Introduction

In this video from our Lightroom 4 A to Z Workshop on DVD, we will explain the History Panel in Lightroom 4, which can be found on the left panels in the Develop Module. The History Panel stores a history of all adjustments made to an image. In this article, we will also address the options available in the History Panel.

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The History Panel

To expand and collapse the History Panel, press “Ctrl + Shift + 3.” As mentioned earlier, the History Panel records a history of the adjustments made to an image.

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You can use the History Panel to get back to any point in your processing workflow for a particular image. To go back to any recorded point in history, simply click on the step in the History Panel. For example, if we click on Highlights, it will undo all the other previous adjustments made to the image, from Vibrance to White Clipping.

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The History Panel Options

If we right-click on one of the steps in the History Panel, we have 2 options.

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Create Snapshot
First, we have the option to create a Snapshot from where we are, depending on the step in the History Panel selected.

Copy History Step Settings to Before
This step is similar to the Snapshots settings discussed in our article, “How to Create Snapshots and Virtual Copies in Lightroom 4.” We can copy a particular history setting so that when we hit the “\” button (Before/After shortcut) on our keyboard, it will show that history step in the Before setting.

Clear History
Although this is not an option when we right-click on a step in the History Panel, we can also clear all of the history recorded in the History Panel. Just click on the “X” at the top of the History Panel to clear all history recorded.

Note that although you clear the History Panel, this does not reset the adjustments made to the image. This simply clears the saved history. To reset the settings on an image, click on the Reset button at the bottom right of Lightroom 4, under the right panels.

History states do not take up much space at all on your hard drive, so we don’t really recommend deleting your history unless you have a very good reason to!

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Conclusion & Learn More!

We hope you enjoyed this article and video excerpt from the Lightroom 4 A to Z Workshop on DVD. Stay tuned for our next article and episode!

The Lightroom 4 A to Z Workshop on DVD is a 14 hour video workshop turning any Lightroom novice into a complete master of Lightroom 4 in no time! The Lightroom 4 A to Z Workshop can be purchased by itself, or within the Lightroom 4 Workshop Collection which also contains our award winning and industry standard Lightroom 4 Preset System, as well as the Lightroom 4 Workflow System.