In this window you can load effects and apply them to your images. The Lab window is accessed either running the PhotoChances Lab icon in your Start Menu/Programs/PhotoChances or the Icon you may have in your desktop if you chosen that during installation. In the window, by default you will see tips and descriptions of each element in the window when you place the mouse over them.
The Lab window has a menu on top with all the commands available. At the bottom the status bar shows a description of the element where the mouse is pointing at (the status bar can be disabled with the menu)
The window is divided in three parts: On top you choose the "Effect" you want to use. In the center goes the destination image with buttons near the bottom to Load Save or Print the resulting image and at the right the Process where you can fine tune the result.
Effect: 
You can load an effect by loading any image you captured with
the program previously (in slideshow mode) or saved in this same window. If you access
this window from the slideshow (by pressing the space bar) it will be loaded already with the
effect of the image that was displayed.
Random Effedt will generate and apply a new effect on the current image chosen
randomly. It's a
great source of ideas and exclusive effects. You can control what type of
effects it will generate, click the down arrow at the right of the button and
check the types you prefer. Checking "Combined" will generate a double effect.
"Extreme" will
include the most radical effects in the possible choice.
The "Store of effects" is a special location where you can save your 
favorite
effects. It's special folder in your disk where these effects are stored for
easier access. You can access it either by the 
Store of effects button that opens the folder containing the effects or with the
menu (press the arrow at the right side of the button or from the main
Menu->Effect)
All the effects in the store show the same image. See here how to set your own image.
Notice that it's not mandatory using the store of effects, any image you saved with the program in any location can be used as the source of the effect, simply drag it over the effects zone in the window or use the button "Load effect from Image". The store is an additional source of your most used effects and comes preloaded with some selected samples ready to use.
Target image: Here goes a preview of the resulting
picture with the
active effect applied. 
You can load any supported image file here by using the
button "Load Image" or dragging an image file to this
zone.
To trim the image: Click and drag the mouse over it. Hold down the Shift key to make the cut square, Shift+Control will make it proportional to the image and Shift+Alter will make it proportional to the screen. To cancel the cut click the mouse outside it or press Escape. The cut will be applied to the image when saved.
Control+Clicking the preview of the image will show the original unprocessed
image.
Right clicking the mouse over the preview opens a popup menu with some
additional self-explained options.
Additional processing: At the right side there are controls to further fine tune the effect. Any change on these controls will be reflected in the preview of the image. You can experiment with them and see the result almost immediately in the preview. From top to bottom these controls are grouped in three phases:
Preprocess image: Allows changing the
Luminosity and 
Contrast of the image before applying the
effect. Some effects may work better with some images due to their initial lightness and contrast,
these options will allow you to adjust the input to the effect depending on the
initial image.
Control effect: When an effect has a
component of variable color there will be sliders (one or more) to adjust the 
hue
(color tonality). If there is more than one color all the sliders will move
simultaneously when you move one, this is to maintain the relation between the
different colors but changing the tonality. You can control a single color by
holding down the Control key and moving the slider.
When an effect is compound of two there will be a 
Blend control to adjust the
mix of each one.
Postprocess image: After the effect is applied, additionally you can control
its 
Intensity: Reducing this value will fade
out the effect. The rightmost
position is the complete effect, the leftmost position would leave the original
image with no effect. You can also control the final
Luminosity,
Contrast and 
Saturation
(color intensity). Notice that the leftmost position in Saturation is a black and white
rendition so any effect can have a black & white option. And finally you can Tint the
result, this will overlay a layer of uniform color over the image. Double
click the box at the left of the slider to choose the color.
Note: Double clicking any of these sliders will set them to their default value.
Undo will cancel
the last change in the effect (either a change of a whole effect or a parameter)
and Redo will recover what was "undone".
When you are satisfied with the resulting
picture you can save it, use the
button below the preview. The program will propose
by default the folder and the original name with the suffix you have set in the General
tab in Settings.
At the bottom you can choose if you want the file of a smaller size than the
original, the jpeg quality and an options to run your image editor after the
save and/or open the folder containing the saved image. (This last option will
load the value you have set on the General settings, here you can override it)
Note: In idle time the program works in the background constructing the picture for save. Depending on the complexity of the effect and the time since you made the last change the saving may be immediate or require some processing before completion.
The button 
Copy places the processed picture at
the final resolution in the clipboard. This may be useful if you use other
editing programs and want, for example mix different renditions of the same
photograph. For example you could open your image in an image editor and paste
different results of different effects on the same image.
The program allows printing the resulting picture. See here more details.
The pictures saved in JPEG or TIFF format contain the recipe of the effect used to build them so you can replicate easily an effect in other images at any time. Once an picture is saved you can use its recipe at any time simply loading it in the Lab window. Be aware if you edit the images the program produces with other programs as some could erase this information so the formula to reproduce that same effect could be lost
While the program is running in Evaluation mode the saved images will have a watermark but it can be removed when the program is purchased. To remove the watermark of an image just load it from the effect (use the button "Load effect from image" or drag the file to the top side of the window), the program will detect the watermark and show a message offering to remove it.