Frames · Features

What you can do with Frames

129 features across 7 areas. Start with a task, then follow a link for instructions in the manual.

Import and sources5 features

  • Card import

    Import card photographs grouped by session, with duplicate checks and RAW+JPEG pairing.

  • Locations from a Track

    Place photographs without a location by matching their capture times to a recorded route, at card import or afterwards. Correct the camera clock on a timeline. Existing locations are kept.

  • Folder destinations

    Import to a folder using date and sequence patterns, with existing-file protection and source-coverage information.

  • Source setup

    Add Apple Photos or a folder from the source picker, with guidance through the first scan.

  • Original downloads

    Fetch iCloud originals as needed, share matching requests and cache completed downloads locally.

Library and organisation27 features

  • Frames treatment sidecars

    Carry named treatments and their original recipe JSON beside folder photographs. Review imports, keep existing treatments and undo unchanged imports.

  • Automatic XMP exchange

    Opt into debounced metadata exchange for connected folders. Independent changes merge; conflicts wait for review. Pick and Reject use Frames’ verdict property.

  • Catalogue recovery and transfer

    Export a consistent catalogue with metadata and treatments, without filesystem grants. Stage a validated import or backup restore for the next launch and retain the previous catalogue.

  • Journey

    Explore the current Browse result on a map of photographed stops and a day timeline, each stop named after its place or town. Open a photograph in Loupe and return to the same day and map position.

  • Slideshow

    Present kept and developed photographs from Browse, with large controls that hide automatically, a slow drift and a choice of transition.

  • Capture metadata sync

    Share camera, lens and exposure details between devices after one device reads the original.

  • Shortcuts library actions

    Find photographs, manage metadata, collections and versions, and save treatments with Apple Shortcuts.

  • Batch edit

    Paste a treatment onto a selection after reviewing affected treatments and downloads.

  • Photos in place

    Catalogue your Apple Photos library without copying or relocating originals.

  • Folder sources

    Browse folder and drive sources alongside Apple Photos in one catalogue. Review missing originals and scan failures with file paths and retry actions.

  • Library sync

    Sync source changes while preserving ratings and verdicts for missing photographs that may return.

  • Own catalogue

    Frames stores its data locally and backs up the catalogue before schema migrations.

  • Browse

    Browse a whole source, an album or a collection, then search and filter within it.

  • Library organising

    Create and organise Photos albums and folders from Browse, with changes synced through Photos.

  • Undo

    Undo up to 100 catalogue actions, including supported batches in one step.

  • Storage panel

    Inspect and clear six rebuildable caches while keeping the catalogue intact.

  • Metadata backfill

    Read missing camera, lens and exposure data from originals through the Photos source panel.

  • Search

    Find photographs by detected content, visible text or keywords you add.

  • Explore drawer

    Explore predefined categories and visual styles with suggestions and matching counts from your collection.

  • Folder sync

    Folder sources refresh on launch, mount and manual scan, with automatic change detection on local drives.

  • Scene tags

    Detected words describe photographs and can be clicked to filter the library.

  • Photographs like this one

    Press S to find up to 100 visually similar photographs, subject to active filters.

  • Keywords you type

    Add keywords to a photograph and search them alongside detected words.

  • Captions and credit

    Add captions and credit for export; on Mac, edit capture metadata and exchange XMP sidecars.

  • Saved searches

    Save queries and filters under a name in the sidebar, with counts that update as the catalogue changes.

  • Monochrome filter

    Filter Browse to photographs whose selected treatment uses Monochrome.

  • Browse filters

    Narrow photographs by rating, RAW files, edited treatments and Monochrome, alongside search.

Choosing photographs12 features

  • Choosing in four phases

    Review a shoot in four phases: Sweep, Rate, Inspect and Cleanup.

  • Verdicts and ratings

    Keep or reject photographs and rate them from one to five stars using separate controls.

  • Grid

    Browse adjustable thumbnails with range selection, four sort orders and rating and verdict marks.

  • Sets

    Group related photographs into sets and fold them to a cover photograph when needed.

  • Loupe

    View one photograph from fit to 400%, with a filmstrip and info panel.

  • Navigator and glass

    Use the navigator above fit or press G at fit to inspect a detail at 100%, 200% or 400%.

  • Compare

    Compare up to six photographs with linked panning and individual alignment offsets.

  • Originals on demand

    Browse local previews and load originals when you pause in Loupe, zoom, edit or request them.

  • Develop prewarm

    Frames prepares the editing render while you pause on a photograph in Loupe, with progress in the control band.

  • Safe delete

    Delete photographs only from Cleanup, with confirmation before files are removed.

  • Review controls

    Use the control band to change phase, rate photographs and track review progress.

  • Review rail

    Use phase-specific controls for keeping, rating and rescuing photographs, with position and verdict in the status bar.

Editing and colour45 features

  • Colour grading

    Tint shadows, midtones, highlights or the whole selected target with one wheel, exact numeric controls, Balance and Blending. Works on Background and mask layers.

  • Perspective correction

    Correct convergence with Vertical, Horizontal and Aspect, or align four guides. Constrain Crop keeps empty edges out while preserving the stored crop.

  • Version comparison

    Reveal a saved reference and the editing version with a movable divider, shared framing and one zoom and pan. The reference recipe stays unchanged.

  • Shortcuts Develop actions

    Set a Develop control, reset adjustments or set a crop with Apple Shortcuts, on the photograph open in Develop or on photographs a shortcut found.

  • Non-destructive editing

    Edits are stored in Frames’ catalogue and leave original files unchanged.

  • Recipes

    Frames saves adjustments automatically as recipes, including when you leave a photograph or quit during a drag.

  • Copy and paste edits

    Copy with ⇧⌘C and review with ⇧⌘V. Apply chosen adjustments to one or many frames as new versions by default, with explicit update choices and guarded Undo. The copied recipe survives restarts and is shared by windows on this device.

  • RAW 9 decoding

    Frames uses Apple’s on-device RAW 9 decoder for files that support it.

  • Per-camera controls

    Develop shows the RAW controls supported by each photograph and its decoder.

  • White balance

    Adjust temperature and tint, or sample a neutral area with the RAW white-balance picker.

  • Tone sliders

    Adjust exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites and blacks.

  • Tone curve

    Edit composite and RGB point curves directly, or drag on the photograph to adjust a sampled tone.

  • Focus peaking

    Press K to highlight sharp edges measured from original pixels in green.

  • Colour mixer

    Adjust hue, saturation and luminance across eight colour bands, selected directly or from the photograph.

  • Looks

    Apply one of 32 included looks at adjustable strength, save your own or import Lightroom presets.

  • Monochrome process

    Switch to Monochrome for black-and-white conversion controls and toning.

  • Lens filters and bands

    Choose a monochrome filter and adjust eight bands to control how original colours become grey.

  • Toning

    Tint monochrome shadows and highlights with presets or hue, strength and balance controls.

  • Vibrance and saturation

    Adjust overall colour intensity with two controls in the Colour group.

  • Presence

    Adjust clarity, texture and dehaze across the photograph or within a mask.

  • Vignette and grain

    Add a crop-relative vignette and film grain. Choose a stock and format in the grain popover, with a preview strip below.

  • Halation

    Add a warm highlight glow in Colour or a neutral glow in Monochrome.

  • Grain of its own

    New grain edits use a photograph-specific pattern that remains stable between renders.

  • Lens corrections

    Apply a saved lensfun profile or manual distortion adjustment before other edits.

  • RAW detail controls

    Use the sharpness, noise, moiré and other Detail controls supported by the current RAW file.

  • HDR gain map

    Adjust HDR strength on supported RAW files with a gain map, starting from zero.

  • Crop and straighten

    Crop with eight aspect choices including Free, five composition guides and four ways to set the angle.

  • Rotation and flips

    Rotate the cropped photograph left or right in 90° steps, or flip horizontally and vertically. Close the crop tool with Done to use the orientation buttons.

  • Auto Level

    Detect and level a horizon automatically, with a message when no horizon is found.

  • Spot and stroke repairs

    Press Q, then click to heal or clone a spot. Option-drag paints a longer repair; drag an empty area to pan.

  • Found repair source

    Frames finds nearby source material for each repair. Drag the source grip to choose a different area.

  • Dust maps

    Save sensor spots and apply them to a selection or camera date range, with a summary and one-step undo.

  • Find dust

    Press ⇧K in Develop to highlight possible sensor dust and adjust the detection threshold.

  • Composition review

    Explore framing from your intention, measured observations and suggested crops. Currently available on Mac.

  • Snapped repair stroke

    Enable Snap to extend a repair stroke over detected objects it crosses.

  • Interactive rendering

    Most adjustments use a cached RAW decode, while RAW white balance and Detail trigger a new decode.

  • Honest histogram

    Measure the histogram from original decodes and click clipping indicators to highlight affected pixels.

  • Before and after

    Hold / in Develop to view the unedited photograph through the current crop.

  • Edited previews

    Saved edited previews let Grid display the selected treatment and its edited mark.

  • Version picker

    Switch between saved treatments and ORIGINAL for viewing and export.

  • Moving a treatment

    Copy and paste between treatment segments, with confirmation before replacing edits and undo when full restoration is available.

  • Develop Field Guide

    Question marks beside Develop’s controls open an explanation of what each does, what to try and how Frames processes it.

  • Auto tone

    Set a starting point for the six Tone sliders with one click and undo it in one step.

  • Soft proofing

    Preview sRGB, Display P3, Adobe RGB or ProPhoto and highlight out-of-gamut colours.

  • Undo and reset

    Undo edits to the current photograph, reset an adjustment group or bypass it temporarily.

Masks and local adjustments14 features

  • Mask layers

    Apply adjustments through named layers with colour, visibility and opacity controls.

  • Drawn masks

    Draw Radial, Linear and Brush masks that remain aligned through crop and straighten.

  • AI subject masks

    Create layers from subjects, background, sky, people and objects detected on your Mac.

  • People by part

    Create separate or combined masks for available face parts, hair and clothes.

  • Hover to mask

    Press M, hover over a detected object and click its highlight to create a mask layer.

  • Select tool

    Click or draw a box to select an object, then click to include areas or ⌥-click to exclude them.

  • Snapping brush

    Enable Snap to include detected objects crossed by a brush stroke while retaining the painted line.

  • Mask components

    Add, subtract, reorder or disable individual shapes within a mask layer.

  • Mask overlays

    Press V to cycle hidden, tint, zebra and matte views of the selected mask.

  • Portable masks

    Copied detected masks are recalculated for the destination photograph.

  • Range masks

    Select a brightness band with Low, High and Falloff, or sample a colour and set its tolerance.

  • Layer invert

    Choose Invert to apply a layer outside its combined mask.

  • Mask selectivity

    Limit individual mask shapes to matching colour and brightness, including subtracting shapes.

  • Mask diffusion

    Soften the combined layer mask with Diffusion, alongside individual shape feather controls.

Export and sharing11 features

  • Shortcuts file processing

    Process incoming image files and return exports without adding the inputs to the library.

  • Export

    Press E in Browse to export to a folder or the macOS share sheet. Choose format, size, metadata and naming, with download and space estimates.

  • Publish to Photos

    Allow publishing to send edited renderings to Photos, with Revert available and iCloud Photos sync supported.

  • Export formats

    Save JPEG, HEIF, 16-bit TIFF, or PNG at 8 or 16 bits.

  • Export colour spaces

    Choose sRGB, Display P3 or Adobe RGB, with ProPhoto available for 16-bit output.

  • Resize and sharpen

    Resize by long edge or percentage and apply output sharpening after resampling.

  • Watermarks

    Add text or image watermarks with nine positions, size, inset and opacity controls.

  • Export presets

    Save, rename and reuse export settings, including the destination.

  • Metadata controls

    Choose whether exports include camera information, capture date, location and copyright.

  • File naming

    Build folder and filename patterns from dates, sequence numbers and photograph metadata.

  • Existing-file handling

    Choose Replace, Skip or Keep both for files already at the export destination.

macOS and workflow15 features

  • Automator and script workflows

    Run named shortcuts from Automator, Finder Quick Actions and scripts on Mac.

  • Spotlight search

    Find albums, Frames collections and the photographs you kept, rated, captioned or gave keywords from Spotlight. A chosen photograph opens in the loupe with your words in Frames’ search.

  • Siri collection phrases

    Open or present a Photos album or a Frames collection by asking Siri.

  • Handoff

    Continue with the photograph in the loupe or Develop on another device. When it has yet to reach that device, Frames says so and downloads nothing.

  • On-device AI

    RAW processing, mask detection and horizon detection run on your device.

  • Keyboard-first

    Use shortcuts for reviewing and editing photographs, and press ? for contextual help.

  • Activity queue

    Track library, photograph and output work in one panel, with progress, errors and recent history.

  • Progressive loading

    Photographs appear from available previews and improve as better renditions become ready.

  • Committed dark

    The interface stays dark in every system appearance to keep viewing conditions consistent.

  • Native macOS

    Frames uses native macOS controls and Metal-backed photograph views.

  • Manual in the app

    Press ⌘? or choose Frames Manual from Help to open the bundled documentation.

  • Accessible controls

    Controls have accessibility labels, grouped star rows and phase announcements for VoiceOver.

  • rawctl

    Import, inspect, render and troubleshoot through a command-line tool using the same catalogue.

  • Glowing app icon

    After purchase, choose the glowing golden icon in the purchased section of Settings. The choice is saved on each device.

  • Getting started

    Start with small tips on Choose, Keep and Develop, meet other features through later tips, and open in-app guidance whenever you want to learn more.

Need a walkthrough? Open the manual.