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Keshav Bhatt edited this page Nov 8, 2026 · 1 revision

This page shows you how to open your photos and find your way around the PixelFx window.

What PixelFx is

PixelFx is a quick photo editor for Linux. You can give a photo a look in one click, fine-tune it with light and colour controls, and edit a whole folder of photos at once.

Opening photos

There are several ways to bring photos in:

  • Open images: the open button at the left of the header bar, or Ctrl+O. You can choose many photos at once. The Add images button at the end of the filmstrip does the same.
  • Open folder: Ctrl+Shift+O, or Open folder on the welcome page. Every photo in the folder, subfolders included, goes to the Batch page, ready to edit together. See Batch.
  • Recent: the welcome page shows the photos you edited lately, with your edits on their pictures. Click one to open it. Clear forgets the list, but your edits stay. The main menu also has Open recent.
  • Drag and drop: drop photos anywhere on the window. A dropped folder goes to Batch. Dropped presets, looks and .cube LUTs are imported instead of opened.
  • Paste an image: copy a picture in another app, or copy photo files in your file manager, then press Ctrl+V (Paste image in the main menu).
  • From the command line: run pixelfx photo.jpg, or give it several files. If PixelFx is already open, the photos go to the open window.

The welcome page lists the file formats your copy of PixelFx opens, such as JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF and camera RAW.

A tour of the window

The header bar

Along the top you find, from left to right:

  • the open button, to open more photos;
  • the photo's name, with its size, format and file size under it. Click it to open Photo details (or press I): camera, lens, exposure, date taken and more;
  • Undo, Redo and History;
  • Before and after and Show the original while held;
  • Export, to save a copy of your edited photo;
  • the main menu (F10), with Open recent, the Edit, View and Photo menus, Settings, Keyboard shortcuts and the Online guide.

The mode rail

The narrow strip at the side switches what you are doing:

  • Edit (E): looks, presets and adjustments.
  • Crop (C): crop, rotate, straighten and fix perspective. See Crop, straighten and fix.
  • Heal (R): remove dust, blemishes and small objects.
  • Batch (B): one recipe for many photos. See Batch.
  • Settings (Ctrl+,) sits at the foot of the rail.

Looks and Presets, on the left

The left panel has two tabs. Looks shows one-click styles as small pictures of your own photo. Presets holds saved settings, including a large built-in collection. See Looks and Presets.

Adjustments, on the right

The right panel starts with the histogram, then the Auto, Copy, Paste and reset buttons, then the adjustment groups: Light, Color, Color mixer, Color grading, Curves, Detail, Effects, Optics, Calibration and Geometry. See Editing controls.

The filmstrip

Every photo you open sits in the filmstrip along the bottom. Click one to edit it, or use Left and Right to move between them. Ctrl+click and Shift+click select several photos, and Ctrl+A selects them all. With several selected, a look, a preset or pasted settings go to all of them, and Export saves them all.

To close a photo, use the close button on its tile or press Ctrl+W.

The zoom bar

Under the photo you find Zoom out, Zoom in, Fit (Ctrl+0), 100% (Ctrl+1) and Full screen (F11). The mouse wheel zooms too, and you drag to move around a zoomed photo. Double-click the photo to switch between Fit and 100%.

Press Tab while the photo has the focus to hide the panels and see only your photo. Press it again to bring them back.

Your edits are safe

PixelFx never changes your original file. Your edits are kept as settings, separately from the photo. When you open the same photo again, it looks the way you left it. This still works if you rename or move the file.

You can change this in Settings: Remember edits turns the memory on or off, and On open chooses whether a photo opens as you left it or always from the original.

To get a finished file, you export a copy (see below).

Undo, history and snapshots

  • Undo is Ctrl+Z and Redo is Ctrl+Shift+Z.
  • History (H) lists every change you made to this photo, newest first. Click a step to go back to it.
  • Snapshots keep a version you like under a name. Open History, choose Save snapshot... and give it a name. Your snapshots are listed in History, so you can return to one at any time.
  • Reset all (Ctrl+R) takes the photo back to no edits.

Exporting

When you are happy, click Export in the header bar or press Ctrl+Shift+E. Choose a format, quality, size and folder, then save. Your original stays as it was. If several photos are selected in the filmstrip, Export saves each of them with its own settings.

Read more on the Export page.

Next steps

PixelFx on GitHub · Snap Store · Issues

PixelFx guide

Report a bug

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