PNG import doesn't allow a lot of control, default filtering not very useful

[MethylBromide]

I tried importing this logo:

and this is what I got:

A few observations:

• No part of the text is legible, though it's legible in the original.
• I can't figure out by what criteria it's decided what parts to retain in the "trace" operation. Big parts of the blue capsule are white or at least very light, but there's no corresponding hole. The text at the bottom is BLACK and there's no trace of it.
• Admittedly this is a very small graphic but I was surprised it didn't import better.
• While I can specify the size of the imported image, there's no way to specify the cutoff luminance level (I assume that's how you're deciding what parts are image). It's hard to know what number to put in until you see the result, but maybe a slider with preview before the import is finalized?
• If I have line art, I'd generally try to make it an SVG file. If I'm importing a PNG, I probably want to turn it into a height map so I can make a lithophane or similar. I'm not saying we need to provide that ability, since it's sort of a niche application and there are already free tools online to do that conversion. Just thinking about use cases for PNG import.
• But in any case, if it is a logo, I'll almost never want to convert it to monochrome. The colors should matter.

[henmedia]

@MethylBromide thanks for the detailed write-up! The tracing in the import comes from @plazmabokor, who added PNG and JPG pictures.

@plazmabokor would you have a look? Here the picture's edge is transparent, and the import took the light part of the logo, so the black text and most of the blue letters are gone.

Until then, the trace in sketch mode gives you the control you're after: Add image, then Trace in the picture's settings. You choose the dark part, the light part or the object, set the threshold and the number of points, and see the outline in red over the picture before you apply it: https://layerling.com/guide/sketches.html

[plazmabokor]

@MethylBromide thank you for the detailed write-up and the logo. The cause was as you suspected: on a transparent background the import took the light part (the large light-blue oval), so the black text and the mid-blue letters were dropped. PR #1352 fixes it: on a transparent background every pixel that is not transparent now counts as the shape, whatever its colour, so all the lettering comes in. A picture without transparency is traced as before. Until it is merged, the trace in sketch mode (Add image, then Trace in the picture's settings) lets you pick the dark part, the light part or the object and set the threshold. @henmedia, this is the fix you asked me to look at.

[henmedia]

@plazmabokor thank you, that was quick!

@MethylBromide the fix is merged now: a logo on a transparent background comes in with all of its parts, the black text and the blue letters included. Your logo is only 156 pixels wide, so the small letters will still look rough. A larger picture or an SVG gives cleaner lettering.

[henmedia]

@MethylBromide the fix is out in layerling 1.145.0: a picture on a transparent background now comes in whole, every pixel that isn't transparent is part of the shape, whatever its colour.