You are here: Edit Mode > Using Repair Tools > Removing Flaws

Removing Flaws

You can use the Repair Tool to remove flaws, such as:

Skin blemishes
Telephone wires and other unwanted objects
Flash flares from snowflakes or windows
Lens scratches and water drops

There are two options available for the Repair Tool: the Healing Brush and the Cloning Brush.

When you select the Healing Brush, the Repair Tool copies pixels from one area of a photo to another, but it analyzes the pixels in the source area before copying them. It also analyzes the pixels in the target area, and then blends the pixels of both source and target, to match the surrounding area. This ensures that the lighting and color of the replacement pixels integrate with the surrounding area. The Healing Brush works particularly well with photos that involve complicated textures like skin or fur.

When you select the Cloning Brush, the Repair Tool copies the exact pixels from one area of a photo to another, creating an identical image area. The Cloning Brush is more effective for photos that have strong, simple textures or uniform colors, as it is more difficult to identify the copied pixels in the finished photo.

You can save your settings as a preset for future use.

To Remove Flaws from a Photo:

In Edit mode, in the Repair group, click Repair Tool.
Select one of the following:
- Heal: Copies the pixels from the source area to the target area, and blends pixels into the surrounding image area.
- Clone: Copies the pixels from the source area to the target area.
Drag the Nib Width and Feathering sliders as described in the table below.
Right-click the image to set a source location. Pixels will be copied from this location and used in the target location.
Click and drag over the area that you want to cover. If you selected the healing brush, ACDSee analyzes and replaces the pixels when you release the mouse button.
Do one of the following:
- Click Done to apply your changes and close the tool.
- Click Cancel to discard all changes and close the tool.

Click Reset to clear your changes and reset to default settings. If you saved your changes, you cannot reset your settings.

Scroll with your mouse to adjust the brush size on the fly, or press the SHIFT key while you scroll to adjust feathering.

Repair Tool Options

Nib Width

Sets the width of the brush. The maximum brush width is relative to the size of your image.

Feathering

Sets the amount to feather on the edge of the brush to prevent sharp transitions between the original and healed part of the photo.

Feathering is set as a percentage of the nib width, not as a specific number of pixels. This means that you do not have to adjust the feathering when you reset the Nib Width, as it automatically adjusts to a percentage of the new nib width.

You can right-click a slider to reset to the default value.