high, but I can’t do anything about that. I don’t work for DXO and I don’t document their features. All I can do is help one person at a time with the little additional knowledge I can bring to the discussion. Right now that person is you.
Mark
No you are not silly for expecting that. Properly documenting software with a lot of interactive functionality which can be used very subtly or easily overused is a very daunting task. Large software companies have large teams of people dedicated to doing nothing but documentation. Small companies like DxO are sometimes not in a position to allocate the necessary resources for that purpose.
Mark
Joanna’s last post sent me here:
Is this the information that you are referring to, that I might find by doing a search?
If so, are we now done, or is there anything else?
So now there are four links posted here about how to use DxO Smart Lighting.
Are we finished?
(I’ve now watched it three times, but have yet to do it myself on an appropriate image - will do that over the next few days.)
I believe she was also referring to her own posts, I am not sure if Pascal covers the use of the weighted mode for images without faces.
Mark
Mike
That makes absolutely no sense to me at all. Whether or not you learn something from it is the only reason for having this discussion in the first place.
If you don’t learn anything then I have failed in my attempt to teach you something about DxO Smart Lighting that you did not know and have wasted my time trying. Having you learn something is the only reason any of us post suggestions about using PhotoLab in response to your posts.
Mark
Actually, Mark, I was referring to both because both Päscal and I explain things differently and that can be useful to some.
But, since Mike doesn’t seem to be able to use the forums search, here are five links to my previous explanations, all found via the forums search…
Maybe it is included here but you didn’t bother to read it…
I can no longer take on this job alone.
I’m looking for content editors.
Pascal
Bingo. Right on the money!!! That is what I have been trying to tell Mike with regard to using Smart Lighting’s spot weighted mode. However, he apparently still has no interest in experimenting and finding out for himself, which is unfortunate.
Mark
I think the entry in the above help regarding Mode is incorrect. I am not at home right now but I’m pretty sure you can apply the predefined intensities for both Uniform and Spot weighted.
Mark
According to my testing, you are right and the text is wrong.
Perhaps if you make a synthetical summary of the thousands of answers found in the 2 subjects you have raised, you would discover those “secret” tips ? 
Yet another reason why Mike needs to do more than just read the documentation and watch the videos. I think we’ve all noticed a large number of omissions and errors in DxO’s documentation over the years.
Mark
Mike,
You also need to be aware that there are hundreds of tips, tricks, and techniques that users have developed over the years which are not documented by DxO and may not be demonstrated in any video you are likely to come across.
As I’ve said, if you want to master PhotoLab so that you are more than just a casual user, it is going to be your responsibility to go beyond published documentation.
If you are not willing to do that then I would suggest that you consider just staying with the skills you’ve already developed, and spend more time shooting and less time posting. That is your choice of course, but frankly I don’t think you’re getting enough value from our posts If you’re not willing to take the next step.
Mark
Mark, my issue was not “how to do it”, but where the instructions from DxO were posted.
I think “casual user” is an appropriate term, and likely applies to me. I have not been trying to “master” anything, just finding out where the instructions are for when/if I need them. Remember, I’m not trying to create “art”, my goal is usually just to improve my photographs without really changing them that much.
There’s now a lot of information posted up above from @Joanna and others, that I will save along with my other notes from the past.
I will try to drop out of this discussion. At least most of the documentation has now been identified. I probably haven’t been using Smart Lighting to its full potential, but I’ve been using it for ages, ever since PhotoJoseph created his on-line live discussion. I accept what you are writing here, that Smart Lighting includes things that were not mentioned in the video.
I think DxO should start by paying @Joanna for her work, and publish it in the PhotoLab documentation, preferably along with the additional information noted here.
Please add anything you want to the discussion, but do not reply to me directly, as I won’t reply.
Mmuuhhhaa – you light the fire and then run away.
Mike ,
I certainly understand your preferences and you are, of course, free to do whatever you wish. I guess many of us here were the victims of a misunderstanding on our part. I mistakenly believed that you were interested in learning how to get the best from PhotoLab.
I am grateful that you have finally made it clear that you are content to always be a “casual user” of PhotoLab and have no interest at all in expanding your knowledge of it by learning about features until you believe you need them.
As a result, there is obviously no reason for me, and perhaps others as well, to waste any more time attempting to increase your knowledge of PhotoLab. Getting the best from PhotoLab, by your own admission, is not a goal for you. However, as a result, we can only wonder what has driven you to post here so much and for so long.
I assume that since you indicated your interest in PhotoLab is relatively minimal we will be seeing far less of you as you pursue other interests, like Darktable. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.
Goodbye,
Mark
The guide I linked to is their online user guide of which I linked to particular pages.
As for how did I find it…
From the Help tab/button at the top left of the PL7 GUI
The first item is “DxO Photolab User Guide”
HTH 
I agree with the first part of what you wrote…
I don’t agree with this part. Just like I read the user’s manual for my cameras, I am certainly interested in reading about the capabilities of PhotoLab, or PhotoMechanic, or DarkTable, and all the rest. You test, and I read.
If I want to use my SB-800 flash, or my lightning sensor, or my polarizing filter, or how to use the basic adjustment in my software, I always try to “read the instructions”.
Oh well, you are partly correct. This is good. When I have issues on my Apple computers, I don’t experiment - I phone Apple Tech support, and very quickly the issue is solved, and resolved. Most of the time, ditto for my cameras.
I just dug out a lens I haven’t used in 20 years or so. Tomorrow I’ll try it out. Back in Michigan, it was very useful. But yes, I did read Ken Rockwell’s review and comments before mounting it on my camera.
Curious, do you still take photos? If so, what camera, and what are your favorite subjects? Is this a job, or a hobby for you. No need to answer, unless you want to.
Final thought - I was using a 2017 iMac computer as my final Lightroom computer, then switched to DxO, and replaced the iMac with my nephew’s Mac mini that I bought from him (so he could replace it with a new Mac mini but with the Apple chip, not his old Intel chip. In retrospect, that was a bad move on my part, but it was good for him. But my final thought, I had a complete set of all my Lightroom photos in a folder labeled lightroom for all my old digital photos. Tonight I got a 1TB external drive, and copied all those old photos to it - 30 megs of photos. I need to think about it before I actually do anything, but theoretically I can now import that whole 30 megs of photos into PhotoLab if I want to - which I’ll think about later. Thank you for your previous comments about this, as that got me thinking about catching up with what I never did years ago, when I stopped using Lightroom.
I was serious about saying Thank You. I think this thread is pretty much over. If I have new things to post, I’ll do them in new, individual, threads, rather than tacking them onto the off-topic thread. Perhaps your comments about that thread are also valid.
