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Image Pro Plus Reference

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
441 views784 pages

Image Pro Plus Reference

image pro plus reference

Uploaded by

anhntran4850
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 784

Image-Pro Plus

Version 5.1 for Windows


Reference Guide

Media Cybernetics, Inc.


8484 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(301) 495-3305, FAX (301)495-5964
http://www.mediacy.com
MAN 41N51000 20040830

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Image-Pro Plus: Copyright 1993, 2004 Media Cybernetics, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
TRADEMARK ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Image-Pro is a registered trademark of Media Cybernetics, Inc.
Image-Pro Plus is a trademark of Media Cybernetics, Inc.
All other trademarks in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective companies, including:
WindowBlinds: DirectSkin OCX Stardock
We would like to acknowledge the contribution of:
Professor Ian T. Young
Pattern Recognition Group
Delft University of Technology
Department of Applied Physics
Lorentzweg 1
NL-2628 CJ Delft
The Netherlands
for his help in developing the margination measurement algorithms used in this
product.

IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY


LICENSE AGREEMENT
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BY USING THIS SOFTWARE YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT, UNDERSTAND IT, AND AGREE TO
BE BOUND BY ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

Contents
Image-Pro Plus Tool and Command Reference ....................................................... 1-1
Image-Pro Tools ........................................................................................ 1-1
The Image Window.................................................................................. 1-18
Managing Open Image Windows............................................................. 1-20
Image-Pro Dialog Boxes.......................................................................... 1-21
Common Dialog Boxes ............................................................................ 1-22
Data Exchange ......................................................................................... 1-29
The File Menu .......................................................................................................... 2-1
New............................................................................................................ 2-2
Open........................................................................................................... 2-5
Image Database........................................................................................ 2-10
Reload ...................................................................................................... 2-11
Close ........................................................................................................ 2-12
Save.......................................................................................................... 2-13
Save As .................................................................................................... 2-14
Archive..................................................................................................... 2-17
Convert /Batch Conversion ...................................................................... 2-19
File Signature ........................................................................................... 2-21
Image Signature ....................................................................................... 2-22
Send Mail................................................................................................. 2-23
Remote File Transfer ............................................................................... 2-26
Remote Conference.................................................................................. 2-41
Screen Capture ......................................................................................... 2-48
Print Screen.............................................................................................. 2-53
Print.......................................................................................................... 2-54
Mosaic Image........................................................................................... 2-58
Exit........................................................................................................... 2-65
The Edit Menu........................................................................................................ 2-67
Undo ........................................................................................................ 2-68
Cut............................................................................................................ 2-69
Copy......................................................................................................... 2-70
Paste......................................................................................................... 2-71
Paste New ................................................................................................ 2-72
Paste Options ........................................................................................... 2-73
v

New AOI.................................................................................................. 2-75


AOI .......................................................................................................... 2-77
Annotate................................................................................................... 2-81
Fill............................................................................................................ 2-90
Dye List ................................................................................................... 2-96
Lens List .................................................................................................. 2-99
Convert To ............................................................................................. 2-102
Duplicate/Crop To AOI ......................................................................... 2-115
Rotate..................................................................................................... 2-116
Resize..................................................................................................... 2-119
Local Zoom............................................................................................ 2-120
Info......................................................................................................... 2-121
Palette .................................................................................................... 2-129
Preferences............................................................................................. 2-132
The Acquire Menu ............................................................................................... 2-143
The Basic Digital Capture Dialog.......................................................... 2-144
Digital Camera Options ......................................................................... 2-152
The Basic Analog Capture Dialog ......................................................... 2-161
Analog Capture Options ........................................................................ 2-165
Capture Options ..................................................................................... 2-167
Scan ....................................................................................................... 2-186
Select Scanner........................................................................................ 2-188
Scan Options.......................................................................................... 2-189
Import Plugins........................................................................................ 2-190
The Sequence Menu............................................................................................. 2-191
Normalize Illumination .......................................................................... 2-192
Background Correction.......................................................................... 2-194
Despeckle............................................................................................... 2-196
The Set Manager.................................................................................... 2-198
The Set Navigator .................................................................................. 2-209
Set Information ...................................................................................... 2-216
Sequence Toolbar .................................................................................. 2-228
Merge Files ............................................................................................ 2-232
Sequence Editing Commands ................................................................ 2-233
Sequence Options .................................................................................. 2-238

vi

The Enhance Menu............................................................................................... 2-239


Display Range ........................................................................................ 2-240
Contrast Enhancement ........................................................................... 2-242
Equalize ................................................................................................. 2-250
Test Strips .............................................................................................. 2-252
Invert Contrast ....................................................................................... 2-255
Reset Contrast ........................................................................................ 2-256
Apply Contrast ....................................................................................... 2-257
Invert Image ........................................................................................... 2-259
The Process Menu ................................................................................................ 2-261
Background Correction .......................................................................... 2-262
Filters ..................................................................................................... 2-265
Large Spectral Filters ............................................................................. 2-285
Filter Plugins.......................................................................................... 2-291
Threshold/Segmentation ........................................................................ 2-292
Operations.............................................................................................. 2-301
Restricted Dilation ................................................................................. 2-307
Trace Objects ......................................................................................... 2-308
Color Channel ........................................................................................ 2-309
Color Correction .................................................................................... 2-314
Color Composite .................................................................................... 2-316
Pseudo-Color ......................................................................................... 2-323
CIE L*A*B Color .................................................................................. 2-337
Registration ............................................................................................ 2-341
FFT ........................................................................................................ 2-347
Image Overlay........................................................................................ 2-359
Grid Mask .............................................................................................. 2-363
Extended Depth of Field ........................................................................ 2-368
Align Images .......................................................................................... 2-374
Tile Images ............................................................................................ 2-380
Sequence Gallery ................................................................................... 2-386
The Measure Menu............................................................................................... 2-389
Calibration ............................................................................................. 2-390
Count/Size.............................................................................................. 2-422
Sort Objects ........................................................................................... 2-471
Measurements ........................................................................................ 2-473
Measure Distance................................................................................... 2-493
Manual Tag ............................................................................................ 2-495
Caliper.................................................................................................... 2-503
Co-Localization...................................................................................... 2-515
Track Objects......................................................................................... 2-518
Snap Measurements ............................................................................... 2-540
Histogram............................................................................................... 2-541
vii

Line Profile ............................................................................................ 2-560


Bitmap Analysis..................................................................................... 2-576
Surface Plot............................................................................................ 2-582
Report .................................................................................................... 2-590
Data Collector........................................................................................ 2-591
The Macro Menu.................................................................................................. 2-601
Macro..................................................................................................... 2-602
Record Macro/Stop Recording .............................................................. 2-606
Edit Macro ............................................................................................. 2-612
Output Window...................................................................................... 2-620
Insert ...................................................................................................... 2-624
Load Demo Macros ............................................................................... 2-632
Macro Player.......................................................................................... 2-634
The Window Menu .............................................................................................. 2-637
Tile Images ............................................................................................ 2-638
Cascade Images...................................................................................... 2-639
Overlap Images ...................................................................................... 2-640
Next Image............................................................................................. 2-641
Prev. Image ............................................................................................ 2-642
Close All ................................................................................................ 2-643
Close Tools ............................................................................................ 2-644
Select Menu ........................................................................................... 2-645
Hide/Show Tool Bar .............................................................................. 2-648
Hide/Show Workflow Tool Bar............................................................. 2-649
Edit Workflow Tool Bar ........................................................................ 2-650
Sync Pan and Zoom ............................................................................... 2-655
Memory Monitor.................................................................................... 2-656
The Help Menu .................................................................................................... 2-659
Index ...................................................................................................... 2-660
Image-Pro Plus....................................................................................... 2-661
Solutions Zone ....................................................................................... 2-662
Macro Language .................................................................................... 2-665
Using Online Help ................................................................................. 2-666
About Image-Pro Plus............................................................................ 2-667
Appendix A - Glossary............................................................................................. 3-1
Appendix B - File Format Specifications ................................................................. 4-1
Appendix C - Source Code....................................................................................... 5-1
Appendix D - References ......................................................................................... 6-1
Index ................................................................................................................. Index-1
viii

Image-Pro Tools

Image-Pro Plus Tool and Command Reference


Image-Pro Tools
The following tools are located on the toolbar immediately below the menu bar. If no
toolbar is being displayed below the menu bar, you may show it by invoking the
Hide/Show Tools command on the Window menu or pressing <F5>. If the menu bar
and title bar are not being displayed, you may invoke them by pressing <F4>.

This toolbar is a dockable toolbar; that is, the toolbar can be moved to different
positions on your screen or resized, as well as hidden completely.
When you position the mouse cursor over one of the icons, a brief description of the
command appears. In order for these tool tips to be visible, the main application
window must be active.

The Status Bar


Image-Pro Plus has a status bar displayed at the bottom of the application area.
Apply to Entire Sequence

Current Position

Apply to Active Frame


AOI Extent

AOI Dimension (w/h)

Calib. Spatial Units

Pixel Value
Message Box

Page 1-1

Calib. Intensity Units

Image-Pro Tools
The Status Bar provides general-purpose information about the open image.

Message Box describes a selected command or menu and acts as a


progress indicator for lengthy operations.

Current Position gives the location of the cursor in pixels.

Pixel Value displays the intensity value of the pixel underneath the
cursor.

AOI Extent displays the location of the AOI in terms of four pixel
locations: left, top, right, and bottom.

AOI Dimension gives the width and height of the AOI in pixels.

Intensity Units indicates the intensity calibration units.

Spatial Units indicates the spatial calibration units.

When an operation is in progress, the message bar will display a tracking bar, and the
sequence buttons will be replaced with a Cancel button. To cancel the operation,
click the Cancel button or press <Esc>. (Please refer to the description of the
Sequence Toolbar later in this manual.)
The Apply to Active Frame and Apply to Sequence buttons appear at the
extreme left end of the status bar. These buttons can be used to apply a specific
operation to the frame currently in the application area, or to the active portion of a
sequence of images.
Image-Pro Plus v. 5.1 allows you to enable or disable the status bar fields by right
clicking on the status bar. You will see a pop-up menu of the indicator fields on the
status bar (listed above).
Click the cursor next to the name of the field you wish to enable. Enabled fields are
checked.
To resize any of the fields in the status bar, place your cursor over one of the dividers
between the fields. The cursor will change to a double-headed arrow. Click and drag
the cursor left to make the field smaller, or to the right to enlarge the field.

Page 1-2

Image-Pro Tools
AOI Tools: The Area-of-Interest (AOI) tools are used to isolate an area
from the rest of an image. When an AOI is active in an image, many of
Image-Pros commands will operate only upon the pixels within the AOI.
The filter command, for example, filters only the pixels within an AOI if
one is active when it is used.
Note - Not all of Image-Pros commands are constrained by an AOI.
Some, such as Save and Color Segmentation operate upon the entire
image regardless of whether an AOI is active or not. This behavior is
generally noted in the command descriptions contained in this reference.
An Area-of-Interest can be defined in any shape (it will always be a
closed figure, however). It is created by:
1)

Selecting the tool for the AOI shape you need. This
is done by clicking the appropriate AOI tool button
(Rectangular, Elliptical or Freeform -- see AOI button
descriptions below). When an AOI tool is selected, the
button will darken to indicate that it is enabled.

2)

Drawing the shape in the image with your mouse (see


the drawing techniques used for each AOI type in the
button descriptions below).
Once an AOI has been created in an image it can be toggled off and on by
clicking its AOI tool button. When an AOI is active, the outline of the
AOI appears in the image, and its AOI tool button is highlighted.

The AOI Tool is


highlighted, and

the AOI is outlined

Page 1-3

Image-Pro Tools
You may toggle off an active AOI by clicking its AOI Tool button. When
toggled off, the AOI disappears from the image and its AOI tool button
returns to normal.
Image-Pro allows you to have multiple AOIs active and visible when you
are in Multiple AOI mode (see Multiple AOI Tool below). When not in
Multiple AOI mode, only one AOI can be active (and visible) at any given
time, although you may keep one of each type (that is, up to three AOIs)
defined in an image. For example, you can define a rectangular AOI, toggle
it off, then define an elliptical AOI, then toggle it off, and then define a
freeform AOI. When you return to the rectangular tool, Image-Pro will
reactivate the rectangular AOI you defined. Likewise, when you select the
elliptical or freeform tool, the last elliptical or freeform AOI is activated.
The AOI Manager allows you to preserve individual AOIs for future use.
See the AOI command on the Edit menu for more information.
The individual AOI tool buttons, used to create and activate AOIs, are
described further below.
New AOI Tool: Use the AOI reset tool when you want to
eliminate the currently defined AOI and create a new one of the
same type.
For example, if you already had a freeform AOI active in your
image, but you wanted to create a new one, you would click the
New AOI button. This would clear the old AOI from the image
and give you the freeform drawing cursor so you could define a
new one.
See below for the steps used to define an AOI.
Rectangular AOI Tool: Use this tool to create and/or
activate a square or rectangular AOI in your image. To enable
the tool, click it. The button will be highlighted when it is
enabled. Holding down the <Shift> key while creating or editing
a rectangular AOI will create a square AOI (height = width).
The behavior of this tool will vary depending upon whether a
rectangular AOI has already been defined in the image.
If you have already defined a rectangular AOI in the image,
enabling this tool will activate it (the AOI outline will appear in the
image). If you want to create a new rectangular AOI, click the New
AOI button. This will eliminate the current AOI and give you the
drawing tools to define a new one.

Page 1-4

Image-Pro Tools
If you have not already defined a rectangular AOI in the image,
the rectangular drawing cursor will be given to you. Move this cursor
to the upper-left corner of the AOI, then drag it to the lower-right corner
and release the mouse button.
Drag the rectangular
drawing cursor ...

down and to the right.

The rectangle you have just defined will appear as an AOI in your
image.
You may adjust the boundaries and position of a rectangular AOI while
it is active. To adjust a boundary, place the cursor along the edge or
corner of the AOI and drag it when the 2-way cursor appears. To move
the AOI, place your cursor in the middle of the rectangle and drag it
when the 4-way cursor appears.
Elliptical AOI Tool: Use this tool to create and/or activate a
circular or elliptical AOI in your image. To enable the tool,
click it. The button will be highlighted when it is enabled.
Holding down the <Shift> key while creating or editing an
elliptical AOI will create a circular AOI.
The behavior of this tool will vary depending upon whether an
elliptical AOI has already been defined in the image.
If you have already defined an elliptical AOI in the image,
enabling this tool will activate it (the AOI outline will appear in the
image). If you want to create a new elliptical AOI, click the New AOI
button. This will eliminate the current AOI and give you the drawing
tool to define a new one.
If you have not already defined an elliptical AOI in the image,
the elliptical drawing cursor will be given to you. Drag the cursor until
the circular or elliptical shape you need is produced, then release the
mouse button.
Page 1-5

Image-Pro Tools

Drag the elliptical


drawing cursor ...

to create an elliptical or circular


AOI

The ellipse you have just defined will appear as an AOI in your image.
You may adjust the boundaries and position of an elliptical AOI while it is
active. To adjust a boundary, place the cursor along the edge of the AOI
and drag it when the 2-way cursor appears. To move the AOI, place your
cursor in the middle of the ellipse and drag it when the 4-way cursor
appears.
Freeform AOI Tool: Use this tool to create and/or activate a
freeform AOI in your image. A freeform AOI is made up of any
polygonal shape you care to define. To enable the tool, click it.
The button will be highlighted when it is enabled.
The behavior of this tool will vary depending upon whether or
not a freeform AOI has already been defined in the image.
If you have already defined a freeform AOI in the image,
enabling this tool will activate it (the AOI outline will appear in the
image). If you want to create a new freeform AOI, click the New AOI
button. This will eliminate the current AOI and give you the drawing
tool to define a new one.
If you have not already defined a freeform AOI in the image, the
freeform drawing cursor will be given to you. You can define a
freeform AOI using one or more of the following techniques:

Page 1-6

Image-Pro Tools
Defining polyline vertices: use this technique to create polygons
that are made up of straight line segments. To create such polygons,
simply click the left mouse button at each vertex (including the
beginning point) in the polygon, then click the right mouse button to
close the figure. The example below shows the 5 mouse clicks needed
to create this 5-sided figure.
click 1

click 2

Click the RIGHT button


after "click 5". This segment
will automatically be drawn

click 3

click 5

click 4

Drawing freehand: use this technique to create smooth edges.


Smooth edges are created by simply holding the left mouse button down
while you draw with the cursor. This method was used to create the
curved edges in the figure below.
hold the mouse button
to draw smooth, curved
edges

To close the figure, double-click the left mouse button, or click the right
mouse button once. Image-Pro will automatically connect the first and
last points in your line.
Auto-tracing an object: when you select the Freeform AOI Tool,
the Edge Tracking tool bar appears in the upper-left corner of the
Image-Pro window.

The Auto-Trace option lets you create an AOI by automatically


tracing an object in your image.

Page 1-7

Image-Pro Tools

Enable this option to do


auto-trace

Once the Auto-Trace option has been


selected, you must define the first two points
along the edge you want to trace. The first
point defines the beginning of the outline,
and the second point defines the direction in
which you want the outline to proceed. The
example below shows how you would begin
an auto-trace for an object.

After the first two


points, Image-Pro will
automatically trace the
rest of the object.

When the beginning point is reached, Image-Pro will stop the trace.
Click the right mouse button once to close the figure.
The trace will also stop if Image-Pro loses the edge it is tracing, or
encounters the edge of the image window. When this occurs, you may
either click the right mouse button to end the trace, disable the AutoTrace option and complete the trace manually, or lead Image-Pro to the
next point along the edge (just click a point where you want the trace to
continue).
Image-Pro will not pick up the trace at all if it does not discern an edge.
Magic Wand: The magic wand tool makes it easier to outline an
irregular AOI. Simply place the wand cursor inside the area that you
want to trace, and click the left mouse button once. The magic wand
will automatically trace the outline of the object(s) based on the color
similarities or difference of intensity ranges between the pixel under
your cursor, plus or minus a specified tolerance interval.
To outline an different region, place the cursor on that region and click
with the left mouse button. To outline more than one region, hold the
<Ctrl> key down while clicking on the region you want to outline. Click
the right mouse button to validate the AOI and outline it in green.
The magic wand also has its own tool bar:

Page 1-8

Image-Pro Tools

? or Help: Clicking this button displays the magic wand help.


Trace: Switch to the Edge Tracking tool bar (see following section).
Range: A percentage (0 - 99) of the maximum intensity for the image
class. The following table displays the minimum and maximum gray
levels for each class:
Image class:
Range min value
8
0
12
0
16
0
24 RGB
0
36 RGB
0
48 RGB
0
32 floating point
0%

Range max value


255
4095
65535
255
4095
65535
100%

Smooth: Degree of smoothing in freeform AOI (see following


section).
The options in the Edge Tracking tool bar are used to fine tune ImagePros edge detection mechanism. Adjust these values if Image-Pro is
having difficulty following an edge, or is tracing elements you do not
want to included in your AOI.
Threshold: Set this value to describe the level of contrast between
the feature you are tracing and surrounding elements. The threshold
scale extends from 1 to 10. A low value represents low contrast; a high
value, high contrast.
Smooth: This value (0-9) specifies the amount of post-filtering of the
outline you want. 0 = no smoothing, 9 = high degree of smoothing.
Speed: Set this value to control the speed at which the trace is
performed. A value from 1 to 5 can be specified. The lower the value,
the slower the trace is drawn. You might slow down a trace to make it
easier for you to track its progress.
Noise: Set this value to specify the number of pixels (1 to 6) ImagePro should use between nodes along the edge it outlines. A large value
results in a smoother outline (Image-Pro wont trace every nook and
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Image-Pro Tools
cranny), but it may cause Image-Pro to lose the edge more frequently.
Also, specifying values over 3 or 4 can cause Image-Pro to overshoot
curves along the edge.
Note - You can interrupt an auto-trace at any point by pressing the
space bar. You may back up the trace by pressing Backspace. To
continue the trace again, simply click on the next point.
Regardless of which method you have used to create your freeform
AOI, your freeform shape will appear in your image when the right
mouse button is clicked to close the figure.
The boundaries and position of a freeform AOI cannot be modified
once it has been defined. If you need to change the position or edge of
a freeform AOI, you must redraw it. To do this, click the New AOI
button to eliminate the existing freeform AOI from the image, then draw
the AOI again.
Important - some operations that read or write to elliptical and
freeform AOIs require rectangular dimensions. An FFT, for example,
can only operate upon a rectangular set of pixels. The same is true of
the Save As and Paste commands. In these instances, the rectangular
requirements are satisfied by using the pixels encompassed within a
nonrectangular AOIs "bounding-box" to perform the operation.
The bounding-box is defined by the smallest rectangle that completely
encompasses the nonrectangular AOI. The drawing below depicts the
bounding boxes that would be used for a few example elliptical and
freeform AOIs.

Both the AOIs themselves and the point of origin for the bounding box
are important considerations in understanding how an individual
command operates upon the multiple AOI. When Image-Pro can
perform a command on the AOI itself, it does so. Otherwise, it uses the
bounding box for the AOI.

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Image-Pro Tools
Commands that operate upon two images, such as the Operations
command, add a certain complexity. Consider, for example, an
Operations : Add command performed on the following two images,
each having an active AOI (the bounding box for each AOI is shown).

In both instances, Image-Pro performs the following steps:

Align the two images at the point of origin (0,0) for each AOI.

Perform the Add operation only where the Active images AOI is
active and the Other images bounding box coincides (that is, if
the two bounding boxes are of different size, the Operations
command will be performed only for that portion that they both
intersect).

Present the result in the Active images bounding box.


If circuit.tif is active, and colordot.tif is
added to it, the resulting image shows that
the bounding box of colordot.tif was not
as wide as that of circuit.tif.

If colordot.tif is active, and circuit.tif is


added to it, the resulting image shows that
the bounding box of colordot.tif was not
as deep as that of circuit.tif.

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Image-Pro Tools
Multiple AOI Tool: The Multiple AOI Tool is used to associate more
than one area of interest with an image for simultaneous processing. A
Multiple AOIs outlines appear in a different color to distinguish them
from that of a single AOI.
In the process of creating Multiple AOIs, the Multiple AOI Tool and one
of the Single AOI Tools will both be highlighted.

Both AOI tools are


highlighted, and

A single AOI is outlined in


a different color.

Multiple AOIs may be


selected and visible.

To create a Multiple AOI,


1) Create an AOI: Click the AOI tool you want to use and
place the AOI where you want it (the Multiple AOI tool need
not be on at this point). The rectangular, elliptical, and
irregular tools work as described above.
2) Add it to the Multiple AOI: Click the Multiple AOI
button. A pop-up menu appears. Click Add. An AOI outline
in a distinctive color is superimposed over the single AOI.
The single AOI remains active, and you may move it and
change its shape, or you may leave it in place.

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Image-Pro Tools
Repeat steps 1 and 2 for as many AOIs as you want (the
maximum is limited by the available memory on your
computer).
Note

Image-Pro commands that operate upon an AOI will use both the
Multiple AOI and the active Single AOI. If you do not want one of them
to affect your application, clear its AOI tool.
To make the Multiple AOI inactive, click the Multiple AOI button, then
click Show to turn it off.
To reset the multiple AOI, click the Multiple AOI button, then click
Reset. All the AOIs in the Multiple AOI will be reset.
The point of origin for a multiple AOI is determined by its bounding box.
A multiple AOIs bounding box is defined by the smallest rectangle that
completely encompasses all individual AOIs. The drawing below depicts
the bounding box for the multiple AOI.

Both the AOIs themselves and the point of origin for the bounding box are
important considerations in understanding how an individual command
operates upon the multiple AOI. Suppose, for example you want to apply
a sculpt filter to a multiple AOI in an image, then duplicate that image.
The filter is applied only to the portion of the image contained within each
individual AOI, while the Duplicate command uses the multiple AOIs
bounding box for its borders.

Original image,
with Multiple AOI

Result of sculpt filter

Result of
Duplicate command
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Image-Pro Tools

Zoom Tool: The Zoom Tool is used to magnify or reduce the


appearance of the image in the window. The Zoom Tool does not change
the actual size of your image in terms of spatial resolution; it simply
enlarges or reduces your view of the image by the specified percentage.
To use the Zoom tool, click the Zoom button (the button will be
highlighted indicating that it is enabled), and move the cursor into the
image window. The cursor will change into a magnifying glass.
If you want to magnify an area. Place the magnifying glass over the
area that you want to magnify, then click the left mouse button to Zoomin on that area. Image-Pro will enlarge the view by a factor of two.
Clicking again will enlarge the original image by a factor of 4, clicking
again by 8 and so forth up to 16.
To "undo" the magnification (i.e., zoom-out back out), click the left
mouse button while holding down the Shift key. Each click of the Shiftleft mouse button will undo the magnification, a level at a time.
If you want to reduce the image view. Place the magnifying glass
anywhere in the image and click the left mouse button while holding down
the Shift key to Zoom-out on the image. Image-Pro will reduce the
screen dimensions of the image by half. You can continue to click until the
image is reduced to 10% of it original screen size.
To enlarge the image again, click the left mouse button.
Note - You can also magnify and reduce an image using the Zoom
command in the pop-up menu that you create by clicking the right mouse
button. This command allows you to select Zoom In, Zoom Out, or Zoom
to a specific magnification. See The Image Window below.
Pan Tool: The Pan Tool is used to position an image that does not fit
entirely within the image window. It is an alternative to using the arrows
on the scroll bars for positioning the image within the window.
To use the Pan tool, click the Pan button (the button will be highlighted
indicating that it is enabled), and move the cursor into the image window.
The cursor will change into the panning hand. Place the hand over the area
of the image you want to move, then drag it to its new position.
Sync Pan, Scroll, and Zoom. This tool is used to synchronize the
Pan, Scroll, and Zoom movements in several open workspaces.

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Image-Pro Tools

Contrast Enhancement Button: Click this button to display the


BCG and other Contrast Controls. To remove, or hide, the BCG
Controls, click this button again.
BCG Controls: The Brightness, Contrast and Gamma (BCG) controls
are used to adjust the visual qualities of your image. There is an
independent slider control for each characteristic:
Brightness: Move this slider up to increase, or down to
decrease, the image brightness. A value of 50 represents no change to the
image values.
Contrast: Move this slider up to increase, or down to
decrease, the image contrast. A value of 50 represents no change to the
image values.
Gamma: Move this slider up to increase the Gamma value
(increase dark area contrast) or down to decrease the Gamma value
(increase bright area contrast). A value of 1 represents no change to the
image values.
Important - these controls change the appearance of your image as it is
interpreted through the Lookup Table. They do not actually change the
pixel values in your image bitmap. If you want to apply the changes to
your bitmap you must write the values to the bitmap by using the Apply
LUTs command or by clicking the Apply button.
Command Tools The Command Tools give you a quick way to
access Image-Pros major functions. This button can be used as an
alternative to selecting the command from the Image-Pro menus.
The commands associated with each button are listed below. For a full
explanation of the commands that these buttons invoke, refer to the menu
command descriptions contained in this reference.
Note - If a command is not available to you, the command tool will not
respond when you click on it. In addition, the tool tip will not be given.
(A tool tip is a brief description of the command, which appears when the
mouse pointer pauses over a button.)
Open Document from Disk Command Button: Use this
tool to activate Image-Pros Open command.
Save Document to Disk Command Button: Use this
tool to activate Image-Pros Save command.

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Image-Pro Tools
View Image Database Command Button: Use this tool to
activate Image-Pros Image Database command.
Video/Digital Capture Command Button: Use this tool
to activate Image-Pros Acquire command.
Scan to New Document Command Button: Use this
tool to activate Image-Pros Scan command.
Print Current Document Command Button: Use this
tool to activate Image-Pros Print command.
Report Generator Command: Use this button to launch
Image-Pros Report Generator feature.:
Undo Previous Command Button: Use this tool to Undo
or Redo the last operation.
AOI Management Command Button: Use this tool to
activate Image-Pro's AOI Manager command.
Annotate Image Command Button: Use this tool to
activate Image-Pro's Annotate command.
Contrast Enhancement Button: Use this tool to activate
the BCG and other Contrast Controls.
Automatic LUT Equalization Command Button: Use
this tool to activate Image-Pro's Best LUTs command.
Reset Contrast Table Command Button: Use this tool to
activate Image-Pro's Reset Contrast Table command.
Segment Command Button: Use this tool to activate
Image-Pro's Segmentation command.
Background Operations Command Button: Use this
tool to activate Image-Pro's Background Correction command.
FFT Command Button: Use this tool to activate ImagePro's FFT command (Fast Fourier Transform command).
Spatial Filter Command Button: Use this tool to activate
Image-Pro's spatial and morphological Filtering command.
Arithmetic and Logical Operations Command Button:
Use this tool to activate Image-Pro's Operations command.
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Image-Pro Tools
Colorize Image Command Button: Use this tool to
activate Image-Pros Pseudo-Color command.
Count and Measure Command Button: Use this tool to
activate Image-Pros Count/Size command.
Spatial Calibration Command Button: Use this tool to
activate Image-Pros Spatial Calibration command.
Manual Measurements Command Button: Use this tool
to activate Image-Pros Measurements command.
Snap Command Button: Use this tool to activate ImagePros Snap command.
Histogram Command Button: Use this tool to activate
Image-Pros Histogram command.
Line Profile Command Button: Use this tool to activate
Image-Pros Line Profile command.
Macro Management Command Button: Use this tool to
activate Image-Pros Macro command.
Record Macro Command Button: Use this tool to activate
Image-Pros Record Macro command.
Edit Macro Command Button: Use this tool to activate
Image-Pros Macro Editor command

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Image-Pro Tools

The Image Window


Open images are placed into image windows within the imaging area of the ImagePro application window. You may have more than one image open simultaneously.
The active image will be the frontmost image window, and its title bar will be
highlighted.
Each image window has its own set of Control-menu, Minimize, Maximize, and
Close buttons.
Minimize Button
Maximize Button
Control-menu Icon

Close Button

Like any window, an image window can be moved and resized. To move an image
window, drag its title bar. To resize an image window, drag its borders.
The Minimize and Maximize buttons can also be used to affect the disposition of
your image window. The Maximize button will enlarge the image window to its
maximum possible size in the imaging area. The Minimize button will reduce the
image to an icon (you might want to minimize an open image to reduce screen
clutter). Minimized images are placed along the bottom of Image-Pros imaging
area. You can reactivate a minimized image by double-clicking its icon.
The Close button offers a quick way to close the image. Click the Close button once
to close the image immediately.
Note: By default, Image-Pro will issue a warning message, reminding you to save
this image, before closing a modified image. To turn off this warning, visit the
Edit:Preferences menu and disable this option.
Page 1-18

The Image Window


The Control-menu icon is used to access the
image window control menu. This menu contains
the standard Windows control commands.

In addition, a few commands that are unique to


Image-Pro may be obtained by placing the mouse
cursor over the image and clicking the right button.
These commands are used to enlarge/reduce the
active image, color it, and obtain information
about the image. Each of these commands is
described below.

Zoom In: Use the Zoom In command to double the view of the image in the window.
To double the view a second time, repeat the process.
Zoom Out: Use the Zoom Out command to reduce by half the view of the image in
the window. To halve the view a second time, repeat the process.
Zoom: Use the Zoom command to enlarge or reduce the view of the image in the
window. This command can be used as an alternative to the Zoom tool located on
the ribbon along the left edge of the screen.
When you select the Zoom command, a pop-up menu is presented. In this menu
select the size at which you want to view the image. Choices range from 10% to
1600%. Selecting 100% returns an image window to its actual size.

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Image-Pro Tools
Information : Use the Information command
to obtain information about the image.

Note - When you have an Image-Pro operations dialog open, commands specific to that
operation may be added to the pop-out menu. This is the case with the annotation
command shown in the pop-out menu on the previous page.

Managing Open Image Windows


When you have several images open, perhaps with accompanying dialog boxes, you may
use several Image-Pro tools to manage them. We recommend that you close windows
when you have finished using them. When you need to have several open, you may place
them as you will, using the Tile Images, Cascade Images, or Overlap Images command,
or by dragging each one by its title bar. The active image has its title bar highlighted and
will be on top of any other images that are stacked (although the Palette dialog box, if
open, may overlay it).
To select a different image, you may do any of the following:
click anywhere on it with the left mouse button;
choose it by name from the list at the bottom of the Window menu;
choose the Next Image (<F2>) or Prev. Image (<F3>) command on the Window
menu;
use the <Ctrl>+<Tab> key combination to toggle between the current active
image and the most recently active image.
To create a larger imaging area (in order to view more of an oversize image, for example),
you may do either of the following:
select the <F4> function key (Hide/Show Borders) to remove the Image-Pro
window border (including title bar, command bar, tool bar, and status bar);
select the Hide/Show Tools command (<F5> function key) to remove the ImagePro tool bar.

Page 1-20

Image-Pro Dialog Boxes


The image on the left below is the normal view of an image in the Image-Pro application
window; the image in the center shows Image-Pro with its toolbar removed; the image on
the right shows Image-Pro with its borders removed.

Image-Pro commands can be accessed while the borders are hidden by using the
keyboard instead of the mouse. To access a pull-down menu, press Alt plus the menus
access key (e.g.,< Alt>+<F> for the File menu, <Alt+<E> for the Edit menu). Then
select the command within the menu using the arrow keys and the enter key or the
commands own access key Some commands, such as Undo, also have a shortcut key
combination (<Alt+Bksp> for Undo), which allows you to access the command directly.
To restore the toolbar or borders, repeat the process that removed them (e.g., <F4>
function key to show borders again).

Image-Pro Dialog Boxes


Most of Image-Pro's commands utilize dialog boxes within which you specify options and
parameters pertaining to the task at hand. A variety of standard Windows user interface
techniques are utilized within the dialog boxes -- list boxes, group boxes, buttons, edit
boxes and so forth, which you are already probably familiar with. In addition to these you
may see the following buttons when typing a numeric value into an edit box while using
Image-Pro:

These symbols can be used to enter or reset the value you have just typed. Clicking the
check mark enters the value, and performs a limit test upon it if appropriate. As an
alternative to clicking the check mark, you can press Enter. If the value is not within the
allowable range the check mark and x-symbol will not be cleared. Clicking the x-symbol
resets the contents of the field to its original value.
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Image-Pro Tools

Common Dialog Boxes


Image-Pro uses common dialog boxes for the commands that open, load, and save files.
We describe here the features that these dialog boxes hold in common. Individual dialog
boxes will then be described briefly as they appear in their proper order.

Open and Load Dialog Boxes


Image-Pro uses several commands that open or load specific types of files (such as Image
: Calibration : Open , Edit : AOI : Load, and Windows : Show Gallery : File : Open ). In
addition, the File : Open command is based on the same common dialog box, but with
additional features; those features that it holds in common operate in exactly the same
way.
The Open dialog box commonly appears as follows:

Look in: This list box shows the available folders (sometimes called directories) and
files. To see how the current folder fits in the hierarchy on your computer, click the
down arrow. To see what is inside a folder, click it. The folder's contents will then
be listed in the large list box (see File list, below). If you close Image-Pro and reopen
it later, the program will remember the location of the last file you opened, and will
return you to the same location.
Up One Level: Click this button to open the folder one level higher than the
one selected in Look in .
New Folder: Click this button to create a new folder when saving.
Click the List button (on the left) to display the files in columns in File list.
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Common Dialog Boxes


Click the Details button (on the right) to display the files in File list one per
row, with size, type, and date information included.
File list: This list box shows the folders and files in the location selected in Look in. To
see what is inside a folder, double-click it. To open a file immediately, double-click
it.
File name: This text box provides a space for you to type the name of the file you want.
You can use * as a wildcard. For example, you can type *.* to see a list of all files.
You can also type the full path of a file. For example, you can type
c:\myimages\image1.tif. Or, if you have used a long filename, you might
type c:\myimages\view from the top.tif.
Alternatively, you can click any file in the File list, and the File name is entered for
you.
If you are opening a specialized file, such as a calibration file, a filename for that file
type (e.g., .CAL) will be offered for your consideration.
Files of type: This list box shows the types of files to display. This is useful for
narrowing the list of files displayed to only those files with the filename extension
you want..
If you are opening a specialized file, such as a calibration file, only files of that type
(e.g., .CAL) can be opened.
Open: Click this button to close this dialog box and open the file with the name, file
type, and location you specified.
Open as Read-Only: Click this button to open the specified file, but not be able to
modify it.
Cancel: Click this button to close this dialog box without saving any changes you have
made.

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Image-Pro Tools
Opening and Saving Flat Files
If you have images stored in FLAT file format, you will want to be able to open and
save them using Image-Pro Plus. To do so, you will need to define the image type in
the Open and Save dialogs.
To Open a Flat File:
For example, if you want to define and open a new image type, called MYTYPE. These
files will have the file extension .MYT. Follow the steps below to open a flat file:

1.
2.

Click on the Open command from the File menu.


Select the FLAT file type, as shown below:

3.

Click on the Options button to display the following dialog box:

4.
5.

Change the File Format to MYTYPE and the File Extension to MYT.
Use the Browse button to select the descriptor file or type in the name i.e.
mytype.des
Click OK to define the new image type.
Cancel the Open command.
Reselect the Open command.

6.
7.
8.

Page 1-24

Common Dialog Boxes


9. The MYTYPE file type will be there, just as TIF and PCX files are.
10. Select your MYT flat file image and it will be displayed on the screen.
You can perform the same operations using the Save command to save a flat file image.

Defining a Flat File Descriptor


You can use the Flat File dialog (below) to generate descriptions of your files.

1.
2.

Select the File Format and File Extension for the files you are going to create.
Click on the Define New button from the Flat File Descriptor dialog.

You will see the following dialog box:

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Select the image class.


Select the bits/sample (8,12, 16)
Select the byte order
Define the Width, Height, Header Size and line offset.
Click Save to save your new description in a file.
Click OK to finish.
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Image-Pro Tools
You should have very specific information about the image before attempting to save it
into a flat file. Please refer to Appendix B, Flat File Format Specifications, for more
information.

Save and Save As Dialog Boxes


Image-Pro uses several commands that save files (such as Image : Calibration : Save
Active and Measure : Count/Size : File : Data to File ). In addition, the File : Save As
command is based on a nearly identical common dialog box, but with additional features;
those features that it holds in common operate in exactly the same way.
The Save dialog box commonly appears as follows:

Save in: This list box shows the available folders and files. To see how the current
folder fits in the hierarchy on your computer, click the down arrow. To see what is
inside a folder, click it. If you close Image-Pro, and reopen it later, the program will
return you to the location of the last file that you saved.
Up One Level: Click this button to open the folder one level higher than the
one selected in Save in.
New Folder: Click this button to create a new folder..
Click the List button (on the left) to display the files in columns In File list..
Click the Details button (on the right) to display the files in File list one per
row, with size, type, and date information included..
File list: This list box shows the folders and files in the location selected in Look in. To
see what is insider a folder, double-click it. To save to an existing file, double-click
its name..
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Common Dialog Boxes


File name: This text box provides a space for you to type the name of the file you want.
You can use * as a wildcard. For example, you can type *.* to see a list of all files.
You can also type the full path of a file. For example, you can type
c:\myimages\image1.tif. Or, if you use a long filename, you might type
c:\myimages\view from the top .tif
Alternatively, if you want to overwrite an existing file, you can click its listing in the
File list, and the File name is entered for you.
If you are saving a specialized file, such as a histogram file, a filename for that file
type (e.g., .HST) will be offered for your consideration. You may overwrite or
modify this suggested name as you choose.
Save as type: This list box shows the type of files to save. This is useful for narrowing
the list of files displayed to only those files with the filename extension you want
If you are saving a specialized file, such as a histogram file, you will only be able to
save to that type.
Save: Click this button to close this dialog box and save the file with the name, file
type, and location you specified.
Cancel: Click this button to close this dialog box without saving any changes you have
made.

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Image-Pro Tools

Append Data Dialog Box


Image-Pro uses several commands (such as Measure : Count/Size : File : Append Data
to File ) that attach files to the end of other files. In addition, the File : Save As command
is based on a nearly identical common dialog box, but with additional features; those
features that it holds in common operate in exactly the same way.
The Append dialog box commonly appears as follows:

File name: This text box provides a space for you to type the name of the file where
you want to append the information.
Folders: You can type the full path of a file. To attach to an existing file, you can click
its listing in the File list, and the File name is entered for you.
If you are saving a specialized file, such as a histogram file, a filename for that file
type (e.g., .HST) will be offered for your consideration. You may overwrite or
modify this suggested name as you choose.
Save as type: This list box shows the type of files to save. This is useful for narrowing
the list of files displayed to only those files with the filename extension you want..
If you are saving a specialized file, such as a histogram file, you will only be able to
save to that type.
Header: Check this box to create a header in the appended file. When appending, if you
want to append this data directly after the preceding data, you will need to turn off the
header check box.
Left Column: Check this box to align the appended file with the left column of the
existing file. When appending, you will want to use the same settings as you did for
the previous file.

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Data Exchange
OK: Click this button to close this dialog box and append the file with the name, file
type, and location you specified.
Cancel: Click this button to close this dialog box without saving any changes you have
made.

Data Exchange
Image-Pro offers several ways for you to transfer data between Image-Pro and other
Windows applications. These include clipboard transfers and dynamic data
exchange.

Clipboard Transfer
In Windows, the Clipboard is a temporary storage location used to transfer data
(including images) between documents and between applications. Image-Pros Edit
menu has one command for placing image data on the Clipboard (Copy) and one for
moving it from the Clipboard to the destination location in the active image (Paste).
When you Copy an item from your document (such as copying an AOI from an
image), that item is placed on the Clipboard. It is not removed from the original
location, nor is it copied to any other location than the Clipboard. To place the item
in the destination image, use the Paste command; this puts whatever image data are
currently on the Clipboard into the new location. (Note that if the Clipboard contains
any data other than image data, the contents cannot be pasted into your image.) You
may then use the 4-way mouse cursor to move the item to be pasted within its
destination document; set the item by clicking the right mouse button. Pasting an
item does not remove it from the Clipboard; placing something else on the Clipboard
overwrites it. If nothing is on the Clipboard, the Paste command will be dim.
Only one item may be placed on the Clipboard at a time. The next time you place
information on the Clipboard, even if it is from a different application, the new
information overwrites what you had placed on the Clipboard.

Dynamic Data Exchange


Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) is another mechanism to exchange data between
applications. Image-Pro allows you to insert reports directly into Microsofts Excel
spreadsheet application. The Window : Show Output Window command has a File
menu containing the DDE to Excel command. When you select DDE to Excel, the
transfer takes place right away (unless Image-Pro is unable to open Excel).
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Image-Pro Tools
You may prefer to set some options before you perform the data exchange. Do so
with the DDE Options command, which lets you set the name of the sheet in Excel
that will receive the data, as well as the row and column number with the sheet and
whether or not the row and column are to be incremented before sending data the
next time (thus allowing a time sequence of information to be preserved).
DDE is a language-dependent protocol. We recommend that you use it with an
English version of Excel only. If you want to work with another language, modify
the English commands found in IPWIN32.INI in section [DDEEXCEL]. The
Comma parameter is not an Excel command; it tells Image-Pro to use the comma
(,) instead of the period (.) for a decimal point.
DDE commands are language specific and IPP uses English commands by default.
For non-english Excel (Microsoft office) the translated version of commands can be
specified in ipwin.ini in DDEEXEL section. By default this section includes only a
couple of items, such as:
[DDEEXCEL]
Sheet=
Append=1
ProgramPath=C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office\Office10\EXCEL.EXE
Language-specific DDE commands can be added below. Here
are the possible
entries (in English):
Activate=ACTIVATE
Select=SELECT
Workbook=WORKBOOK
Cell=R%C%
Paste=PASTE
System=SYSTEM
Topics=topics
Comma=0
The cell addressing is controlled by the Cell=R%C%
line.
For German it has to be : Cell=Z%S%
For French and Spanish: Cell=L%C%

Page 1-30

Data Exchange
Numeric values will by default be formatted using the operating systems regional
setting for the decimal separator (e.g. the . decimal point character in the United
States). A line can be added to the [DDEEXCEL] section to override the default
character that is used for numeric formatting. The "Comma" setting is not an Excel
command; it tells Image-Pro whether to use the comma (,) instead of the period (.)
for a decimal point: Comma = 1 set to 1 to use comma separator, 0 to use .

Using DDE To Excel


Select the DDE To Excel command to transfer data to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet.
Before selecting DDE To Excel, you should use DDE Options to determine the correct
placement (within Excel) for the data. When you select DDE To Excel, the transfer
occurs with little visible evidence that it has happened. By switching to the Excel
application, you can confirm that the transfer has occurred. If you select DDE To Excel
before opening your Excel application, Image-Pro attempts to start it. If it cannot, the
following message appears:

If you receive this message, check to be sure that your computers Search Path includes
the directory containing Excel and that you have sufficient memory to run both
simultaneously.

DDE Options : Select the DDE Options command to tell Image-Pro how and where to
export the current data via DDE.
When you select the DDE Options command, the Dynamic Data Exchange Options
dialog box is displayed:

Page 1-31

Image-Pro Tools

Target Program: Select Excel as the target program.


Sheet: Select the sheet within Excel to which you want the data transferred..
Position data set at: Row and Column: Use the spin buttons to select the starting row
and column within Excel to receive the transferred data. This setting tells Image-Pro
where to place the data the first time you execute the DDE to Excel command after
setting this option. If you want successive calls to be placed below or to the right of
the current data, choose one of the option buttons below.
Append next data set to the bottom: Choose this option button if you want
successive DDE to Excel commands to array your data below the previous data.
Image-Pro will augment the row by the amount needed. .
Append next data set to the right: Choose this option button if you want successive
DDE to Excel commands to array your data to the right of the previous data.
Image-Pro will augment the column by the amount needed.
Increment position for next data set by : Choose this option button if you want
successive DDE to Excel commands to array your data a fixed number of rows and
columns to the right and down. The default increment setting of 0,0 will overlay
successive data..
Note - Image-Pro Plus has an automatic detection feature to find Excels path name. This
means that you can go directly to Excel without setting the path in DDE Options. You
can override the autodetection feature by setting the path in the DDE Options.

Page 1-32

File:New

The File Menu


File menu commands are used to capture, open, close, print, store, and retrieve
images. You may also use the commands on this menu to convert an image or group
of images from one format to another. The File menu also contains the Image-Pro
Internet functions that allow you to transfer text and images from one Image-Pro user
to another.

Page 2-1

File:New

New
Use the New command to create an empty image window of the
specified dimensions and class. After creating an empty image window,
image data can be copied into it using the Paste command.
Note: To create an image window from the contents of the clipboard,
use the Paste New command.
When an empty window is created, all pixels are initialized with the
highest intensity value for its type (e.g., 255, or white, for an 8-bit Gray
Scale image). If a Palette window is created, its palette will be
initialized with 256 increasing levels of gray.

Page 2-2

File:New
Image Type: From this list box select the kind of image you want to
create. Image Type defines the type and depth in bits per pixel
(BPP) of your new image. The following image types can be
selected:
IMAGE TYPE BITS PER PIXEL
Gray Scale 8

8 BPP

Palette

8 BPP (256 colors)

Gray Scale 12

12 BPP

Gray Scale 16

16 BPP

Floating Point

32 BPP

True Color /
RGB 24

24 BPP (8 bits per color channel)

RGB 36

36 BPP (12 bits per color channel)

RGB 48

48 BPP (16 bits per color channel)

Resolution: Within this box you can specify a logical image


resolution in terms of dots-per-inch (DPI). If the Units selection is
set to Inches, this value will be used to calculate the spatial resolution
(i.e., dimensions in pixels) of your new image. For example, if you
set Resolution = 100, and Width and Height = 2" x 2", your image
dimensions will be established at 200 pixels x 200 pixels. If the
Units selection is set to Pixels, you may assign a logical resolution to
the image, but it will not be used to determine the images spatial
resolution.
After the image is created, Resolution can be viewed and changed
using the Info. command. Image-Pro stores the resolution value with
most file types (TIFF, for example). Image-Pro will use this
information only to determine the image size for printing; however,
many external programs including the Report Generator, use this
resolution to scale an image when it is imported; (see the Info.
command for more about this).
Width: Enter image width in inches if the Unit field is set to Inches,
or in Pixels if the Unit field is set to Pixels. The width value
establishes the number of pixels the new image window will contain
in the horizontal direction.

Page 2-3

File:New
Height: Enter image height in inches if the Unit field is set to Inches,
or in Pixels if the Unit field is set to Pixels. The height value
establishes the number of pixels the new image window will contain
in the vertical direction.
Unit: From this list box, select the terms (Inches or Pixels) in which
you want to express the Width and Height values. When Inches is
selected, the images spatial resolution is derived by multiplying the
Resolution value by the Width and Height values (e.g., if
Resolution is set to 100, and Width and Height to 2" x 2", image
dimensions will be established at 200 pixels x 200 pixels). When
Pixels is selected, image dimensions are established directly from the
Width and Height values that you enter.
Number of Frames: If you are creating a sequence of images, enter
the number of frames in the new sequence. Otherwise, for single
images, enter 1.
Memory: This item displays the amount of memory the image
requires. Memory requirements are determined by:
Height * Width * BPP

1/8

where Height and Width are measured in pixels.


Note: Gray Scale 12 uses 16, not 12, as BPP in the above memory
requirement calculation. Although a Gray Scale 12 image uses only 12
bits per pixel, the 12 bits occupy 2 bytes (16 bits) of memory. Similarly,
RGB 36 uses 48 BPP in the calculations.

New: Click this button to create a new, empty window of the specified
size and class.

Page 2-4

File:Open

Open
Use the Open command to open an existing image file, or to create a
new image from just a portion of an existing image. Open can also be
used to preview a miniature of the image, or to view its statistics and
information without actually having to open the image itself. These
capabilities can be used to locate a particular image quickly.
Image-Pro supports, and will open, many image format types. These
are identified in the Files of type list box. You may also open an image
sequence (*.seq), Image-Pro workspace (*.ipw) or audio/visual (*.avi)
file.
When you open an image, Image-Pro places it into a new image
window. It becomes the active image. More than one image can be
open within Image-Pro simultaneously.
Note: Image-Pro maintains, at the bottom of the File menu, a list of the
last four files you have opened. You can access any of these files by
simply clicking on its file name. If no files are listed (beneath Exit ),
then you must use the Open command to open the file.

File Name: From this list box, select the name(s) of the file(s) you
want to open. You can either type the name of the file (with its entire
path, if it is not in the current folder), or use the Look in and Files of
type selections to obtain a list of file names from which you can
select.
Page 2-5

File:Open
Double-clicking on a file name in the large list box (where both
folder and file names are listed) will automatically open it.
Note: If you simply type in the file name, be sure that the Files of type
field correctly identifies the format of the file you want to open.
Otherwise you will receive an error message when Image-Pro tries to
open the file.
Files of type: In this list box, select the image format of the file you
want to open. If you select All Formats, Image-Pro uses the files
extension to identify its format (e.g., TIF for TIFF, PCX for ZSoft
files, BMP for bitmap files, and so forth). You may also open an
image sequence (*.seq), Image-Pro workspace (*.ipw) or
multimedia (*.avi) file.
Note: Image-Pro Plus will read only the video data from a multimedia
.avi file. It does not support sound, even if a sound card is present.

If your image file does not use standard format-identifying


extensions, you must type the name of your file in the File Name
field, then select its format from the File Type list box. Otherwise,
Image-Pro will select a format based on the file name extension.
Note: Image-Pro will read only the bitmap (raster, not vector) data from
a PICT file.

Look in: In this list box, select the folder from which you want to
select your file
Info: Click this button to display the following statistics and
information about your image. See Info command for a description
of the fields in this box.

Page 2-6

File:Open
Note: Description information (e.g., Title, Artist) will be displayed
only if such information had been stored with the image. Otherwise
these fields will be blank.

When you have finished viewing the image information, click OK or


Cancel to return to the Open dialog box.
Preview: Click this button to preview your image in miniature size.
In preview mode, you can use the Clip Margins options to select a
portion of your image to open, rather than opening the whole thing.

Note: When you preview a file that supports multiple image


resolutions, you will be asked to select at what resolution you would
like to open the image. If you are previewing a file simply to see if you
have selected the correct one, select the lowest resolution available for
the Preview, and then cancel out of the Preview mode before loading
the image.
If you are previewing the file to select a sub-area to load, make sure that
you are selecting the resolution that you actually want to load and use.
Once you have selected a resolution to preview, and click OK, the file
will be loaded at that resolution.
Units: From this list box, select the unit of measure you want the
Clip Margins values expressed in.
Clip Margins: Within the margin boxes, enter the corner
coordinates of the image area you want to open. The Clip
Page 2-7

File:Open
Margins values determine whether all or part of the image is
opened. If these values are untouched, the entire image will be
opened; if the values are changed, Image-Pro will open the part of
the image specified by these fields.
To open just a portion of your image, enter the coordinates of the
upper-left and lower-right corners of the region you want opened.
These coordinates can be specified by typing the appropriate
coordinate value in each of the margin boxes, or by adjusting the
frame around your image using your mouse (this way is easier -see tip below).
If you modify the corners of your image, then change your mind,
you can quickly reset the corner coordinates to their original
positions by clicking the Reset button.
Once you have defined the portion of the image you want to open,
press the OK button to return to the Open dialog box, and proceed
to open the image as usual.

TIP

A frame, initially encompassing the entire image, is located around


the miniature in the preview box. Using the handles located at each
corner of this frame, you can position it to define just the portion of
the image you want to open.

To reduce or increase the dimensions of the frame, place your


cursor on one of the corner handles and drag it vertically,
horizontally or diagonally, to stretch or shrink the frame to the
size you need.
To reposition the frame, place your cursor anywhere within
the frame and drag it into position.

Note: When you open just a portion of your image, the portion you
select is loaded into a new, untitled image window. The original image
itself is not opened. This option changes only the display of the image.
The actual pixel values are unchanged.
Frames: If you are opening an image sequence (*.seq) file,
multimedia (*.avi) file, or Image-Pro workspace file (*.ipw)
you may preview one or more of the frames.

Page 2-8

File:Open

Move the slider bar from side to side to view one or more frames.
The frame number is displayed over the slider bar. (The number in
the slider bar only applies to the frame in the preview.)
Click OK to open the image (or sequence), Cancel to return to the
application area.
Best Fit Display: This option takes effect only for Gray Scale 12,
Gray Scale 16, RGB 36, and RGB 48 images. Select this check box
if you want Image-Pro to modify the display range to compensate for
the narrow dynamic range of an image. Please see the Display
Range command on the Enhance menu for a more complete
description.
When opening a image sequence, multimedia, or Image-Pro
workspace file, you may choose to open only a portion of the file.

Click the appropriate radio button to load the entire sequence, or a


portion of the sequence. Use the spin buttons to specify which
frames to load.
Click OK to load the image(s).

Page 2-9

File:Image Database

Image Database
Use the Image Database command to access the Image Database or
IQbase 1.1. These plug-in modules must be installed from the
Image-Pro Plus 5.1 CD. For more information about the Image
Database, please refer to the Image Database online help provided
with your Image-Pro Plus package. For information about IQbase 1.1,
please refer to the IQbase Start-Up Guide and online help provided as
part of your Image-Pro Plus package.

Page 2-10

File:Reload

Reload
Use the Reload command to fill the active window with a new copy of
the file it is linked to (the file listed on the windows title bar).
You might want to use this command if, after considerable editing, you
wanted to restart with an untouched copy of the image. Reload is also
very useful in automated procedures where a routine needs an image
free from any effects of a preceding routine.
Note: Image-Pro loads the active window from the current copy of the
file associated with it. If you have made changes to the stored file
(whether from this window or another) after the image was opened, the
changes will be reflected in the reloaded image.
Performing a Reload on an untitled image window has no effect.
Performing a Reload has no effect on the Lookup Table. If you have
modified the Brightness, Contrast, Gamma settings, they will remain as
you set them. If you want to return the LUT to the original settings, use
the Reset button on the BCG tool bar.

Page 2-11

File:Close

Close
Use the Close command to close an active image and remove its
window from the screen. When an image is closed, its associated
Histogram and Line Profile windows are closed along with it.
Note: If you have modified an image before attempting to close it,
Image-Pro can issue a warning asking if you want to save it first. To
do so, set Edit : Preferences to issue a warning. Otherwise, set the
preference not to warn you, and Image-Pro will close the file
immediately with no changes and no warning.

Page 2-12

File:Save

Save
Use the Save command to immediately store the contents of the current
window to its file (the file listed on the windows title bar) while leaving
the image active in its window. If the image is in an untitled window,
Image-Pro will display the Save File As dialog box.
The Save command can be used to save your most recent changes to
disk. It is often performed as a precautionary measure during lengthy or
involved processes to reduce the amount of reprocessing that might be
required in the event of a system failure or operational error. When you
close an image and choose not to save its changes, Image-Pro discards
all changes made since the last Save operation.
Note: The Save command always saves the contents of the entire
window, even if there is an AOI defined within it, or only a portion of
the sequence is open. If you need to store just the contents of an AOI,
or the active part of a sequence, use the Save As command.

Page 2-13

File:Save As

Save As
Use the Save As command to store the contents of the current window,
the current AOI, or the active part of a sequence, to a file that you
specify, in the format that you specify. At the end of a Save As
operation, your image window will be associated with the new file and
the new format (i.e., its title bar will display the new file name).
The Save As command serves several important uses beyond simply
storing an image to a new file name. It is also used to:
convert a single image from one format to another (see the Convert
command for converting multiple files). For example, if you
needed a TIFF file converted to PCX format, you would simply
open the TIFF image, then use Save As with the PCX format
option to save it to a new file.
save an image with different compression or quality options from
those it was originally created with. For example, if your original
TIFF file was uncompressed, you can use Save As with the LZW
compression option to store it in compressed form.
save an image to another disk or folder
save the active portion of a sequence of images.
Note: Files containing multiple frames, or sequences, are supported
only in the TIF, SEQ, IPW, and AVI formats. All other formats will
save only the active frame.
Save As will allow you to store the active image back to its original file
name.

Page 2-14

File:Save As

Save in: Find the folder into which you want to save the file. You
may create a new folder using the New Folder button.
File name: Enter the name of the file you want the image saved to.
To specify the files location, you can either enter its entire path (disk
and folder), or specify its location using the Save in list box.
Save as type: In this list box, select the format in which you want
the image saved.
Important - EPS (Encapsulated Postscript) format is provided for
export purposes only. Image-Pro cannot read an EPS file. An image
should never be stored in EPS format alone. You should always save
it in EPS and in one other format such as TIFF or PCX.
Save in: In this list box, select the drive and folder to which you
want your image file saved.
Compression: In this list box, select the form of compression you
would like the file stored in. The available compression methods will
vary from one file format to another. For example, LZW (Lempel-Zif
encoding) compression is an option with TIFF files, but it is not
available in PCX. Moreover, some formats have no compression
options (None is the only choice). For JPEG files, a compression
factor of 25 is used.
Note: If you plan to use the image with another program, be sure it is
compatible with the selected compression method. Not all programs
support compressed and uncompressed format variants.

Page 2-15

File:Save As
Output BPP: In this list box select the bit depth (bits-per-pixel) to
store the image in. The choices in this list box will vary from one file
format to another. For example, PCX supports bit depths of 4 BPP
and 8 BPP, and TIFF supports several depths ranging from 2 BPP to
32 BPP.
Storing an image at a lower bit depth will reduce its size (in terms of
disk and memory space, not in terms of spatial dimensions), but will
result in loss of information. To reduce its depth, the least significant
bits in each pixel are eliminated. A Gray Scale image written to 4
BPP would be reduced from 256 gray levels to 16. Once an image is
stored without this information, it can never be recovered. Output
BPP should be changed only when image quality is less important
than file size.
Note: Output BPP is not available with JPEG format.

Page 2-16

File:Archive

Archive
Use the Archive command to store images in the Image Database. This
selection is available when an image is open in the Image-Pro Plus
application area. Clicking this item displays the following archive
dialog :

This dialog allows you to add the image that you currently have open in
Image-Pro Plus to a folder in your database.
Archiving: This field indicates the name and location of the image
that you are adding to the database. If you have multiple images open,
the current active image will be subject to archiving.
Database: This field indicates the name and location of the current
open database where the image will reside.
Folder: This field indicates the name of the current open folder in the
database where the image is associated.
Show Database view after archiving: Checking this box
automatically displays the database, allowing you to see the image
thumbnail after the archive process is complete.
Click OK to archive the active image, or Cancel to return to Image-Pro
Plus.
To start the database from the Image-Pro Plus window, select Image
Database from the File menu, or click on the Database button from the
Tool Bar.
The Image Database offers you a number of methods for keeping track
of your images and folder information. Information about your images
can be stored in the database.

Page 2-17

File:Archive
The Image Database window is an application window. When the
Image Database is the active window, the remainder of Image-Pro is
inactive, and vice versa. If you click anywhere outside the Database
window, you activate the application youve just clicked.

Page 2-18

File:Convert /Batch Conversion

Convert /Batch Conversion


Use the Convert command to convert multiple files from their existing
file format to a new file format. It can be used to convert a group of
files of varying formats (e.g., True Color PCX, Grayscale TIFF, etc.) to
a single format in one operation. It can also be used as an alternative to
the Save As command for converting a single file from one format to
another. In version 5.1 of IPP, the obsolete bilevel and DPI options hve
been removed.
Convert writes the converted files to a folder that you specify.
Converted files are given the same 8 character file names as the files
from which they are converted, and are assigned an extension denoting
the format they have been converted to (default extensions are noted in
parenthesis after format name in the File Format list box).
If a file with the same name is found in the destination folder, ImagePro will present a warning, asking whether the file should be
overwritten.
Convert does not delete the source files.
When you select the Convert command, you will see the following
screen:

Source: From this list box, select the image files you want to convert
to the new format. Clicking on a drive letter will select that device;
Page 2-19

File:Convert /Batch Conversion


clicking on a folder name will display the image files within that
folder.
To select a file, click on its file name. To deselect a file you have
inadvertently selected, click on its file name again. To select multiple
files, press the <Ctrl> button when clicking an additional file.
Destination: From this list box, select the folder in which you want
the converted files stored. The destination folder cannot be the same
as the source folder. Double-clicking once on a drive letter will
select that drive; double-clicking once on a folder name will select
that folder.
File Format: In this list box, select the format you want the selected
source images converted to.
Image Class: In this list box, select the image class you want the
source images converted to. The classes available in the Convert To
list box will vary depending upon the format you have selected in File
Format. In JPEG format, for example, only the True Color and Gray
Scale classes are available. If you are converting to a Palette image,
the M/Color method will be used to create the palette.
Prompt Before Overwriting Existing File: Check this box to turn
on the overwrite warning that appears for every single file conversion
if the conversion is done more than once in the same folder.
Compression: In this list box, select the form of compression you
would like the files stored in. This option should be selected after
you have made your File Format and Image Class selection, because
the available compression methods vary from one file format to
another, and from one class to another. For example, LZW (LempelZif encoding) compression is an option with TIFF files, but it is not
available in PCX. Some formats have no compression options (None
is the only choice).
Note: If you plan to use the image with another program, be sure it is
compatible with the selected compression method. Not all programs
support compressed and uncompressed format variants.

Page 2-20

File:File Signature

File Signature
The File Signature feature calculates and displays the digital signature
of a selected file. The signature enables you to determine if a file has
changed from a previously known point. When activated, you will first
see the standard File Open dialog. Use the File Open dialog to select
the desired file. When you click the Open button, you will see the File
Signature dialog:

You may copy this value to a string on the Clipboard, but you cannot
edit it. The digital file signature will be inserted whenever an image
workspace is opened or saved to or from a file.
The File Signature is different from the Image Signature function in
that headers and other file information, such as image type, are included
with the File Signature. The Image Signature appears on the Process
menu.
When the Audit Trail feature is active (see Edit:Preferences:
Application tab) the digital file signature of each new file will be
automatically entered whenever you open or save a workspace.
Whenever you select File Signature from the File menu, a copy of the
digital file signature will be added to the Audit Trail.

Page 2-21

File:Image Signature

Image Signature
The Image Signature feature calculates and displays the digital
signature of the active image. The signature enables you to determine if
an image has changed from a previously known point. When activated,
you will see this dialog:

You may copy this value to a string on the Clipboard, but you cannot
edit it. If you activate a different image, the Update button is also
activated. Click the Update button to see the signature of the new
image. The digital image signature will be inserted whenever a new
workspace is opened.
This feature differs from the File Signature in that it only considers
visible image parameters to generate the string. File Signature is
located on the File menu.
The Image Signature feature is also linked to the Audit Trail
(Edit:Preferences: Application tab). The digital image signature is
automatically added to the Audit Trail whenever a new image
workspace is created. Whenever you select Image Signature from the
Process menu, a copy of the image file signature will be added to the
Audit Trail.

Page 2-22

File:Send Mail

Send Mail
Use the Send Mail command to send text and images to one or more
people using Internet or Microsoft e-mail. You can compose a message
and include one of the active images as a file attachment. When you
click on the Send Mail command, you will see the following dialog:

Enter the e-mail address(es) of the person or people who will receive
this mail in the To: field. The CC: field allows you to send other people
copies of this message. The Subject: field provides a header for your
message. You must fill in at least one recipient in the To: field.
Note: The format of the e-mail address specified in the To: and CC:
fields will depend on your e-mail system configuration. Enter the
addresses in the same format that you would use in your main e-mail
program.
The Send Mail window can be resized by clicking on the control
buttons, or dragging the window handles. You may have more than one
Send Mail window open at the same time.
Configure: Click on this button to set up your e-mail addresses. The
Send Mail command supports both Microsoft Mail system protocol,
Page 2-23

File:Send Mail
and the Internet e-mail SMTP protocol. Clicking on this button
displays the following dialog:

Select either Microsoft Mail or Internet Mail. Microsoft Mail does


not have any user-defined settings. If you are using Internet Mail, you
must enter the SMTP server and e-mail address information accurately
for the Send Mail function to work. A sample configuration is shown
below:

SMTP mail server information can be entered using either a domain


name, as shown above, or an IP address, such as 172.16.1.1. The
timeout parameters should not be adjusted, unless you are specifically
directed to do so by Image-Pro Plus technical support.
Verify: Click on this button to validate the addresses in the To: and
CC: fields. This is only useful when using Microsoft Mail, as it is not
possibly to verify Internet mail addresses beforehand.

Page 2-24

File:Send Mail
Attach: The Attach button permits you to attach an image file to your
e-mail message. Any open Image-Pro workspace can be selected from
the workspace list and attached. When you click on the Attach
button, and have an image open, you will see the following message:

The current contents of the application area will be attached to the email as a file. Microsoft Mail only supports attaching files, so the image
must be stored on disk. If the image has not been saved to a file, or has
been modified, you will be prompted to save the image prior to sending
the message. At present, it is possible to attach only one image at a
time. Attaching a new image replaces any previous attachment.
Save As: Clicking on this button allows you to save your e-mail
message in text file format. You will see the following dialog box:

You can select the drive and folder where you want your mail stored.
E-mail messages may only be stored in text (.TXT) format. Images
that are sent as attachments are stored in their original form. For more
information about Save and Save As commands, please refer to the
previous chapter of this manual.
Send: Clicking on this button delivers your e-mail message to the
intended recipients.
Cancel: Clicking this button returns you to the Image-Pro application
area without sending your e-mail message.
Page 2-25

File:Remote File Transfer

Remote File Transfer


Use the Remote File Transfer command to open files stored on any
remote FTP server, or save files to a remote server. This feature makes
Image-Pro an FTP client for the Internet File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
Both standard anonymous FTP and account/password log-in FTP are
supported. Clicking on this command displays the following options:
Open remote file
Save remote file
Personal file server.
Open allows you to browse the remote file system for the desired file,
select a file, and transfer it to your local system. Any transferred files
that are recognized as image files will automatically be opened in a new
image workspace. You will be prompted to save unrecognized files in a
location of your choice in your local file system.
Save allows you to save your selected image or file to a location on the
remote server. Images will be saved in the original image format if
possible, or in TIFF format (the default). You may have multiple Open
and Save dialogs open at the same time.
Personal File Server allows you to configure your Image-Pro system as
a personal FTP server. You can choose to make open images and/or
files available to remote clients. You control whether to allow
anonymous log-in, or to require a specific account and password, as
well as all the aspects of what to make available to those clients.

Page 2-26

File:Remote File Transfer

Open Remote File


Clicking on this option displays the Open Remote Image dialog:

Remote Host is the name and/or Internet address of the remote server
(or Host) where your file is located. The drop-down box contains the
names of the last four Hosts that you used, or you may enter a new
Host name. You may specify the Host using either an IP address,
such as 172.16.1.8 or by using a domain name, such as
ftp.mediacy.com.
Remote File Name indicates the directory location and name of the
file to look for. Clicking on Browse for Remote File allows you to
search the server, and will insert the path into the Remote File Name
field.
Browse for Remote File retrieves a directory of the remote file
system, allowing you to search for the file you want. You must
specify the remote Host and connect to it before you can browse for a
file. Clicking on this button displays the following dialog:

Page 2-27

File:Remote File Transfer

Current Remote Directory displays the directory where you are


currently searching. The drop-down box displays any other
directories that you have recently searched on this Host.
Remote Directories displays the list of directories on the
Personal file server. File sub-directories and UNIX links appear
in this list. When you double-click on a directory name in this
list, the remote directory is changed to the current directory, and
the contents of the other windows is refreshed. Each path that
you have browsed is added to the Current Remote Directory
combo box.
Remote Files: This combo box displays a list of all the files in
the current server directory. When you double-click on a name in
this list, or click the OK button, this becomes the current
Remote File Name.
Configure: Clicking on this button allows you to set up the transfer
protocols. Clicking on Configure displays the following dialog:

Page 2-28

File:Remote File Transfer

The Anonymous FTP and Use Account buttons are used to select the
log-in method when connecting to the FTP server. The E-mail address
field contains your e-mail address, which is customarily used as the
password with anonymous log-ins. When the Use Account button is
selected, this field will change to Account Password, and the password
will be echoed with asterisks (*).
Under most circumstances, using anonymous FTP should be sufficient.
In this case, all you need to enter is your e-mail address.
The timeout parameters should not be adjusted, unless you are
specifically directed to do so by Image-Pro Plus technical support.
Connect: Clicking on the Connect button connects you to the remote
server. After the connection is made, Connect becomes Disconnect.
Retrieve: Once you have identified the file you want, clicking on the
Retrieve button will get the file for you.
Cancel: Clicking on the Cancel button closes your remote FTP
connection without transferring any files.

Page 2-29

File:Remote File Transfer

Save Remote File


Clicking on this option displays the following dialog:

Remote Host is the name and/or Internet address of the remote server
where your file is located. The drop-down box contains the names of
the last four Hosts that you used, or you may enter a new Host name.
You may specify the Host using either an IP address, such as
172.16.1.8 or by using a domain name, such as ftp.mediacy.com.
Image or Local File: If you have a file open in the Image-Pro
application area, its name will appear here.
Remote File Name indicates the directory location and name of the
file to look for. Clicking on Browse for Remote File allows you to
search the server, and will insert the path into the Remote File Name
field. The drop-down box displays any other directories that you have
recently searched on this Host.
Browse for Remote File retrieves a directory of the remote file
system, allowing you to search for the file you want. You must
specify the remote Host and connect to it before you can browse for a
file. Clicking on this button displays the following dialog:

Page 2-30

File:Remote File Transfer

Current Remote Directory displays the directory where you are


currently searching.
Remote Directories displays the list of directories on the
Personal file server. File sub-directories and UNIX links appear
in this list. When you double-click on a directory name in this
list, the remote directory is changed to the current directory, and
the contents of the other windows is refreshed. Each path that
you have browsed is added to the Current Remote Directory
combo box.
Remote File Name: This box displays the name and path of the
remote file that you have currently selected.
Remote Files: This combo box displays a list of all the files you
have browsed. When you double-click on a name in this list, or
click the OK button, this becomes the current Remote File
Name.

Page 2-31

File:Remote File Transfer


Configure: Clicking on this button allows you to set up the transfer
protocols. Clicking on this button displays the following dialog:

The Anonymous FTP and Use Account buttons are used to select the
log-in method when connecting to the FTP server. The E-mail address
field contains your e-mail address, which is customarily used as the
password with anonymous log-ins. When the Use Account button is
selected, this field will change to Account Password, and the password
will be echoed with asterisks (*).
Under most circumstances, using anonymous FTP should be sufficient.
In this case, all you need to enter is your e-mail address.
The timeout parameters should not be adjusted, unless you are
specifically directed to do so by Image-Pro Plus technical support

Page 2-32

File:Remote File Transfer


Select: Clicking this button enables you to select the file for transfer.
You will see the following dialog:

Clicking on Select an Image-Pro workspace will transfer the image file


currently open in Image-Pro Plus.
To select a local file from a diskette or hard drive, choose Select a local
file. Then, click on Browse for file. You can selected the desired file
from the following dialog:

Page 2-33

File:Remote File Transfer


Double-click on the file name, or select it and click the Open button.
The name of your selected local file will appear on the Select File
dialog, as shown below:

Click OK when you have the image you want to transfer, or Cancel to
change your mind.
Connect: Clicking on the Connect button connects you to the remote
server.
Transfer: Once you have identified the file you want, clicking on the
Transfer button will send the file for you.
Cancel: Clicking on the Cancel tab closes your remote FTP
connection without transferring any files.

Page 2-34

File:Remote File Transfer

Personal File Server


The Personal File Server options allow you to set up and customize
Image-Pro Plus as the remote server. This allows other users to have
access to the files you have made available, using their copies of ImagePro or any other FTP client software. Your Image-Pro system controls
the degree of access each user has. Clicking on this option displays the
following dialog:

Any messages about the status of the server will appear in this window.
Configure: This button displays the user log-in, notification, and file
access controls used by the system administrator for security
purposes. Clicking on this button displays the following dialog:

Page 2-35

File:Remote File Transfer

User Log-In: This group contains the controls that permit anonymous
log-ins, or require the user name and password.
Notifications: This group controls over the verbosity level, and
specifies when you will see status messages. Verbose status provides
information about the connection process. It is useful for diagnosing
failed connection attempts. The three additional checkboxes control
whether an audible alert and a status message will indicate when user
logs in, transfers a file, and/or disconnects from the remote server.
File Access: This area contains controls that determine which files the
client will see in the servers virtual file system. By default, the server
will not list any files from the users local file system, but this can be
changed by checking Supply files to all users or Let me decide
when the user logs in .
Clear File List when user disconnects assures that the file list is
emptied when the user leaves, preventing sensitive file lists from
being revealed to subsequent users.
Allow Users to Store Images (auto-open if images) determines if
your file server will allow users to store files. Only the virtual images
subdirectory will permit users to save files, and only if this option is
checked. If a remote user does transfer a file to the images directory,
it will automatically be opened if Image-Pro recognizes it as an
image file.
Page 2-36

File:Remote File Transfer


Add all open images at start-up will automatically add all open
images to the Image List when the server is started.
Add all images when stored will automatically add any images
stored by remote users in the virtual images directory to the Image
List.
The Edit File List button controls which files the user will see in the
virtual misc directory when he or she connects. Clicking on this
button displays the following dialog box:

The files, drives, and directories list boxes are used to locate the files
of interest. Whenever a file is highlighted, the Add button is enabled.
Selected Files: This list box contains the presentation name and path
of the requested file(s). The presentation name is usually the actual
file name, except in the case of duplicates or long file names that
contain spaces. In the case of duplicates, a number is appended. In
the case of long file names, spaces are replaced with periods.
Add: Clicking this button includes the highlighted file name in the
Selected Files list.
Add All: Clicking this button includes all the files from the files list in
the Selected Files list.
Clear List: Clicking this button empties all files from the Selected
Files list box.
Cancel: Clicking this button returns you to the Configure dialog box
without changing the current file list.
Done: Clicking this button saves your selections and returns you to the
Configure dialog box.
Page 2-37

File:Remote File Transfer


Edit: Clicking this button allows you to edit the presentation name of a
file in the Selected Files list box. Clicking this button displays the
following dialog box:

Enter the revised file name, and click OK to save, or Cancel to return
to the Edit Files dialog.
Refresh List: Clicking this button refreshes the files list with the
contents of the current search directory.
Remove: Clicking this button removes a highlighted file name from
the Selected Files list box.
The Edit Image List button controls which image files the user will see
when he or she connects. Clicking on this button displays the following
dialog box:

Open Images: This list box contains the names of all the open image
workspaces. Whenever an image name is highlighted, the Add button
is enabled.
Selected Images: This list box contains the presentation name and
workspace name of the selected images. The presentation name is
usually the workspace name, except in the case of duplicates or long
file names that contain spaces. In the case of duplicates, a number is
appended. In the case of long file names, spaces are replaced with
periods.
Page 2-38

File:Remote File Transfer


Add: Clicking this button includes the highlighted image name in the
Selected Images list.
Add All: Clicking this button includes all the images from the Open
Images list in the Selected Images list.
Clear List: Clicking this button empties all images from the Selected
Images list box.
Cancel: Clicking this button returns you to the Configure dialog box
without changing the image list.
Done: Clicking this button saves your selections and returns you to the
Configure dialog box.
Edit: Clicking this button allows you to edit the presentation name of a
image file in the Selected Images list box. Clicking this button
displays the following dialog box:

Enter the revised image file name, and click OK to save, or Cancel to
return to the Edit Files dialog
Remove: Clicking this button removes a highlighted image name from
the Selected Images list box.
When you have finished editing the files and images, click Done to
return to the Configure Personal file server dialog.
The Server Identification area allows the system administrator to edit
the welcome message that the user sees when he or she logs into the
system.
When you have finished configuring the system, click OK to return to
the main Remote file server dialog.

Page 2-39

File:Remote File Transfer

Start-Up: Clicking this button puts your personal FTP server online,
and ready to receive user connections. While the server is online, the
Start-Up button changes to Shut Down.
Shut Down: Clicking this button takes the server off-line.
Cancel: Clicking this button returns you to the main Image-Pro
application area.

Page 2-40

File:Remote Conference

Remote Conference
Use the Remote Conference command to communicate with other online individual using the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) protocol. You may
send image files in TIF format to other users. For Image-Pro users,
these files will be opened automatically. Other IRC client users will be
able to save the image to a file. When you select the Remote Conference
command, you will have two options:
Open Remote Conference
Personal Conference Server.
Each of these options will be discussed in the following section.

Page 2-41

File:Remote Conference

Open Remote Conference


This option allows you to initiate a link between your computer and any
other users currently logged-in to the remote server. Clicking on the
Open Remote Conference option displays the following dialog:

Log area

Edit box entry field

Messages typed in to the edit box entry field at the bottom of the dialog
will be sent to the current channel whenever your press the <Enter>
key or click the Send button. Messages that you send through the
remote conference channel appear in the message window preceded by
the > character. Messages from other users will appear preceded by
their nicknames. Status or informational messages appear preceded by
three asterisks (***); IRC actions are preceded by two asterisks (**);
and other types of messages by one asterisk (*).
Configure: This button lets you specify the name of the remote host,
your name and nickname, and the conference channel used for
communication between machines. Clicking on the Configure button
displays the following dialog box:

Page 2-42

File:Remote Conference

Remote Host: The remote IRC host can be specified using an IP


address, such as 172.16.1.8, or as a domain name, such as
ImagePro.mediacy.com. Once you have entered and saved a
remote host name, it can be selected from the pull-down box.
Your real name: Enter your real name, including spaces and
abbreviations here.
Your nickname: The IRC protocol requires each person to connect
using a nickname. This nickname is limited to eight characters, does
not allow for punctuation or spaces, and is case-sensitive.
Alternate nicknames: Because the nickname is limited to eight
characters, there is the possibility that more than one person will try
to use the same nickname, which the IRC protocol does not allow. If
this occurs, Image-Pro will attempt to connect using the alternate
nicknames. Failure of all three nicknames will cause the connection
to fail.
Conference channel: The IRC protocol requires all communication
to take place on a channel. Users can join an existing one, with
#ImageProcessing being the default setting for Image-Pro. Every
channel name must begin with the # character (pound sign). Other
types of punctuation and spaces are not allowed in the channel name.

Page 2-43

File:Remote Conference
Connect/Disconnect: The Connect button is used to connect to the
IRC server currently configured. When the connection is established,
this button changes to Disconnect. Disconnect is used to close an
active connection at any time.
Cancel: Click this button at any time to close the active connection and
return to the Image-Pro main window.
Send: Click this button to send your message, or press <Enter>.
Actions: Extensions to the IRC protocol provide the ability to indicate
actions to the other users in the channel. Typically, these are used
to extend the range of communications when not available fact-toface. For instance, if you send the message "wave hello to Judy" the
other users in the channel will see "Yournickname waves hello to
Judy." This same set of extensions can be used to transfer a file to
one of the other users in the channel.
Image-Pro implements a special action that other Image-Pro systems
can recognize. It allows you to place an indicator at a specific
position on a file that was previously transferred via FTP or the
conference facility from one user to another.
Clear Log: Clicking this button empties any text from the log area.
Save Log: Clicking this button enables you to keep the record of the
communications in a file. You will see the following dialog box:

Your communications log will be saved as a text file in the directory


that you specify. For more information about saving files, please refer to
the section about Open and Save dialog boxes in the first part of this
manual.

Page 2-44

File:Remote Conference

Personal Conference Server


This option allows your Image-Pro system to host a conference with
another Image-Pro system. This is useful if the IRC servers are busy,
and it ensures a private conference. Once the connection is
established, the user interface looks identical to the Open Remote
Conference option. Clicking on the Start-Up Remote Conference
Server option displays the following dialog:

Log area

Edit box entry field

Messages typed in to the edit box entry field at the bottom of the dialog
will be sent to the current channel whenever your press the <Enter>
key or click the Send button. Messages that you send through the
remote conference channel appear in the message window preceded by
the > character. Messages from other users will appear preceded by
their nicknames. Status or informational messages appear preceded by
three asterisks (***); IRC actions are preceded by two asterisks (**);
and other types of messages by one asterisk (*).
Configure: This button lets you specify the name of the remote host,
your name and nickname, and the conference channel used for
communication between machines. Clicking on the Configure button
displays the following dialog box:

Page 2-45

File:Remote Conference

Your real name: Enter your real name, including spaces and
abbreviations here.
Your nickname: The IRC protocol requires each person to connect
using a nickname. This nickname is limited to eight characters, does
not allow for punctuation or spaces, and is case-sensitive.
Alternate nicknames: The alternate nicknames are not required
when hosting a channel.
Conference channel: The IRC protocol requires all communication
to take place on a channel. Users can join an existing one, with
#ImageProcessing being the default setting for Image-Pro. Every
channel name must begin with the # character (pound sign). Other
types of punctuation and spaces are not allowed in the channel name.

Page 2-46

File:Remote Conference
Connect/Disconnect: The Connect button is used to put your server
online. When the server is online, this button changes to Disconnect.
Disconnect is used to take your server off-line.
Cancel: Click this button at any time to close the active connection and
return to the Image-Pro main window.
Send: Click this button to send your message, or press <Enter>.
Actions: Extensions to the IRC protocol provide the ability to indicate
actions to the other users in the channel. Typically, these are used
to extend the range of communications when not available fact-toface. For instance, if you send the message "hello to Judy" the other
users in the channel will see "Yournickname says hello to Judy."
This same set of extensions can be used to transfer a file to one of the
other users in the channel.
Image-Pro implements a special action that other Image-Pro systems
can recognize. It allows you to place an indicator at a specific
position on a file that was previously transferred via FTP or the
conference facility from one user to another.
Clear Log: Clicking this button empties any text from the log area.
Save Log: Clicking this button enables you to keep the record of the
communications in a file. You will see the following dialog box:

Your communications log will be saved as a text file in the directory


that you specify. For more information about saving files, please refer to
the section about Open and Save dialog boxes in the first part of this
manual.

Page 2-47

File:Screen Capture

Screen Capture
Use the Screen Capture command to specify the options for ImagePros Screen Capture utility. The Screen Capture utility lets you record
all or part of the screen display to an image file. For example, you
might want to capture one of the graphs produced by Image-Pro (e.g.,
histogram, scattergram, line profile) and import it into your word
processor so it can be included in a report.
Important - The Screen Capture utility does not function if the copy
protection plug is not installed.
To use screen capture:
1) Use the Screen Capture command to set the capture options you
need (optional). These options determine how much of the screen
will be captured, what key will invoke the capture and to what file
the image will be stored. If you want to use the existing settings for
these options, this step can be skipped.
2) Display the screen you want to capture.
3) Press the Hot Key (<F7>, by default).
The image file created by Image-Pro can be used just as any ordinary
image file -- you can read it, edit it, save it or paste it into another
application (the screen shots for this entire manual were captured using
Image-Pros screen capture facility).
When you select the Screen Capture command, the Screen Capture
dialog box is presented. Tailor the options in this dialog box to suit
your needs. They will become effective as soon as you close the dialog
box.

Page 2-48

File:Screen Capture

Destination Directory: In this list box, select the folder to which


you want the captured screen image saved (if the folder is on another
drive, select it in the Drive field first).
Drive: In this list box, select the drive to which you want the captured
screen image file saved.
File Format: In this list box, select the format in which you want the
captured screen image saved.
File Name: In this group box, select the name for the captured image.
A file name can be generated automatically or manually. If you select
automatic, Image-Pro will assign a prefix (such as GRAB) and a
number to the captured image. You may also use the name of the
window that youre capturing by clicking on the Use Window Title
check box.
If the capture selection is on Window or Client, and the Use
Window Title check box is selected, the screen capture will use the
title bar of the window as the file name. If the window does not have
a title bar, such as a toolbar, the screen capture tool will use the
prefix.

Page 2-49

File:Screen Capture
File numbers will keep increasing to a maximum of 9999. After this
maximum is reached, the file numbers will be reset to zero. You can
reset the number manually by entering a number in the Next # edit
box.
Selecting Prompt for file name, allows you to enter the name of
each captured file manually. Image-Pro will ask you for the name of
each file as part of the capture process, as shown below:

Resolution: You can set the resolution at which the captured image
will be displayed. The default is 72 dots per inch. Clicking on the
Screen button sets the image resolution to the same as the display
device resolution. Setting the resolution allows you to resize the
captured images without resizing the pixel width and height.
Selection: In this list box, specify the part of the screen you want to
capture. You may select from one of the following:

Screen: Select this option if you want to capture the entire


screen.

Window: Select this option if you want to capture the area


occupied by the active window, including its window borders,
title and menu bars.

Client: Select this option if you want to capture the client


area of the active window. This option excludes the window
borders, title and menu bars from the captured image.

Area: Select this option if you want to capture an area of


your choice. This option lets you specify the screen area at
capture time. When you invoke the screen capture utility,
Image-Pro will provide a cross hair cursor with which you can
draw a box around the portion of the screen you want to
capture.

Note: When you select either the Window or Client options, you will
see a message prompting you to place the Window Selector tool on the
window you wish to capture.
Page 2-50

File:Screen Capture
Capture Cursor: Select this check box if you want the cursor
included in your captured image.
Note: Be sure to use either the Window, Screen, or Client Selection
options when you need to include the cursor in your image. An Area
screen capture will not include the cursor.

Tone: You may choose to save your captured image in either color
(as it appears on the screen) or monochrome. If your image will be
reproduced in black-and-white, saving the captured file as a
monochrome image creates smaller files.
Captured images can be converted immediately to gray scale.
Monochrome images saved in TIFF file format will be compressed
with LZW compression to further reduce the file size.
Hot Key: The currently assigned key sequence used to invoke the
Screen Capture utility, and the button used to change this assignment,
are enclosed in this group box.
Set: Click the Set button to change the key sequence used to invoke
the Screen Capture utility. When you click Set, the Set Hot Keys
dialog box is presented:

While this message box is displayed, press the key sequence you want
to use to invoke Screen Capture. You may set any Character Key
(e.g., a, b, c, 1, 2, 3), Function key (e.g., F1, F2, F3) or Command key
(e.g., Insert, Home, Page Up), singly or in combination with one or
more of the Mode keys (Shift, Alt or Ctrl).
Obviously, certain key sequences are more practical than others -you wouldn't want to use A or 6 as a hot key because this would
cause Screen Capture to take place any time you typed one of these
keys in another application. You also want to avoid key
combinations that have special meaning to Windows or your other
Page 2-51

File:Screen Capture
applications. Unusual sequences such as <Ctrl> + <Shift> + <F12>
or <Alt> + <Ctrl> + <End> are usually safe choices.
When you press a key combination, it appears in the Set Hot Keys
message box. When you are satisfied with your choice, click OK to
return to the Capture Options dialog box.

Page 2-52

File:Print Screen

Print Screen
Use the Print Screen command (<F6>) to print your screen exactly as
it is. You might want to do this if you have the capture options for your
Screen Capture command set for a selection other than the entire
screen, or if you want only the print copy and do not want to retain a
copy of the file that Image-Pro creates.
When you issue the Print Screen command, using either the menu
command or the <F6> function key, Image-Pro immediately scans the
screen and creates a file holding the image information. Settings, such
as where the file is placed, its format, and whether or not the cursor is
captured, are determined by the Screen Capture commands current
settings.
Then the Print dialog box appears, allowing you to set the print and
other controls as you need them. These controls function just as they do
in the Print command.
Click Print to initiate the print. When you have completed the print
process (the Message Box reports progress), or if you want to abort the
command, click the Close button. Image-Pro deletes the image file that
it created.
Note: You will not be able to use the Print Screen command from the
File menu when certain types of dialog boxes are open. These include
Open , Save As , New , and any other command that requires
information before processing can continue.

Page 2-53

File:Print

Print
Use the Print command to print one or more copies of the current
image, or the current AOI, to the selected output device. Image-Pros
Print command lets you take full advantage of your printers
capabilities. If your printer has built-in halftoning or color dithering
capabilities, you can use them. Or, you can instruct Image-Pro to
perform these processes before sending the image to the device.
The Print command also has facilities that let you adjust the size and
position of your image on the printed page.
Note: If you want to print just part of your image, use one of the AOIdefining tools to define the area you want to print before you select the
Print command.

Printer: In this list box, select the printer to which you want your
image printed.
Setup: Click this button to access the setup panel for the printer
you have selected. Image-Pro will present the standard setup
panel for your particular printer (this is the same panel you would
receive if you were setting up your printer from the Windows
Control Panel). Change your printers setup to suit your needs,
then click its OK button to return to Image-Pros Print dialog
box..
Copies: Enter the number of printed copies you want. If your
printer supports multiple copy printing, and its buffer is large
enough to contain the entire image, the additional copies will be
created by the printer; otherwise, Image-Pro will copy the image
to the device multiple times.

Page 2-54

File:Print
Print: Click the Print button when your settings are made to your
satisfaction. The Message Box in the Status Bar announces the file it
is printing and registers progress.
Print Overlay: Click this button to print overlaid text or drawings with
your image.
Fit to Page: Check this box to automatically scale your image to its
largest possible dimensions given the current page size and
orientation.
Close: Click the Close button when printing is complete or if you
decide not to print anything. If you click Exit during print processing
(while the progress indicator shows the job is incomplete), Image-Pro
may print all, none, or a portion of your image.
Position: Click this button to access the print size and position
options.

Position: Use these options to specify the position of your image


upon the printed page. Use the Center button to automatically
place the image in the middle of the page. Or, use the Top and
Left option boxes to specify a margin from the top and left edges.
Size: Use the options within this box to specify the printed size of
your image.
Width/Height: Use the Width and Height selectors to scale the
image to a specific height and width. If the Allow Distortions
option is checked, you can set the height and width values
independently, i.e., you can stretch or shrink the width without
Page 2-55

File:Print
affecting the height and vice versa. If Allow Distortions is not
selected, the Width and Height values are linked. When either
value is changed, a proportional change is automatically made to
the other dimension to maintain the aspect ratio of your image.
Width and Height values can be set in your unit-of-measure, or
in percentage form. The Pg option boxes are used to specify the
height and width dimensions (in pages) when the Poster Print
option is enabled.
Actual: Click this button to return your image to its original
dimensions after you have modified its size using either the
Width, Height, Fit to Page, or Poster Print options.
Allow Distortion: Select this option if you need to set the
Width and Height dimensions independently. While this gives
you full flexibility, it may result in some image distortion as
Image-Pro stretches or shrinks the edges to achieve the specified
dimensions. If Allow Distortions is not checked, the height and
width values are linked, to maintain your images proportions.
When one dimension is changed, the other is automatically
adjusted to preserve the ratio between height and width (the
aspect ratio).
Poster Print: Select this option if you want to enlarge your
image beyond a page. To produce the oversized image, ImagePro tiles the image across an array of pages.
Note: The Position options affect the position of the entire image with
respect to the entire page array. There are no mechanisms for
modifying the margins of each page within the array individually.
When you click the Center button, for example, the entire image is
centered within the array. Image-Pro does not center each tile within its
respective page.
To print selected pages of the array, use the Pages to Print options.
Fit to Page: Click this button to automatically scale your image to
its largest possible dimensions given the current page size and
orientation. If the Allow Distortions option is checked, the image
will fill the entire page, from edge to edge; stretching will occur
where necessary to accomplish this. If Allow Distortions is not
checked, the image will be scaled to its largest dimensions without
Page 2-56

File:Print
changing the aspect ratio between its height and width. This is the
Image-Pro default setting.
Pages to Print: Use these options when printing a postered
image (see Poster Print above) to specify the pages you want
printed. If you want to print only a few pages of the array, click
the Selected button to deactivate all the tiles. This will block
them all with patterned tiles. Then use your mouse button and
click on the pages to uncover just those you want to print.
If you want to print all but a
few pages, click the All
button to activate the entire
array. Then use your mouse
button and click just those
pages you want skipped
during the print process. The
All and Selected buttons are
simply efficient ways to
activate or deactivate the
entire array in one step; they do not have to be used to select
pages for print. You can manually toggle the status of a page by
simply clicking upon it with the left mouse button -- if the page is
already active, it will be deactivated (covered); if it is inactive, it
will be activated (cleared).
The Pages to Print option will not be active unless the Poster
Print option has been selected.

Page 2-57

File:Mosaic Image

Mosaic Image
Use the Mosaic Image command to create a collage image made out of
several open images. The resulting image can then be printed or saved
to a file. When you select this command for the first time, you will see
the following tabbed dialog:

The Mosaic tool is a modeless dialog with three tabs for specifying the
elements of the mosaic. These tabs are:

Mosaic Image

Grid Settings

Image List.

Each of these pages will be discussed in the following pages. Initially,


the first page, Mosaic Image, will be displayed, but when the tool is
opened after that first usage, the last page used will be displayed.
At the bottom of the dialog box are 3 controls that are shared by all
three pages, as shown here:

Page 2-58

File:Mosaic Image
The message box at the far left contains a text field indicating the
current configuration of the mosaic being created. This field is updated
whenever any of the pertinent settings change. The first portion of the
field indicates the layout of the mosaic, in this case 2 horizontal rows
and 2 vertical columns. The second portion of the field indicates the
number of images currently selected for inclusion in the mosaic, in this
case 3.
The third portion indicates the number of pages (workspaces) that will
be created. In this example, all the images fit on one page.
Create: Click this button to start the process of creating the mosaic.
This button will only be enabled when there is at least one selected
image/frame. The dialog will not close when the mosaic is created.
Close: Click this button to close the dialog. If images have been added
but a mosaic has not been created, you will see a message asking you
if you want to continue.

Page 2-59

File:Mosaic Image

Mosaic Image
The Mosaic Image page specifies the format of the new image, as
shown here:

Use Size of Printers page: Click this button to use the selected
printers page size.
Page Setup: Click this button to change the default paper size and
orientation. The page sizes available depend on the options supported
by your printer.
Use 1/4 size: This checkbox can be used in conjunction with Use Size
of Printers Page to generate an image in the proper orientation and
aspect ratio as the printers page but using less memory. The size of
the image will be 1/4 of the printers width and height dimensions,
resulting in an image requiring 1/16th the memory. The DPI of the
mosaics created will be adjusted so that the image fills the printer
page by default.
User Defined Size: Click this button to specify the page size in
pixels.
Image Class: Use this combo box to select the destination image
class. By default, this list only displays Best Class, Grayscale, and
True Color. When Show all classes is checked, the remaining image
classes will also be listed. When Best Class is selected, the highest
precision class of the selected images will be used for the new image,
where the order by precision is: Grayscale, Palette, Gray 12, Gray 16,
Float, RGB, RGB 36, and RGB 48.
Page 2-60

File:Mosaic Image

Grid Settings
The Grid Settings page specifies the layout of the new image, and is
illustrated below:

Rows: Use the spin buttons to indicate the number of horizontal rows
in your image mosaic.
Columns: Use the spin buttons to indicate the number of vertical
columns in your mosaic image.
Auto rows & columns: Check this box to have Image-Pro determine
the number of rows and columns automatically.
The number of rows and columns can be automatically calculated if
the Auto rows & columns is checked. If checked, the tool attempts
to create a single mosaic with the largest possible square cell for each
image in the Selected Workspaces list. If this is not checked, the tool
will create however many pages are necessary to accommodate the
number of selected images.
Spacing: Use the spin buttons to set the distance in pixels between the
rows and the columns.
Title: Enter text for a title to be displayed across the top of the image
mosaic.
Footer: Enter text for a footer to be displayed across the bottom of the
image mosaic.

Page 2-61

File:Mosaic Image
Captions: The Captions combo box allows you to select the type of
caption to be displayed under each image. The choices include:
<None>
Image Name (workspace name)
File Name (full path name)
Date / Time (of the displayed frame, in the same format as the
Image Info dialog),
Description (one line only)
Frame number.
If <None> is selected for the Caption, the caption area will not be
displayed and more images may fit into the mosaic.
Add Page Numbers: When Add Page Numbers is checked, page
numbers will be added to the bottom right corner of the mosaic, in the
format Pg. 1/3 (page one of three).
Select Font or Size: The Select Font or Size button will bring up a
standard font selection dialog to select the font and/or point size
settings. The default is Times New Roman, 12 Point.

Page 2-62

File:Mosaic Image

Image List
The Image List page selects which workspaces to use, as shown below:

Available Images: The Available Images list on the left lists all
currently open workspaces. These are images that may be combined
into the mosaic.
Selected Images: The Selected Images list on the right lists selected
workspaces. These are the images you have chosen to include in the
mosaic. The selected workspace may be listed in three different
formats:
A single image will be listed by name only if it is a singleframe workspace.
Active sequences will be listed in a name(X/N) format if
frame X is the selected frame of N frames.
Portions of sequences will be listed as name(N - M) if the
active portion of the sequence is selected (where N is the first
selected frame and M is the last, inclusive).
Add: The Add>> button adds the highlighted images to the selected
workspaces, and will only be enabled when one or more workspaces
are selected in the available images list box.
Add All: The Add All >> button is a shortcut to add all of the open
workspaces to the selected list, and will always be enabled.

Page 2-63

File:Mosaic Image
Remove: The Remove < button removes the highlighted images from
the selected workspaces list, and will only be enabled when one or
more workspaces are selected in the selected images list box.
Clear: The Clear < button is a shortcut to clear the selected images
list.
Images in Mosaic: The Images in Mosaic indicates the number of
selected workspaces and the number of spaces available in the mosaic
grid. If the Auto rows & columns check box is selected in the Grid
Settings, the total number of spaces will automatically increase as the
user adds more images into the mosaic.
The following picture shows an example of an image mosaic:

Page 2-64

File:Exit

Exit
Use the Exit command to leave Image-Pro and return to Windows.
Important - Be sure you save all the images that you want to keep
before you exit. You can direct Image-Pro to prompt you to save
modifications or untitled images when you exit. To do so, set Edit :
Preferences: Application. If your preferences are set not to warn you,
Image-Pro will close all files with no changes and no warning.
Before Image-Pro returns to Windows, it updates its initialization file to
record information such as your current filtering options and window
arrangements. Next time you start Image-Pro, the environment will be
returned to its present state.
You may also exit Image-Pro by double-clicking the Control-menu
icon, clicking its Close button, or by pressing <Alt> + <F4>.

Page 2-65

File:Exit

Page 2-66

Edit:Undo

The Edit Menu


The Edit menu contains commands that help you manipulate the display of your
image. You can cut, copy, and paste images or portions of images, make notes on the
image itself, change the display of the image on the screen, and change the image
class. The Edit menu also supplies information about the image and lets you adjust
your Image-Pro display preferences.

Page 2-67

Edit:Undo

Undo
Use the Undo command (<Ctrl>+<Z>) to reverse the most recent
actions. You can undo up to the last four operations (see the
Preferences command for information on setting the number of Undo
Buffers).
When you select Undo, a menu of the last four reversible operations is
displayed. When you select an operation from this menu, you revert
your image to its state prior to that operation. For example, if you had
converted an image, applied a Sharpen filter, an Edge filter, then a
Sculpt filter, undoing the Sharpen operation would revert to the way the
image looked before the Sharpen but after the conversion.
You can undo an Undo operation by selecting Redo from the Undo
menu.

Page 2-68

Edit:Cut

Cut
Use the Cut command (<Ctrl> + <X>) to copy the contents of the
selected AOI to the Window Clipboard and replace the AOI in the
image with white. If no AOI is active, Image-Pro copies the entire
active image to the Clipboard and replaces it with white. Cut changes
the contents of the image in the active window (i.e., Cut deletes the cut
pixels). Any data already existing on the Clipboard will be replaced.
The data copied to the Clipboard can be pasted into the active window
or into another open window using the Paste command. You can also
create a new window directly from the Clipboard contents using the
Paste New command.

Page 2-69

Edit:Copy

Copy
Use the Copy command (<Ctrl> +<C>) to copy the contents of the
selected AOI to the Window Clipboard. If no AOI is active, Image-Pro
copies the entire active image to the Clipboard. Copy will not change
the contents of the image in the active window (i.e., copy does not
delete the copied pixels). Any data already existing on the Clipboard
will be replaced.
The copied data can be pasted into the active window or into another
open window using the Paste command. You can also create a new
window directly from the Clipboard contents using the Paste New
command.

Page 2-70

Edit:Paste

Paste
Use the Paste command (<Ctrl> + <V>) to place the contents of the
Windows Clipboard into the active image. You would use Paste to
transfer part of one image into another.
Before you can execute the Paste command, you must have somehow
placed valid image data on the Windows Clipboard (see the Copy
command). If there are no data on the Clipboard, the Paste command
will not be active. Image data can be pasted into any image class that
Image-Pro supports.
Image-Pro will accept image data from other applications via the
Clipboard as long as it is in Windows bitmap (BMP), Tagged Image
File Format (TIF), Device Independent Bitmap (DIB) or Windows
Picture form. If you attempt to Paste non-image data (e.g., text or
spreadsheet data) to an image window, you will receive an error
message.
When you select the Paste command, Image-Pro will initially position
the Clipboard data in the upper-left corner of the currently active
rectangular AOI (or of the entire image if there is no active rectangular
AOI). Position your cursor over the Clipboard data. Your cursor will
appear as a 4-way arrow and will allow you to drag the Clipboard data
to the correct position. When you are happy with its position, click the
right mouse button, or press the <Enter >key, to permanently set the
Clipboard data into the image. The Clipboard pixels will overwrite
those at the specified position. Press <Esc> to cancel the Paste
operation.
Drag the pasted image data when you
see the 4-way cursor.
Once the data are properly positioned,
click the right mouse button, or press
Enter.

If the Clipboard image is larger than the destination image, it will be


cropped along the bottom and right edges. Selecting another image
before confirming the Paste operation (left-mouse click or <Enter>)
cancels the Paste operation.

Page 2-71

Edit:Paste New

Paste New
Use the Paste New command to place the contents of the Windows
Clipboard into a new image, which becomes the active image.
Before you can execute the Paste New command, you must have
somehow placed valid image data on the Windows Clipboard (see the
Copy command). If there are no data on the Clipboard, the Paste
command will not be active.
The class of the new image will be the same as that of the original
image.
Image-Pro will accept image data from other applications via the
Clipboard as long as it is in Windows bitmap (BMP), Tagged Image
File Format (TIF), Device Independent Bitmap (DIB) or Windows
Picture form. If you attempt to Paste non-image data (e.g., text or
spreadsheet data) to an image window, you will receive an error
message.
If a nonrectangular AOI is copied into the Clipboard, Image-Pro uses
its bounding box for the new image.

Page 2-72

Edit:Paste Options

Paste Options
Use the Paste Options command to specify settings that affect the way
in which image data, pasted from the Clipboard, is combined with the
target image. When you select this command, the Paste Options dialog
box is presented.

Preview with blend: Enable this option to view the Clipboard data
as it would appear if you were to paste it with the specified Blend
Control options (see below). This allows you to see the effect of
your blend settings while you are positioning the Clipboard data prior
to actually pasting it into your image.
Apply with blend: Enable this option to blend the Clipboard data
with the destination image. When enabled, the Clipboard and image
data will be blended in accordance with the percentages and
intensities specified in the Blend Control group box. When
disabled, Clipboard data will simply overwrite the specified pixels in
the destination image, regardless of the Blend Control values.
Blend Control: Use the options in this group box to control the
ratio at which Clipboard data is blended with the destination image.
These values are only utilized when the Apply with blend or
Preview with blend options are set (see above).
Src: Select the percentage at which Clipboard data will be applied
to the image. The larger the number, the heavier the Clipboard
data is applied (e.g., if 100% is set, only the pasted Clipboard data
will be visible in the result). This value is linked to the Dest
value, such that when Src is changed the necessary change is
automatically made to Dest so that the two values combined equal
100%.
Dest: Select the percentage of the destination image allowed to
show through the applied Clipboard data. The smaller the
Page 2-73

Edit:Paste Options
number, the less the original image will remain visible (e.g., if 0%
is set, only the Clipboard data will be visible in the result). This
value is linked to the Src value, such that when Dest is changed
the necessary change is automatically made to Src so that the two
values combined equal 100%.
Apply Blended Image To: Specify the intensity values that are to
be affected by the blend. Select from the following:
All: The Clipboard data will be applied, in the specified blend
ratio, to all pixels in the paste area, regardless of their
intensity.
Lighter Pixels Only: The Clipboard pixels will be pasted
(in the specified blend ratio) only in places where the
destination pixel is lighter than the corresponding Clipboard
pixel.
Darker Pixels Only: The Clipboard pixels will be pasted
(in the specified blend ratio) only in places where the
destination pixel is darker than the corresponding Clipboard
pixel.

Page 2-74

Edit:New AOI

New AOI
The New AOI command allows you to create an AOI on the active
image by specifying the image coordinates. The AOI shapes available
are:

Rectangular (bounds),

Elliptical (bounds),

Rectangular (center/size),

Elliptical (center/radius).

Selecting either Rectangular (bounds) or Elliptical (bounds) displays


the following dialog:

You would define your AOI by entering the pixel coordinates for the
left, top, right, and bottom of the AOI shape.
Selecting either Rectangular (center,size) or Elliptical (center, size)
displays a different dialog:

Page 2-75

Edit:New AOI
You would define your AOI by entering the pixel coordinates for the
Center X and Center Y, and the length in pixels for the Width and
Height.
Whichever type of AOI you select will then be displayed on your active
image. You can move or resize the AOI by either changing the
coordinates in the dialog, or clicking and dragging the AOI on the
image.
Color: Clicking this button displays the color selection dialog.

Here you can change the color associated with the AOI, or define a
custom color.
OK: Click OK to apply your AOI to the image.
Cancel: Click Cancel to erase your AOI.

Page 2-76

Edit:AOI

AOI
Use the AOI command to save and recall AOI outlines. There are
many instances in which it is useful to save an AOI if your analysis
involves the repetitive use of the same size AOI, you might store the
AOI for use with other images. You might also save an AOI at the end
of the day so that your analysis can be easily resumed at some later
point. Or you might save an AOI to give to a co-worker on another
workstation.
When you select the AOI command, the AOI Manager window is
displayed.
The controls in this box are used to work with
the current list of reusable AOIs. The names of
the AOIs comprising the current list are shown
in the list box on the right side of the AOI
Manager window.
The button controls along the left side are used
to add, delete and apply AOI outlines. They
are also used to save/load outlines to/from AOI
files. Each control is described below.

AOI name: Use the edit text box at the top to give your AOI the name you
choose. Otherwise, Image-Pro provides a name consisting of the AOI
type and its number in the series.
Add: Use this button to add the active AOI to the list of reusable AOI
outlines. Before selecting this button you must have created an AOI, and
it must be the active AOI (please refer to the description under Image-Pro
Tools). When an AOI is added to the list it is given a generic name made
up of its type and a number e.g., Box1, Ellipse2, Polygon3. You may
rename your AOI by highlighting its current name in the list box, then
typing its new name in the edit box at the top of the AOI Manager
window.
You will receive an alerting message if you attempt to add an AOI that
has the same coordinates as one already contained in the list. You may
choose to discard or save the duplicate AOI.
Page 2-77

Edit:AOI
Del: Use this button to delete an AOI from the current list. Before
selecting this button, be sure the AOI you want to delete is the one
highlighted in the list.
Set: Use this button to apply an AOI to the active image. Before selecting
this button, be sure the name of the AOI you want to apply is the one
highlighted in the list (see procedures at the beginning of this section).
You may also double-click on the AOI to set it.
When an AOI is applied, it is put in the same position at which it was
initially defined. If this position is outside the boundaries of the receiving
image, the AOI will not appear. If parts of the AOI extend beyond the
image boundaries, only part of the AOI (the part that exists within the
image) will appear.
Save: Use this button to save the current set of AOI outlines to a file. You
might do this if you use various sets of AOIs for different purposes, or if
you want to use a set of AOIs on another workstation. When you click the
Save button, the Save AOI List dialog box is presented. Within it, type
the name of the file to which you want the outlines stored. AOI outline
coordinates are stored in ASCII format to an *.AOI file.
Note: The current AOI list is maintained from session to session, so it is not
necessary to explicitly save AOI outlines to a file simply to make them
available next time you work with Image-Pro.
Load: Use this button to load a new set of AOI outlines to the current list.
The new list will replace the current list. When you click the Load
button, the Load AOI List dialog box is presented. Within it, type the
name of the AOI file from which the outlines will be read, then click OK.
The names of the AOIs contained in that file will appear in the list box in
the AOI Manager window.
Close: Click this button to close the AOI Manager window.

Page 2-78

Edit:AOI
Procedures
The following steps are required to save an AOI:
1. Create the AOI if it has not yet been created. You may use
any of the AOI tools (rectangle, ellipse or free-form).
2. Activate the AOI. The AOI that is to be saved must be active
(i.e., visible in the image) before proceeding to the next step.
3. Select the AOI command. This command is located on the
Edit menu. The AOI Manager command window will be
presented.
4. Click the Add button in the AOI Manager command
window. The AOI will be given a name and will be placed in the
list of reusable AOIs.
5. Rename the AOI. You may assign a more meaningful name than
the one automatically assigned by Image-Pro. To do this, highlight
the current name in the list, then enter a new name in the edit box at
the top of the AOI Manager command window.
6. Save the AOI list (optional). If you want to use the AOI on
another workstation, or if you want to organize your outlines into
related groups, you can save the AOI to a file. Click the Save
button to do this.
Note: AOI outlines are automatically saved from one session to the
next. Once you add an AOI to the AOI Manager list, it will remain
there until you delete it or replace the current list with one from another
file.

Page 2-79

Edit:AOI
To recall an AOI that has been saved, follow the steps below:
1. Select the image to which the AOI will be applied. The
image into which you want the AOI placed must be active.
2. Select the AOI command. This command is located on the
Edit menu. The AOI Manager command window will be
presented.
3. Load the AOI list from an AOI file, if necessary. If the AOI
you want to recall is not in the current list, click the Load button to
load the proper AOI file.
4. Highlight the AOI in the list, then click the Set button.
This will apply the selected AOI to the active image. You may also
double-click on the AOI to set it.

Page 2-80

Edit:Annotate

Annotate
Use the Annotate command to add text or drawings to your images.
Your annotations are in a graphics overlay that is displayed over the
image without modifying the image data itself. Annotations can be
stored in a .TIF or IPW file separate from the image itself. The
annotations do not become part of the image until you click the Burn
button.
When you select the Annotate command, you will see the Annotation
toolbar, as shown here:
Line Tool
Selection Tool

Rectangle Tool

Ellipse Tool

Round Rectangle Tool


Burn

Polygon or Polyline Tool


Cut

Copy

Text Tool

Delete

Paste

Show: Check this box to display the annotations on the image. If


unchecked, the annotations are hidden.
Start with Default Text: When this box is checked new text objects
will contain the current default text. This text can then be edited if
necessary. Please refer to the Properties dialog description later in
this section for information about how to use this feature.
When you select one of the shape tools (line, rectangle, ellipse,
polygon, text), your cursor will change to a crosshair whenever you are
over the active image. When you click on the image, that sets the topleft corner of the new object, and an outline of the object with handles
appears on the image in the workspace as you drag the mouse to size the
object. Drag the handles until your drawing object reaches the size
required.
Page 2-81

Edit:Annotate

Rectangle with handles

If an object has a property Zoom with Image unchecked, one of handles


has an additional cross mark inside it. This handle points to the position
on the image where the object is anchored. For a rounded rectangle
object, the special yellow handle is used to change roundness.
Each drawing object has its own Properties dialog. Click the right
mouse button on the selected object, and choose Annotation:
Properties, or double-click the object to view or edit its properties. The
pages shown in the Properties dialog are discussed at the end of this
section, and vary according to the selected object.
Note- When Annotation tool buttons are active, these tools receive all
mouse movements and clicks first. This means that tools such as the
AOI manager, Zoom, and Pan do not receive mouse movements or
clicks. If you wish to manipulate the image using these tools, you must
first de-select the Annotation tool by clicking it again. Clicking on a
active tool button will release it, turning off the tools and allowing
mouse messages to be passed on to other tools.
It is possible to save your images and annotations without burning them.
If you store your annotated images in either TIFF or Image-Pro
Workspace format, the transparent overlay will be stored along with, but
still apart from, the image data. No other file formats are capable of
storing image overlays.
The Selection tool is used to select a drawing object on the image. To select
more than one object, hold down the <CTRL> key while clicking the mouse
pointer on the objects. You may also select all the objects in an area by
using the object selector to draw a rectangle to enclose them.

Page 2-82

Edit:Annotate
The Line tool is used to draw straight lines and arrows. To draw a line,
select this tool, and click on the location in your image where you want to
start the line. Drag the mouse cursor to the ending point. A line with
handles will appear.
The Rectangle and Round Rectangle buttons create similar
objects. To draw a rectangle or rounded rectangle, place the cursor
anywhere in the image, then drag the cursor to the appropriate size
and release the mouse button. Once a rectangle has been created,
its size can be modified by placing your cursor on one of the
handles and dragging it to a new position. Hold down the <Shift>
key when drawing a rectangle or round rectangle to draw a square.
The Ellipse button is used to draw circles and ellipse. To draw an
ellipse, drag the cursor until an ellipse of the size and shape you
need is produced. Once an ellipse has been created, its size can be
modified by placing your cursor on one of the handles and dragging
it to a new position. Hold down the <Shift> key when drawing an
ellipse to create a circle.
To place text on an image, select the Text Tool. If you have default
text and Autosize bound set (see the Settings page description
below), then you can just click your left mouse button inside the
image to place the text object. If you do not have default text set,
you will click your left mouse button, and drag the cursor to size the
text object. You will then have the opportunity to edit the text in the
annotation using the Text page of the properties dialog (see the Text
page description below).
Use this button to draw an open Polyline or closed Polygon. You
can draw a polygon by dragging the mouse cursor along the path of
the object, or by clicking on various points in the image. Double
click the left mouse button to end the polyline.

Page 2-83

Edit:Annotate
The Burn button makes your annotations a permanent part of the
image. Until you click this button, your annotations exist on a
transparent overlay that is displayed on top of your image. The
Show checkbox on the Annotation toolbar controls the visibility of
the transparent overlay. If the box is checked, the objects drawn on
the overlay will be visible.
Once you click the Burn button, the objects on the overlay are
permanently embedded into your image. Your image data is
changed, and the annotated object destroyed.
Note: Changes to the image data can be reversed using the Undo
command, but the original annotation objects cannot be restored.
The Cut button will copy the selected object(s) to the clipboard and
remove them from the image. You can then use the Paste button to
paste the objects onto the original or another image.
The Copy button will copy the selected object(s) to the clipboard,
but will not remove them from the image. You can then use the
Paste button to paste the objects onto the original or another image.
The Paste button will paste any annotation objects on the clipboard
to the active image.
The Delete button will permanently delete the selected object(s)
from the image.
Click the right mouse button in the image to see the image pop-up
menu:

Page 2-84

Edit:Annotate
Please refer to Chapter 1 of this manual for descriptions of the Zoom
and Information commands. The Annotation command pops-up a
second menu. The Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete commands behave the
same as described above for the tool bar buttons. The Move commands
are used to set which objects will be displayed on top of other objects.
If your objects do not overlap, the drawing order will not matter, but if
they do, you can use the Move commands to assure that the objects that
you want displayed on top of others are in front of those other objects.
The Properties item displays the property dialog for the selected object.
Menu options are disabled if the menu items operation cannot be
completed. For example, if there are no selected objects, menu options
Cut, Copy, Delete, Move, and Properties are disabled. If there is no
information in the clipboard to paste, the menu option Paste is dimmed.
The Move commands can also be disabled if the selected object is the
only annotation object, or if it is already at the front or back of the set of
objects. The Properties dialog is accessible only if there is only one
selected object.

Annotation Object Properties Dialogs


All object types have default properties that will be used to define the
way the object will be drawn when a new object is added to the
annotation. The properties for an existing object can be edited by
double-clicking the object, or selecting a single object and using the
right-click popup menus Properties item, either of which will display
the Annotation Object Properties, which is a tabbed dialog of one or
more pages. The contents of the property dialog will change depending
on the type of object selected.
Use as Default: Use this command to replace the default properties
with the properties that you select in the Properties dialog. This
redefines the way that new objects of this type will be drawn. This
will not affect the properties of any existing objects.

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Edit:Annotate
Object Page
The first page of the properties dialog is named for the type of object
that is selected, and the contents of this page also change.
Line / Polyline / Polygon
The first page for line, polyline, and polygon objects allows you to set
the line style and end points of the object:

Use this dialog to change the line style (solid, dotted, or dashed) and
line width of your object. The Start and End selections include various
shapes that can be used to mark the starting and ending points of the
line.
Zoom with image forces the object to change size as you zoom the
image in and out.
Use as default saves these settings as the default properties for this
type of object the next time you use this tool, if you check this box.
The Use as default box normally is unchecked.
Connect Start/End turns your polyline into a closed polygon. The
Connect Start/End option is only displayed for polyline and polygon
objects.

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Edit:Annotate
Rectangle / Round Rectangle / Ellipse
The first page for rectangle, round rectangle, and ellipse objects allows
you to specify the line and fill properties of the object:

Use this dialog to change the line style (solid, dotted, or dashed) and
line width of your object. The Border/Fill selections include border
without fill, border and fill, or fill only. Click the appropriate radio
button to indicate your choice.
Zoom with image forces the object to change size as you zoom the
image in and out.
Use as default saves these settings as the default properties for this
type of object the next time you use this tool, if you check this box.
The Use as default box normally is unchecked.
Text Page
The first page for text allows you to specify the Text contained in the
object:

Text Window

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Edit:Annotate
The Text page of the properties dialog is displayed automatically each
time you place a new text object. This gives you the opportunity to edit
the text contained in the new object. When Start with default Text is
selected on the main Annotations dialog, a new text object will be
created with the current default text. When Image-Pro is first started,
the default text is empty, so the text window illustrated above will be
empty and you can enter whatever text you wish for each new object. If
you want to have each text object start with particular text, first create a
text object. Edit the text (if any) in the text window to what you want to
appear in each new text object. Then on the Settings page (described
below), make sure that Use as default is checked. After you click OK
to accept the edited properties, make sure that Start with default Text
is selected on the main Annotations dialog. As you create new text
objects, they will be created with the default text that you entered.
Settings Page
The properties dialog for text objects has an additional Settings page.
The attributes on this page let you select the text characteristics, such as
type font, size, style and alignment; as well as special attributes such as
bold, italic, or underlined. Note that these attributes are applied to the
entire character string that will be applied to the image.

Transparent lets the image show through the drawing on the image. If
this box is not check, the text is enclosed in a filled box.
Autosize bound allows the rectangle enclosing the text to change as
the text changes.
Zoom with image forces the text object to change size as you zoom
the image in and out.
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Edit:Annotate
Use as default remembers these settings for the next time you use the
tool, and resets the defaults if you check this box. The Use as default
box normally is unchecked.
The Text Justification controls can be used to determine whether the
text will appear in the top-left corner of the area that you set for the
text object (when you created the object), or whether the text will be
centered in the area. This option is disabled when Autosize bound is
selected.
Word Wrap automatically continues the text on the next line if it
reaches the edge of the bounding rectangle. This option is disabled
when Autosize bound is selected.

Color Page
The Color page is available for all drawing objects:

The Color page lets you select three colors: Line (or outline), Fill (or
interior), and Text. Not all of these colors are used for all objects;
unused colors will be disabled. For line and polyline objects, only the
Line color is used. For filled objects, the Line color is used for the
outline of the object and the Fill color for the objects interior. For text
objects, the Text color is used for the typeface, and the Fill color for the
bounding box enclosing the text, if Transparency (from the Settings
page) is turned off.

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Edit:Fill

Fill
Use the Fill command to fill the active image or AOI with a solid color
or a pattern from another image. You might want to use Fill to
highlight an AOI with a color or pattern, to clear a portion of an image,
or to superimpose one image over another.
Image-Pro will fill an AOI if you select one. Otherwise, the entire
active image will be filled. When a Multiple AOI is active, Image-Pro
will fill all the AOIs it contains.
Image-Pro will fill with a pattern, a texture, or a color of your choice.
The AOI in the image on the left has been filled with white, the AOI on
the right has been filled with a grid pattern.

If you plan to fill with a pattern, your active image must be either an
RGB24, RGB36, or RGB 48 bit image, or gray scale (Gray Scale, Gray
Scale 12, Gray Scale 16, or Floating Point ) class. Patterns cannot be
placed in Palette images. If your image is not gray scale or RGB , you
can convert it to one of these classes using the Convert To command.
When filling with a pattern, you must also have an image file that
contains the pattern you want Image-Pro to fill the area with.

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Edit:Fill
When you select the Fill command, the Fill dialog box is presented.

.
Within this dialog box, indicate whether you want to fill with a color, or
with a pattern or texture. If you choose to fill with a pattern or texture,
you will need to specify the image file that contains the pattern. Click
the Fill button once you have made your choices. Image-Pro will fill
the AOI (or the entire image, if no AOI is present) with the color or
pattern you have selected. Select Close if you want to close the dialog
box.
Note: The Fill dialog box is modeless. When you click Fill, the fill is
performed, but the dialog box remains open. You may perform other
Fill operations on the same image or other open images.
Solid Color Fill: Use this group box if you want to fill with a solid
color, by choosing the appropriate color button for background and
foreground. The color options (Color, Hue, and Tint) relate to ways
in which color can be applied.
Color: Select this option if you want the AOI or image to be filled
with a solid color. Select the color to be used by clicking on the
appropriate button.
Hue: When filling with Hue, the image is internally converted to the
HSV color model, and the color filling is performed on the color
(hue) channel only. After filling, the filled image is converted back
to the RGB color model.
The Hue option replaces the color values in your image.
Depending on the degree of transparency you select, Hue mixes the
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Edit:Fill
colors in the original image with the color you select. Elements of
the image that are white or black will not be replaced.
Visually, selecting Hue colors your image without affecting those
areas that are black or white. Select this option if you want the
pixels filled with the Hue value from the color selected with the
Color buttons.
Note: The Hue option can only be used with RGB images. This option
will be dimmed if the active image is not of this class.
Tint: When filling with Tint, the image is converted to the HSV
color model, and the color filling is performed on both the color
(hue) and saturation channels. After the fill process is complete, the
image is converted back the RGB color model.
The Tint option replaces the color and saturation values in your
image. Depending on the degree of transparency you select, Tint
replaces the values in the original image with new values.
Visually, Tint washes a color over entire image, including elements
that are white or gray. Select this option if you want the image or
AOI tinted with the color selected with the Color buttons.
Note: The Tint option can only be used with RGB images. This option
will be dimmed if the active image is not of this class.
Pattern/Texture Fill: Use this group box if you want to fill with a
pattern or texture. These two options determine how a pattern file
will be combined with the active image or AOI.
Pattern: Select this option if you want to fill the area with the
contents of the image file specified in the Pattern/Texture group
box.
Conceptually, the active image and the pattern image are aligned at
the (0,0) pixel (upper left-hand corner). The portion of the pattern
image that shows through will be that portion that corresponds to
the active images AOI. If the active image or AOI is larger than
the pattern file, the pattern file will be repeatedly applied until the
image or AOI has been entirely filled.
This button will be dimmed if the active image is not of RGB or
one of the gray scale classes.
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Edit:Fill
Texture: Select this option if you want to give the image a textured
appearance by applying the specified pattern file to just the
luminance channel. This results in intensity variations that give a
textured look to the image.
Note: The Texture option can only be used with RGB images. This
option will be dimmed if the active image is not of this class.
Foreground/Background Color: Select Foreground or
Background if you want Image-Pro to use the Colors window
currently selected foreground or background color for the fill
operation. If the color buttons do not currently specify the color you
want to use, double-click the Foreground or Background box. The
Colors window appears.

You can select another color by clicking on the color value currently
selected and moving the cursor to the desired value.
Note: Both Foreground and Background fill according to the Color,
Hue, Tint, and Transparency selections you have made.
Black/White: Use one of these color options if you want Image-Pro
to fill with black or white.
Select File: Click this button to specify the file containing the pattern
you want Image-Pro to use to fill the image or AOI. This button will
only be enabled when the Pattern or Texture option is set in the
Type group box.
When you click this button, the Open File dialog box is presented.
Select the pattern file as you do any image file (see the Open
command if you need assistance).
A pattern file must be an image file, and can be any class but Bilevel.
A pattern file can contain any image you want. If the pattern file is
smaller spatially than the active image or AOI, Image-Pro will repeat
the pattern image until the entire AOI or image is filled. Pattern file
opacity is determined by the value set in the Transparency field.
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Edit:Fill
This button will be dimmed if the active image is not of RGB or Gray
Scale class.
Transparency: Set this field to indicate the level of transparency
you want the color or pattern applied with. This lets you control how
much of your active image shows through the applied color or
pattern. A transparency of 0 indicates no transparency. A
transparency of 100 indicates total transparency. The
Transparency button will be dimmed if the active image is not of
RGB or Gray Scale class.
Color/Transparency - Set the transparency value to indicate how
much of the original image you want to show through the color you
apply.
Hue /Transparency - If transparency is set to zero, the full Hue
value of the specified color will be applied to the pixels in the AOI or
image. If transparency is set to a higher value, more of the original
pixels Hue value will be blended with that of the specified color.
Tint/Transparency - If transparency is set to zero, the hue and
full saturation of the selected color will be applied to the pixels in the
AOI or image. If transparency is set to a higher value, the color will
be applied in a less saturated form, and the hues will be mixed.
Pattern/Transparency - If transparency is set to zero, the
pattern files pixel values will replace those in the AOI or image
entirely. If transparency is set to a higher value, the two images will
be blended so that some of the original image shows through.
Texture/Transparency - Use the transparency value to control
how much of the texture files intensity should be applied to the
luminance channel. Set transparency to zero to apply the full
intensity; set a higher transparency value to retain more of the
original images intensity characteristics.
The series below shows the original image and pattern file, and the
effects of applying the pattern with increasing transparency values of:
20, 40, 60 and 80.

Page 2-94

Edit:Fill

Active image

Pattern image

Transparency = 20

Transparency = 40

Transparency = 60

Transparency = 80

Page 2-95

Edit:Dye List

Dye List
The new Dye List feature in Image-Pro Plus v. 5.1 allows you to select
from a list of dyes, or add your custom dyes to the list. The list of dyes
(*.ipd) is stored in the Documents and Settings folder of Image-Pro
Plus.
When you choose the Dye List command from the Edit menu, you will
see the Edit Dye List dialog box:

Name: This list includes all dye definitions found in the current dye
folder. You may select a different dye from the drop-down list, and
all the remaining controls will be updated to show the characteristics
of the new dye.
Clicking the folder browse button allows you to select a new dye
from a different folder. This button displays a standard Windows
folder selection dialog, as shown here:

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Edit:Dye List
Color: Use the slider to adjust the emissions wavelength for your dye,
which also sets the default display color. (You can also use the
button to select a specific color using a standard Windows color
selection dialog. ) The color will change in response to changes in the
emissions wavelength.
Clicking this button displays the color editing dialog:

Here you can change the color associated with the selected dye, or
define a custom color. The color default is linked to the selection of a
wavelength for your dye. If you change the emissions wavelength, the
color displayed will be the standard color for that wavelength. To set
a custom color, first you should set the wavelength and then edit the
color.
Emissions wavelength: This field displays the emissions
wavelength for the dye you have chosen. You can adjust he emissions
wavelength by entering a new value. The default color will change in
response to changes in the emissions wavelength.
Excitation wavelength: The default wavelength for your dye is
displayed here. You can adjust the wavelength by entering a new
value.
New: Click the new button to add a dye to your list of available dyes.
You will see the New Dye dialog: Enter the name of your new dye.

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Edit:Dye List
OK: Click OK to save the new or updated dye definition file in the
current location.
Cancel: Click Cancel to return to the Image-Pro workspace without
saving any changes.
Delete: Click the Delete button to remove the selected dye from your
list.
Close: Click this button to close the Edit Dye List dialog.
Save: Click this button to save your dye list changes.
Save As: Click this button to save your dye list changes to a new
folder.
Apply: Click the Apply button to apply the dye to the image, or a
portion of the image. You will see the Apply Dye dialog:

Choose a selection from the drop-down list box to indicate where you
would like to apply the selected dye information. You do not have to
use the Apply button; you may simply select the dye and click OK.
Apply dye tint: Check this box to apply the dye.
OK: Click OK apply the dye and to return to the Edit Dye dialog.
Cancel: Click Cancel to return to the Edit Dye dialog without
making any changes.

Page 2-98

Edit:Lens List

Lens List
All of the plug-ins that are affected by lens characteristics, such as
Scope-Pro and SharpStack, can now use a common set of lenses or
objectives. The Select Lens feature of Image-Pro Plus 5.1 enables you
to choose from a centralized list of lenses. The list of lenses (*.ipl)
is stored in the Documents and Settings folder of Image-Pro Plus.
When you choose Select Lens from the Edit menu, you will see the Edit
Lens List dialog box.

Name: The Name edit box displays the current name of the lens if you
are editing an existing lens definition. If you are defining a new lens,
this edit box will be empty.
You may select a different lens from the drop-down list, and all the
remaining controls will be updated to show the characteristics of the
new lens.
Clicking the folder browse button allows you to select a new lens
from a different folder. This button displays a standard Windows
folder selection dialog, as shown here:

Page 2-99

Edit:Lens List

Magnification: Enter a Magnification from .001 to 3000.


Reflective Index: Enter a Reflective Index from 1.0 to 3.0; or the
standard RI for air, water, glycerin or oil may be selected from the
drop list. If a reflective index is manually entered, the drop list will be
set to Custom (even if the value entered is one of the standard RI
values).
Numeric Aperture: Enter a Numeric Aperture from 1.0 to 2.0.
New: Click the New button to add a lens to the list of lens definitions.
You will see the Edit Lens dialog. Enter the name of your new lens.

OK: Click OK to save the new or updated lens definition file in the
current lens location.
Cancel: Click Cancel to return to the Image-Pro workspace without
saving any changes.
Delete: Click the Delete button to remove the selected lens from your
list.
Close: Click this button to close the Edit lens List dialog.
Save: Click this button to save your lens list changes.

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Edit:Lens List
Save As: Click this button to save your lens list changes to a new
folder.
Apply: Click the Apply button to apply the lens to the active image, or
a portion of the image. You will see the Apply Lens Characteristics
dialog:

Choose a selection from the drop-down list box to indicate where you
would like to apply the selected lens information.
OK: Click OK apply the lens and to return to the Edit Lens dialog.
Cancel: Click Cancel to return to the Edit lens dialog without
making any changes

Page 2-101

Edit:Convert To

Convert To
Use the Convert To command to create a copy of the active image in the
specified class. You might do this to convert a RGB image to a Gray
Scale image if only its intensity information is required, or change a
Gray Scale image to Floating Point in preparation for arithmetic
operations.
When you select the Convert To command, you will receive a menu
from which you must choose the class of image you want to create. The
class of the active image will be dim in the menu. Select one from the
list below:
Gray Scale 8
Gray Scale 12
Gray Scale 16
Floating Point
Palette
RGB 24
RGB 36
RGB 48
The converted image will be placed into a new image window. Your
original image will not be affected by the conversion.
Note: Bilevel images are no longer supported by version 5.1 of
Image-Pro Plus.
Two new options have been added to the image conversion feature:
scale by multiplying and direct value copy.
Scale by Multiplying is an option upon integer promotion, multiplying
by 257 rather than 256 for the 16 bit conversion. This means that an 8bit value of 255 will become a 16-bit value of 65535, rather than 65280.
If converted to a 12-bit value, 255 will become 4095, rather than 4080.
Direct value copy will turn a 255 value in an 8-bit image to 255 in
either a 12 or 16-bit image. Direct value copy for demotion will copy
values directly, clipping if they are above the dynamic range of the
target image type.

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Edit:Convert To
When your image conversion results in an increase in dynamic range,
including 8-bit grayscale to 12 or 16, 12-bit grayscale to 16, RGB to
RGB 36 or RGB 48, and RGB 36 to RGB 48, you will be able to
control the conversion with the following dialog:

This dialog is displayed upon promoting any integer image to another


integer image type. It also appears for RGB promotions.
Use the radio button to select the required conversion method:
Fast scaling: This feature scales images by bit-shifting them to
the left and filling with zeros. This is the method used by previous
versions of Image-Pro Plus.
Scale by multiplying: This feature multiplies images by 257 for
8 to 16 bit, and 16.0625 for 12 to 16 and 8 to 12 bit conversions.
The effect is to shift the values to the left the appropriate number of
bits and add the most significant bits of the original value into the
now blank least significant bits of the new image. Effectively, full
range remains full range, and values between zero and full range
scale accordingly.
Copy values without scaling: This feature copies values
directly. Note that the result of this conversion will usually look
blank, as the direct copy of values results in images whose values
are only a small fraction of the dynamic range.

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Edit:Convert To
When your image conversion results in a decrease in dynamic range,
including 12- or 16-bit grayscale to 8-bit, 16-bit grayscale to 12-bit,
RGB 36 or 48 to RGB 24, or RGB 48 to 36, you will be able to control
the process using the following dialog:

The demotion dialog does not list the scaling options: Fast Scaling
(scaling by bit shift) and Scale by Multiplying are treated identically
for demotion.
The options in this box let you determine how much of the 12-bit data is
scaled to 8 bits. This feature is useful for converting images with
limited dynamic range. If for example, much of your 12-bit data existed
in the 0 to 600 range, you might want to convert just this range to 8 bits.
This measure will reduce the amount of data that is lost when the 12-bit
values are rescaled.
Note: If you dont know the dynamic range of your 12-bit image, click
the Best Fit button. Image-Pro will automatically set the range based
upon a statistical analysis of the values in your image. See Best Fit,
below.
Input Range: In the Start and End fields, set the beginning and
ending values of the range that is to be converted to 8 bits. If you do
not know the range, click the Best Fit button and Image-Pro will
automatically set it for you (see Best Fit, below).
Output Range: In the Start and End fields, set the beginning and
ending values of the range to which you want the 12-bit data scaled.
In most cases you will want to scale to the largest possible 8-bit
range, so the default values of 0 and 255 should be used.
Best Fit: Click this button to automatically set the Input Range
values. Image-Pro will automatically set the Start and End fields to
define a range that encompasses 98% of the values in the image (the
highest 1% and lowest 1% are ignored).

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Edit:Convert To
Copy without scaling: This feature copies the values into the new
image without scaling them down, clipping any values that exceed the
maximum range of the new image type to that maximum value. Note
that when this checkbox is set the variable range control elements are
disabled.
Select Gray Scale 8 from the Convert To pop-out menu if you
want to convert your image to an 8-BPP monochrome image. You
might want to convert a RGB image to Gray Scale to work with just its
intensity information.
A progress indicator will be displayed in the Message Bar as the
conversion take place.
A few things to keep in mind when you convert to Gray Scale 8:

Palette Images are converted by converting each pixel to its


palette-specified intensity value. Intensity is calculated as
follows: ( .3 x Red + .59 x Green + .11 x Blue) .
RGB 24 (True Color) Images are converted by converting
each pixel to its intensity value. Intensity is calculated as
follows: (.3 Red + .59 Green + .11 Blue).
RGB 36 Images are converted in the same manner as True
Color images, by converting each pixel to its intensity value.
Intensity is calculated as follows: (.3 Red + .59 Green + .11
Blue).
RGB 48 Images are converted in the same manner as True
Color images, by converting each pixel to its intensity value.
Intensity is calculated as follows: (.3 Red + .59 Green + .11
Blue).
Gray Scale 12 Images will be converted according to the
options set in the Select Range dialog, discussed previously.
Gray Scale 16 Images will be converted according to the
options in the Select Range dialog box discussed previously.
Floating Point Images will be converted by scaling the range
to 256 values. You may narrow the range of values to be
converted by setting the Range values with the Info command.
Floating Point values less than the specified range will be
converted to 0; values greater than the end value in the specified
range will be set to 255.
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Edit:Convert To
Select Palette from the Convert To pop-out menu if you want
to convert your image to an 8-BPP, Palette-class image. You might
want to convert an RGB 24 image to a Palette image to reduce its size
(Palette images require only 8 BPP, whereas RGB 24 images require 24
BPP). You might also convert a RGB 24 image to Palette to create an
image that can be displayed on a 256-color device.
You can convert an existing Palette image to Palette, too. This might
be done to reduce the number of colors in the existing image, or to
change from one type of palette to another (see Median and M/Color
below):

Method: Within this box, select the method you want Image-Pro to
use when creating a palette for this new image.
M/Color: Select this option if you want to apply Media
Cybernetics proprietary M/Color palette to the image. The
M/Color palette is a 256-color palette that simulates the range of
colors in a natural color image. A dithering technique is used to
convert pixel values in the source image, to indices into the
M/Color palette. This produces the smoothest possible result in the
output image.
You might also want to use the M/Color palette if you are
converting several images to Palette class, and you want them all to
have the same palette. If you use the Median method for multiple
images, a unique palette would be generated for each image.
Consistent palettes across images are important if you need to use
your images in an application that will display several images
simultaneously. Many systems allow only a single active palette
for display purposes.
If you are converting a RGB 24 image with many varying levels of
color (as in a natural image), you will want to use this technique to
perform the conversion.
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Edit:Convert To
The Color Index options will not be active when the M/Color
method is selected.
Note - The M/Color palette does not have a wide range of gray
colors in it. If your image is primarily gray, you might want to
convert it with the Median option.
Median: Select this option if you want to create a palette based
upon the most frequently occurring colors in the source image. Set
the options in the Color Index box to specify the number of colors
you want Image-Pro to put in the palette, and indicate where they
should be placed within the palette.
Because the Median method allows you to specify the number of
colors that remain in the image, you can reduce your image to far
fewer color levels than with the M/Color method. This can be
important when image size is more important than image quality -the fewer colors in the image, the better it will compress because
more of its pixel values will be repeated.
For an artistic effect, you might want to use the Median method,
with a small Number value, to achieve a posterized look.
Pseudo-Color : Select this option to convert a pseudo-colored
image to a palette image.
Color Index: Within this box, select the number of colors you
want to place in the palette. Also, specify the position of these
colors within the palette.
Number: Specify the number of colors you want left in the image.
If you want all possible colors to remain in the image, set this value
to 256. Reducing this value will place fewer colors in the palette,
and will leave fewer colors in your image.
Regardless of what number you specify here, the palette itself will
always contain 256 colors. Unused palette entries are set to black
(RGB = 000).
For example, if you were trying to reduce the image for
compression results, you might want to constrain the palette to the
64 most frequently occurring colors in the image. When the
conversion is complete, your palette would contain 256 colors, but
only 64 of them would contain color. Moreover, every pixel in
your image will be changed to one of these 64 colors. Those pixels
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Edit:Convert To
that were one of the most popular 64 will be converted to the color
closest to it in value.
Start/End Use these fields to specify the palette positions into
which you want the specified number of colors placed. For
example, if you have specified 20 colors, and you wanted the first
color to be assigned to palette position 0, set 0 as the Start value.
You will see that End will automatically change to 19.
Colors will be assigned consecutive palette positions. If you adjust
the End value, the Numbers value will be adjusted to reflect the
exact number of indices between the specified Start and End
values (you are not allowed, for example, to specify 10 colors
positioned from indexes 0 to 20).
Any unused palette entries will be set to black (RGB =
000,000,000).
Select RGB 24 (True Color) from the Convert To pop-out
menu if you want to convert your image to a 24-BPP (chunky), RGB
24 image. You might want to convert a Palette image to a RGB 24
image to give you greater flexibility in working with it.
A few things to keep in mind when you convert to RGB 24:

Page 2-108

Palette Images are converted by converting each pixel to its


palette-specified RGB value. For example, if the pixel contained
a value of 10, and the contents of index 10 was
RGB=255,100,255 (magenta), the converted pixel would be
changed to 255,100,255 (magenta).
Gray Scale 8 Images are converted by converting Black
pixels to RGB=000,000,000, White pixels to RGB=255,255,255
and pixels with intermediate levels of gray to RGB values equal
to that level. For example, a pixel with gray level 128 would
convert to RGB=128,128,128. A pixel with gray level 222
would convert to 222,222,222, and so forth.
Gray Scale 12 Images will be converted by converting the
image to 8-bit Gray Scale (i.e., dropping the 4 low-order bits),
then converting the Gray Scale data to RGB (see Gray Scale
conversion above).
Gray Scale 16 Images will be converted by converting the
image to 8-bit Gray Scale (i.e., dropping the 8 low-order bits),

Edit:Convert To
then converting the Gray Scale data to RGB (see Gray Scale
conversion above).

Floating Point Images will be converted by converting the


image to 8-bit Gray Scale (i.e., scaling the values to 256 levels),
then converting the Gray Scale data to RGB (see Gray Scale
conversion above). You may narrow the range of values to be
converted by setting the Range values with the Info command.
Floating Point values less than the specified range will be
converted to 0; values greater than the end value in the specified
range will be set to 255.
RGB 36 Images are converted according to the options set in
the Select Range dialog described earlier.
RGB 48 Images are converted according to the options set in
the Select Range dialog described earlier.

Select Gray Scale 12 from the Convert To pop-out menu if


you want to convert your image to a 12 BPP, Gray Scale image.
A progress indicator will be displayed as the conversion takes place.
A few things to keep in mind when you convert to Gray Scale 12:

Gray Scale 8 Images are converted by increasing their pixel


depth from 8 to 12 bits. according to the options set in the Select
Method dialog described earlier.
Palette Images are converted by converting each pixel to its
palette-specified Intensity value. Intensity is calculated as
follows: (.3 x Red + .59 x Green + .11 x Blue). The resulting 8bit intensity is placed into the 8 high-order positions of a 12-bit
pixel, producing an image with an intensity range of 0 - 4095
(see Gray Scale above).
Gray Scale 16 Images are converted according to the options
set in the Select Range dialog described earlier.
True Color Images (RGB 24) are converted by converting
each pixel to its Intensity value. Intensity is calculated as
follows: (. 3 x Red + .59 x Green + .11 x Blue). The resulting 8
bit intensity is placed into the 8 high-order positions of a 12-bit
pixel, producing an image with an intensity range of 0 - 4095
(see Gray Scale above).
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Edit:Convert To

RGB 36 Images are converted by converting each pixel to its


Intensity value. Intensity is calculated as follows: (. 3 x Red +
.59 x Green + .11 x Blue). The resulting 12 bit intensity is
placed into the 12 high-order positions of a 12-bit pixel.
RGB 48 Images are converted by converting each pixel to its
Intensity value. Intensity is calculated as follows: (. 3 x Red +
.59 x Green + .11 x Blue). This produces an image with an
intensity range of 0 - 4095.
Floating Point Images are converted by scaling the intensity
range contained in the image to 4096 levels (0 - 4095). You may
narrow the range of values to be converted by setting the Range
values with the Info command. Floating Point values less than
the specified range will be converted to 0; values greater than the
end value in the specified range will be set to 4095.

Select Gray Scale 16 from the Convert To pop-out menu if


you want to convert your image to a 16 BPP, Gray Scale image.
A progress indicator will be displayed as the conversion takes place.
A few things to keep in mind when you convert to Gray Scale 16:

Page 2-110

Gray Scale 8 Images are converted by increasing their pixel


depth from 8 to 16 bits. These images will be converted
according to the Select Method dialog described at the
beginning of this section.
Palette Images are converted by converting each pixel to its
palette-specified Intensity value. Intensity is calculated as
follows: (.3 x Red + .59 x Green + .11 x Blue). The resulting 8bit intensity is placed into the 8 high-order positions of a 16-bit
pixel, producing an image with an intensity range of 0 - 65,535
(see Gray Scale 8 above).
True Color Images (RGB 24) are converted by converting
each pixel to its Intensity value. Intensity is calculated as
follows: (.3 x Red + .59 x Green + .11 x Blue). The resulting 8
bit intensity is placed into the eight high-order positions of a 16bit pixel, producing an image with an intensity range of 0 65,535 (see Gray Scale 8 above).

Edit:Convert To

RGB 36 Images are converted by converting each pixel to its


Intensity value. Intensity is calculated as follows: (.3 x Red + .59
x Green + .11 x Blue). The resulting 8 bit intensity is placed
into the eight high-order positions of a 16-bit pixel, producing an
image with an intensity range of 0 - 65,535 (see Gray Scale 8
above).
RGB 48 Images are converted by converting each pixel to its
Intensity value. Intensity is calculated as follows: (.3 x Red + .59
x Green + .11 x Blue). The resulting 8 bit intensity is placed
into the eight high-order positions of a 16-bit pixel, producing an
image with an intensity range of 0 - 65,535 (see Gray Scale 8
above).
Gray Scale 12 Images are converted according to the options
set in the Select Method dialog described earlier.
Floating Point Images are converted by scaling the intensity
range contained in the image to 65,536 levels (0 - 65,535). You
may narrow the range of values to be converted by setting the
Range values with the Info command. Floating Point values less
than the specified range will be converted to 0; values greater
than the end value in the specified range will be set to 65,535.

Select Floating Point from the Convert To pop-out menu if


you want to convert your image to a variable depth, Floating Point
image. You might want to convert a Gray Scale image to a Floating
Point image to eliminate the clipping at 0 and 255 which occurs when
arithmetic operations are performed (floating point images can contain
negative values).
A progress indicator will be displayed as the conversion takes place.
A few things to keep in mind when you convert to Floating Point:

Gray Scale 8 Images are converted by converting the pixel


values to floating-point values from 0.0 to 255.1.
Palette Images are converted by converting each pixel to its
palette-specified Intensity value. Intensity is calculated as
follows: (.3 x Red + .59 x Green + .11 x Blue). The intensity
result is converted to a floating-point value from 0.0 to 255.1.
True Color Images (RGB 24) are converted by converting
each pixel to its Intensity value. Intensity is calculated as
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Edit:Convert To
follows: (.3 x Red + .59 x Green + .11 x Blue). The result is
converted to floating-point values from 0.0 to 255.1.

RGB 36 Images are converted by converting each pixel to its


Intensity value. Intensity is calculated as follows: (.3 x Red + .59
x Green + .11 x Blue). The result is converted to floating-point
values from 0.0 to 4095.1
RGB 48 Images are converted by converting each pixel to its
Intensity value. Intensity is calculated as follows: (.3 x Red + .59
x Green + .11 x Blue). The result is converted to floating-point
values from 0.0 to 65535.1.
Gray Scale 12 are converted by converting the pixel values to
floating point values that lie within the range of 0.0 (black) 4095.1 (white).
Gray Scale 16 are converted by converting the pixel values to
floating point values that lie within the range of 0.0 (black) 65535.1 (white).

Select RGB36 from the Convert To pop-out menu if you want


to convert your image to a 36-bit RGB image.
A few things to keep in mind when you convert to RGB 36:

Page 2-112

Gray Scale 8 Images are converted by converting Black


pixels to RGB=000,000,000, White pixels to RGB=4095, 4095,
4095 and pixels with intermediate levels of gray to RGB values
equal to that level. For example, a pixel with gray level 128
would convert to RGB=2048, 2048, 2048.
Gray Scale 12 Images will be converted duplicating the 12bit gray scale pixel value for each channel.
Gray Scale 16 Images will be converted by converting the
image to 12-bit Gray Scale (i.e., dropping the 4 low-order bits),
then converting the Gray Scale data to RGB (see Gray Scale 12
conversion above).
Palette Images are converted by converting each pixel to its
palette-specified RGB value, and then scaling up to 12 bits per
sample . For example, if the pixel contained a value of 10, and

Edit:Convert To
the contents of index 10 was RGB=255,28,255, the converted
pixel would be changed to 4095,2048,4095.

Floating Point Images will be converted by converting the


image to 12-bit Gray Scale (i.e., scaling the values to 4096
levels), then converting the Gray Scale data to RGB (see Gray
Scale 12 conversion above).
RGB 24 (True Color) Images will be converted according to
the options in the Select Method dialog, described earlier in this
section.
RGB 48 Images will be converted according to the options set
in the Select Range dialog described earlier.

Select RGB 48 from the Convert To pop-out menu if you want


to convert your image to a 48-bit RGB image.
A few things to keep in mind when you convert to RGB 36:

Gray Scale 8 Images are converted by converting Black


pixels to RGB=000,000,000, White pixels to RGB=65535,
65535, 65535, and pixels with intermediate levels of gray to
RGB values equal to that level. For example, a pixel with gray
level 128 would convert to RGB=128,128,128.
Gray Scale 12 Images will be converted by converting the
image to 8-bit Gray Scale (i.e., dropping the 4 low-order bits),
then converting the Gray Scale data to RGB (see Gray Scale
conversion above).
Gray Scale 16 Images will be converted by converting the
image to 8-bit Gray Scale (i.e., dropping the 8 low-order bits),
then converting the Gray Scale data to RGB (see Gray Scale
conversion above).
Palette Images are converted by converting each pixel to its
palette-specified RGB value, and then scaling up to 12 bits per
channel. For example, if the pixel contained a value of 10, and
the contents of index 10 was RGB=255,128,255 (magenta), the
converted pixel would be changed to 65535, 32768, 65535
(magenta).
Floating Point Images will be converted by converting the
image to 8-bit Gray Scale (i.e., scaling the values to 256 levels),
Page 2-113

Edit:Convert To
then converting the Gray Scale data to RGB (see Gray Scale
conversion above).

Page 2-114

RGB 24 (True Color) Images will be converted according to


the options in the Select Method dialog, described earlier in this
section.
RGB 48 Images will be converted according to the options set
in the Select Range dialog described earlier.

Edit:Duplicate/Crop To AOI

Duplicate/Crop To AOI
Use the Duplicate command to create an exact copy of the active image,
or AOI, in a new, untitled image window.
When you select the Duplicate command, Image-Pro will generate a
new copy of the active image, or AOI, in a new window. If a
nonrectangular AOI is active when the Duplicate command is selected,
the new image will contain an image made up of the pixels contained
within the AOIs bounding rectangle.
The duplicate image will be of the same class and logical resolution as
the image from which it was created. If a Palette image is duplicated,
its palette will be copied to the new image too. Regardless of image
class, however, descriptive attributes, such as Description, Artist, and
Date, will not be passed to the new image (these attributes are
considered unique to a single image).
When the active image is a sequence, the active portion of the sequence
will be copies when the Apply to Sequence button is selected.
Otherwise, only the current frame of the active image will be copied.

Page 2-115

Edit:Rotate

Rotate
Use the Rotate command to rotate the image or the active AOI to a
specified angle.
When you rotate an image or AOI, Image-Pro places the rotated result
in a new image window; the original image is not be affected.

Image rotated Left


90
Original
image

When you select the Rotate command, a grid will be superimposed on


your image in the application area, as shown here:

Page 2-116

Edit:Rotate
you will see the following dialog box. Select the kind of rotation you
want to perform.

Arrows point to the top of the rotated image. You can specify
the angle of rotation, indicating the correct angle by typing in a
number or using the spin buttons. Image-Pro will turn the image in
the application area by the specified number of degrees.

Maintain Image Size: Check this box to make the rotated image
the same size as the original image.

Flip image up/down: Image-Pro reverse the position of the image


in the application area, so that the top right corner of the original
image is now the bottom right corner, and the top left corner of the
original image is now the bottom left corner.

Flip image left to right: Image-Pro reverse the image in the


application area, so that the top right corner of the original image is
now the top left, and the top left corner of the original image is now
the top right corner.

Rotate image 180 Degrees: Image-Pro creates a mirror image of


the original image in the application area, so that the top right
corner of the original image becomes the bottom left corner, and
the top left corner of the original image is now the bottom right
corner.

Rotate image 90 degrees clockwise: Image-Pro turns the image in


the application area to an angle 90 degrees to the right.
Page 2-117

Edit:Rotate

Page 2-118

Rotate image 90 degrees counterclockwise: Image-Pro turns the


image in the application area to an angle 90 degrees to the left.

Transpose: Select Transpose if you want to produce a mirror


image and change the orientation of your image or AOI.

OK: Click this button to save your rotated image in the application
area.

Cancel: Click this button to cancel the Rotate operation.

Edit:Resize

Resize
Use the Resize command to create a new copy of your image at a
specified size. When you resize an image, Image-Pro places the resized
result in a new image window; the original image is not affected.
This process actually changes spatial resolution by adding (replicating)
or removing (decimating) pixels to achieve the specified dimensions. If
the smoothing option is used, a bilinear scaling technique is applied to
reduce jagged edges.

Units: From this list box, select the unit of measure you want the
Width and Height measurements expressed as.
Width/Height: Use the Width and Height selectors to scale the
image to a specific height and width. If the Allow Distortions option
is checked, you can set the height and width values independently,
i.e., you can stretch or shrink the width without affecting the height
and vice versa.
Allow Distortion: Select this option if you need to set the Width and
Height dimensions independently. If Allow Distortions is not
checked, the Height and Width fields are linked to maintain your
images proportions. When one dimension is changed, the other is
automatically adjusted to preserve the ratio between height and width
(the aspect ratio).
Smooth: Select this option if you want Image-Pro to use its bilinear
scaling technique to re-size the image. With bilinear scaling, adjacent
pixels are evaluated and interpolated to produce smooth results.
Smoothing will produce the best possible re-sized image, but it may
take longer to produce.

Page 2-119

Edit:Local Zoom

Local Zoom
The Local Zoom feature on the Edit menu provides a tool to show a
zoomed area of an image in a separate window with a given zoom
factor. It can be used with manual measurements, the calibration
marker, manual tagging, etc.
When you select Local Zoom, a new window opens in the Image-Pro
workspace.
The cross hair in the Local Zoom window shows the current cursor
location. This makes placing accurate manual measurements very easy,
even on big images, as shown here:
Cursor location

Crosshairs

Zoom: Choose the required zoom factor from the drop-down list.
Cross hair: Checking this box turns the cross hair on; unchecking the
box turns the cross hair off.
Note: Overlays are NOT displayed in the Local Zoom tool.

Page 2-120

Edit:Info

Info
Use the Info command to view and/or modify information such as
resolution and description. Not all image information can be modified
from this menu (the images size, for example, is fixed). Further, not all
file formats are capable of storing every information field. TIFF and
Image-Pro Workspace formats store all the fields; other formats may
store only the name. You will need to check with your file specification
manual to determine which fields apply to your format. When you click
on the Info command, you will see the following tab dialogs:

These buttons apply to all the options in the Info command:


OK: Applies your changes and closes the Info dialog.
Apply: Applies your changes and keeps in the Info dialog open.
Cancel: Does not apply any changes and closes the Info dialog.

Page 2-121

Edit:Info

General
The fields on this page provide general information about the active
image:
Name: Indicates the name of the active image. This field can be
modified to change the name.
Class: This read-only field displays the class of the active image. If
you need to change an image's class, use the Convert To command.
Frames: Indicates the frame number and the number of frames in a
sequence, i.e. the current frame is the 22nd frame in a sequence of 30
frames.
Date: Indicates the date the workspace was created. The date and time
are displayed.
Modified: Indicates if the image was changed by Image-Pro since the
last time it was loaded from a file.
ID: Indicates the document ID number assigned to the workspace. This
is useful for Auto-Pro programming.
Size: The fields in this group box are used to view size-related values,
as shown here:

The rows indicate width, height, and units. The columns display the
pixel size, resolution, printed, and calibrated sizes.
Pixel: This field indicates the size of the image in pixels.
Resolution: This field displays the logical resolution associated
with the active image. This field can be changed. The logical
resolution can be used to determine how much space the image
will occupy in its printed form. For example, if you set Dots /
Inch (width) to 300, you can use the Printed column to obtain
the image's printed dimensions at that resolution.
The logical resolution is not stored in all file formats. When it is,
it is used by many applications to determine how to scale the
image's dimension.
Page 2-122

Edit:Info
Printed: This field describes how much space the image will
occupy in its printed form.
Calibrated: This field describes how much space the calibrated
image will occupy. Changes in the spatial calibration of the
image affect this field.
Units: Indicates the units in each column.
Position: Indicates X, Y, and Z positions of the image. This
information will be provided by the Scope-Pro and the 3-D
Constructor plug-ins.
Example: Your video camera captures an image of a cell at 320 x200
pixels, and the picture is spatially calibrated to represent a few
microns. To print the picture, adjust the resolution so that the printed
size is indicated in inches.

Page 2-123

Edit:Info

File
The fields on this page display the file information associated with your
image. Not all file formats accept such information. For example,
TIFF accepts all description fields; JPEG accepts none. Refer to your
file format specification to determine which fields are used.

File Name: This read-only field displays the name of the image file.
Size: This read-only field displays the file size in bytes.
Date: This field displays the date and time the image was created.
Access Right: Indicates if the file is stored with Read Only or
Read/Write properties.
Multi Image: Indicates if there is more than one image stored in the
file.
File Format: Indicates the format of the stored image: Image-Pro
Workspace, TIFF, JPEG, sequence, etc.
Image #: If this is a multi-image file, the active image will be
designated as 2 of 5, for example, or 1 of 3. Single image files are
always 1 of 1.
Compression: Indicates the compression method used to store the
image, i.e. JPEG, LZW, etc.
Title: This field is generally used to store a brief name for your image
(distinct from its file name). For example, you might want to store an
Page 2-124

Edit:Info
experiment name here, or store process information (e.g.,
segmentation performed with edge filter).
Artist: This field is generally used to record the name of the artist
who produced the image. You might want to use this field to store
the name of the operator, device, or laboratory that generated a
particular image.

Image
The fields on this page display information about the images
characteristics:

Layout: The fields in this group box provide information about the
layout of the image in memory.
Class: This read-only field displays the class of the active
image. If you need to change an image's class, use the Convert
To command.
Allocation Type: This field indicates where the image is
allocated and stored: memory, disk, or direct-access. Disk
allocation is the slowest.
Bytes per Line: This read-only field displays the number of
bytes in each line of the image.

Page 2-125

Edit:Info
Memory Size: This read-only field displays the amount of
memory the current image requires.
Number of Channels: This read-only field displays the
number of color channels in the image
Bits/Channel: This read-only field displays the active image's
depth per color channel.
Bits / Pixel: The bits per pixel is equal to the bits per channel
multiplied by the number of channels. This field displays the
active image's bit depth (the number of bits per pixel).
Bytes/Pixel: Indicates the number of bytes required to store one
pixel.
Display: The fields in this group box provide information about the
image display.
Pseudo-Color: Indicates if the image is pseudo-colored or not.
Dynamic Range: This field displays the dynamic range of the
image. Most images have a dynamic range of 0 - 255; 12-bit
channel images have a range of 0 - 4095; 16-bit channel images
have a range of 0 - 65535. Floating -point images have no fixed
range. If the range of a floating-point image contains values
greater than the maximum, they will be displayed as white. If you
have a floating-point image, you can edit this field.
Auto-Set: Clicking on the auto-set button sets the dynamic range
for a floating-point image with the actual minimum and
maximum values found in the image.
Display Range: This field displays the white/black designation
for the intensity range associated with the active image. The
values will be displayed but cannot be changed.

Page 2-126

Edit:Info

Calibration
The fields on this page display information about the type of calibration
used on this image:

Spatial: The fields in this group box contain information about the
type of spatial calibration used with this image. For more information
about these fields, please refer to the Calibration Command on the
Measure menu.
Intensity: The fields in this group box contain information about the
type of intensity calibration used with this image. For more
information about these fields, please refer to the Calibration
Command on the Measure menu.

Page 2-127

Edit:Info

Report
The fields on this page allow you send image information to the printer,
a text file, or the Windows Clipboard.

Contents: Use these fields to select the image information for the
report, or click All to print all of it. The report is stored in text format.
Destination: Use these buttons to select a destination for the report.
File: Click on this button to store the image information in a text file.
The name of the file is displayed next to the button. To select a file,
click on the Browse button.
Printer: Click on this button to direct your report to the printer.
Clipboard: Click on this button to direct your report to the Windows
Clipboard.
Send: Click the Send button to send the file to the selected file,
printer, or Clipboard.

Page 2-128

Edit:Palette

Palette
Use the Palette command to display the 256-color palette associated
with a palette image. These colors can be edited, and changes made by
editing them will affect the colors seen within the image (e.g., if you
change palette entry 15 from Red to Green, all pixels in your image
with a value of 15 will change to Green).

The palette window is a floating window. Once it has been opened via
the Palette command, it will remain visible until you close it.
Index: The Index field displays the palette index value and the RGB
values it contains.
When a Palette image is active, you can edit the color values in the
palette. For example, you might want to add an entirely new color to
the palette (keep in mind you cannot really add another color: the
palette has a fixed number of entries; a color is added by replacing an
existing color). When you change the value of an index in a Palette
image, the new color will actually be applied to your image all pixels
containing that index will be displayed with the new color.
To change the values on the palette, simply double-click on the index
you want to change. This action will activate the Edit Selected
Color dialog box.

Page 2-129

Edit:Palette
Use this dialog box to specify the new color values you want assigned
to the selected index. You may set your values using either the RGB
or HSV color models. Component values may be entered directly
into the value fields, or can be set interactively using the color
window on the left-hand side of the dialog box (procedures below).
When you are satisfied with the color you have specified, click OK to
return to the palette window.
Color Model: From this list box, select the color model you want to
use to specify your color values. If you are making minor
adjustments to the existing color, you might want to use the RGB
model, and simply tinker with the values in the RGB fields until they
create the color you need. But, if you are looking for an entirely new
color, your search will be easier if you change the model to HSV.
R/G/B: In these fields, specify the amount of Red, Green or Blue
(from 0 to 255) in your color. All three set to 0 will create black, all
three set to 255 will create white. All three set to the same
intermediate level (somewhere between 0 and 255) will create a
level of gray.
You may either type the values directly, or select them using the color
window on the left. To specify an RGB color using the color
window:
1.

Select your Red value using the arrow and the vertical
scale. Move the arrow up to increase the Red value, and down
to reduce it.

2.

Select your Green and Blue values using the circlet


within the color window. Move the circlet up and down to
increase or decrease the Blue component, and right and left to
increase or decrease the Green component.

Watch the New color swatch to monitor the color as you create it.
H/S/V: In these fields, specify the Hue, Saturation and Value settings.
The H/S/V fields will only be present if HSV has been selected in the
Color Model field. Setting Value to 0 will create Black. Setting
Value to 100 and Saturation to 0 will create White. Setting
Saturation to 0 with a Value less than 100 will create a level of gray.

Page 2-130

Edit:Palette
Colors are created by specifying a Hue value, its level of saturation (0
"Saturation" indicates that none of the Hue is present) and its
intensity in the Value field.
You may either type the values directly, or select them using the color
window on the left. To specify an HSV color using the color
window:
1) Select your Hue using the arrow and the vertical scale.
Move the arrow to the color you want to work with.
2) Select your Saturation component by moving the circlet
within the color window from right to left to increase and left
to right to decrease the Saturation. Higher saturation displays a
purer color; lower saturation mixes the color with white.
3) Select your Value component by moving the circlet within
the color window up and down to increase and decrease the
Value component. Higher values display lighter colors.
Watch the New color swatch to monitor the color as you create it.
Current: The color swatch in this field will display a sample of the
original color assigned to the index you are editing.
New: The color in this swatch will display a sample of the color
generated by the values specified in the value fields. Use this field to
monitor the effects of the changes you make, or to see the color
youve selected using the color window controls.

Page 2-131

Edit:Preferences

Preferences
Use the Preferences command to specify certain default settings that
affect the way in which Image-Pro operates. When you select the
Preferences command, you will be presented with the Preferences tab
dialog.

Application
Click on this page to select options related to the current application:
Image-Pro Plus v. 5.1.
Progress update rate: Set the frequency at which you want the
progress indicator to be updated. A value between 1 and 1000
milliseconds (inclusive) can be specified. A high value will result in
fewer updates to the progress indicator, thus allocating more time to
the process being tracked. A low value will result in more frequent
updates of the progress indicator.
This will take time away from the task at hand, but will result in very
precise progress measurement.
Prompt before closing modified images: Check this box if you
want Image-Pro to prompt you before closing an image that has been
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Edit:Preferences
modified since it was last saved. Disable this box if you want ImagePro to close a modified image immediately (the image will not be
saved, and Image-Pro will issue no warning).
Repaint background images: Check this box to maintain the
color integrity of all open images. Enabling this option causes ImagePro to repaint every open image whenever you switch image
windows.
Disabling this option allows Image-Pro to ignore color integrity for
all but the active image. Because Image-Pro does not have to spend
time repainting other image windows, performance is faster.
However, it may produce some unexpected color distortion in the
inactive images (to demonstrate this, load a Gray Scale and an RGB
image and switch between the two).
This distortion is simply an artifact of the display process your
actual image data are not affected. A distorted image will be
correctly rendered once it becomes the active image.
Generate Audit Trail log: Check this box to create an audit trail of
all the record able events during your image processing session. This
enables you to reconstruct your actions should your session terminate
unexpectedly. Audit trail logging will be turned off during macro
execution, except that the act of running the macro will be recorded.
Otherwise, the Audit Trail default is on.
Location: The daily audit trail log file can be found in the Logs folder
of the Image-Pro Plus folder on your hard drive.
Apply New Look: Checking this box applies an updated, modern look
to your Image-Pro Plus user interface. You will have to close and
restart your application for the new look to appear.
Note: The screenshots in this manual are in the older, or classic
Image-Pro Plus interface style.
Prompt for Menu Selection on Start-Up: Check this box to
display a selection box of menu choices when you first start
Image-Pro Plus. Your choices are: basic, complete, industrial, or
biological. There is also a check box to turn this selection off.
Show Workflow Toolbar on Start-Up: Check this box to display
the Workflow Toolbar when you first start Image-Pro Plus. The
Workflow Toolbar keeps track of your image processing
operations, making it easier for you to retrace your steps.
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Edit:Preferences
Default Settings Folder: This drop-down list box allows you to
choose the default location of your Image-Pro application settings
files. You may select one of the following:

The IPP Documents and Settings folder

A folder in your current My Documents folder

A folder of shared settings for all Image-Pro users.

Reset All Preferences: Clicking this button resets all your


application and feature preferences to their original (factory)
installation settings. Clicking this button displays the following
warning message:

Click Yes to reset your preferences, or No to cancel.


This button cannot reset the preferences for any active features, but will
be useful in resetting paths for settings and data files after changes to
the preferences in the Default Settings Folder (above).

Page 2-134

Edit:Preferences

Document
The selections on this page allow you to specify settings for a new
document or image window in the application area.

New Document Settings: The options in this group box specify the
name and position of the new document or image window.
Prefix: Indicate the name of the new document or image window. For
example, if you select Test as the prefix, your new documents will be
named Test0, Test1, Test2, etc.
Fit window size to screen: If you have a very large image, checking
this box will automatically fit the entire image to the screen. If you
leave this box unchecked, your image will be displayed with a 100%
zoom factor (you may not be able to see the entire image on your
screen).
Always at top left corner: Checking this box places the new
document or image window in the top left corner of the application
area.
Undo Buffers: Select the number of buffers you want reserved for
Undo operations (up to four). The number you set here determines
the number of operations you can Undo. Undo buffers use memory,
and when you are working with large images, undo buffers can
increase the time it takes Image-Pro to perform some operations.
Depending on your memory availability, and the speed of your CPU,
you may want to change the buffer value from its default level of
three.
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Edit:Preferences
Support Multi-Frame Undo: allows you to undo operations on
image sequences (one undo operation per image frame in the
sequence, due to the amount of memory required).
Enable Automatic Set Operations: If this box is checked, ImagePro will automatically generate sets when you open a multidimensional image. See the Set Manager Options section for more
information.
Generate Color Composite Automatically on Image Open: If
this box is checked, Image-Pro will automatically generate color
composites when you open a multi-dimensional image.
Workspace Tiling Settings: This group of settings affects how the
image workspaces are resized and arranged when you select Tile from
the Image-Pro Window menu.
Zoom to fit workspace: When this box is selected, IPP will try
to adjust the zoom factor so that the majority of the image is
visible in the resized workspace.
Reorder by document age: When this box is selected, the
workspaces will be arranged in order in which they were opened,
created, captured, etc., by columns first and then by rows.
All workspaces same size: When you choose this option, the
workspaces will all be resized to the size of the smallest
workspace. The workspaces may be different sizes after tiling if
the images are different sizes, or in some cases when the tiled
layout results in some columns having more images than others.
Compact layout: When this option is selected, the workspaces
will be moved so that they are next to each other in the columns
and rows, such that any unused space in the Image-Pro Plus
workspace will be found at the bottom and/or right side.
Compact layout is only enabled when All workspaces same size
is also enabled.

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Edit:Preferences

Tool Bar
The options on this page allow you to change the look of the Image-Pro
tool bar

Wrap buttons to next line: Check this box to allow Image-Pro to


wrap the toolbar to the next line when you resize the application
window.
Macro Buttons: This area allows you to associate a macro script file
with a button on the tool bar. You may designate up to five macro
buttons, and each button is associated with a different script file.
Clicking the Add button brings up the following dialog:

Once the script file is selected, Image-Pro displays the Select Macro
dialog which lists all macros in the script file. Indicate which macro
script should be associated with button #1.

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Edit:Preferences

Click OK to assign the macro script to a button, or Cancel to change


your mind.
The Delete button removes the macro button assignment.
The Edit button allows the user to select another script file or another
macro from the same script file. To change to a different macro from
the same script file, highlight the script file name, and click the Edit
button. You will see the Open dialog, with the current script file
selection.

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Edit:Preferences
Click Open. Image-Pro displays the Select macro dialog, showing the
current macro name.

Click OK. Then you may select another script or button.


Click Apply. The macro buttons on the Image-Pros toolbar will appear
or disappear immediately. You should not have to restart Image-Pro in
order to see the changes.
The Image-Pro toolbar does not disable the button when the button is
not connected to a valid macro. Instead, you will see error message
when you click an unassigned button.
The macro button can be assigned to a macro in a different script file
anywhere in the system. After executing the macro, the current active
script file will be reactivated.

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Edit:Preferences

Status Bar
The selections on this tab relate to the display of the status bar at the
bottom of the application area.

Show Pane: Check options in this group box to display the selected
information within the status bar. If necessary, Image-Pro will create
a new pane for placing the information. You can hide or show the
panes by right-clicking on the status bar, and selecting or deselecting
the pane.
Note: If the information you have selected (Free memory available, for
example) is not displayed on the status bar, your application window
may be too small to display it. Widen the window to display the full
complement of panes. You may also adjust the size of the individual
panes.
Cursor Position: Check this option if you want Image-Pro to report
the X and Y coordinates of the mouse cursor in its message bar. If
Cursor Position in the Show Calibrated group box is selected and a
spatial calibration has been set, Image-Pro reports the calibrated
cursor position. Otherwise, cursor position is expressed in pixels.
Pixel Value: Check this option if you want Image-Pro to report the
intensity value of the pixel identified by the cursor. If Pixel Value in
the Show Calibrated group box is selected and an intensity
calibration has been set, Image-Pro reports the calibrated pixel value.
Otherwise, Image-Pro reports the actual pixel value.
AOI Size: Check this option to display the width and height (in
pixels) of the active image or AOI.
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Edit:Preferences
AOI Extents: Check this option to display the coordinates of the
upper-left and lower-right corners of the active AOI.
Intensity Calibration Unit: Check this option to display the
name of the intensity calibration in use.
Spatial Calibration Unit: Check this option to display the
name of the spatial calibration in use.
Free Memory Available: Check this option to display the
amount of system memory free.
Show Calibrated: Check options in this group box to change the
way information is displayed.
Pixel Value: Check this option if you want Image-Pro to report
calibrated intensity in the pixel value pane (see the Calibration
command for more about intensity calibration). If no intensity
calibration has been set, Image-Pro displays the actual pixel
value.
Cursor Position: Check this option if you want Image-Pro to
report calibrated X and Y coordinates in the pixel value pane
(see the Calibration command for more about spatial
calibration). If no spatial calibration has been set, Image-Pro
displays the coordinates in pixels.

Page 2-141

Edit:Preferences

Page 2-142

Acquire:The Basic Digital Capture Dialog

The Acquire Menu


Use the Acquire menu commands and tab dialogs to capture an image directly from a
digital camera, video camera, or other video input device (e.g., VCR). The Acquire
commands let you monitor the video as you make camera and/or subject adjustments
(refocusing, relighting, repositioning, and so forth). It also lets you monitor the video
for the right subject matter to come into view. Once the conditions are as you want
them, you can manually capture an image from the continuous video feed.
These commands also help you to select the appropriate hardware and software
drivers, and configure your setup correctly.
Note: The form of the Acquire controls vary slightly according to the capture board
you use. With certain boards, only the controls available for your driver will be
present.
The procedure for acquiring an image involves the following basic steps:
1) Setting up your digital camera or video input device and
frame grabber using the Setup Tab. Image-Pro stores these
settings, so your next usage of the same hardware will not require
resetting.
2) Open Capture in the Basic dialog.
3) Click the Auto-Set button to reset the default, autoexposure, and white balance.
4) Start the Live Preview to focus your capture settings.
5) Click Snap to acquire an image.

Note: Auto-Set will do the best job that it can to generate a good quality images
from your camera hardware and the source. Under some circumstances, you may get
unacceptable results if the source conditions are outside of the capabilities of your
camera. Also, Auto-Set may not be available with your camera; it only applies to
digital cameras.

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Acquire:The Basic Digital Capture Dialog

The Basic Digital Capture Dialog


The Basic capture dialog, formerly called the minimal dialog, has been
enhanced and improved in Image-Pro Plus v. 5.1. The digital minicapture dialog is described in the following section, and the analog
mini-capture earlier in this chapter.
Basic Dialog: Clicking on this button presents a reduced form of the
Acquire dialog, as shown here:

Preview/Stop: Click Preview to preview the image before capturing


it to a file. Click Stop to deactivate the live-video display.
Snap: Click this button to initiate the snap. The number of images,
destination, and averaging are determined by the controls on the other
tab dialogs.
Settings: These buttons can be used to load your saved capture
settings from Image-Pros Documents and Settings folder. Click the
right mouse button to see a pop-out menu displaying the selections to
Page 2-144

Acquire:The Basic Digital Capture Dialog


set a new file, review the current settings, un-assign the buttons, save
the current settings into a file, or assign a button to that file.
Passing the cursor over one of the buttons will display the settings
assigned to that button in a tool-tip popup window. If no settings are
assigned to that button, not assigned or N/A will be displayed.
Auto-Set: Clicking this button will start the process of setting the
camera to produce a usable image. First, the driver will be reset to the
factory defaults. Then, an auto-exposure will be done to get a good
exposure time. If you are using a color camera, an auto-white balance
will be performed to set the color balance correctly.
Auto-Exp Area: Clicking this button allows you to set an AOI for a
live preview. If a live preview is not active, clicking this button will
start one. You will see the following dialog:

Reset Area to full frame: Clicking this button resets the AOI equal
to the full frame of the live preview.
Calculate: Click this button to calculate the best auto-exposure time
for the current acquisition settings.
Close: Click this button to close the Auto-Exposure dialog and
return to the Basic Capture dialog.
Calculate Auto-Exp: Click this button to calculate the best autoexposure time for the current acquisition settings.
Exp.Pvw/Exp.Acq: These slider controls adjust the exposure times
for the preview and actual acquisition in minutes, seconds, and
milliseconds. Click the Lock icon to make the exposure times equal
for both preview and acquisition.
Adj Exp for Binning: Check this box to automatically adjust the
exposure times and the zoom factor to keep the image size and
brightness consistent whenever the binning value is changed. Both the
preview and the acquire exposure times will be adjusted whenever a
binning value or preview exposure valued changes. Note that the
zoom factor adjustment may be limited by the number of zoom
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Acquire:The Basic Digital Capture Dialog


factors available for your camera driver. The Auto-Adjust will try to
maintain image brightness but the results may not be perfect
depending on your specific camera. Enabling this feature disables the
Lock Exposure Times feature.
Saturation Warning: Use the Saturation Warning option to
visualize saturated regions in the image preview. Saturated regions
are pixels that are pure white. When this option is selected, all pure
white pixels are displayed in red and all pure black pixels are
displayed in blue.
Preview full frame: Checking this box resets the preview area to the
maximum supported by your camera
Workspace Preview: Check Workspace Preview to display
integrated live previewing in the image workspace window.
Keep Preview Image: Check this box to capture the last image
displayed in the workspace window. If this option is unchecked, no
image will be retained.
Preview Zoom: Indicate the degree to which you want your image
increased or decreased. Within the limits of your equipment and the
refresh time you have set, the preview image will display current
information. A smaller preview size may provide better response
time than a full-size image. These options are enabled if your driver
supports Zoom or the passthrough type is software controlled;
otherwise, they will not appear. Clicking zero restores Zoom to its
original settings.
Advanced: Click this button to return to the full display of the
Acquire tabbed dialog.
More: Clicking this button opens an expanded display of the Basic
capture dialog, as shown here:

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Acquire:The Basic Digital Capture Dialog

Expanded Digital Capture Dialog


In addition to the options on the Basic view of the Capture dialog, the
Expanded view contains the following choices:

Pvw Resolution/Acq Resolution: These drop-down list boxes


allow you to select different preview and acquire resolutions. If your
driver does not support this feature, you will not see these selections.
Capture Area: The buttons in this area allow you to set an AOI for
both preview and acquisition.

Page 2-147

Acquire:The Basic Digital Capture Dialog


Set Preview Area : Clicking this button allows you to define the
AOI for image preview. You will see the following dialog box:

Select Area from live preview: If you do not have an active


image, clicking this button will bring up a live preview and allow
you to select an area of interest on the preview window.

Select area from current image: If you have an active image,


clicking this button allows you to select an area of interest on the
current image.
Reset area to full frame: If you have an active area in a preview
already selected, clicking this button resets the capture area to the
entire image enclosed within the frame, i.e. erasing your preview
area.

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Acquire:The Basic Digital Capture Dialog


Set Acquisition Area: Clicking this button allows you to define the
AOI for image capture. You will see the following dialog box:

Select area from current image: If you have an active image,


clicking this button allows you to select an area of interest on the
current image.

Select Area from live preview: If you do not have an active


image, clicking this button will bring up a live preview and allow
you to select an area of interest on the preview window.
Reset area to full frame: If you have an active image in a
preview already selected, clicking this button resets the capture
area to the entire image enclosed within the frame, i.e. erasing
your preview area.

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Acquire:The Basic Digital Capture Dialog


Click the Lock icon to make the AOI settings equal for both preview
and acquisition, as shown here:

Capture Depth: Select the color or monochrome acquisition depth


from the drop down list box.
Gain: These sliders control the digital gain for both preview and
acquisition.. Preview and acquire may be adjusted individually or
they may be locked together to set both simultaneously. Click the
Lock icon to make the gain settings equal for both preview and
acquisition.
Gamma: These sliders control the gamma for both preview and
acquisition. Preview and acquire may be adjusted individually or they
may be locked together to set both simultaneously. Click the Lock
icon to make the gamma settings equal for both preview and
acquisition.
Offset: This feature allows you to adjust the vertical and horizontal
offset of the capture device for both preview and acquisition. Preview
and acquire may be adjusted individually or they may be locked
together to set both simultaneously. Click the Lock icon to make the
offset equal for both preview and acquisition.
Custom Controls: These controls are driver-specified and will
depend on the driver you have selected. They may not appear if your
driver does not have custom controls

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Acquire:The Basic Digital Capture Dialog


White Balance: The White Balance controls allow you to adjust the
white balance ratios for each of the color channels, either manually or
automatically, as shown here:

Auto White Balance: Clicking this button will start a live preview,
if one is not already active, and starts the process of calculating new
color ratios, in order to establish a white balance based on the input
image. You will see the Auto White Balance dialog, shown here:

Reset area to full frame: If you have an active image in a


preview already selected, clicking this button resets the capture
area to the entire image enclosed within the frame, i.e. erasing
your preview area.
Calculate: Click this button to calculate the white balance.
Close: Click Close to return to the Acquire page.
Use Last Set AOI: Clicking this button to use the AOI that you
have most recently set, and will not bring up the Auto-White
Balance dialog.
Select Settings: This drop-down list contains the .vpf files currently
available for your acquisition system. Clicking the button allows
you to load new settings from the Documents and Settings folder.
Configure: Click the Configure button to initialize settings for your
hardware.
Camera Options: Click the Camera Options to set driver-specific
options.
Reset to Defaults: Clicking this button returns all the settings to the
factory defaults.
Page 2-151

Acquire:Digital Camera Options

Digital Camera Options


If you have selected a digital camera driver from the Setup page, some
of the options on that page will be different. Some of the other page
dialogs, such as Preview, will be slightly different also. You will not
see the Signal page; and there will be an Acquire page. The Basic
dialog will be different also.

Setup
If you select the digital camera driver on the Setup page, the dialog will
look something like this:

Current Driver: Select the appropriate driver from the drop-down list
box.
Settings File: If you do not load a different file, the settings file for
your driver will be default.vpf.
Load Settings: The settings file stores all the parameters for
capturing images that you have defined on the different pages.
Clicking this button allows you to load settings that you have
previously saved. You will see the Open dialog box:

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Acquire:Digital Camera Options

Please refer to the section about Open and Save Dialog Boxes earlier in
this manual.
Save Settings As: Clicking this button allows you to save the settings
that you have defined for this driver. You will see the Save As dialog
box:

Please refer to the section about Open and Save Dialog Boxes earlier in
this manual.

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Acquire:Digital Camera Options


Reload Settings: Clicking this button will bring up the Restore
Settings dialog box. You may then choose to restore the default
(factory) settings or to reload the current settings file.

:
Select Settings: All the settings files located in the Capture
Settings folder will be listed in this drop-down list box. The
names of any read-only settings will be displayed in brackets:
<Brightfield> for example. You may not change any of the
read-only settings.
8-Bit Gray Scale Acquire: Check this box if you are going to be
capturing 8-bit gray scale images.
Configure: click the Configure button to initialize settings for your
hardware. When you select Configure, the Configuration dialog
box for your acquisition hardware appears. A sample configuration
dialog appears below:

Select the appropriate options for your capture board. You may need
to consult the manufacturer's information packaged with your board
for the correct settings. The Configure button will not appear if the
hardware you are using has no additional options to configure.
Remember - the options that you see may vary with different types of
capture boards and cameras.
Start Preview: Clicking this button allows you to preview the image
before actually capturing it.

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Acquire:Digital Camera Options


Snap: Click this button to initiate a snap operation according to the
settings you have defined, and place the captured image(s) into an
untitled image window.
Basic Dialog: Clicking on this button presents a reduced form of the
Acquire dialog. This feature is discussed later in this section.
Close: Clicking this button returns you to the Image-Pro workspace
without capturing any images.

Preview
Preview lets you set options for the live preview only. The acquisition
(through the Snap button) is controlled by the settings on the Acquire
page.

Exposure Time: Enter the hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds


using the spin buttons in each box.
Horizontal/Vertical Binning: Indicates pixel area for
horizontal/vertical pixel accumulation. Binning affects the final
preview resolution, as indicated in the final preview resolution.
Gain: Indicates the digital gain. Please see your camera documentation
for the appropriate specifications.
Preview Area: Selects an AOI for the preview area.
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Acquire:Digital Camera Options


Set Area: Clicking this button allows you to define the AOI for
previewing. You will see one of the two following dialog boxes:

Indicate the pixel locations for the corners of the AOI.


Select Area from live preview: If you do not have an active
image, clicking this button will bring up a live preview and allow
you to select an area of interest on the preview window.

Select area from current image: If you have an active image,


clicking this button allows you to select an area of interest on the
current image.
Reset area to full frame: Clicking this button resets the capture
area to the maximum supported by your camera, i.e. erasing your
preview area.
OK: Click OK to add the AOI to your image.
Cancel: Click Cancel to return to the Live page.
Apply: If the Preview area is not live, the settings take effect
immediately. Otherwise, you must click Apply to apply the settings
to the live preview.
Workspace Preview: Check Workspace Preview to display
integrated live previewing.
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Acquire:Digital Camera Options


External Trigger: Click this check box to toggle the use of an
external trigger to snap an image. If you want to use the external
trigger, you must first click this check box on, then click the Snap
button, then press the external trigger when you are ready to capture
the image. After clicking Snap, control of the computer is totally
controlled by the external trigger; no further action can be taken until
the trigger is activated.
Lock Exposure Times: Click the Lock icon to lock the preview
exposure time to the acquisition exposure time. Setting the exposure
time on either pages sets both times simultaneously . This can be
useful to ensure that the preview reflects the entire acquisition
(binning should be set to the same value as well).
Auto-Apply Changes: Check this box to automatically apply any
changes to your settings form this page to the live preview window.
Choosing this option disables the Apply button on the current
(Preview) page and sends the commands directly to the camera as
soon as the settings are changed.
Auto-Adjust Binning: Check this box to automatically adjust the
exposure times and the zoom factor to keep the image size and
brightness consistent whenever the binning value is changed. Both the
preview and the acquire exposure times will be adjusted whenever a
binning value or preview exposure valued changes. Note that the
zoom factor adjustment may be limited by the number of zoom
factors available for your camera driver. The Auto-Adjust will try to
maintain image brightness but the results may not be perfect
depending on your specific camera. Enabling this feature disables the
Lock Exposure Times feature.
Live Preview Context Window: Clicking the right mouse button on
any area in the preview window displays a context menu. This menu
allows you to adjust the following options:

Auto-Set

Auto-Exposure

Auto-White Balance

Live Histogram

Transparency

Live Histogram: Clicking the right mouse button in the Live


Histogram window will display a context menu with different
options for displaying a live histogram. Clicking the left mouse
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Acquire:Digital Camera Options


button in the Live Histogram window will toggle the channel
selection for color cameras.

Acquire
Selecting Acquire lets you set the options for actual image capture
using the digital camera.

Exposure Time: Enter the hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds


using the spin buttons in each box.
Horizontal/Vertical Binning: Indicates pixel area for
horizontal/vertical pixel accumulation. Binning affects the final
preview resolution, as indicated in the final preview resolution.
Gain: Indicates the digital gain. Please see your camera documentation
for the appropriate specifications.
Best Fit Display Range: Checking the box automatically adjusts the
display range of the captured images to the best fit.

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Acquire:Digital Camera Options


Capture Area: Selects an AOI to capture the image.
Set Area: Clicking this button allows you to define the AOI for
image capture. You will see one of the two following dialog
boxes:

Select area from current image: If you have an active image,


clicking this button allows you to select an area of interest on the
current image.

Select Area from live preview: If you do not have an active


image, clicking this button will bring up a live preview and allow
you to select an area of interest on the preview window.
Reset area to full frame: If you have an active image in a
preview already selected, clicking this button resets the capture
area to the entire image enclosed within the frame, i.e. erasing
your preview area.
OK: Click OK to add the AOI to your image.
Cancel: Click Cancel to return to the Acquire page.
External Trigger: Click this check box to toggle the use of an
external trigger to snap an image. If you want to use the external
trigger, you must first click this check box on, then click the Snap
button, then press the external trigger when you are ready to capture
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Acquire:Digital Camera Options


the image. After clicking Snap, control of the computer is totally
controlled by the external trigger; no further action can be taken until
the trigger is activated..
Lock Icons: Click the Lock icon to lock the many of the preview and
acquire controls together. Setting the exposure time on either pages
sets both times simultaneously . This can be useful to ensure that the
preview reflects the entire acquisition (binning should be set to the
same value as well).

Page 2-160

Acquire:The Basic Analog Capture Dialog

The Basic Analog Capture Dialog


The Basic analog capture dialog, formerly called the minimal dialog,
has been enhanced and improved in Image-Pro Plus v. 5.1. The analog
mini-capture dialog is described in the following section.
Basic Dialog: Clicking on this button presents a reduced form of the
Acquire dialog, as shown here:

Preview/Stop: Click Preview to preview the image before capturing


it to a file. Click Stop to deactivate the live-video display.
Snap: Click this button to initiate the snap. The number of images,
destination, and averaging are determined by the controls on the tabs
in the Advanced dialog.
Settings: These buttons can be used to load your saved capture
settings from Image-Pros Documents and Settings folder quickly.
Brightness: Use the spin buttons or the slider to decrease or increase
the Brightness of the incoming live signal.
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Acquire:The Basic Analog Capture Dialog


Contrast: Use the spin buttons or the slider to decrease or increase
the Contrast of the incoming live signal.
Hue: Use the spin buttons or the slider to adjust the Hue of the
captured image.
Saturation: Use the spin buttons or the slider to adjust the Saturation
of the captured image.
Channel: Use the spin buttons or type in the value to select the input
channel your camera cable is attached to: 0, 1, 2 or 3 (your hardware
may have fewer channel choices than this - e.g. 0,1 or 0, 1, 2).
Gray scale preview: Check this box if you are going to be capturing
8-bit gray scale images, and want to see them before capture.
Saturation Warning: Use the Saturation Warning option to
visualize saturated regions in the image preview. Saturated regions
are pixels that are pure white. When this option is selected, all pure
white pixels are displayed in red and all pure black pixels are
displayed in blue.
Preview on second monitor: Click this check box to toggle the
live-video display between dual-monitor (video conveyed to the
second monitor) and software passthrough (video conveyed to the
system monitor) mode. This check box will not appear if the board is
configured for a single monitor.
Workspace Preview: Check Workspace Preview to display
integrated live previewing.
Keep Preview Image: Check this box to capture the last image
displayed in the live preview window. If this option is unchecked, no
image will be retained.
Preview Zoom: Indicate the degree to which you want your image
increased or decreased. Within the limits of your equipment and the
refresh time you have set, the preview image will display current
information. A smaller preview size may provide better response
time than a full-size image. These options are enabled if your driver
supports Zoom or the passthrough type is software controlled;
otherwise, they will not appear. Clicking zero restores Zoom to its
original settings.
Advanced: Click this button to return to the full display of the
Acquire tabbed dialog.
More: Clicking this button opens an expanded display of the Basic
capture dialog, as shown here:
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Acquire:The Basic Analog Capture Dialog

Expanded Analog Capture Dialog


In addition to the options on the Basic view of the analog Capture
dialog, the Expanded view contains the following choices:

On-Chip Integration: Choose one of these selections to perform onchip integration. During on-chip integration, the signal or charge will
be accumulated on the CCD. These controls only appear if your
camera and frame grabber support on-chip integration.
Set by frames: Click this button to set the integration time by enter
a value for the number of frames.
Set by time: Click this button to set the integration time by entering
a time value

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Acquire:The Basic Analog Capture Dialog


The Seconds and Milliseconds controls together set the amount of time
to integrate the image on-chip. This time can range from 50
milliseconds (2 video frames) to many seconds, but the best results will
be obtained with integration times of less than 10 seconds.
Seconds: Enter the number of seconds to perform on-chip integration.
For the time entered, the number of frames equivalent to the
accumulated charge entered will be displayed on the bottom left
corner of the On-Chip Integration group box.
Milliseconds: Enter the number of milliseconds to perform on-chip
integration. For the time entered, the number of frames equivalent to
the accumulated charge entered will be displayed on the bottom left
corner of the On-Chip Integration group box.
RGB Gain: Indicates the digital gain. Each channel may be adjusted
individually or all three may be locked together to set the three
channels simultaneously.
Frame Offset: This feature allows you to adjust the vertical and
horizontal offset of the capture device.
Custom Controls: These controls are driver-specific and will depend
on the driver you have selected. They may not appear if your driver
does not have custom controls.
Select Settings: This drop-down list contains the .vpf files currently
available for your acquisition system. Clicking the button allows
you to load new settings from the Documents and Settings folder.
Configure: Click the Configure button to initialize settings for your
hardware.
Camera Options: Click the Camera Options to set the options for
your specific camera hardware.
Reset to Defaults: Click this button to return your controls to their
original or factory settings.
Remember - the options that you see may vary with different types of
capture board can cameras.

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Acquire:Analog Capture Options

Analog Capture Options


The selections for an analog (non-digital) camera appear in the
following section. Digital cameras are discussed at the beginning of this
chapter.

Preview
When you select the Video/Digital command from the menu, you will
see the Preview page. Preview contains those options for video capture
that control the size and refresh rates of the image.

Preview on second monitor - click this check box to toggle the


live-video display between dual-monitor (video conveyed to the
second monitor) and software passthrough (video conveyed to the
system monitor) mode. This check box will not appear if the board is
configured for a single monitor.
Zoom: Indicate the degree to which you want your image increased or
decreased. Within the limits of your equipment and the refresh time
you have set, the preview image will display current information. A
smaller preview size may provide better response time than a full-size
image. These options are enabled if your driver supports Zoom or
the passthrough type is software controlled; otherwise, they will not
appear. Clicking zero restores Zoom to its original settings.
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Refresh Rate: Indicates (in milliseconds) the interval at which you
want your image refreshed.
Workspace Preview: Check this box to display integrated live
previewing.
Keep Preview Image: Check this box to capture the last image
displayed in the live preview window. If this option is unchecked, no
image will be retained.

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Capture Options

MultiFrame/Timed

Image
When you select Multiframe/Timed Acquire from the Acquire menu,
you will see the Image page. The Image page contains the controls that
determine how your image is captured, and where your images are
stored. You can choose to use images in the open workspace, or images
stored in a file. You may also select multiple image (multi-frame
acquire).
Use the Image tabbed dialog if you want to automatically capture
images directly from a camera or other video input device (e.g., VCR)
on a timed basis. You may specify both the total number of images you
want to capture and the frequency at which you want them acquired
(Timed Acquire). For example, you could direct your application to
capture an image every 20 minutes until 10 images had been
accumulated.
Note: If you have not yet installed or configured your digital camera or
frame grabber, you may want to refer to the manufacturers information
for installation and configuration instructions.
The Image page contains the following options:

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New Image: Click this option button to create a new image when you
click Snap.
Active Image: Click this option button to replace the current image
when you click Snap.
Sequence: Click this option button to store your images in a sequence
file. (See the description of the Sequencer commands later in this
chapter.)
Seq Append: Check this box to append a newly captured sequence to
a previously existing one.
File: Click this option button to store an image in a file when you click
Snap.
Display Sequence During Acquire: Checking this box will display
each frame of a sequence as it is being captured, rather than capturing
all the frames before displaying them. Checking this box will slow the
sequence capture down, as each frame is displayed before the next
one is captured.
Prompt for File Save: Checking this box will display a standard
File:Save dialog box after capturing an image.
Browse: Clicking this button sets the destination for the capture
image. You will see the following dialog box:

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Path: Enter the name of the drive and directory into which your
captured images will be saved. Relative path names (i.e., . and
..) can be used. You may either type the path information, or use
the Browse button to select it from a standard File dialog box.
File Name Prefix: Enter a file name prefix for Image-Pro to use
when generating files names for the accumulated images. This prefix
will be combined with a sequence number to form a file name. For
example, if a prefix of PROC was specified, and 11 images were to
be acquired, they would be stored to files PROC00.TIF to
PROC10.TIF (acquired images are always stored in TIFF format, so
an extension of .TIF is automatically assigned).
You may type the prefix in this field, or you can specify it by
selecting the name of an existing file using the Browse button; you
may then modify it in this field to create a unique name.
If you select an existing file name, Image-Pro will issue a message
giving you the choice of replacing the existing file or not.
Start File Numbering: Enter the sequence number to be appended to
the file name prefix when the first image is stored. Image-Pro will
automatically increment this number (by 1) when storing subsequent
images.
Number of Digits: Enter the number of digits to use for the sequence
number. This number determines the number of zeros to prepend to
the sequence number when building the file name. For example,
setting the number of digits to 3 will create a file name of
series000, series001, series002 etc.
Browse: Clicking this button displays the Save As dialog box. Please
refer to the section about Load and Save Dialog Boxes in the first part
of this manual.
Click OK to save your file destination information, or Cancel to
return to the Image tab dialog.

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Multiple Images : This group box contains the controls for acquiring
several images at once.
Enable Multiple Image Capture: Check this box to turn on multiple
image capture. Unchecking this box will turn off multiple image
capture, and only single images will be captured.
Number of Images: Enter the total number of images you want to
accumulate during the timed-acquired session.
Time Between Images: Specify the interval, in Hours, Minutes,
Seconds, and Hundredths of Seconds, at which you want to collect
images. When accumulating images, Image-Pro will begin to capture
images at the specified interval after you press Start (and the next at
2*Interval after you press Start, and so forth).
Set Time: Clicking on this button displays the Time Interval dialog
box:

Enter the hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds using the spin
buttons in each box. Click OK to save your time interval, or Cancel to
return to the Image page.
Use Minimum Possible Interval: Check this box to minimize, as
much as possible, the time between images. When acquiring images
in rapid succession, be aware that storing an image to disk takes a
certain amount of time. For practical purposes, intervals less than
900 milliseconds do not work well (this assumes you have a fast
machine -- the interval would be longer for slower systems). If your
system is still processing an image when the interval for the next
image arrives, Image-Pro will capture the next image as soon as it
completes its processing of the current one. It will not simply skip the
missed image and wait for the next interval to occur. Note that you
may not be able to use the Cancel button while this feature is active.

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Acquire:Capture Options

Video Average

Integration
When you select Video Average from the Acquire menu, you will see
the Integration page. Use the Integration page commands if you want
to collect a number of frames and create a single image by averaging the
corresponding pixel values of the collected images. This is usually
done for noise-reduction purposes. You can also use Integration to
accumulate frames (instead of averaging them), which might be done to
boost intensity values under low-light conditions.
When you perform an Integration operation, your application
accumulates the specified number of frames (i.e., adds the
corresponding pixel values), then divides the result by the specified
divisor. The resulting image is placed into a new, untitled image
window within your application.
When you click on the Integration page, the following dialog is
presented.

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No Integration: This option disables the options on the Integration
page. It should be selected if you are not doing integrated captures.
Accumulate: In this field, enter the number of frames you want to
accumulate. If your hardware supports it, the specified number of
frames will be collected and averaged by the hardware itself.
For noise-reduction purposes, an accumulation of 16 frames is usually
sufficient. Very minimal quality gains are achieved by averaging
more than this amount.
You must click this button to have your application generate averaged
images.
Accumulate Settings...: This button is only available if the
Accumulate option button is selected. When you click this button,
the Accumulate Settings dialog box is displayed.

Select the number of frames to accumulate and a division factor and


click on OK.
On-Chip Integration: Click this button if you are using the on-chip
integration feature provided with some of the Media Cybernetics
capture kits. The following additional controls will be available:

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On-Chip Integration: Choose one of these selections to perform
on-chip integration. During on-chip integration, the signal or
charge will be accumulated on the CCD.
Set by frames: Click this button to set the integration time by
enter a value for the number of frames.
Set by time: Click this button to set the integration time by
entering a time value.
Frames: Enter the number of video frames to perform on-chip
integration. This value can range from 2 frames to many frames.
The Seconds and Milliseconds controls together set the amount of
time to integrate the image on-chip. This time can range from 50
milliseconds (2 video frames) to many seconds, but the best results
will be obtained with integration times of less than 10 seconds.
Seconds: Enter the number of seconds to perform on-chip
integration. For the time entered, the number of frames equivalent
to the accumulated charge entered will be displayed on the bottom
left corner of the On-Chip Integration group box.
Milliseconds: Enter the number of milliseconds to perform on-chip
integration. For the time entered, the number of frames equivalent
to the accumulated charge entered will be displayed on the bottom
left corner of the On-Chip Integration group box.
Sequential Integration: Select this option if you want to capture
a sequence of integrated images, where each image represents a
different exposure time. When this option is selected, you must
define the number of images to be created and the sequence of
increasing exposure times to be used through the dialog box
accessed through the Sequential Settings button.
Sequential Settings: This button is only available if the
Sequential Integration option button is selected. When you click
this button, the Sequential Integration dialog box is displayed.

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Acquire:Capture Options

If you are using the sequential integration function, Capture will


create a sequence file of images that represent integrated captures at
increasing exposure times. The Sequential Integration dialog box
allows you to define the number of images to be created and the
exposure times to be used.
You can tell Capture to use either regularly-increasing exposure
times or irregularly-increasing, user-defined exposure times.
Regular Intervals: Select this option button if you want Capture to
create a series of images that represent integrated captures at
regularly-increasing exposure times. When you select this option,
you must specify the number of images you want created and the total
exposure time. From these specifications, Capture calculates the rate
of increase to use for the sequential exposures.
Irregular Intervals: Select this option button if you want Capture to
create a series of images that represent integrated captures at
irregularly-increasing exposure times. When you select this option,
you can either use a predefined interval definition or specify a new
one (see Name and Defining a New Set of Irregular Interval below)
Name: The Name pull down list box displays all of the default interval
definitions and any that have been added by the user. If a preexisting interval definition exists for your purposes, simply select it
and the interval chart will be filled in with the appropriate values. To
add the new set of interval definitions to the Name list box, type a
new name into the Name list box and click on Add.

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Acquire:Capture Options
Tip: Defining a New Set of Irregular Intervals
You can create a sequence of up to 10 images with unique exposure
times. To define a new sequence interval, simply select one of the
predefined interval definitions from the Name list box and type over the
specified exposure time values with the values you want to use.
Note - The values you enter in the interval chart for each image
represent total exposure times, not exposure time increases from the
previous image. Also, if you are creating less than ten images, enter
zeros in the text boxes of the rows for images that you do not want
created.
To add the new set of interval definitions to the Name list box, type a
new name into the Name list box and click on Add.
Dynamic Integration: This option allows you to create an integrated
image that represents the accumulation of a series of image captures.
If both the Auto-Exposure and Total Time Exposure checkboxes
are left blank, this option lets you visualize the integration process
onscreen, as images are being accumulated/integrated, and manually
stop the process when the image appears as you want it.
Auto-Exposure: Check this checkbox if you are doing a dynamic
integration and you want Capture to stop the capture operation (that
is, stop accumulating images) when 1% of the image has reached
saturation.
Total Time Exposure: Check this checkbox if you are doing a
dynamic integration and you want the resulting image to represent the
integration of a specific number of images over a specific amount of
time. This has the advantage of allowing for time intervals to elapse
between the images being integrated. The number of images and time
frame are specified through the Total Time Settings button.
Total Time Settings: If you have selected the Total Time Exposure
option, click this button to access the Dynamic Integration dialog
box where you can specify the total number of images to be
integrated into a single image and span of time across which images
should be acquired.

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Acquire:Capture Options
Saturation Warning: Use the Saturation Warning option to
visualize saturated regions in the image preview. Saturated regions
are pixels that are pure white. When this option is selected, all pure
white pixels are displayed in red and all pure black pixels are
displayed in blue.
Set Black Level: Use the dialog box that this button accesses to
specify the pixel value of the darkest gray level that your camera is
capable of transmitting. Pixel values in the image less than the value
specified here will not be accumulated (that is, will be set to zero).

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Acquire:Capture Options

Video Print
Use the Video Print command on systems configured with an auxiliary
monitor (see dual monitor discussion) and a video printer. It is used to
pass the active image or AOI from Image-Pros application window
back to the frame grabber, such that it is displayed on the auxiliary
monitor and can be optionally printed.
If you have modified the image being printed (using a filter, for
example, or drawing on the image), the modifications are reflected in
the video print.
To print an image or AOI to your video printer, select the Video Print
command. Your image (or AOI) will appear on the auxiliary monitor.
From there you must perform whatever steps are required by your
particular frame grabber and/or printer to initiate the print. Consult
your device manufacturers manuals for this procedure
To close the Acquire dialog, click the Close button. When you exit,
your setup options are recorded so that next time you select the Acquire
command it will already be configured to these specifications.
If you minimize the Acquire window without clicking Stop, Image-Pro
continues acquiring real-time video.
If you close the Acquire window without clicking Stop, the last image
acquired remains on your second monitor (if you have one).

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Acquire:Capture Options

Setup Acquire

Setup
Selecting Setup displays options that allow you to select a capture
driver, configure it correctly, and load and save settings for that device,
as shown here:

Current Driver: Select the appropriate driver from the drop-down list
box.
About Driver: The about box contains the driver description,
manufacturer, copyright, and other information.

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Settings File: If you do not load a different file, the settings file for
your driver will be default.vpf.
Load Settings: The settings file stores all the parameters for
capturing images that you have defined on the different pages. These
files are located in the Documents and Settings folder. Clicking this
button allows you to load settings that you have previously saved.
You will see the Open dialog box:

Please refer to the section about Open and Save Dialog Boxes earlier in
this manual.
Save Settings: Clicking this button allows you to save the settings
that you have defined for this driver in the Documents and Settings
folder. You will see the Save As dialog box:

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Acquire:Capture Options

Please refer to the section about Open and Save Dialog Boxes earlier in
this manual.
Reload Settings: Clicking this button will bring up the Restore
Settings dialog box. You may then choose to restore the default
(factory) settings or to reload the current settings file.

:
Select Settings: All the settings files located in the Capture
Settings folder will be listed in this drop-down list box. The
names of any read-only settings will be displayed in brackets:
<Brightfield> for example. You may not change any of the
read-only settings.
NTSC (Video Standard): This group box displays the video standard
that your frame grabber uses. Consult the documentation for your
hardware if uncertain. This group box will not appear if Image-Pro
can obtain the information from configuration files for the video input
device or if your frame grabber only supports one type.
NTSC (National Television System Committee): in general use in

the United States..


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Acquire:Capture Options
PAL (Phase Alternation Line): in general use in Europe.

Composite: This drop-down list box contains all the available camera
types. Select the appropriate camera type from the list.
Configure: Click the Configure button to initialize settings for your
hardware. When you select Configure, the Configuration dialog
box for your acquisition hardware appears. A sample configuration
dialog appears below:

Select the appropriate options for your capture board. You may need
to consult the manufacturers information packaged with your board
for the correct settings. The Configure button will not appear if the
hardware you are using has no additional options to configure.
Remember - the options that you see may vary with different types of
capture boards or cameras..
Start Preview: Clicking this button allows you to preview the image
before actually capturing it.
Snap: Click this button to initiate a snap operation according to the
settings you have defined, and place the captured image(s) into an
untitled image window. The size and class of the captured image will
be derived from the capabilities of your frame grabber (i.e., 640 x 480
monochrome hardware will produce a 640 x 480 Gray Scale image,
512 x 400 color hardware has the capacity produce a 512 x 400 True
Color image).

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Acquire:Capture Options
Signal
The Signal page contains information about the video signal that your
analog camera uses. This page appears something like this:

Channel: Use the spin buttons or type in the value to select the input
channel your camera cable is attached to: 0, 1, 2 or 3 (your hardware
may have fewer channel choices than this - e.g. 0,1 or 0, 1, 2).
Genlock: Click this check box to toggle the external sync (also known
as Genlock or PLL) on and off.
External Trigger: Click this check box to toggle the use of an external
trigger to snap an image. If you want to use the external trigger, you
must first click this check box on, then click the Snap button, then
press the external trigger when you are ready to capture the image.
After clicking Snap, control of the computer is totally controlled by
the external trigger; no further action can be taken until the trigger is
activated.
Hue: Use the spin buttons or type in the value to adjust the Hue of the
captured image.
Saturation: Use the spin buttons or type in the value to adjust the
Saturation of the captured image.

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Acquire:Capture Options
Upper Voltage: Use the spin buttons or type in the value for the upper
limit of the signal voltage (read from the signal source).
Lower Voltage: Use the spin buttons or type in the value for the lower
limit of the signal voltage (read from the signal source).
Brightness: Use the spin buttons to decrease or increase the
Brightness of the incoming live signal.
Contrast: Use the spin buttons to decrease or increase the Contrast
of the incoming live signal.
Options Button: If your driver supports other signal options, a driverspecific button may appear on the Signal page. The capture release
notes or driver documentation will describe these controls. The
following is one example:

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Acquire:Capture Options
Macro
The Macro page contains any specialized routines that you have
created to run before or after capturing an image.

Pre-Snap Macro: Enter the name of a macro you want Image-Pro to


run before each snap. For example, you might want to sound a bell
before each snap occurs. If the time required for your hardware to
perform the Pre-Snap Macro and acquire the image exceeds the
interval you have selected, Image-Pro will acquire images as rapidly
as your hardware permits. Select None if you do not want a Pre-Snap
Macro.
Post-Snap Macro: Enter the name of a macro you want Image-Pro
to run after each snap. For example, you might want to load the
image just saved, apply a filter, and resave the image. If the time
required for your hardware to perform the Post-Snap Macro and
acquire the image exceeds the interval you have selected, Image-Pro
will acquire images as rapidly as your hardware permits. Select None
if you do not want a Post-Snap Macro.

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Acquire:Capture Options
Pre-Live Macro: Enter the name of a macro you want Image-Pro to
run before each live capture.
Post-Live Macro: Enter the name of a macro you want Image-Pro
to run after each live capture.
If you have selected minimum interval from the Image page, the
macros are played before the sequence, and after, but not during the
capture.

Page 2-185

Acquire:Scan

Scan
Use the Scan command to scan images into Image-Pro, using a
TWAIN-compliant scanner. Use the Select Scanner command to select
your TWAIN drive from those available on your system. The Scan
command then initiates the scanning process directly.
The scanning process involves the following three basic steps:
1. Selecting your scanner using the Select Scanner command. If
you know that the scanner you plan to use has already been
selected, this step is not required.
2. Initiating the scan using the Scan command. When you select
the Scan command, Image-Pro transfers control to the
manufacturers TWAIN interface for the scanner you are using.
3. Controlling the scan process. See the manufacturers user
manual for operating instructions. When the scan is complete, your
image will be displayed in a new window.
Note - Before selecting the Scan command, be sure the current
scanner matches the scanner connected to your system.
The options available to you during the scan process depend upon the
specific scanner you are using. Some or all of the following options
may be available to you.
DPI (Dots per inch): This sets the resolution at which the
scanner will acquire the image. Combined with the Margins
setting, DPI will determine the size of the resultant scanned
image. For example, a 3" x 4" area scanned at 100 dpi will result
in an image that is 300 x 400 pixels in size. The available DPI
settings will be dependent on the scanner.
Note - After scanning an image, the spatial calibration will be set to
reflect the DPI at which the image was scanned.
Gamma Correction: Some scanners have built-in correction
tables that will attempt to correct the image for various display
and output devices. Experiment with this setting to determine
which gives you the best results.

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Acquire:Scan
Threshold: This sets the cutoff point when scanning a tonal
image (many levels of grays and/or colors) as a bilevel image
(two tones, black and white). Higher threshold settings will
result in more areas of the image appearing white; lower settings
will result in greater black areas. See Halftone Type below.
Brightness: This setting controls the brightness of the initial
scanned image. This is similar to the brightness control on the
BCG Controls and in the Color Map, but it is applied at the
hardware level.
Monochrome/Color: This selection is available if you have a
color scanner. Along with the Bit Depth setting, this option will
determine the image class of the scanned image. See Bits per
Channel below.
Bits per Channel: This determines the image class of the
scanned image. For example, Monochrome at 1 bit per channel
will result in a bilevel image; Monochrome at 8 bits will be a 256
gray scale image; Color at 8 bits will be a 24-bit true color
image; Color at 1 bit (binary) will result in an 8-color Toolbar
class image that looks similar to color newsprint when used with
an appropriate halftone type (see below).
Halftone Type: If the Bits per Channel is set at binary (1), this
option will be selectable in some scanners. The type of halftone
patterns that are available will be determined by the scanner.
Usually, the Threshold setting will affect the dot density of a
halftone.
Black/White Reverse: This option will toggle negation of the
image at scan time. The result is equivalent to performing a
NOT Operation on an image.
Margins: This option allows you to scan just a portion of your
image. This is useful for eliminating unwanted text, graphics or
white space that surround the image you want to scan.
Preview: This option lets you view your image while you specify
the margins of the area to scan.
Width/Height: Note that the width and height of the image you
are scanning do not necessarily reflect the width and height on
your screen. Factors affecting screen size are the scanning
resolution (dots per inch), the resolution at which Windows is
operating (a lower resolution yields a larger image), and the
physical size of your monitor.
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Acquire:Select Scanner

Select Scanner
Use the Select Scanner command to select or change the current
TWAIN-compatible scanner. When you click the Select Scanner
command, the Select Source dialog box appears.

Sources: This list box presents all TWAIN drivers found on your
system (Image-Pro searches the TWAIN folder located in the
WINDOWS working folder for these drivers
e.g.,\WINDOWS\TWAIN). Select the scanner you want to use. If your
scanner is not listed under Sources, install it first, then select it.
Select: When you are happy with your choice, click the Select
button. Control then passes to your scanners TWAIN-compliant
software.

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Acquire:Scan Options

Scan Options
Use the Scan Options command if you want to change the Image-Pro
Plus scanning options. When you click the Scan Options command, you
will see the Scan Options dialog box:

Use Current System Calibration: Click this option if you want to


apply the current system calibration settings to newly-acquired
images.
Calibrate according to image DPI: Click this option if you want to
create a new calibration setting for the image, based on the number of
dots per inch in the newly-acquired image. Calibration settings
generated in this manner will be named SCAN#DPI, where # is the
number of dots per inch, i.e. SCAN300DPI.
Close TWAIN Source after scan: Check this box if you want
Image-Pro Plus to close the TWAIN source after acquiring the image.
This is a step-saver if you normally close the TWAIN device after
you scan an image.

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Acquire:Import Plugins

Import Plugins
This option allows you to use third-party plug-in modules for importing
images with Image-Pro Plus. When you select this command, you will
see the Import Plugins dialog box:

Import: This button calls the selected import function.


Import Again: This button calls the same import function as selected
previously.
Locate Plugins: Use this button to browse your system files for the
third-party plug-ins.
Close: Closes the dialog box.

Page 2-190

Sequence:Normalize Illumination

The Sequence Menu


The Sequence menu contains those features associated with sets of
images or image sequence files (*.seq).

Page 2-191

Sequence:Normalize Illumination

Normalize Illumination
You would use this option when the illumination or intensity of emitted
light will change in the time that it takes to acquire all of the planes.
Basically, this option corrects for uneven illumination as the Z plane
changes.
An example would be a sample that uses a fluorescent dye that
degrades with exposure to light. The first captured plane will have a
higher intensity then the last plane captured. In this case all captured
planes will be normalized before being processed into the final image.
When you select Normalize Illumination from the Sequence menu, you
will see the following dialog:

Apply first-order illumination to.the active image indicates


the type of Z stack that the correction will be applied to when the
Apply button is clicked.
Use active portion of sequence: Check this box to apply the
correction to only the active portion of the image sequence.
Destination: The Destination group box allows you to apply the
correction to the existing workspace, or to create a new image
containing the corrected stack.
Current Image: Clicking this button applies the correction to the
current workspace. This option will be disabled if the Z stack
comes from a set, is only a portion of a sequence containing
other Z stacks, or if the active portion of the sequence is not the
entire sequence.
New Image: Clicking this button creates a new image containing
the corrected stack.
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Sequence:Normalize Illumination
Apply: Click this button to apply the correction.
Cancel: Click this button to cancel the normalization. After applying
the normalization, the Cancel button will change to read Done.

Page 2-193

Sequence:Background Correction

Background Correction
Use the Background Correction command to make adjustments to the
background of your image set. This tool is used to better distinguish
image background from image objects, making it easier to extract the
objects during a counting or measurement operation. The Background
Correction command can correct uneven background intensities, and
compensate for irregularities due to uneven lighting, nonuniform
camera response or minor optic imperfections. It might be used to
remove evidence of dust on the lens, or to correct for bright spots
caused by the light beneath the microscopes stage.
Background Correction can only be performed if at least two frames in
the set are open. The active image must be the one you want to
perform the background operation upon. You must also have a
background image open. A background image contains only the
background. You can produce a background image by acquiring an
image with the sample removed (e.g., remove the slide from the
microscope's stage) or with the optics defocused entirely.
Two types of background correction are provided in the Set Manager:
Background Subtraction should be used for all images except those of
transmitted light experiments which will be used to measure optical
density. For optical density applications, Flat Field correction option
should be used instead. Flat Field correction accounts for the fact that
optical density is not a linear function of the gray scale.
When you select Background Correction from the Sequence menu, you
will see the following dialog:

Current Channel: This line of text indicates which channel is being


corrected.
Page 2-194

Sequence:Background Correction
Apply background correction tothe active image indicates
the which portion of the active set that the correction will be applied
to when the Apply button is clicked.
Use active portion of sequence: Check this box to apply the
correction to only the active portion of the image sequence.
Background Image: This drop-down list box lists all single-frame
image workspaces that are the right image class and size to be used as
a background image for the active image.
Background Subtraction: Click this option button if you want to
subtract one of the open images from the active image. Background
Subtraction will compare the active image to the background image,
and pixels deemed to be part of the background will be replaced with
a value close to the mean background intensity
Flat Field: Click this option button if you want to correct the
background of an image measuring optical density via transmitted
light. Flat Field is similar to Background Subtraction, but uses
division instead of subtraction, to account for the fact that optical
density is not a linear function of the gray scale.
Destination: The Destination group box allows you to apply the
correction to the existing workspace, or to create a new image
containing the corrected stack.
Current Image: Clicking this button applies the correction to the
current workspace.
New Image: Clicking this button creates a new image containing
the corrected stack.
Apply: Click this button to apply the correction.
Cancel: Click this button to cancel the background correction. After
applying the normalization, the Cancel button will change to read
Done.

Page 2-195

Sequence:Despeckle

Despeckle
The Despeckle filter removes extraneous noise from the frame or
frames in the image set. When you select Despeckle from the Sequence
menu, you will see the following dialog:

Apply despeckle filtering to the active image indicates the


which portion of the active set that the filter will be applied to when
the Apply button is clicked.
Use active portion of sequence: Check this box to apply the filter
to only the active portion of the image sequence.
Size: Use the drop-down list box to select the filter kernel size for the
despeckling operation.
Strength: Enter a value from 1 - 10 that reflects how much of the
filtering effect you want applied to the image. A value of 10
specifies that you want the full strength (100%) of the filtered result
applied to each pixel. Values less than 10 cut the full weight of the
filter - a value of 1 indicates that only 10% of the difference between
the filtered pixel value and the original pixel value should be applied,
a value of 2 indicates that 20% of the difference should be applied,
and so forth.
Destination: The Destination group box allows you to apply the
correction to the existing workspace, or to create a new image
containing the corrected stack.
Current Image: Clicking this button applies the filter to the current
workspace.
New Image: Clicking this button creates a new image containing
the filtered stack.
Apply: Click this button to apply the correction.
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Sequence:Despeckle
Cancel: Click this button to cancel the background correction. After
applying the normalization, the Cancel button will change to read
Done.

Page 2-197

Sequence:The Set Manager

The Set Manager


Sets are collections of images containing more than one variable
dimension. A time lapse movie is a simple example of the type of
image sets that Set Manager is designed to handle. A more complex set
may contain time lapse movies at several different positions on the
slide, with a Z-series at each time and spatial position. It is possible to
create image sets that have multiple channels, stage positions (user
defined or arrayed), Z slices, images per stage position (tiles), and time
points.
Whether you are using AFA or another application to acquire images, or
using SharpStack and/or 3D Constructor to analyze your images, Set
Manager provides the tools you need for creating, editing, and viewing
these image sets.
Without using Set Manager, it would be difficult to determine the
organization and meaning of a multi-dimensional image sequence, or to
distinguish between time series and Z-stack sequences, or to associate
multiple image workspaces that are related to the same subject.
Set Manager will track images that are members of any active set. If an
image that is a set member is closed, a dialog will ask you whether to
save the image, remove the image from the set or cancel closing the
image.
Note that a set can be managed without all of the images being actively
open in the application (but it cannot be navigated).

Page 2-198

Sequence:The Set Manager

The Information/File Tab


The Information/File tab allows you to display and edit set
information, and load or save the current sets. The first time that you
choose Set Manager from the Sequence menu, you will see this tab
page:

The controls on this page, except File:Open and Database:Open,


are disabled until there is an active set. The Select Set tab is disabled
until there is an active set or an open image.
Set Name: This field displays the name of the image set that is
currently active.
Set Title: Enter a new title for this set in this field. This field is limited
to 255 characters.
Experimenter: Enter the name of the experimenter here. This field is
limited to 255 characters.
Description: Enter a brief description of the image set here. This field
is limited to 511 characters.
Background: The current background image is displayed here. An
image or a sequence can bet set as the background, using the Set
button.
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Sequence:The Set Manager


Created: This field displays the date that the set was originally
created.
Last Modified: This field displays the date that the set was last
modified and saved.
Set: Clicking the Set button allows you to specify an image or
sequence as the background image for the set.
Time Stamp: The Time Stamp allows you to save the date and time
with your image. Clicking the Time Stamp button opens the
following dialog:

Check the appropriate box. If Display time stamps on set images


is checked, the following options become available:

Display time point label

Display actual time of capture

Display as separate lines

Burn-in to image

Color

Horizontal position

Vertical position

When you have made your selection, click OK to save it, or


Cancel to return to the Set Manager dialog without saving a time
stamp.
Open Options: Compact Set when opening set: This option
combines all the separate images into sequences, one per channel.
This will help insure that Image-Pro Plus can open the images.
Save Options: Check the box next to one of the following options,
indicating what to do to save your set:
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Sequence:The Set Manager

Auto-save set images

Auto-save background set

Close: Click this button to close Set Manager.


File: Open: Clicking this button takes you to the File:Open dialog
where you can select a new set to open, as shown here:

All image sets have the extension *.ips (Image-Pro set).


File:Save As: Clicking this button takes you to the File:Save dialog
where you can save your new or modified image set as a *.ips file.
Database:Open: Clicking this button allows you to open an image
set from the database. You will see the Image Database Search
dialog.
Database:Save As: Clicking this button allows you to save the
image set in the database. Using the Save As command creates a new
record in the database, containing the set definition and images.
Database:Delete: Clicking this button removes the image set from
the database.
Record: This field shows the record number for this set as saved in the
Image Database.

Page 2-201

Sequence:The Set Manager

The Select Set Tab


When you have one or more images or image sets open, the Select Set
tab will be enabled.

This page is used to build sets from open images.


Set: This drop-down list displays all the active sets. The set you want
to use can be selected from this list. Changing the active set will
activate one of the images in the set, visible in the Image-Pro
workspace.
Delete: Click this button to remove the active set from the list. You
must have at least one active set to enable the Delete button.
New: Click this button to create a new set. You will see the following
dialog:

Page 2-202

Sequence:The Set Manager

Set Title: Enter the name of your new image set here. The default
name is Set 1. The title is limited to 255 characters.
Experimenter: Enter the name of the experimenter here. The
name most recently used will appear here automatically. This
field is limited to 255 characters.
Description: Enter a brief description of the new image set here.
This field is limited to 511 characters.
OK: Click OK to create the new image set.
Cancel: Click Cancel to return to the Set Manager dialog. A new
set will not be created.
Available Images: This is a list of all the open workspaces that are
not already part of an active image set, and therefore available to be
included in an active set. Use your cursor to highlight the image that
you wish to add to the current set.
Set Images: This is a list of images in the current set. You may select
one or more images in this list to be deleted from the set by using the
Remove button.
Add: Click this button to add the highlighted image from the
Available Images list to the current set. You may only add one
image at a time.
When you click the Add button, you will see the following dialog:

Page 2-203

Sequence:The Set Manager

The Add image to set dialog enables you to set the number of
dimensions and the location of each dimension. When first opened,
this dialog will contain whatever information is available from the
selected workspace.
Add Dimension..: Use the Add Dimension button to specify
the additional dimensions. Clicking Add brings up the Add
dimension dialog:

Select the dimension that you wish to add from the drop-down
list box, and click OK.
Tip: What you are trying to accomplish here is to inform Set
Manager of the organization of the frames in the images that
you are adding to the set. For example, assume that your
image was captured first in one channel, and again in another
channel. Then the stage was moved to a new Z position, and
both channels were captured again. The images were captured
a third time at yet another Z position. Then, the XY stage was
moved to different positions, and the images captured again,
Page 2-204

Sequence:The Set Manager


for a total of 3 Z positions and 5 XY positions. The image
sequence would be 30 frames long:
2 channels * 3 Z positions * 5 XY positions

This example is used in the picture below, after defining the


images organization and just prior to adding it to the active
set.
After all the dimensions have been added, your Add image to
set dialog will look something like this:

This dialog displays the number of frames in the selected image,


and the number of frames or repetitions that remain. The dialog
will be initialized with whatever information can be gleaned from
the images properties (e.g. if the Z position and/or Channel
properties are set as shown above).
Delete Last: Click this button to remove the last dimension added
to the set.
OK: Click OK when you are satisfied with the number of
dimensions that youve added to the set.
Cancel: Click Cancel to return to Set Manager dialog without
adding any dimensions.
Page 2-205

Sequence:The Set Manager


Remove: Click this button to delete the highlighted image(s) from
the Set Images list. You may delete multiple images at one time.
This button is enabled whenever at least one image in the Set Images
list is selected.
Clear: Click this button to remove all the images from the Set Images
list.
Channels: This button is enabled when the set has more than one
channel. Click it to see the Edit Channel Names dialog:

You can edit the names of the channels by double-clicking on it. Click
OK when youve finished, or Cancel to return to the Select Set tab.

Page 2-206

Sequence:The Set Manager

The Set Options Tab


The Set Options tab allows you to add new images to existing sets
automatically by selecting some or all of the following options:

Enable automatic set operations: Check this box to enable the


rest of the selections on this page. When automatic set operations are
disabled, the remaining controls on this page are disabled and not
selected.
Create sets automatically from multi-dimensional images:
Check this box to enable the auto-set capability.
Automatically add new images to existing sets: Check this box
to add newly opened or created images to a matching existing set (an
operation that takes precedence over creating a new set from the
image).
When the image is added, there are further options:

Always add as a new channel

Always ask me what dimension to add.

These options are disabled and not selected if Automatically add


is not selected.
Page 2-207

Sequence:The Set Manager


If you choose to Always ask me, you will see the following dialog,
which will vary slightly depending on how the destination set is
determined. If the image was created as the result of operations on
images from an existing set, the following is displayed:

This dialog will have the following appearance if the new image
(opened or created) seems to match the characteristics of an
existing set:

Yes or OK will add the image as the selected dimension.


Cancel will prevent the image from being add to a set or auto-creating
a set.
No will cause a new set to be created from the image.

Page 2-208

Sequence:The Set Navigator

The Set Navigator


The Set Navigator allows you to select any one of the dimensions
available in a set to be played as a sequence. You also have the ability
to specify the position along all other dimensions that will be displayed
when the selected dimension is played. So, for a set with 3 channels,
10 Z slices, 4 stage positions and 20 time points, it is possible to play a
time lapse movie of the fifth Z slice through the third stage position in
the first channel. Or to play a Z movie through the second stage
position at time point 12 in the third channel.
Since an image set is stored in sequence files (*.SEQ), one per
channel, there may be times when it is necessary to work with a movie
showing changes along a single axis, without having to worry about
also altering the other images in the set. For this reason, the Extract
button allows you to create a new sequence that contains only the
current channels at the positions selected for each of the other channels
in the set.

The Navigate Tab


When you select Set Navigator from the Sequence menu, you will see
the Navigate tabbed page:

Page 2-209

Sequence:The Set Navigator


The top left group of controls is used to play the a selected dimension
or channel of the image set. They are:
Stop.
Go to the beginning
of the set.

Go to the end of
the set.

Play set in reverse

Play set forward.


Step to previous
frame.

Step to next frame.

Start: This box indicates the number of the starting frame.


Current: This box indicates the number of the frame currently in view.
End: This box indicates the number of the last frame.
Z in the screen above indicates which dimension is currently selected.
The slider under the navigation controls can be used in place of the
navigation buttons. The edit controls under the slider can be used to
set the active range of the currently selected dimension.
Options: Clicking this button displays the Play Options dialog:

Page 2-210

Sequence:The Set Navigator


Frame rate: Allows the user to define the time per frame during
playback. Specifying 0 will result in maximum speed playback with
no delay between frames; however this makes it more difficult to stop
playing the set.
Automatically adjust rate if necessary: Checking this box allows
Image-Pro to adjust the frame rate if the system is unable to play the
sequence at the original rate.
Frames per second: Displays the rate at which frames in the
sequence are played.
Frames displayed: Indicates the number of frames displayed in
the active sequence.
Frames dropped: Indicates the number of frames removed from
the active sequence
Wrap around at end: When selected, playback will wrap around.
For instance, when playing forward and the end of the sequence is
reached, the playback will continue at the beginning of the sequence.
Playback continues until the Stop button is pressed. This is the
current form of playback.
Play to end: When selected, playback will occur once, from the
start frame to the end frame if playing forward, from the end frame
to the start frame if playing backward, and then stop.
Auto-reverse: When selected, playback will reverse directions
when an end stop is reached. Playback continues until the Stop
button is pressed.
Update Frame Slider: When selected, the current frame slider and
edit box will be updated as the sequence plays. When not selected,
these controls will not update until the sequence is stopped.
Display Prompts When Editing: When checked, this box allows
the Navigator to display editing prompts when you perform one of
the sequence editing commands (discussed in the following pages).
These prompts describe what will happen when you use one of the
sequence editing operations. To hide the prompts, uncheck this
box.
Align All is used to align all the workspaces in the active set with the
currently active workspace.
The extraction controls are all contained in the top-right group box.
Extract : Click this button to extract a new sequence along the active
dimension.
Page 2-211

Sequence:The Set Navigator


The Z options for Extract list allows you to choose to extract planes as
follows:
Use Z location: Extracts the selected dimension using the current
Z location for each position along the selected dimension.
Use selected planes: Extracts the selected dimension using the
Z planes selected on the Select Z planes page.
Use best-focus plane:Extracts the selected dimension using the
best-focus plane as determined by the Extended Depth of Field
(EDF) feature.
Use composite best-focus: Extracts the selected dimension
using a composite best-focus plane created by the EDF feature.
EDF Options: Clicking this button takes you to the Extended Depth of
Field feature, where you can set the EDF parameters on the Focus
Settings page.
The bottom set of controls is used to select the active dimension
(which can be played or extracted) and the current location along the
other available dimensions. Dimensions that are not present in the
active set will be disabled.
The active dimension is selected by the radio buttons (e.g. Channel in
the example). The location controls for the active dimension are
replaced by text indicating that the dimension is active. The right two
columns of the bottom set of controls indicate the location along each
dimension, and the value of that location (e.g. physical position,
channel name, etc.).
Time Point: Indicates the time point of the active dimension.
Site: Indicates the well position of the active dimension.
XY: Indicates the XY position of the active dimension.
Z : Indicates the Z position of the active dimension.
Channel: Indicates the current channel of the active dimension.
Synchronize channels when playing another dimension.
Checking this box will lock channels together. When a set contains
multiple dimensions, you might find it useful to scan though one of
the dimensions while observing the results in each of the channels.
As long as each channel is contained in a separate workspace from
the other channels (as it will be if the set is captured by AFA) you can
use this control to keep the channels in synch. As you play or step
through the another dimension (e.g. Z position, or time point) each
Page 2-212

Sequence:The Set Navigator


of the channel workspaces will be updated to display the correct
frame for that location in each channel.

The Select Z Planes Tab


The Select Z Planes tab provides improved control over the Z plane
that is displayed as you navigate through the image stack. You will see
this tab page:

Select Z plane: This option controls how the Z plane is determined


when any other dimension is played. Choose one of the following
from the drop-down list:
Use Z Location: Plays the selected dimension using the current Z
location for each position along the selected dimension.
Select Z planes: Plays the selected dimension using the Z planes
selected on this page.
Set From EDF: Clicking this button allows you to select the bestfocus Z plane for each position along the active dimension, using the
current EDF settings. The selected plane is indicated by a darker
background.
EDF Options: Clicking this button takes you to the EDF feature to
allow you to adjust the options on the Focus Settings page.

Page 2-213

Sequence:The Set Navigator


Channel Z Positions: The Channel Z positions group determines
whether the selected Z positions are replicated along the other
channels in the set. Your choices are:
Lock all channels: The Z plane selected on this page will be used
for each of the channels in the set.
Use fixed offset: The Z plane selected on this page will be
combined with a channel-specific offset to determine the Z plane
displayed.
Select Z planes: Different Z planes can be selected for each
channel.
Set Channel Offsets: Clicking this button displays the Set channel
offsets dialog. This dialog allows you to set the number of planes
above or below the selected plane the other channels will be offset
when displayed. For instance, if the selected plane in the current
location is plane 15, an offset of -1 for one channel would result in
the channel displaying plane 14 while an offset of 2 will cause
another channel to display plane 16.
Lock Z Positions: The Lock Z position along dimension group
determines whether the selected Z positions are replicated along the
other positions of the other dimensions. For each of the indicated
dimensions, the Lock button will be disabled if the dimension does
not exist in the current set. When Lock is active, the selected Z
position will be used for all the other positions along the associated
dimension.
You may navigate along the dimensions of the set that are present but
are not locked, or along the active dimension, selecting a Z plane at
each position along the active dimension. For instance, if all
dimensions are absent or locked, Z planes can be selected for the
entire set by one visit to the Select Z planes page. In a 4 dimensional
set where no dimension is locked, you should select Z planes for each
position along the 2 dimensions not represented on this page.
The Z-plane grid can be used to view and adjust the selected Z
planes. The columns are labeled by a simple (and space-saving)
abbreviation of the position along the active dimension, e.g. Ch 1N, TP 1-N, SP 1-N or XY 1-N. The Z positions
themselves will be labeled by frame number (if the Z position and
EDF confidence are not known), by Z position (if EDF confidence is
not known), or by Z position and EDF confidence if both are known.
Clicking on the first row position indicator will display that position
without changing the selected Z plane. Clicking on the Z position
Page 2-214

Sequence:The Set Navigator


selects that plane and simultaneously displays the selected plane, so
the best Z plane can be selected visually.

Page 2-215

Sequence:Set Information

Set Information
The Set Information feature reports information about the currently
active image and the set in which it belongs. When you select Set
Information from the Sequence menu, you will see the following dialog:

The information on this dialog comes from the images properties, and
the information collected by the Set Manager.
Image Properties: This group box contains information about the
currently active image:

Channel
Em Wavelength (Emissions wavelength)
Ex Wavelength (Excitation wavelength)
Numeric aperture
Refractive Index
Magnification
Position (X, Y, Z)
Site
Page 2-216

Sequence:Set Information

Time of capture
Capture device
Capture properties (exposure, gain, offset, gamma,
binning)

Time point.
Note: Editing some of the image properties directly can give a plain
sequence set-like multi-dimension characteristics. For example,
dividing a sequence into two or more channels using the Channel
Properties dialog, or creating two or more Z stacks using the Edit Z
Plane Spacing dialog, automatically gives the image additional
dimensions.
Next to each of these properties is an edit button that allows you to add
or modify the information for each property. Each of these edit dialogs
provides you with a set of options for applying the property changes to
the whole image or the entire set, or to just a portion of the image or
set. These options, particularly the entire set options, are usually only
approprite for a few types of properties that really do apply to every
frame of the image, or every frame of every image in the entire set.
Edit Channel: The Edit Channel Properties dialog allows you to set
the channel name, and other channel-related properties.

The drop-down list allows you to select the option most appropriate
for the property being edited. These options include:
Page 2-217

Sequence:Set Information

Apply to whole image

Apply to active portion of image,

Apply to current Z stack,

Apply to current channel, and

Apply to entire set.

Number of frames in each channel: Select the number of


frames in each channel from the drop-down list box.
Number of channels: Indicates the current number of channels.
Set From: Indicates if the channel name, emissions wavelength, and
excitation wavelength will be set from the currently selected dye. If
there are no dye files selected, this option is not available.
Channel name: Enter a name for the current channel here.
Emissions wavelength: Indicates whether to set the emissions
wavelength. You can edit the wavelength directly, or use the spin
buttons to make adjustments.
Excitation wavelength: Indicates whether to set the excitation
wavelength. You can edit the wavelength directly, or use the spin
buttons to make adjustments
Edit Position: If you want to edit the X or Y position, you will see
Edit Properties dialog, shown here:

Apply to current channel

Apply to current Z-stack,

Apply to entire set

Apply to whole image

Apply to active frame.

X (or Y) position: You can edit the position directly or use the
spin buttons to set the correct X or Y location.
Page 2-218

Sequence:Set Information
Edit Z-plane spacing: The Edit Z-plane spacing dialog allow you
to divide a sequenced into a series of Z-stacks, and automatically set
the Z position of each frame, based upon a known spacing.

The Edit Z plane spacing dialog offers these choices:

Apply to current Z-stack,

Apply to entire set

Apply to whole image

Starting Z position: The Starting Z-position is the absolute position


in microns that is assigned to the first frame of each Z-stack.
Z spacing: The Z-spacing is used to calculate the absolute Z-position
of all the frames in the stack after the first frame. In the example
shown, frame 1 would have a position of 0, 0; frame 2 would have a
position of .25 microns; frame 3 a position of .5 micros, etc.
Apply to all #stacks in set: The size of the selected Z-stack may
indicate that the sequence has multiple Z-stacks. This option allows
you to set the same Z-stack spacing for all the of the stacks in the
sequence.

Page 2-219

Sequence:Set Information
Edit Emissions Wavelength: Selecting this option displays the
following dialog:

You have the following choices:

Apply to current channel

Apply to current Z-stack,

Apply to entire set

Apply to whole image

Apply to active frame.

Emissions wavelength: Indicates the emissions wavelength. You


may edit the wavelength directly , or use the spin buttons to make
adjustments.
Edit Excitation Wavelength: Selecting this option displays the
following dialog:

You have the following choices:

Page 2-220

Apply to current channel

Apply to current Z-stack,

Apply to entire set

Apply to whole image

Apply to active frame.

Sequence:Set Information
Excitation wavelength: Indicates the excitation wavelength. You
may edit the wavelength directly or use the spin buttons to make
adjustments
Numeric Aperture: Editing the numeric aperture displays the
following version of the Edit Lens Properties dialog:

You will have the following choices:

Apply to current channel

Apply to current Z-stack,

Apply to entire set

Apply to whole image

Apply to active frame.

Set From: Indicates if the channel name, emissions wavelength, and


excitation wavelength will be set from the currently selected lens.
If there are no lens files selected, this option is not available
Numeric Aperture: Indicates the current value of the N.A. You
may edit the N.A. directly or use the spin buttons to make
adjustments

Page 2-221

Sequence:Set Information
Refractive Index: Selecting this option displays the following dialog:

You will have the following choices:

Apply to current channel

Apply to current Z-stack,

Apply to entire set

Apply to whole image

Apply to active frame.

Set From: Indicates if the channel name, emissions wavelength, and


excitation wavelength will be set from the currently selectedlens .
If there are no lens files selected, this option is not available
Refractive Index: Indicates the current value of the refractive index
(R.I.). You may edit the R.I. directly or use the spin buttons to
make adjustments

Page 2-222

Sequence:Set Information
Magnification: Selecting this option also displays the Edit lens
properties dialog (shown above).

You will have the following choices:

Apply to current channel

Apply to current Z-stack,

Apply to entire set

Apply to whole image

Apply to active frame.

Set From: Indicates if the channel name, emissions wavelength, and


excitation wavelength will be set from the currently selectedlens . If
there are no lens files selected, this option is not available.
Magnification: Indicate the magnification associated with the current
lens.

Page 2-223

Sequence:Set Information
Site: Editing the Site allows you to create a label for the site, as shown
here:

You will have the following choices:

Apply to current channel

Apply to current Z-stack,

Apply to entire set

Apply to whole image

Apply to active frame.

Site Label: Enter text to label the site.


Edit Time of Capture: Editing the Image Time lets you adjust the
time of capture for an image or sequence, as shown here:

You will have the following choices:

Page 2-224

Apply to current channel

Apply to current Z-stack,

Apply to entire set

Sequence:Set Information

Apply to whole image

Apply to active frame

Apply to current time point

Apply to all time points

Base time: Indicate how you want to set the base time by selecting
one of the following:
Base on Time point: The image time can be based on the
current time point (if one is found)
Set only Delta time: the current image time of will be based on
the time of capture. This option is disabled if the current image is
not part of a set or sequence.
Set to: Select the Date and Time (UTC) using the appropriate
spin buttons..
Date: Enter the date in month, day, and year format. If you need a
calendar, one will appear when you click the drop-down button.
Time (UTC): Enter the time in hours, minutes, and seconds. Use the
spin buttons to set the correct time
Edit Time Points: Editing the Time Points lets you select the
appropriate date and time, as shown here:

You will have the following choices:

Apply to current channel

Apply to current Z-stack,

Apply to entire set

Apply to whole image

Apply to active frame

Page 2-225

Sequence:Set Information
Date: Enter the date in month, day, and year format. If you need a
calendar, one will appear when you click the drop-down button.
Time (UTC): Enter the time in hours, minutes, and seconds. Use the
spin buttons to set the correct time.
Edit Capture Properties: This dialog displays capture information
that is not otherwise available.

The camera driver, camera model, camera ID and camera features


may be viewed in this dialog, but not modified. The following
capture properties may be modified or adjusted by checking the box
by each time and using the spin buttons to select the appropriate
number:

Page 2-226

Exposure

Gain

Offset

Gamma

Binning

Capture area

Sequence:Set Information
Active Set Properties: Information about the active set is contained
in the Active Set Properties group box.

Set Title

Location

You may not modify the active set properties.

Page 2-227

Sequence:Sequence Toolbar

Sequence Toolbar
The Sequence Toolbar command displays the Sequencer Toolbar and
performs various operations on an image sequence. These features are
all described below

The Sequencer Toolbar


The buttons on the Sequencer Toolbar are very similar to the buttons
used to control your VCR or CD player. You can scroll forward and
back through the group of images, using the buttons for next image,
previous image, last image, etc. You can select the starting and ending
frames to play only part of the sequence, edit the sequence, and save it.
Step to previous frame
STOP
Step to next frame
Play in reverse
Play in normal mode

Fast reverse

Fast Forward

Apply to current frame

Sequence options
Apply to sequence
Ending frame number
Starting frame number
Current active frame number

Page 2-228

Sequence:Sequence Toolbar
The following controls are used to step through or play the active
portion of the sequence (i.e. bounded by the Start and End frame
controls to be described later):

Plays the sequence backward in fast mode.


Plays the sequence backward in normal mode.
Steps the sequence to the previous frame. This will not wrap
around when the beginning of the sequence is reached (i.e. frame 1).
Stops sequence play so that the stepping controls can be used.
Steps the sequence to the next frame. This will not wrap around
when the beginning of the sequence is reached.
Plays the sequence backward in normal mode.
Plays the sequence forward in fast mode.
The active portion of the sequence is defined by the starting and ending
frames. You can apply the different sequence operations to just the
active portion of the sequence, or the entire set of images.
The following controls are used to set the active portion of the
sequence, the active frame of the sequence, and various other options:

The start and end frame controls illustrated above set the active portion
of the sequence, which is represented by the colored portion of the
slider. The active portion is used for the 4 continuous playback types
described above, and for determining the portion of the sequence to
which operations will be applied (when Apply To Sequence is
selected). It is possible to step or scroll through the entire sequence
regardless of the setting of these controls.

Page 2-229

Sequence:Sequence Toolbar
Synchronize all Sequences: If you have more than one sequence
open, and this box is checked, all open sequences will play
simultaneously using the current play options, and the common
denominator will be the length of the shortest sequence.
Sequence Options set the various playing controls:

Frame rate (ms): Allows the user to define the time per frame during
playback. Specifying 0 will result in maximum speed playback with
no delay between frames.
Automatically adjust rate if necessary: Checking this box allows
Image-Pro to adjust the rate at which the sequence is played, if the
system cannot play the sequence at the original rate.
Frames per second: Displays the rate at which frames in the
sequence are played.
Frames Displayed: Indicates the number of frames in the active
portion of the sequence.
Frames Dropped: Indicates the number of frames excluded from the
active portion of the sequence.
Fast Frame Skip (for FF/FR): Allows the user to define the number
of frames to skip during fast mode playback. Specifying 1 will
result in other frame being skipped (which will double playback
speed), specifying 2 will result in 2 frames being skipped for every
frame displayed, etc.
Wrap around at end: When selected, playback will wrap around.
For instance, when playing forward and the end of the sequence is
reached, the playback will continue at the beginning of the sequence.
Page 2-230

Sequence:Sequence Toolbar
Playback continues until the Stop button is pressed. This is the
current form of playback.
Play to end: When selected, playback will occur once, from the start
frame to the end frame if playing forward, from the end frame to the
start frame if playing backward, and then stop.
Auto-reverse: When selected, playback will reverse directions when
an end stop is reached. Playback continues until the Stop button is
pressed.
Update Frame Slider: When selected, the current frame slider and
edit box will be updated as the sequence plays. When not selected,
these controls will not update until the sequence is stopped.
Display Prompts When Editing: When checked, this box allows
the Sequencer to display editing prompts when you perform one of
the sequence editing commands (discussed in the following pages).
These prompts describe what will happen when you use one of the
sequence editing operations. To hide the prompts, uncheck this box.

Page 2-231

Sequence:Merge Files

Merge Files
Merge Files allows you to combine two sequence files into one file,
or to add a new image to an open sequence file. The Merge command
always places the new sequence file or image at the end of the open one
(append). Selecting this option displays the Open File dialog box:

If you have an image or sequence open, the files that you select will be
merged with the active image; otherwise a new workspace will be
opened for the sequence. Select the name of the file(s) you want to
merge. If any of the files are sequences also, you can select the starting
frame of the sequence being opened, and number of frames that you
want to combine.

Page 2-232

Sequence:Sequence Editing Commands

Sequence Editing Commands


The Sequence Editing functions in Image-Pro Plus allows you to edit
and work with multiple-frame image workspaces, called sequences.
Each sequence is made up of image frames, stored together in one
workspace. By clicking on one of the sequence editing commands, you
may modify the sequence in several different ways. These commands
assume that a sequence file is open in the Image-Pro application area,
and that Apply to Sequence is activated (see Sequencer Tools). When
you click on the command, you will see the following options:
Cut Frames will remove the selected portion of the sequence and
place it on the clipboard.
Copy Frames will copy the selected portion of the sequence to
the clipboard.
Delete Frames will permanently erase selected portion of the
sequence.
Paste Frames is only available when there is sequence data
(from a Cut or Copy operation) on the clipboard. The clipboard
data will inserted into the current sequence, just before the active
frame.
Append Frames is only available when there is sequence data
(from a Cut or Copy operation) on the clipboard. The clipboard
data will be appended after the last frame in the active sequence.
Extract Frames copies the selected frames from the sequence in
the workspace into individual single-frame workspaces (if you are
working with a single-frame workspace, this is identical to the
Duplicate Command).
Merge Images allows you to combine frames from two or more
workspaces into one file. Selecting this option displays the Merge
Images dialog box:

Page 2-233

Sequence:Sequence Editing Commands

Available Images lists all of the frames from all of the open
workspaces (excluding the active workspace). Note that open
sequences are expanded to list each of the frames.
Images to Insert/Append lists all of the frames that have been
selected for the merge. The frames will be merged with the active
workspace in the order in which they are listed in the Insert/Append
list.
There will always be one and only one item highlighted in the
Insert/Append list, which defines the point at which frames will be
added to the list. The item will always remain at the end of the
list, allowing a frame to be appended to the end of the list (select
and add the frame before it).
Add: The Add button will be enabled only when one or more frames
are selected in the Available list. Add will add the selected frame(s)
in the Available Images list to the Insert/Append list, before the
currently highlighted item.
Add All: The Add All button will always be enabled and will add all
of the available frame(s) in the Available Images list to the
Insert/Append list, before the currently highlighted item.
Remove: The Remove button will be enabled only if the selected item
in the Insert/Append list is not the end marker. Remove will
remove the selected frame from the Insert/Append list. The frame
after the removed frame (or the end marker) will become the selected
item.
Page 2-234

Sequence:Sequence Editing Commands


Clear: The Clear button will always be enabled and will remove all of
the selected frame(s) from the Insert/Append list.
Paste: The Paste button will be enabled only when one or more
frames are selected. Paste will insert the selected frames in order (top
to bottom) at the current frame position of the active workspace
(effectively before that frame).
Append: The Append button will be enabled only when one or more
frames are selected. Append will append the selected frames in order
to the end of the current workspace sequence, regardless of the
currently selected frame or active portion.
Sub-Sample Sequence allows you to create a new sequence from a
portion of the original sequence. This is especially useful when working
with the Mosaic tool. Sub-sampling builds a new sequence from copies
of the selected frames.

Sample Interval: This control allows the user to specify the interval
that will be used for the sub-sampling. In the example above, the subsampled sequence will be composed of every 5th frame of the original
sequence.
Sample Offset: This control allows the user to specify the offset to
first frame sampled. If Apply to Sequence is selected, the first frame
sampled will be offset from the start of the active portion of the
sequence, otherwise the first frame will be offset from the beginning
of the sequence. In the example above with Apply to Sequence not
selected, the sub-sampled sequence will be composed of frames 3, 8,
13, etc.
When you click OK, a new workspace will be created with a subsampled copy of the original sequence. If Apply to Sequence is
selected, the active portion of the sequence will be sampled,
otherwise the entire sequence will be sampled.

Page 2-235

Sequence:Sequence Editing Commands

Sequence Operations
The remaining three commands affect sequence operations:
Difference of Frames
Average
Running Average.

Difference of Frames: Clicking this button tells Image-Pro to


look at the differences between specified frames. It finds the
elements that are different and creates a new sequence based on the
differences between each of the frames. You will see the following
dialog:

Click the radio button indicating how you would like the resulting
sequence calculated. Do not ask again (use these settings) will
suppress this options dialog for future sequence difference
operations, with the operation using the last-selected option

Page 2-236

Average Sequence: Clicking this button creates a new image


based on the average of corresponding pixel values in each of the
collected images. This is usually done for noise-reduction purposes.
When you perform an averaging operation, Image-Pro accumulates
the specified number of frames (i.e., adds the corresponding pixel
values), then divides the result by the specified divisor. The resulting
image is placed into a new, untitled image window within ImagePro.

Sequence:Sequence Editing Commands


For example, if you have a sequence of 3 frames, the averaging
operation will look at the pixel in position x1, y1 in each of the three
frames. The value of the pixel in position x1,y1 of the new image
will be the average of those pixel values.

Running Average: Clicking this button creates a new sequence


where each frame is composed of the average values in n number of
frames. (N is specified in the Frames field.) You will see the
following dialog box:

Drop Incomplete Frames: Clicking the button instructs Image-Pro


to remove any partial or blank frames from the running average. If
this option is checked, the new sequence created by the running
average will contain fewer frames than the original sequence,
because partial frames where a full average is not available will be
dropped.
For example, in a sequence of 4 frames, where N equals 2, (and Drop
Incomplete Frames is not checked) the first frame in the sequence
created by the running average will be the average of frame 0 and
itself. The second frame will be the average of frame 0 and frame 1,
the second frame will be the average of frame 1 and frame 2, etc. If
Drop Incomplete Frames is not checked, the new sequence will
have the same number of frames as the original sequence
Frames: Indicates the number of frames to average for the Running
Average.
Click Apply to modify the sequence, or Cancel to leave the sequence
unchanged.

Page 2-237

Sequence:Sequence Options

Sequence Options
The Sequence Options menu item displays information about the active
sequence.

Some of the settings, such as the Play Rate, are editable by doubleclicking on that particular item. Other items are for information only.

Page 2-238

Enhance:Display Range

The Enhance Menu


Enhance menu commands are used to adjust the contrast of your active image. You
may adjust the lookup table to increase the contrast and enhance the display of
images in low-light situations.

Page 2-239

Enhance:Display Range

Display Range
The Display Range command allows you to set the intensity levels of
your images to increase contrast and enhance display in low-light
situations. Although it can be used with all image classes (except
Palette), it works best on 12-bit and 16-bit images. Up to 65535 gray
levels can be displayed.
Selecting the Display Range command opens the following dialog:
Edit controls

Markers
Markers

This dialog shows the histogram of the active image. Two vertical
markers show the upper and lower limits of the intensity levels. These
markers can be moved with your cursor. If you are looking at a color
image, the histogram will reflect the red, green, and blue values with
lines of the same color.
Two edit controls indicate the values for the intensity levels. You can
use the spin buttons to increase or decrease these values. All values
between 0 and your lower limit will be black; all values between your
upper limit and the upper end of the scale will be white.
The Z+ and Z- controls allow you to zoom in and out on the area
between the markers.
The Reset button allows you to reset the black and white levels to the
high and low ends of the dynamic range. Reset affects only the display
range.
Reset All resets both the LUT and the Display Range to their original
settings.
Page 2-240

Enhance:Display Range
The Best Fit button automatically sets the intensity levels to the best
fit. Best fit instructs Image-Pro to optimize the Brightness and
Contrast values for your particular image.
Contrast opens the Contrast Enhancement dialog (please see the next
section for more information about Contrast Enhancement).
Apply applies the current intensity response curve to the image.
The Inv button reverses the display.
The LUT checkbox turns the Look-Up Table on or off.
Note: The Display Range tool will respect the Apply to Sequence
settings on the Sequence toolbar and IPP status bar.

Page 2-241

Enhance:Contrast Enhancement

Contrast Enhancement
Use the Contrast Enhancement command to adjust the current
Brightness, Contrast and Gamma settings. You can also make
adjustments to the Luminance, Red, Blue, and Green color channel
settings.
When the Contrast Enhancement controls are adjusted, the pixel values
in your image bitmap are not actually modified; the controls modify a
Lookup Table (LUT) through which your image is interpreted. For
example, when you increase brightness in an image, all of the intensity
values in your image are increased by a certain amount. The pixel
values in your image are not actually changed; the changes you see on
the screen are calculated by reading the images original value and
processing it through the Lookup Table. The LUT dictates how each
pixel value is interpreted. In our brightness example, the table might
convert a Gray Scale pixel value of 120 to 140, and a value of 50 to 70.
Image-Pro uses a LUT for processing intensity enhancements because
1) it is the fastest way to apply multiple adjustments to an image, and 2)
it lets you easily reverse adjustments you have made.
When contrast modifications are performed, all changes are placed into
the LUT. If you were to copy, resize or otherwise perform an operation
that produces a new window from your bitmap, the results would be
derived from the unenhanced values. To make the LUT enhancements
permanent, you must select the Apply Contrast command to write the
modified pixel values to your image bitmap, or click the Apply button
on the Contrast Enhancement window. If an AOI is active when the
Apply Contrast command is performed, the LUT values will be written
to just the pixels within the AOI.

Page 2-242

Enhance:Contrast Enhancement
When you select the Contrast Enhancement command, the Contrast
Enhancement window appears, in either the simple or the
expanded mode. This is the simple mode of the contrast
enhancement control:
Slider controls

Color Channel buttons

Contrast Enhancement Controls: These controls are used to


adjust the visual qualities of your image. There is an independent
slider control for each characteristic:
Brightness: Move this slider up to increase, or down to
decrease, the image brightness. A value of 50 represents no change to
the image values.
Contrast: Move this slider up to increase, or down to decrease,
the image contrast. A value of 50 represents no change to the image
values.
Gamma: Move this slider up to increase the Gamma value
(increase dark area contrast) or down to decrease the Gamma value
(increase bright area contrast). A value of 1 represents no change to
the image values.

Page 2-243

Enhance:Contrast Enhancement
Color Channel: Select the Luminance, Red, Green or
Blue channel button corresponding to the color in your image. If
your image is not True Color or Palette, the Luminance channel will
be your only option here. The Luminance channel is the intensity
produced by the combined RGB channels. Click on the color button,
and move the slider controls until the new color values are reflected
in your image.
Clicking Apply writes the modified pixel values to your image
bitmap.
Important - If you want to save the LUT so it can be applied to similar
images at a later date, you must do this before you perform the Apply
Contrast command. Apply Contrast clears the LUT; if you save the
LUT after the Apply Contrast is performed, your LUT will be empty.
Once the LUT has been applied, you will see the Contrast Enhancement
controls return to their initial, flat positions.

Controls before
Apply Contrast

Controls after Apply


Contrast

Invert reverses the values in the lookup table.


Reset restores the lookup table to its linear state.
Reset All restores both the lookup table and the Display Range
window to their original settings.
The Range button opens the Display Range window

Page 2-244

Enhance:Contrast Enhancement
More expands the Contrast Enhancement window to display the
expanded (advanced) mode:
Composite LUT: Shows
the current shape of the
lookup table.

Curve control window

The expanded mode of the Contrast Enhancement window lets you


modify the Lookup Table (LUT) using the advanced controls, giving
you more control over the results. For example, you might want to
modify the contrast to interpret all values above 200 as white (255), or
boost the blue channel between values 0 and 128.
It contains controls that allow you to select the curve type, load and
save Lookup Table settings, and track your cursor position. The
controls are scaled to use values ranging from 0 to 255.
The Contrast Enhancement operates by letting you reshape the curve
that describes your intensity scale. Initially, the values on your scale are
linearly distributed from its smallest value to its largest. As shown in
the example below, this produces an identity response curve, describing
a function where the input and output values are identical (e.g., an
intensity value of 125 is interpreted as 125).

Page 2-245

Enhance:Contrast Enhancement
Gray Scale Response Curve
255

Output Value = 125

255

Input Value = 125

The Contrast Enhancement command lets you view this curve, and
change its shape by changing the output value of certain control points
along the curve. Image-Pro gives you the ability to control intensity
values at 2, 5, 9 or 256 points along the curve. When you change the
value of a control point, the values between it and the preceding/
succeeding control point are linearly derived as shown in the 5 point
example below. As you can see, our example value of 125 no longer
generates a response of 125. Instead, 125 is interpreted as 195. With
this map, any pixels with a value of 125 would be rendered as if they
possessed a value of 195. Other pixel values would be similarly
adjusted, according to what output value is described by this map.

Gray Scale Response Curve


255

Output Value = 195

255

Input Value = 125

Curve Type: In this combo box, select the number of control points
you want to be given. When you select a Curve Type, the
appropriate curve will be displayed in the curve window. You can
modify the curves shape by dragging a control point to a new
position. When you drag a control point, its initial and modified

Page 2-246

Enhance:Contrast Enhancement
values are displayed in the x and y fields in the Control Position
group box.
You will also see the results of a change immediately in your image.
When you are happy with the changes you have made, select Apply to
write the changes permanently to your image. If you want to clear the
curve changes you have made, use the Reset command.
The following curve types are provided:
Highlight and Shadow: This option lets you modify two control
points: the Highlight point (the largest value on the scale) and the
Shadow point (the smallest value on the scale). Highlight and
Shadow differs from all other control point options in that it allows
you to move the control points in a horizontal direction only. Moving
the highlight point to the left specifies the point at which you want the
scale to become white -- all values from this point on are set to the
highest value on your scale (255 if you are working with a Gray Scale
image). Moving the shadow point towards the right sets the point up
to which you want the scale set to black -- all values less than or
equal to this point are considered black (0).
1/4 Tone: This option lets you modify the curve using 5 control
points, allowing you to change the shape of the curve in 4 segments.
Moving a control point up increases the intensity value of that point
and points along the segments it touches. Moving a control point
down decreases the intensity value of that point and points along the
segments it touches.
1/8 Tone: This option lets you modify the curve using 9 control
points, allowing you to change the shape of the curve in 8 segments.
Moving a control point up increases the intensity value of that point
and points along the segments it touches. Moving a control point
down decreases the intensity value of that point and points along the
segments it touches.

Page 2-247

Enhance:Contrast Enhancement

Curve controls

Composite: The Composite option in the Contrast Enhancement


allows the user to directly specify the 256 element LUT used to
modify image contrast. This can be set by drawing on the window
containing the response curve using the mouse.
A pixel with a particular intensity value (X axis) will receive a certain
output value (Y axis) as a result. Note that, unlike the other options in
the Curve Type combo box, the Composite window shows the
effects of the BCG settings in both windows - the rightmost always
shows the final LUT, and in Composite mode so does the central
window. The Composite mode allows the most detailed control over
the Contrast Enhancement LUT.
Show Grid: Check this option if you want a grid displayed within the
curve window. Each square on the grid is 16 pixels x 16 pixels.
Load/Save: These options allow you to load and save the Lookup
Table settings in *.LUT files. For more information about Loading
and Saving, please refer to the section, Load and Save Dialog Boxes
at the beginning of this manual.
Image Intensity: This informational field shows you before and
after intensity settings of the pixels under your cursor in the Red,
Green, and Blue value of the active image before and after the LUT is
applied.
Before/After: Click this button if you want to view your image in its
original state without any interpretation through the Lookup Table.
When you click Before/After, Image-Pro opens

Page 2-248

Enhance:Contrast Enhancement
the Display window, allowing you to view
your document in its original or enhanced
form. This window allows you to toggle
between views of the two versions of your
image. When you have finished viewing
your image, you must close the window (click on the Display
windows close button). You will not be able to proceed within
Image-Pro until you do so. When you close the window, Image-Pro
will automatically revert the image to its enhanced form.

Cursor position: This group box shows the input (x) and output (y)
values of the cursor in the curve control window.
Control position: This group box shows the input (x) and output (y)
values of the selected controls on the line in the curve control
window.

Page 2-249

Enhance:Equalize

Equalize
Use the Equalize command to use one of Image-Pros advanced
histogram manipulation functions to enhance the contrast and dynamic
range of an active image.
When you click on the Equalize command, you will have several
options:
Best Fit
Linear
Bell
Logarithmic
Exponential.
When you select one of the options, Image-Pro will analyze your
images accumulated histogram and redistribute it into the shape you
have specified (see the Histogram and Intensity Analysis discussions in
Section 1 for more information about Histograms).
Note: When you apply an Equalize option, Image-Pro implements the
modifications through the Lookup Table (LUT). Your original image
bitmap is not updated. If you want to make the enhancements
permanent, you must write them to the image with the Apply Contrast
command.
Best Fit: Use the Best Fit command to instruct Image-Pro to optimize
the values for your particular image. The results are achieved by
stretching the histogram to achieve the best possible contrast
distribution of pixel values in your image in this way: Best fit assigns
the bottom 3% of the values to the shadow point, (0) and the top 3% of
the values to the highlight point (255). The rest of the values are
distributed evenly across the scale).
Linear: This option distributes the histogram equally across the
intensity scale. This function produces a high contrast image with the
highest possible dynamic range.
Bell: This option distributes the histogram evenly around the center of
the intensity scale. This function produces a high contrast image with
less dynamic range than the Linear distribution.

Page 2-250

Enhance:Equalize

Logarithmic: This option concentrates the histogram at the low end


of the scale. This function produces a high contrast image with little
dynamic image. It will tend to darken the image overall. Useful for
increasing the contrast in a very light image.
Exponential: This option concentrates the histogram at the high end
of the scale. This function produces a high contrast image with little
dynamic image. It will tend to lighten the image overall. Useful for
increasing the contrast in a very dark image.

Page 2-251

Enhance:Test Strips

Test Strips
Use the Test Strips command to create a single page of several image
miniatures, each with various Brightness, Contrast and Gamma settings.
Test strips let you quickly identify which BCG or halftone options will
give you the best image results on your particular printer or system.
Once you have generated and evaluated a test strip, you can make the
appropriate BCG corrections with the BCG Controls, or select the most
suitable halftoning options for your image. The example below shows a
test strip of an image rendered with a range of Gamma and Brightness
values.

If you want to create a test strip from just a portion of your image,
define an AOI before selecting the Test Strips command.

Page 2-252

Enhance:Test Strips
The Test Strips command presents a menu from which you must first
select the type of strip you want to create. For intensity settings, you
can generate test strips for Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, or
combinations of any two. The choices are:

Gamma

Brightness

Contrast

Gamma*Brightness

Gamma*Contrast

Brightness*Contrast

Select the type of test strip that you want to create.


When you select one of the intensity menu options
(Brightness, Contrast, Gamma or combination), Image-Pro will present
a Test Strips dialog box. With this box you control the number and
size of the images generated on your strip, and the range of values over
which the samples are spread.

Once you have made your selections in this box, click OK to create the
strip. Image-Pro will generate the specified number of images in a
single image window. You can view, print, store and manipulate this
image just as you would any other image within Image-Pro.
Number of Images: Within this box, select the number of test
images you want to create. The test images will be arranged in an
Page 2-253

Enhance:Test Strips
array of the dimensions that you specify here. You might want to
create an arrangement that is compatible with your output device, if
you plan on printing the strip -- e.g., one that is wider than long, if
you will be printing on a landscape oriented page, longer than wide if
printing in portrait.
Resize Images: Within this box, set the size you want each test
image created at. Keep in mind that the entire set of examples in the
strip (as defined by the values you have set in Number of Images)
will be placed into a single image window. So, reduce them to a size
that will allow you to easily view or print the strip as a group.
Brightness / Contrast / Gamma Range: Depending upon the
type of strip you selected from the Test Strips menu, you will have
one or two boxes of range values to set. The From and To values in
these boxes determine the intensity settings that will be assigned to
the first and last test images (respectively). The remaining images
will be distributed at equal intervals within the range (if a
combination of intensities has been selected, Image-Pro will generate
equally distributed permutations).
The From and To values are expressed as percentages for Brightness
and Contrast operations, and in absolute value for Gamma operations.
This is consistent with the way these functions are adjusted with the
BCG Controls. When you set a value below 50 for Brightness or
Contrast, you are reducing the level. When you set a Gamma value
below 1, you are reducing Gamma.
Channel(s): Within this box, select the color channel or channels
(more than one can be simultaneously selected), you want adjusted
when it produces the sample images. If you want it to operate upon
the combined intensity, select all three.
The Channel(s) option box will only be active if you are creating a
test strip for a True Color or Palette image.

Page 2-254

Enhance:Invert Contrast

Invert Contrast
Use the Invert Contrast command to instruct Image-Pro to reverse the
values in the lookup table for your active image. The example below
shows the original image, and the image with the inverted contrast.

Original Image

Image with Inverted Contrast

If you are happy with the contrast adjustments, and want to make them
permanent, use the Apply Contrast command to write the modified
values to your image.

Page 2-255

Enhance:Reset Contrast

Reset Contrast
Use the Reset Contrast command to undo any Lookup Table
modifications that have not yet been applied to your image, and reset
the Lookup Table to its linear state.
Notice that when Reset Contrast is performed, your image returns to its
unaltered state, and the Contrast Enhancement controls are reset to their
initial, flat positions.
Note: The Reset Contrast command can also be performed by clicking
the Reset button located in the Contrast Enhancement window, or by
clicking on the Reset button in the toolbar.

Page 2-256

Enhance:Apply Contrast

Apply Contrast
Use the Apply Contrast command to make the current Lookup Table
adjustments permanent.
When the Contrast Enhancement controls are adjusted, the pixel
values in your image bitmap are not actually modified; the controls
modify a Lookup Table (LUT) through which your image is interpreted.
For example, when you increase brightness in an image, all of the
intensity values in your image are increased by a certain amount. The
pixel values in your image are not actually changed; the changes you
see on the screen are calculated by reading the images original value
and processing it through the Lookup Table. The LUT dictates how
each pixel value is interpreted. In our brightness example, the table
might convert a Gray Scale pixel value of 120 to 140, and a value of 50
to 70.
Image-Pro uses a LUT for processing intensity enhancements because
1) it is the fastest way to apply multiple adjustments to an image, and 2)
it lets you easily reverse adjustments you have made. The following
intensity operations modify the LUT for the image:
the Brightness, Contrast, and Gamma controls
the Contrast Enhancement command options
the Equalize command options, or
the Invert Contrast command.
When you select Apply Contrast you will be prompted to confirm your
request.

Important - If you want to save the LUT so it can be applied to similar


images at a later date, or you want to save the LUT to a printer or
scanner calibration file, you must do this before you perform the Apply
Contrast command. Apply Contrast clears the LUT; if you save the
LUT after the Apply Contrast is performed, your LUT will be empty.
See the Contrast Enhancement command for information about saving
a Lookup Table.
Page 2-257

Enhance:Apply Contrast
Once the contrast has been applied, you will see the Contrast
Enhancement controls return to their initial, flat positions.

Controls before Apply


Contrast

Controls after Apply


Contrast

Note: The Apply Contrast command can also be performed by clicking


the Apply button located beneath the BCG sliders.

Page 2-258

Enhance:Invert Image

Invert Image
Use the Invert Image command to instruct Image-Pro to reverse the
pixel values for your active. Unlike Invert Contrast, the modifications
are made directly to the image data, rather than going through the
Lookup Table. The example below shows the original image, and the
inverted image.

Original Image

Inverted Image

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Enhance:Invert Image

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Process:Background Correction

The Process Menu


Process menu commands are used to manipulate your active image. You may adjust
the background of the image, apply filters, and combine images in several ways.

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Process:Background Correction

Background Correction
Use the Background Correction command to make adjustments to the
background of your image. This tool is used to better distinguish image
background from image objects, making it easier to extract the objects
during a counting or measurement operation. The Background
Correction command can correct uneven background intensities, and
compensate for irregularities due to uneven lighting, nonuniform
camera response or minor optic imperfections. It might be used to
remove evidence of dust on the lens, or to correct for bright spots
caused by the light beneath the microscopes stage.
Background Correction can only be performed if at least two images
are open. The active image must be the one you want to perform the
background operation upon. You must also have a background
image open. A background image contains only the background. You
can produce a background image by acquiring an image with the
sample removed (e.g., remove the slide from the microscope's stage) or
with the optics defocused entirely.
Two types of background correction are provided by Image-Pro:
Background Subtraction should be used for all images except those of
transmitted light experiments which will be used to measure optical
density. For optical density applications, the Background Correction
option should be used instead. Background Correction accounts for
the fact that optical density is not a linear function of the gray scale.

Note: If you do not have at least two images open when you select the
Background Correction command, Image-Pro will issue the message
(Cannot find background image) at the bottom of the Background
dialog box.

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Process:Background Correction

Background Subtraction: Click this option button if you want to


subtract one of the open images from the active image. Background
Subtraction will compare the active image to the background image,
and pixels deemed to be part of the background, will be replaced with
a value close to the mean background intensity.
The algorithm is based on the following formula:
CI x , y = I x , y BI x , y + M

where
I x , y is a pixel value of the original image at location (x,y);
BI x , y is a pixel value of the background image at location (x,y);

M is the average pixel value of the background image; and


CI x , y is the new pixel value in the corrected image.

Note - Do not use Background Subtraction on transmitted light


experiments where optical density will be measured; use Background
Correction instead.
Background Correction: Click this option button if you want to
correct the background of an image measuring optical density via
transmitted light. Background Correction is similar to
Background Subtraction, but uses division instead of subtraction, to
account for the fact that optical density is not a linear function of the
gray scale.
The algorithm is based on the following formula:
CI x , y =

( BII

x, y
x, y

BL
BL

( M BL) + BL

where
I x , y is a pixel value of the original image at location (x,y);
BI x , y is a pixel value of the background image at location (x,y);

M is the average pixel value of the background image;


BL is the level of black; and
CI x , y is the new pixel value in the corrected image.

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Process:Background Correction
Background Image: From this list box, select the open image that
represents the background. The background image must be the same
class as the image for which it will be used to correct.
Black Level : This field will contain the black level as specified by
the current Intensity Calibration.
Destination Image: Select the window into which you want the
corrected image written.
Current Image: Select this option if you want the corrected image
written to the active image window.
New Image: Select this option if you want the corrected image
written to a new image window.

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Process:Filters

Filters
Use the Filters command to apply one of Image-Pros numerous filters
to the AOI or active image. Filtering operations reduce or boost the
rate of brightness change in an image. If you are not familiar with the
process and effects of filtering, you might want to review the Spatial
Filtering discussion in the Image-Pro Plus Start-Up Guide for
additional discussion about this command.
Image-Pro provides an extensive set of convolution and
nonconvolution (morphological) filters. You can also create your own
filtering kernels and apply them with the Filters command.
When you select the Filters command, the Filter tab dialog is opened.
Each group of filters has its own property sheet or tab, where you select
the type and size of filter you want to use. Filtered results are almost
always written to the active image. You may use the Undo command if
you want to remove the effects of a filter you have applied.
The Filter window is a common access window. That is, once it is
activated, it can be utilized with any open image window (it is not
linked to a specific image like a Histogram window).
Clicking on the Filters command displays the following dialog:

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Process:Filters
Sample: This group box contains a Preview window where you can
see the effects of a filter before it is applied to the active image. A
brief description of the filter appears beneath the Preview checkbox.
To preview a filter, click your the left mouse button inside the
preview window . You will see the effect of that filter on a small
portion of the image. You can scroll the cursor around inside the
preview window to see different areas of the image. To update the
preview, click the left mouse button in the preview window. To end
the preview, click on a different filter tab, or close the Filter dialog
box.
Options: The choices in this group box will vary depending upon the
kind of filter you have selected. The options for each set of filters will
be described in the following sections.
Apply: Click this button to apply the specified filter. Before clicking
this button, be sure you have selected the filter you want to use (e.g.,
LoPass, Median, HiPass), and set the Options that you need. Be
sure to select the filter type first, because your choices are determined
by the type of filter selected.
Close: Click this button when you have finished working with the
filters.
Undo: Click this button to reverse the effects of the filter you just
applied.

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Process:Filters

Enhancement Filters
Select enhancement (also known as convolution) filters from this tab.

LoPass: Select this filter if you want to soften an image by


eliminating high-frequency information (this has the effect of
blurring sharp edges). The LoPass filter replaces the center pixel
with the mean value in its neighborhood. The LoPass filter can also
be used to remove noise.
HiPass: Select this filter if you want to enhance high-frequency
information. The HiPass filter replaces the center pixel with a
convolved value that significantly increases its contrast from its
neighbors. The HiPass filter leaves only elements of high contrast.
Gauss: Use this filter to soften an image by eliminating highfrequency information using a Gauss function. This has the effect of
blurring sharp edges. The operation of the Gauss filter is similar to
the LoPass filter, but it degrades the image less than the LoPass filter.
Higauss: Use this filter when you want to enhance fine details. Its
operation is similar to the unsharp masking technique (see the
Sharpen filter), but it introduces less noise in the process. It uses a
Gaussian curve type of kernel. Available in 7x7 and 9x9 kernel sizes.
Local Equalization: This filter is used to enhance pixel contrast
based on the histogram of the local neighborhood.
Despeckle :This filter reduces impulse noise.
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Process:Filters
Sharpen: Select this filter if you want to enhance fine detail, or
refocus an image that is blurred. The Sharpen filter sharpens the
image using the unsharp masking technique.
Flatten: Use the Flatten filter to even out background variations.
This is often done to prepare an image for a count/size operation if its
objects are difficult to isolate because the background contains pixels
of the same intensity as the objects of interest. Flatten reduces the
intensity variations in the background pixels.
Median: Select this filter if you want to remove impulse noise from
an image. The Median filter replaces the center pixel with the
median value in its neighborhood. It will also blur the image.
Rank: Select this filter to remove impulse noise from an image. The
pixels in the kernel are ranked by order of intensity, and the pixel in
that range at the Rank percentage is chosen for comparison. For
example, in a 5x5 kernel, there are 25 pixels. A rank percentage of
95% would choose the second-brightest pixel for comparison. If the
differences between the selected pixel and the center pixel is greater
than the threshold value, the Rank filter replaces the center pixel with
the selected pixel.
Options: If you have selected one of the enhancement filters, the
options will relate to kernel size and filtering strength. The following
options will be presented:

3 x 3: Select this button to use the 3 x 3 kernel size. A small kernel


produces a more subtle filtering effect.
5 x 5: Select this button to use the 5 x 5 kernel size.
7 x 7: Select this button to use the 7 x 7 kernel size. A large kernel
produces a more extreme filtering effect.
Passes: Enter the number of times you want the filter applied to
your image. When a filter is applied multiple times, its effect is
amplified by each pass. An image that has been softened by one
pass of the LoPass filter, will be softened further by a second pass.
Strength: Enter a value from 1 - 10 that reflects how much of the
filtering effect you want applied to the image. A value of 10
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Process:Filters
specifies that you want the full strength (100%) of the filtered
result applied to each pixel. Values less than 10 cut the full weight
of the filter - a value of 1 indicates that only 10% of the difference
between the filtered pixel value and the original pixel value should
be applied, a value of 2 indicates that 20% of the difference should
be applied, and so forth.
Threshold: Enter a percent value to specify the amount of absolute
difference between the value of the pixel at the center and the
value of the replacement pixel. A threshold value of 0 means the
Median Filter will always replace the center pixel. Since the
dynamic range of image classes are different, the threshold value
will be specified in terms of a percentage of the dynamic range. A
10 % threshold for IMC_GRAY16 image class translates to 10 /
100 * 65535 = 6554.
Rank: This value specifies which pixel in the sorted array will be
used to replace the center pixel. Pixels in the array will be sorted
in ascending order. The pixels are indexed from 0 to
KernelSize x KernelSize - 1. Pixel index 0
corresponds to the lowest pixel value. The Rank will be specified
in terms of a percentage of the indexes (KernelSize x KernelSize 1). A 50% Rank means the middle of the array. 0% rank means
the lowest index (lowest gray value), and 100% rank means the
highest index (highest gray value).
If you have selected Flatten, the options will relate to background
intensity and object size:

Note: The Flatten filter will not work with images smaller than 19 x 19
pixels.
Background: Click the option button that describes the intensity
of your background relative to the foreground objects. If your
image contains dark objects on a bright field, select Bright; if your
image contains light objects on a dark field, select Dark.
Feature Width: Enter a value that defines the diameter (in pixels)
of the largest object in your image.
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Process:Filters
If you have selected Local Equalization, the options will relate to
the histogram equalization. Local Histogram Equalization modifies
the contrast of an image based on the pixel values in a small window
surrounding each pixel.

Linear: This option distributes the histogram equally across the


intensity scale. This function produces a high contrast image with
the highest possible dynamic range.
Bell: This option distributes the histogram evenly around the center
of the intensity scale. This function produces an image with
somewhat less contrast than the Linear distribution.
Logarithmic: This option concentrates the histogram at the low
end of the scale. This function produces a high contrast image with
little dynamic image. It will tend to darken the image overall.
Useful for increasing the contrast in a very light image.
Exponential: This option concentrates the histogram at the high
end of the scale. This function produces a high contrast image with
little dynamic image. It will tend to lighten the image overall.
Useful for increasing the contrast in a very dark image.
Best Fit: Use the Best Fit command to instruct Image-Pro to
optimize the values for your particular image. The results are
achieved by stretching the local histogram to maximize contrast
between the brightest and darkest pixels in the local window
region.
Standard Deviation: This method will find the statistical mean or
average, and standard deviation of the window used for local
histogram equalization. It stretches the contrast so that black is set
to the mean minus the desired number of standard deviations; and
that full intensity is set to the mean plus that number of standard
deviations. Using the statistical behavior of the image in this
fashion prevents outlier pixels (extremely bright or extremely dark
pixels) from unduly influencing contrast modifications.
By comparison, the Best Fit method stretches local contrast to the
extrema of all the pixels in the window, and may produce areas
where a single bright or dark pixel throws off the contrast. Use the
Standard Deviation method in cases where the Best Fit method
produces overly contrasted or jumpy results.
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Process:Filters
Window: Image pixel statistics (min, max, histogram, mean,
standard deviation, etc.) will be calculated on a small window of
the image. These measurements are then used to derive the local
contrast for that area of the image. In short, an area of Window x
Window around each pixel is all that is considered when modifying
the intensities in the image. Larger windows produce smoother
results, while small windows more closely track small details.
Step: Calculation of the local image statistics is time consuming, so
the statistics are calculated for an area, and then applied over a
space of Step x Step. Decreasing this number causes the algorithm
to track the image more closely, at a cost in computation time. Step
is always less than Window.
+/- Dev: This is the range of standard deviations plus and minus that
will be scaled into the image contrast range. As an example, if the
pixel values were distributed in a Gaussian fashion, their mean, +/(plus or minus) one standard deviation, would include roughly 65%
of the pixel values. Two standard deviations would include 95% of
the pixel values, and three standard deviations would include 99%
of the pixel values. This parameter is used only by the Standard
Deviation method.

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Process:Filters

Edge Filters
Select edge filters from this tab dialog.

Sobel: Select this filter if you want to enhance just the principal
edges in an image. The Sobel applies a mathematical formula to a 3
x 3 neighborhood to locate and highlight its edges.
Roberts: Select this filter if you want to enhance fine edges in an
image. The Roberts filter is not a convolution filter. It applies a
mathematical formula upon a 4 x 4 neighborhood to produce its
effect. The upper left pixel in the neighborhood is the one replaced.
Laplace: Select this filter if you want to enhance all the edges in an
image.
Variance: Select this filter if you want to detect and emphasize edges
and textures. The Variance filter substitutes a pixel with the
standard deviation for its neighborhood.
Phase: Select this filter if you want to enhance edges in a manner
that also indicates the direction of the intensity change. The Phase
filter is the complement of the Sobel filter.
Horizontal: User this filter to detect and emphasize horizontal edges.
Vertical: Use this filter to detect and emphasize vertical edges.

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Process:Filters
Options: If you have selected the edge filters, the options will
relate to kernel size and filtering strength. The following options will
be presented:

3 x 3: Select this button to use the 3 x 3 kernel size. A small kernel


produces a more subtle filtering effect.
5 x 5: Select this button to use the 5 x 5 kernel size.
7 x 7: Select this button to use the 7 x 7 kernel size. A large kernel
produces a more extreme filtering effect.
Passes: Enter the number of times you want the filter applied to
your image. When a filter is applied multiple times, its effect is
amplified by each pass. An image that has been softened by one
pass of the LoPass filter, will be softened further by a second pass.
Strength: Enter a value from 1 - 10 that reflects how much of the
filtering effect you want applied to the image. A value of 10
specifies that you want the full strength (100%) of the filtered
result applied to each pixel. Values less than 10 cut the full weight
of the filter - a value of 1 indicates that only 10% of the difference
between the filtered pixel value and the original pixel value should
be applied, a value of 2 indicates that 20% of the difference should
be applied, and so forth.
If you have selected Sobel, Phase or Roberts, no options are
available.
If you have selected Variance, the Passes and Strength options
are not available

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Process:Filters

Morphological Filters
Select morphological filters from this page.

Erode: Select this morphological filter if you want to modify the size
of objects in your image. The Erode filter erodes the edges of bright
objects, and enlarges dark ones.
Dilate: Select this morphological filter if you want to modify the size
of objects in your image. The Dilation filter dilates bright objects,
and erodes dark ones.
Open: Select this morphological filter if you want to modify the
shape of objects in your image. Assuming your image contains
bright objects on a dark field, the Open filter will smooth object
contours, separate narrowly connected objects, and remove small
dark holes.
Close: Select this morphological filter if you want to modify the
shape of objects in your image. Assuming your image contains
bright objects on a dark field, the Close filter will fill gaps and
enlarge protrusions to connect objects that are close together.
Tophat: Use this filter to detect and emphasize points, or grains, that
are brighter than the background. Available in 3 kernel sizes; click
the radio button indicating the kernel size that most closely matches
the size of the grains you want to detect.
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Process:Filters
Well: Use this filter to detect and emphasize points, or grains, that are
darker than the background. Available in 3 kernel sizes; click the
radio button indicating the kernel size that most closely matches the
size of the grains you want to detect.
Watershed: Select this filter to separate objects that are touching.
The Watershed filter erodes objects until they disappear, then dilates
them again, but will not allow them to touch. The Watershed filter
will not operate upon True Color images. If you want to separate
objects in a True Color image, you must first convert it to Gray
Scale.
Thinning: Select this filter to reduce an image to its skeleton. When
you choose this filter, you must set the threshold that determines
whether a pixel is part of the subject, or part of the background (see
Options below). The Thinning filter will not operate upon True
Color images. If you want to thin a True Color image, you must first
convert it to Gray Scale. The following images show the source
image and the image resulting from two passes of the Thinning filter.

Pruning: Select this filter to eliminate projecting arms from an


object. The following images show the source image and the image
resulting from three passes of the Pruning filter.

Distance: The distance filter is used for showing the distances of


pixels within blobs to the outer boundaries of those blobs. After
applying the distance filter, the background will be black (i.e., pixels
with value 0). Only the area within the blobs will have non-zero
values (will be white). The values of each pixel within the blob will
be a count of the shortest distance from that pixel to the edge of the
blob. Thus, all pixels along the blobs border will have a value of 1
(since they are one pixel away from the edge of the blob), pixels that
are a distance of 2 from the border will have the value 2, and so on.
This creates a distance map of the image.
The Distance filter may not operate accurately upon True Color
images. If you want to use the Distance filter with a True Color
image, you must first convert it to Gray Scale.
Reduce: Select this filter to reduce the objects in an image to a single
point or group of points. The Reduce filter will not operate upon
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Process:Filters
True Color images. If you want to use the Reduce filter with a True
Color image, you must first convert it to Gray Scale.
Branch/Endpoints: Use this filter to identify morphological branch
and endpoints in an image.
If you have selected the Distance or Reduce filter the options
will relate to filter direction and thresholding. The following options
will be presented:

Square: Click this radio button if you want the Reduce or Distance
filters applied to the image in a square pattern. Only pixels adjacent
horizontally or vertically are included.
Diagonal: Click this radio button if you want the Reduce or Distance
filters slanted across the image. All neighboring pixels, including
ones diagonally adjacent, are included.
Euclidian: Click this radio button if you want the Reduce or Distance
filters applied to the image in a larger pattern than either square or
diagonal. Filters the image using Euclidian distances and a larger
neighborhood that includes the knights move pixels.
Threshold: Enter a percentage value from 1 - 100 that specifies the
intensity value you want Image-Pro to use for binarizing the image.
For example, a Threshold of 50% on a Gray Scale image would set
all values 127 to 0 (black) and all values 128 to the maximum
value for that image class (white).
If you have selected Erode, Dilate, Open, or Close filters, the
options will relate to kernel size and shape. The following options
will be presented:

2 x 2 Square: Select this button to use the 2 x 2 square


kernel configuration.
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Process:Filters
3 x 1 Row: Select this button to use the 3 x 1 row
kernel configuration.
1 x 3 Column: Select this button to use the 1 x 3
column kernel configuration.
3 x 3 Cross: Select this button to use the 3 x 3 cross
kernel configuration.
5 x 5 Circle: Select this button to use the 5 x 5
circular kernel configuration.
7 x 7 Circle: Select this button to use the 7 x 7
circular kernel configuration. This is a two-pass
filter, accomplished using a 5 x 5 circle followed
by a 3 x 3 cross.
11 x 11 Circle: Select this button to use the
11 x 11 circular kernel configuration. This
is a three-pass filter, accomplished using a 5
x 5 circle followed by another 5 x 5 circle,
followed by a 3 x 3 cross.
Passes: Select the number of times you want Image-Pro to iterate
the filter.
Note: The circular kernels are especially effective on round objects
(cells, grains and so on) because their circular configuration preserves
the circular shape of your objects better than square configurations.
If you have selected the Watershed, Thinning, or Pruning
filter the options will relate to thresholding. The following options will
be presented:

Threshold: Enter a percentage value from 1 - 100 that specifies the


intensity value you want Image-Pro to use for binarizing the image.
For example, a Threshold of 50% on a Gray Scale image would set
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Process:Filters
all values 127 to 0 (black) and all values 128 to the maximum
value for that image class (white).
Stop After: Enter the number of times you want Image-Pro to iterate
the filter. Depending on the filter, successive iterations will
strengthen the effect of the filter. Bear in mind that successive passes
also require additional time for execution. If this box is not checked,
Image-Pro will continue to iterate until the image has been
completely thinned or pruned.
If you have selected the Branch/Endpoints filter, the options
will relate to the number of branches and endpoint that you want the
filter to reveal:

Check the box next to the desired selection:


Threshold: Enter a percentage value from 1 - 100 that specifies the
intensity value you want Image-Pro to use for binarizing the image.
For example, a Threshold of 50% on a Gray Scale image would set
all values 127 to 0 (black) and all values 128 to the maximum
value for that image class (white). This option allows you to apply
this function to images that have not yet been skeletonized.
End Points will mark one and zero connectivity pixels with a value of
32.
Skeleton will mark all two connectivity pixels with a value of 16.
These values allow in-place filtering for all image classes.
Triple Branches will mark all three-connectivity pixels with a value
of 64.
4+ Branches will mark all pixels with four or more connections with
a value of 128. An example of a 4-way branch might be a + or an
in a skeleton.
Note: The results of a branch/endpoint filter will probably be too dark
to view. To increase visibility, try increasing the contrast using the
Brightness/Contrast tool or applying a pseudocolor map.

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Process:Filters

Kernels
The Kernel page allows you to edit the kernel files for the
morphological and convolution filters. Clicking this tab displays the
following dialog:

See Spatial Filtering discussion in Section 1 for more information


about filters of this kind.
Note: The HiPass, LoPass, Laplace and Unsharp kernel files are used
by the HiPass, LoPass, Laplacian and Sharpen options listed in the
Filter window (i.e., there is no difference between selecting one of
these kernel files and selecting its option button in the Filter window -the two methods ultimately do the same thing). Because these kernel
files are essential to the operation of these filtering options, they must
not be deleted or renamed.
Filter Type: Click this button to modify the kernel for a selected filter
type, either convolution or morphological filters.
Edit: Click this button to modify the selected filter kernel. The Edit
Kernel dialog box appears.

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Process:Filters

Name XE "Editing a Filter Kernel" This list box contains the


name of the selected kernel file. If you want to save the
modified kernel file to the same file, leave it as is. If you want to
save the file to a new location, enter the new filename here.
Kernel Size Click the spin buttons or enter the number to change
the size of the kernel. Either direction may take into account
from one to nine pixels. As you modify the Kernel Size, the
shape of the kernel representation changes accordingly.
In the center of the dialog box, there are white boxes containing
coefficients that will be multiplied with each pixel that will be
taken into account by the filter kernel. You can change any
coefficient by clicking on it to select it, then changing it as you
will.
Fill : Click this button to fill every element of the kernel with a
particular value. The Fill Kernel dialog box appears. You may
enter a value between -128 and +128. Using the Fill button is
useful for setting all coefficients to the same value. You may
then change the coefficients that require a different value.

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Process:Filters
Offset : The pixel whose value is being changed is usually the
center-most pixel. You may, however, designate any pixel you
want. Image-Pro signals the pixel to be changed by putting a
box around it. Use the X and Y Offset spin buttons to do so.
Boost : Enter here the constant value to be added to the result
after the value of the modification has been calculated.
Note - If you are editing or creating a morphological filter
kernel, the Boost option is not available.
New: Click this button to create a new filter kernel. The Edit
Kernel dialog box appears.

This dialog box functions in the same way as the dialog box for
editing, with the exception that you must provide the file name for
the new kernel file.
Note: You may choose a different path for your kernel file, but
Image-Pro will not list it when you invoke the Filter dialog box.
Observe that the above dialog box represents a configuration for a
new morphological filter kernel (Boost and Kernel Sum are not
represented).
Delete: Click this button to delete the selected filter kernel file.
Options: The choices in this group box will vary depending upon the
kind of filter you have selected.
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Process:Filters

Special Filters
You can select the following Special filters from this page:

Sculpt: Use this filter to apply a sculpted effect to the image


Background: Select this filter to extract the background from an
image. The Background filter works by filtering out objects using a
very large filtering kernel. The background image, with objects
removed, is placed into a new, untitled image window, as shown in
the example below.

When performing a background extraction, it is very important to


specify your background intensity and object size in the Options
group box. This tells Image-Pro how to distinguish objects from
background, and what kernel size to use during the extraction
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Process:Filters
process. To achieve the best results, specify a Feature size that
describes the largest object in your image. The minimum size is 19 x
19 pixels.
Distance: Use this filter to create a distance map of the image. The
Distance filter may not operate accurately upon True Color images.
If you want to use the Distance filter with a True Color image, you
must first convert it to Gray Scale.
Phase: Select this filter if you want to enhance edges in a manner
that also indicates the direction of the intensity change.
Options: If you have selected Background, the options will
relate to background intensity and object size:

Background: Click the option button that describes the intensity


of your background relative to the foreground objects. If your
image contains dark objects on a bright field, select Bright; if your
image contains light objects on a dark field, select Dark.
Bright: Select this option button if your object is bright and the
background dark.
Dark: Select this option button if your object is dark and the
background bright.
Feature Width: Enter a value that defines the diameter (in pixels)
of the largest object in your image.
If you have selected Distance, the options will relate to the
shape and threshold of the distance map:
Square: Click this radio button if you want the Distance filter
applied to the image in a square pattern. Only pixels adjacent
horizontally or vertically are included. This is known as a cityblock distance.
Diagonal: Click this radio button if you want the Distance filter
slanted across the image. All neighboring pixels, including ones
diagonally adjacent, are included. This is known as a
chessboard distance.
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Process:Filters
Euclidian: Click this radio button if you want the Distance filter
applied to the image in a larger pattern than either square or
diagonal. Filters the image using Euclidian distances and a larger
neighborhood that includes the knights move pixels.
Threshold: Enter a percentage value from 1 - 100 that specifies
the intensity value you want Image-Pro to use for binarizing the
image. For example, a Threshold of 50% on a Gray Scale image
would set all values 127 to 0 (black) and all values 128 to the
maximum value for that image class (white).
If you have selected the Sculpt filter, the options will relate to
filtering strength. The following options will be presented:
Passes: Enter the number of times you want the filter applied to
your image. When a filter is applied multiple times, its effect is
amplified by each pass. An image that has been softened by one
pass of the LoPass filter, will be softened further by a second pass.
Strength: Enter a value from 1 - 10 that reflects how much of the
filtering effect you want applied to the image. A value of 10
specifies that you want the full strength (100%) of the filtered
result applied to each pixel. Values less than 10 cut the full weight
of the filter - a value of 1 indicates that only 10% of the difference
between the filtered pixel value and the original pixel value should
be applied, a value of 2 indicates that 20% of the difference should
be applied, and so forth.
If you have selected Phase, no options are available

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Process:Large Spectral Filters

Large Spectral Filters


The large spectral filters are filters of large aperture that can be used
for various purposes in image processing. These filters can be applied
to an AOI, active image, or active sequence. The size of the large
spectral filters is not limited. All the large spectral filters are very fast
regardless of the size.
When you select the Large Spectral Filters command, you will see the
following dialog:

The main problem with large kernel filters is the slower filtering speed.
Usually, the filtering process is based on the convolution of a kernel
and an image. Convolution filters process image neighborhoods by
multiplying the values within a neighborhood by a matrix of filtering
coefficients called a kernel. The result replaces the center pixel in the
image neighborhood (see Convolution filters in the previous section).
The time for this filtering method increases proportionally to the size of
the kernel. For kernels with sizes larger than 20-30, the process is
unacceptably slow.
All filters in the Large Spectral Filters group use an algorithm that
eliminates most of the multiplication and sum operations, which
increases the filtering speed significantly. In theory, the size of the
filters is not limited. However, Image-Pro Plus limits the size of the
Large Spectral Filters to 4Kx 4K.

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Process:Large Spectral Filters

Filter Types and Parameters


There are 5 types of large spectral filters: LoPass, HiPass, BandPass
and two Edge filters. Each filter type has its own set of related
parameters.
LoPass: A LoPass filter removes image noise or extracts the
background .

Width: Indicates the width of the filter being applied.


Height: Indicates the height of the filter being applied.
Passes: Indicates the number of times the filter should be applied to
the image. For example, an image that has been softened by one
pass of the LoPass filter, will be softened further by a second pass.
HiPass: The HiPass filter increases image sharpness and contrast
settings. When used with large aperture and high strength settings,
this filter can perform automatic image binarization.

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Process:Large Spectral Filters

Width: Indicates the width of the filter being applied.


Height: Indicates the height of the filter being applied.
Strength: Enter a value from 1 - 100 that reflects how much of
the filtering effect you want applied to the image. A value of
100 specifies that you want the full strength (100%) of the
filtered result applied to each pixel. Values less than 100 cut the
full weight of the filter - a value of 10 indicates that only 10% of
the difference between the filtered pixel value and the original
pixel value should be applied, a value of 20 indicates that 20% of
the difference should be applied, and so forth.
Passes: Enter the number of times you want the filter applied to
your image. When a filter is applied multiple times, its effect is
amplified by each pass.
Square: When this box is checked, the filter has a square matrix.
BandPass: The BandPass filter can simultaneously reduce noise and
increase image contrast, which can be very useful on low-contrast,
noisy images.

The BandPass filter is a combination of the LoPass and HiPass


filters. First an image is processed by a LoPass filter with a given
number of passes, and then by one pass of the HiPass filter. For
example, the dialog shown above defines the BandPass filter with 3
passes of a 5x5 LoPass filter, and one pass of a 27x27 HiPass filter.
The shape of a BandPass filter is always a square.
Filter combinations such as these allow you to suppress hi-frequency
components of the image spectrum, which generally represent image
noise. You may also amplify middle components of the spectrum,
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Process:Large Spectral Filters


corresponding to the edges and fine details of various objects, and
increase the contrast in these areas.
Hi Size: Indicates the size of the HiPass filter to be used for a
BandPass filter.
Lo Size: Indicates the size of the LoPass filter to be used for a
BandPass filter.
Strength: Enter a value from 1 - 100 that reflects how much of the
filtering effect you want applied to the image. A value of 100
specifies that you want the full strength (100%) of the filtered
result applied to each pixel. Values less than 100 cut the full
weight of the filter - a value of 10 indicates that only 10% of the
difference between the filtered pixel value and the original pixel
value should be applied, a value of 20 indicates that 20% of the
difference should be applied, and so forth.
Passes: Enter the number of times you want the filter applied to
your image. When a filter is applied multiple times, its effect is
amplified by each pass. An image that has been softened by one
pass of the BandPass filter, will be softened further by a second
pass.
Note: BandPass filters provides clearer images with smaller LoSize
and more passes.
Edge: The Edge filters extract and enhance positive or negative edges.
The Edge + filter extracts positive edges (bright features on a dark
background) from an image; the Edge filter enhances negative
edges (dark features on a bright background).

Using non-square Edge filters, you can create filters that will enhance
either vertical or horizontal edges on the image.
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Process:Large Spectral Filters


Width: Indicates the width of the filter being applied.
Height: Indicates the height of the filter being applied.
Strength: Enter a value from 1 - 100 that reflects how much of
the filtering effect you want applied to the image. A value of
100 specifies that you want the full strength (100%) of the
filtered result applied to each pixel. Values less than 100 cut the
full weight of the filter - a value of 10 indicates that only 10% of
the difference between the filtered pixel value and the original
pixel value should be applied, a value of 20 indicates that 20% of
the difference should be applied, and so forth.
Passes: Enter the number of times you want the filter applied to
your image. When a filter is applied multiple times, its effect is
amplified by each pass. An image that has been modified by one
pass of the selected filter, will be modified further by a second
pass.

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Process:Large Spectral Filters

Preview and Spectrum


On-image Preview. Check this box to see results of the filtering
process before the filter is actually applied to the image. The active
image or an AOI is used as the preview area.
Spectrum: Clicking this button displays a window that contains a
spectrum of the current filter. This graph helps to set the correct filter
parameters to achieve the desired results. The background of the
Spectrum window shows a range of spatial harmonics for
corresponding frequencies. The spatial harmonics are vertically
oriented and their scale is equal to image scale with 100% zoom. The
background is used to evaluate the size of objects, which will be
enhanced or filtered out.

Apply: Click this button to apply the specified filter. Before clicking
this button, be sure you have selected the filter you want to use (e.g.,
LoPass, Edge), and set the parameters that you need. Be sure to
select the filter type first, because your choices are determined by the
type of filter selected.
Undo: Click this button to reverse the effects of the filter you just
applied.
Close: Click this button when you have finished working with the
filters.

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Process:Filter Plugins

Filter Plugins
The Filter Plugins command allows you to use existing third-party
filters with Image-Pro Plus v. 5.1.
When you select this command, you will see the Filter Plugins dialog:

Category: This list box contains all the categories of third-party plugin filters. Filters are specified by a category and a filter name.
Filter: This list box contains the names of all loaded filters in the
selected category. Note that a category may include filters from a
number of different plug-ins.
Applies To: This static text box displays the formats that the filter
supports. This list is limited to only those image formats supported by
Image-Pro Plus, with No supported formats displayed if the filter
cannot work with any native formats.
Apply: Apply the filter to the active image. This button will be
disabled if the filter does not apply to the active image pixel class.
Apply Again: Re-applies the selected filter to the active image.
Locate Plugin: Use this button to browse your system folders for the
plug-in files.
Close: Closes the dialog box.

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Process:Threshold/Segmentation

Threshold/Segmentation
In Image-Pro Plus 5.1, the Threshold and Segmentation tools have been
combined. The Threshold tool can be thought of as color segmentation
applied to a black and white image, which is exactly what Image-Pro
Plus 5.1 does. However, to retain familiarity and backward
compatibility, both the Threshold and Segmentation commands still
appear under the Process menu.
Segmentation is a process by which certain colors (or gray levels) in an
image can be visually identified then isolated from the image as a
whole. Areas identified by segmentation (classes) can be either
removed from the image or kept, while discarding the remainder of the
image. Therefore, this process can be used for separating items or
objects of interest from the background noise that naturally occurs in
most acquired images. Further, segmented areas can be either kept in
their original color or turned into a single color (masking). Masking an
image facilitates or improves the performance of other operations in
Image-Pro Plus 5.1. In particular, the Watershed and Thinning filters
generally produce better results on masked images.
Use the Segmentation command to separate objects or features from
the background, based upon their color characteristics. You might do
this to extract just the objects of interest from an image, modify them,
then return them to the image using the Operations : Add command.
The Segmentation command extracts objects by locating all objects of
the specified color(s) and setting everything else to black. You can also
do the reverse; and remove (set to black) objects of the specified colors,
and keep everything else. You may write the final segmented image
using its remaining original colors, or convert it to black and white.
In the example below, an image containing spots of various colors was
segmented so only the yellow spots remained in the image. Notice that
the rest of the image is set to black.

The Segmentation command works with all image classes except


Bilevel (bilevel images are not supported in Image-Pro Plus v. 5.1).
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Process:Threshold/Segmentation
The Segmentation command operates upon the entire active image. It
is not constrained by an AOI.
When the Segmentation command is selected, the Segmentation tab
dialogs are presented.

Segmentation Models
As discussed previously, the process of identifying colors is key to the
operation of Segmentation. Because of the vast differences possible in
images, and therefore the color composition of the object(s) to be
identified, Image-Pro Plus 5.1 provides two models for identifying the
segmented area: Histogram-based and Color Cube-based. When the
Segmentation command is activated on an RGB class image, a dialog
with tabs for each of these color models will appear. When activated
on a grayscale class image, and therefore whenever Threshold is used,
only the Histogram based model is available. To process a gray image
using the Color Cube model, first convert it to an RGB image class.
The results from applying each of these segmentation models are kept
separate by Image-Pro Plus 5.1, allowing an image to be
simultaneously processed by both methods. You can then choose the
model providing the best results.

Histogram-Based Model
This color selection model separates an image into RGB (Red, Green,
and Blue) or HSI (Hue, Saturation, and Intensity) components
(channels). Each channel is represented by a range of the components
presence (e.g. how much Red there is in a particular pixel). The
reason for providing two color representation models is, once again, to
facilitate color selection. The RGB model is typically more familiar to
users and intuitive. However, there is a strong correlation between the
RGB components of many naturally occurring colors. For example,
yellow and brown, while very different to the eye, produce very similar
RGB patterns, since yellow is really just bright brown. Therefore,
separating yellow from brown objects can be a laborious task using the
RGB model. However, colors that correlate in such a manner typically
have very different HSI channels. Going back to the previous example,
yellow and brown can be separated in the HSI model solely by their
intensity channel (once again, because yellow is bright brown). The
Histogram-based model of segmentation is associated with the
following property sheet on the segmentation dialog:

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Process:Threshold/Segmentation

Class selector
Class Color button

Eyedropper size

Automatic

Undo button
Eyedropper tool

Invert button

Eyedropper preview

Range controls

Remove Color
Display Classes Control

Display Color As

Class Selector: This drop-down list identifies the current class (i.e.
which class is represented in and will be changed via the Range
controls). Changing the selected item in this drop-down list will
change the current class.
New: This button will add a new class. On RGB images, the new class
will encompass the entire range of all channels, but will not be
displayed until the range value in one or more of its channels is
changed. On grayscale images, the new class will encompass only
the range defined from the lowest unsegmented value to the lowest
segmented value. This difference is caused by the condition that
classes may not overlap in grayscale images, although they may in
RGB images. Pixels in an image that are encompassed by more than
one class are represented visually by the class that is highest in the
Class Selector (i.e. the class created first containing the pixel).
Delete: This button removes the current class.
Class Color Selector: This button opens a color selection dialog.
The color chosen in this dialog will become the class color, which
can represent pixels contained in the current class depending on the
preview options.
Channel Selectors: These buttons change and indicate the current
channel in the histogram. Press the appropriate button to select the
corresponding channel. These buttons are not present on grayscale
images.

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Process:Threshold/Segmentation
Color Model Selector: This drop-down list identifies the color
representation model the histogram uses. Changing the selection in
this control will change color model and reset segmentation (delete
all classes and erase all range values).
Zoom Tool: Moving the cursor over the image histogram activates the
zoom tool. The cursor will change to a magnifying glass to represent
this tools activation. Clicking the left mouse button will zoom into
(increase the resolution) of the portion of the histogram under the
cursor. Alternately, holding down the shift key while clicking will
zoom out (decrease the resolution) of the displayed histogram. The
magnifying glass will contain a plus (+) when zoom in is active and a
minus (-) when zoom out is active.
Range Markers: These lines change and visually represent the values
of the current channels segmented range. Click and drag the
appropriate marker to change the ranges upper or lower value.
Remember that ranges may not overlap on grayscale images.
Show All: When checked, the dialog will display the histograms of all
channels, the current being displayed as a solid color, the others as
outlines. Uncheck the box to display only the current channels
histogram. This check box is not present on grayscale images.
Scale Adjuster: This scroll bar will change the scale (maximum
amplitude) represented at the top of the histogram. This control will
cause colors represented by a small number of pixels to appear in the
histogram.
Eyedropper: This button will activate the eyedropper color selection
tool and remain depressed while the tool is active. While the
eyedropper is active, the eyedropper zoom frame will display an
enlargement of the area under the eyedropper. Clicking the left
mouse button will cause the current class range values to be
expanded, if possible, to contain all colors under the eyedropper.
Press this button again to deactivate the eyedropper tool.
Undo: This button will reverse the last change to the current class
range values.
Remove Color: This button will erase the current class range values
and treat it like a new class. As such, the current class color will be
removed from the preview. This button is disabled on Gray images
when there is more than one class present.
Eyedropper Size Control: The drop-down list changes the size of
the area covered by the eyedropper tool, measured in pixels. The
eyedropper tool can only be a square with an odd-numbered side
length, from one to seven pixels.
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Process:Threshold/Segmentation
Range Controls: These text boxes and spinners change and
numerically indicate the values of the current channels segmented
range. The spinners will increment or decrement the range value by
one, while pressed. Alternately, the desired value can be typed
directly into the appropriate text box.
Invert: This button reverses display of the current channel of the
current class on the image. This button is disabled when there is
more than one class on grayscale images.
Automatic Threshold: This button sets automatically determine
values for segmenting the image. It will delete all classes and
segment the image over a single range in a single class.
Eyedropper Zoom Frame: This frame displays the area under the
eyedropper tool while it is active.
Display Classes: This drop-down list indicates and selects whether
all classes are displayed on the image or only the current class.
Display Method: This drop-down list indicates and selects how
classes are displayed (previewed) on the image. All combinations of
class color, black, white, and transparent are allowed, enabling
classes to represent either foreground objects (to keep) or
background.
Create Preview Image: This button creates a new RGB class image
from the image preview. The new image will be an RGB 24 class
image when this process is applied to an original of any image class
other than RGB 36 or RGB 48. In these cases, the resulting image
class will be the same as the original image class.
You can use this button to create a mask of only one segmentation
class, if you have created multiple segmentation classes. To do this,
set your Preview Options to Current Class and White on Black.
Then, click Create Preview Image. This will create a black and
white mask of the currently selected segmentation class in an RGB
image. If necessary, you can convert this mask to gray scale by
choosing Edit: Convert To: Gray Scale 8.
File: The button brings up dialogs for saving and loading the current
segmentation classes. When loading, the classes contained in the file
may be merged with or replace the currently defined classes.
New Mask: This button creates a new image using the currently
defined classes. All pixels contained in a class will be set to white,
while those not in a class are set to black. The new image will be of
the same image class as the original.
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Process:Threshold/Segmentation
Apply Mask: This button produces identical results as the New Mask
button, except that the resulting image is written back to the original
image.

Color Cube-Based Model


This color selection model divides the color spectrum into a cube
defined by intensity along red, green, and blue axes. Each element
within the cube can be selected into a segmentation class
independently, allowing vastly different colors to occupy the same
class, which the histogram based model is incapable of doing. This
definition granularity causes the eyedropper tool to be the only method
of selecting and removing a class colors. Although the Color Cubebased Segmentation property sheet shares many components with the
Histogram-based property sheet, it also introduces several new
controls as depicted below. This property sheet will not appear on
grayscale class images.
Class selector
Class Color button

Eraser tool

Eyedropper size

Undo button

Eyedropper tool

Remove Color

Eyedropper preview

l
Display Classes Control

Display Color As

Class Selector: This drop-down list identifies the current class (i.e.
which class is represented in and will be changed via the Range
controls). Changing the selected item in this drop-down list will
change the current class.
New: This button will add a new class. On RGB images, the new class
will encompass the entire range of all channels, but will not be
displayed until the range value in one or more of its channels is
changed. On grayscale images, the new class will encompass only
the range defined from the lowest unsegmented value to the lowest
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Process:Threshold/Segmentation
segmented value. This difference is caused by the condition that
classes may not overlap in grayscale images, although they may in
RGB images. Pixels in an image that are encompassed by more than
one class are represented visually by the class that is highest in the
Class Selector (i.e. the class created first containing the pixel).
Delete: This button removes the current class.
Class Color Selector: This button opens a color selection dialog.
The color chosen in this dialog will become the class color, which
can represent pixels contained in the current class depending on the
preview options.
Sensitivity: This text box and spinner combination controls the
granularity of the color cube. As it is neither practical nor productive
to define a color cube by every possible color value, each unit of the
axis defining the color cube is composed of multiple color values that
are very close in value. The value shown in the text box is a scale
value defining how much granularity is used when defining the color
cube (i.e. how close two colors must be before being considered
the same color for purposes of selection). Higher values represent
greater granularity. Note that this number is a scale value, and does
NOT indicate the number of divisions on each axis of the color cube.
As this value affects the way the entire image is represented,
changing this value will reset segmentation (delete all classes and
erase all selections).
Expand Selection: This check box, text box, and spinner
combination controls how big an area of the color cube is selected
into a class at the same time. When checked, the eyedropper and
eraser tools will select not only the element of the color cube
containing the area under the eyedropper, but those elements around
the selected element on each axis. The higher the value in the text
box, the further away the selection tools will reach when selecting
and erasing colors in the class.
Drop Colors: This text box and spinner combination controls how
much presence a particular color cube element must have before it is
considered noise. When a color is selected the number of pixels in
the image with that color cube element is considered. If there are
fewer pixels with the selected color in the image than the value in the
text box, that color cube element is not selected, although elements
around it will still be considered, depending on the setting of the
Expand Selection combination.
Eyedropper: This button will activate the eyedropper color selection
tool and remain depressed while the tool is active. While the
eyedropper is active, the eyedropper zoom frame will display an
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Process:Threshold/Segmentation
enlargement of the area under the eyedropper. Clicking the left
mouse button will cause the color cube element(s) representing all
colors under the eyedropper to be added to the current class. Press
this button again to deactivate the eyedropper tool.
Undo: This button will reverse the last change to the current class
range values.
Eraser: This button will activate the eraser color removal tool and
remain depressed while the tool is active. While the eraser is active,
the eyedropper zoom frame will display an enlargement of the area
under the eraser. Clicking the left mouse button will cause the color
cube element(s) representing all colors under the eyedropper to be
removed from the current class. Press this button again to deactivate
the eraser tool.
Remove Color: This button will remove the current class color from
the segmentation preview.
Eyedropper Size Control: The drop-down list changes the size of
the area covered by the eyedropper and eraser tools, measured in
pixels. These tools can only be a square with an odd-numbered side
length, from one to seven pixels.
Eyedropper Zoom Frame: This frame displays the area under the
eyedropper and eraser tools when they are active.
Display Classes: This drop-down list indicates and selects whether
all classes are displayed on the image or only the current class.
Display Method: This drop-down list indicates and selects how
classes are displayed (previewed) on the image. All combinations of
class color, black, white, and transparent are allowed, enabling
classes to represent either foreground objects (to keep) or
background.
Create Image: This button creates a new RGB class image from the
image preview. The new image will be an RGB 24 class image when
the original image class is RGB 24, Floating Point, or Palette.
Otherwise, the new image will be of the same image class as the
original.
File: The button brings up dialogs for saving and loading the current
segmentation classes. When loading, the classes contained in the file
may be merged with or replace the currently defined classes.
New Mask: This button creates a new image using the currently
defined classes. All pixels contained in a class will be set to white,
while those not in a class are set to black. The new image will be of
the same image class as the original.
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Process:Threshold/Segmentation
Apply Mask: This button produces identical results as the New Mask
button, except that the resulting image is written back to the original
image.

Page 2-300

Process:Operations

Operations
Use the Operations command to perform arithmetic and logic
operations upon the active image, sequence, or AOI. Such operations
can be performed between two images (such as subtracting a Hi Pass
filtered image from an original image to emphasize high-contrast
elements), or between an image and a constant value (such as
ANDing an image with 240 to retain only the 4 most significant bits
of information).
The Operations command can be used on both monochrome and color
images. When applied to a True Color image, the operation will be
applied to all three channels. For example, if you were subtracting a
value of 10 from the image, 10 would be subtracted from the Red value,
from the Green value and from the Blue value in each pixel.
Each image may have one or more AOIs. If neither image has an active
AOI, the operation is performed from the upper left corner (position 0,
0) of each image. If only one image has an active AOI, the operation is
performed between that AOI and the corresponding position in the
other image. If both images have an active AOI, the operation is
performed on the two AOIs, starting at the upper left corner of the
bounding box of each.
If the active image has a multiple AOI, the modifications occur within
each AOI. If the other image has an active multiple AOI, the bounding
box for the AOI acts as the AOI for that image.
When you select the Operations command, the Image Operations
dialog box will be presented. Within this box, select the kind of
operation you want to perform, the image or value you want it to work
with and a destination for the results.

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Process:Operations

First Operand: Select one of the files in this list box to tell ImagePro what active image to use for the operation.
Operation: Select the kind of operation you want Image-Pro to
perform from the drop-down list box, or click on the appropriate
calculator button .
AND: Click this button to perform a logical AND between
your active image and the specified operand. Only bit values that
are on in both operands, will be on in the result.
OR: Click this button to perform a logical OR between your
active image and the specified operand. Bit values that are on
in either operand, will be on in the result.
XOR: Click this button to perform a logical XOR (exclusive
OR) between your active image and the specified operand. Only
when a bit value is on in one operand and off in the other will
the bit be on in the result. If bit values are on in both
operands, or if they are off in both operands, they will be off
in the result.
NAND: Click this button to perform a logical NAND between
your active image and the specified operand. NAND produces
a result that is the complement of an AND operation. Bit values
that are off in either, or both, operands, will be on in the
result.
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Process:Operations
NOR: Click this button to perform a logical NOR between
your active image and the specified operand. NOR produces a
result that is the complement of an OR operation. Bit values
that are off on both images, will be on in the result.
NOT: Click this button to perform a logical NOT on the bit
values of your active image. Every bit value that is on in the
active image will be off in the result. Every bit value that is
off in the active image will be on in the result. Use this
command to invert the pixels in your image, producing a
"negative" effect.
Add: Click this button to add the specified operand to the active
image. If a pixel's result falls outside of the image's intensity
scale, it will be clipped to the highest /lowest permitted value.
If you have set the Offset value, each result will be added to the
Offset before it is written.
Subtract: Click this button to subtract the specified operand
from the active image. If a pixel's result falls outside of the
image's intensity scale, it will be clipped to the highest /lowest
permitted value.
If you have set the Offset value, each result will be added to the
Offset before it is written.
Diff: Click this button to obtain the absolute value between the
specified operand and the active image. If a pixel's result falls
outside of the image's intensity scale, it will be clipped to the
highest /lowest permitted value.
If you have set the Offset value, each result will be added to the
Offset before it is written.
Multiply: Click this button to multiply the active image by the
specified operand.
If you have set the Scale value, each result will be multiplied by
the Scale before it is written.
Divide: Click this button to divide the active image by the
specified operand.
If you have set the Scale value, each result will be multiplied by
the Scale before it is written.
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Process:Operations
Average: Click this button to replace each pixel with the mean
value of the two operands.
Log: Click this button to replace each pixel with its logarithm.
Pixel values less than or equal to 0 are invalid.
Square Root: click this button to replace each pixel with its
square root. Pixel values less than 0 are invalid.
Square: Click this button to replace each pixel with its second
power.
Inverse: Click this button to replace each pixel with its inverse
(1/pixel). Argument: scaling factor: new pixel = scaling factor /
original pixel. Pixel values equal to 0 are invalid.
X to the power of Y: Click this button to replace each pixel
with its Yth power. Y is limited to positive values. Pixel values
less than 0 are invalid if Y is less than 1.
Set: Click this button to replace each pixel with the same given
number or with the corresponding pixel in the second image
operand.
Exp: Click this button to replace each pixel with its exponent.
Maximum: Click this button to replace each pixel with the
largest value of the two operands.
Minimum: Click this button to replace each pixel with the
smallest value of the two operands.
Accumulate: Click this button to replace each pixel with the
sum of pixels of the two images. The operand image value will
not be scaled to the destination image value before adding them.
If you have set the Offset value, each result will be added to the
Offset before it is written.
Note: Accumulate will not be available if you have selected Number
as the operand.
Second Operand: Click the appropriate radio button to tell ImagePro what operand (besides the active image) to use for the specified
operation.
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Process:Operations
Image: Set this option if you want to use another image for the
specified operation. You must also select, in the adjacent list box,
the image you want to use. This image must be one that is
currently open within Image-Pro; it cannot be an image on disk.
The two images need not be of the same image class.
Number: Set this option if you want to use a constant value for
the specified operation. If a logical operation has been selected,
numbers from 0 - 255 can be entered. If an arithmetic operation
has been selected, any value can be specified, including negative
and fractional values. Scientific notation may be used.
If you are ANDing an 8-bit image to reduce its active bit planes,
the following values should be used:
IF YOU WANT TO
RETAIN

SET THE
"NUMBER" TO

1 significant bit

128

2 significant bits

192

3 significant bits

224

4 significant bits

240

5 significant bits

248

6 significant bits

252

7 significant bits

254

As Is: This checkbox is only visible when operations between two


integer images of different bit depths are being performed, such as
GRAY16 and GRAY12, or RGB and RGB36. If checked, the
IMC_C_DIRECT scaling method is used for image conversion prior
to image operations. If unchecked, the IMC_C_SCALED method is
used, so that an 8-bit image scaled up to a 16-bit image is effectively
multiplied by 257, not 256, and the lower least significant bits have
meaningful values.

Place Result Into: Select one of the options in this box to tell
Image-Pro where to write the results of the specified operation.

Page 2-305

Process:Operations
First Operand: Click this button if you want to write the
results back to the active image or AOI. Results will be placed
into the same pixel positions from which they originated.
New Image: Click this button if you want Image-Pro to write
the results into a new window. The new window will be of the
same size and class as the original image or AOI.
Image Equation: Image-Pro summarizes your command here.
Note: Log, Square root, Square, X to Y, and Exp will increase or
decrease pixel values dramatically and may only be useful when used
on floating point images. To apply these operations to 8 bit images,
convert the image into a floating point image first.
Using Log, Square root, Inverse, and X to Y on images containing
pixels whose values are invalid for the given operation, will result in
the following approximations: Negative infinite results will be set to the
minimum value supported by the image type (i.e. 0 for 8, 12, 16, 24, 36,
48 bit images). Positive infinite results will be set to the maximum
value supported by the image type (i.e. 255 for 8 bit, 4096 for 12...).
Indeterminate results (e.g. 0/0) will be arbitrarily set to the minimum
value supported by the image type.
Some notes about operations on sequences:
If the first operand image is a sequence (sequence 1) and has Apply to
Sequence selected, then the active portion of the sequence will
determine the first frame and number of frames operated on.
If the second operand is a single-frame image or does not have Apply
to Sequence selected, then the active frame of the second operand will
be applied to each frame operated on.
If the second operand image is a sequence (sequence 2) and has Apply
to Sequence selected, then the active portion of that sequence will be
used by the operation. If this portion has fewer frames than the
operation requires (less than the active portion of sequence 1), then
sequence 2 will wrap around, reusing frames as necessary to complete
the operation.

Page 2-306

Process:Restricted Dilation

Restricted Dilation
Use the Restricted Dilation command to grow objects in one image
(the seed) up to the boundaries of a second image (the mask). The
primary purpose of this function is to combine the results of two
segmentation algorithms the mask being generated by an algorithm
that is less selective than the algorithm used by the seed image.
When you select Restricted Dilation, you will see the following dialog
box:

Seed Image: Use this combo box to select an image where the nonzero areas will be dilated.
Mask Image: Use this combo box to select an image containing areas
marking the limits of dilation. The seed image will not be dilated past
the thresholded areas in the Mask.
Mask Threshold: The percentage intensity where the mask image
will be thresholded.
Iterations: The number of dilations that are to be performed.
4-Connect / 8-Connect: Whether a 4 connected (horizontal and
vertical) or 8-connected (all neighboring pixels) dilation will be
performed.
Apply: Perform the Restricted Dilation.
Close: Close the dialog box.

Page 2-307

Process:Trace Objects

Trace Objects
The Trace Objects command provides you with a tool to highlight
specific features of a image manually. Trace works only when you
have an image loaded into the Image-Pro Plus workspace.
When you click on this option, the Trace dialog appears:

Trace Objects is used to highlight dark features on a primarily light


background, such as fingerprint ridges. These features can be drawn
manually or automatically traced. The automatic tracing tool works by
tracing the skeleton of dark features.
The following controls apply to the Trace command:
Generate trace image: Clicking this button after the trace operation
is finished places the traced outlines in a separate image:
Draw: Check this box to begin drawing a traced line on the image.
Erase: Check this box to remove traced lines.
Show/hide trace: Check this box to display or hide traced lines in the
image.
Pen size: Use the spin buttons to select the size of the drawing tool in
pixels. The minimum pen size is 5 pixels; the maximum is 30.
Eraser size: Use the spin buttons to select the size of the erasing tool
in pixels. The minimum eraser size is 5 pixels; the maximum is 100.
Auto-Trace: Click this button to automatically trace all the objects in
an image.
Erase All: Click this button to automatically remove all the traced
lines from an image.
Close: Click this button to exit the trace tool.
Page 2-308

Process:Color Channel

Color Channel
Use the Color Channel command to transform an image to another
color model, to extract a specific color channel from a color image, or
to merge an active, 8-bit gray scale image into a True Color image.

Convert
Use the Convert selections to transform an image to another color
model. You might do this to perform editing or analysis upon the image
in another model. You might also do this to save the image data in a
model other than RGB, for use with an external program.
The Convert command can only be used on True Color class images. If
your image is of another class, you may convert it to True Color using
the Convert To command on the Edit menu. Clicking on this tab
displays the following dialog:

Source Image: From this drop-down box, select the Color Model
through which you want the source True Color image interpreted.
Select: The source image can be selected either from the dropdown list box or by clicking the Select button. When you click
this button, a small box appears (similar to the screen capture
selection tool). Drag this box onto the image that you want to use
as your source image.
Destination Image: Select the Color Model in which you want
the results written.

Page 2-309

Process:Color Channel
Source Image: Click this button if you want the converted
data written to the source image window.
New Image: Click this button if you want the converted
data written to a new image window.

Extract
Use the Extract Channel selections to extract a specific color channel
from a color image, and view it as an 8-bit Gray Scale image. You
might do this to reduce the saturation values in a HSI image, or boost
just the Blue values in an RGB image.
Once a color channel has been extracted, it can be edited and analyzed
as youd like (treat it like any ordinary Gray Scale image). After
editing, it can be merged back into the original image or another image,
using the Merge Channel command.
The Extract Channel command can only be used on True Color class
images. If your image is of another class, you may convert it to True
Color using the Convert To command from the Edit menu.

Source: Select the Color Model through which you want the active
True Color image interpreted.
Color Model: Select the color model that describes the values
contained in your source image. If you are extracting a channel
that is from a model other than that of your source image, ImagePro will automatically convert the current data to the appropriate
model to extract the channel youve selected in the Extract
option list.
Color Image: Indicate the name of the source image containing
the channel that you wish to extract
Page 2-310

Process:Color Channel
Select: Select the color channel for which you want data extracted.
When you click this button, a small box appears (similar to the screen
capture selection tool). Drag this box onto the image that you want to
use as your source image. You may extract a channel for a color
model other than the one in which your image is currently rendered.
For example, you can extract the Hue channel from an RGB image as
long as your source is defined as RGB in the From option list.
Note: When a channel is extracted, its values are copied into the new
image window; they are not removed from the original image.
Destination Image: Select the Color Model in which you want the
results written.
Generate Channel: Select the color channel for which you want data
stored after extraction. You may specify Hue, Saturation, or Color.
Apply: Click this button to extract the color channel of your active
image.

Merge
Use the Merge Channel command to merge an active, Gray Scale
image into a True Color image. This is usually done to return a
channel, extracted with the Extract Channel command, to an image
after the channel data have been manipulated. However, you might use
it to merge any Gray Scale image to a color channel in a True Color
image.
When a Merge Channel function is performed, the values contained in
the Gray Scale image replace the values in the specified color channel
of the selected color image. If an AOI is active in the Gray Scale
image when the merge is performed, only values from within the AOI
rectangle will be merged into the color image (if the AOI is
nonrectangular, the pixels from its rectangular bounding box will be
used).
If a new color image is created, it will match the image class of the
source image with the highest bit depth; Grayscale 8 will become RGB,
Grayscale 12 will become RGB36, and Grayscale 16 will become
RGB48.
New grayscale images will be scaled to match the bit depth of an
existing color image.
If an AOI is active in the receiving True Color image when the merge
is performed, the Gray Scale values will be merged with those in the
Page 2-311

Process:Color Channel
True Color AOI. If the AOI is nonrectangular, only those pixels within
the AOI will be affected; however the nonrectangular AOIs rectangular
bounding box will be used for positioning purposes (i.e., the upper-left
corner of the Gray Scale image/AOI will be matched to the upper-left
corner of the bounding-box in the receiving AOI).
The Merge Channel command will work only if the source image is
Gray Scale and the target image is True Color (both images must be
open). The Gray Scale image (the source image) must be the active
image when you select the Merge Channel command. If the active
image is not Gray Scale, the command will be dimmed.
When you select the Merge Channel command, the following dialog
box is presented.

Source Color Model: Select the color model that describes the
values contained in your source image.
Source Image: Select the color channel image from which you want
the active Gray Scale image or AOI written
Merge Into: From this list box, select the True Color image into
which you want the active Gray Scale image or AOI merged. All
open, True Color images will be listed here.
New Image: Check this box if you want to save the results of the color
channel merges into a new image.
Select: You can select the destination image either with the Merge
Into list box, or with the Select button. When you click this button, a
small box appears (similar to the screen capture selection tool). Drag
this box onto the image that you want to use as your source image.
You may extract a channel for a color model other than the one in
which your image is currently rendered. For example, you can
Page 2-312

Process:Color Channel
extract the Hue channel from an RGB image as long as your source
is defined as RGB in the From option list.

Apply: Click this button to merge the color channels.


Note: If your incoming image is not RGB, but you want to merge the
channels without any conversion, you should set the source color model
to RGB.

Page 2-313

Process:Color Correction

Color Correction
The Color Correction feature in Image-Pro Plus 5.1 is closely related
to the CIE L*A*B Color feature. It is very difficult to make accurate
color measurements without color correction. Color correction of
images is usually done using a reference image containing known
colors.
To use the Color Correction feature, you must have a color reference
image open in the Image-Pro workspace. When you select Color
Correction from the Process menu, you will see the following dialog:

To perform color correction an RGB color calibration must be created


using a certain number of calibration points. You should select the
number of calibration points assuming that:

3-point calibration corrects changes in color gain


4-point calibration corrects color shift and gain
7-point calibration corrects the linear color mix
10-point calibration corrects the color mix using polynomial
approximation of power 2

20-point calibration corrects the color mix using polynomial


approximation of power 3 .
Reference Image: Choose the reference image from the drop-down
list.

Page 2-314

Process:Color Correction

Use Tag points on: Use Image-Pros Manual Tagging feature (from
the Measure menu) to select the calibration points on the following
images:

Active Image
Reference Image
Active and Reference Image.
Tag Area: Indicate the size in pixels of the area to be tagged.
Select from 3 to 20 reference points on the image. Then click OK.
The program now takes to the CIE L*A*B Color feature where you can
finish creating the color calibration.

Page 2-315

Process:Color Composite

Color Composite
Use the Color Composite dialog box to create and configure color
composites using black and white source images. You can access the
Color Composite dialog box through the Color Composite menu item
from the Process menu.

You can combine gray-scale images into a color composite. Any group
of gray-scale images that are of the same size can be mixed in a color
composite. Images of 8-, 12-, 16-bit integer or floating point format are
combined into a 24-bit color composite. Each input channel will have
individual LUT adjustments, as well as a registration offset to line it up
with the rest of the images.
You can also combine individual channels from a single image. Each
channel will be listed separately, as shown here:

Page 2-316

Process:Color Composite
Source Images: The Source Images combo box displays the images
available for color mixing. The Source Image list is initially filled
with a list of the gray scale images that are currently open. The size
of the color composite is determined by the first input image selected.
Once this is entered, the list is filtered to contain only images of the
same size as the initial selection.
Add: Click the Add button to add an image to the mix. You will be
prompted for the color to be assigned to that image from the Set
Color dialog.
Delete: Use this button to delete the selected image from the list.
Colors: The Colors list box displays the images selected for color
mixing.

Colors list box

BCG sliders

Color Bar
Sequence slider
Set Color button
Registration directional
keys

To change the color within the list box, double-click to select the
image name (the Select Color dialog box appears) or highlight the
name and click the Set Color button.
To delete colors/images from the Colors list box, first click on the
color/image to highlight it then press the Delete button within the
Color Composite dialog box.
Color Bar: The picture item box on the left side of the Colors list
indicates the color associated with each image in the composite. The
Color Bar will scroll with the contents of the Colors list box.
Set Color: This option determines the Color value used for the
selected channel in the final image display. Clicking on the Set Color
button brings up the Select Color dialog box.

Page 2-317

Process:Color Composite

Color Bar
Selected color block
Color Value slider
Selected Color text box

Edit Dye button

Select Dye button

Dye List

Color Palette

Directly select a color by:


1) Dragging the Color Value Slider to the desired color on the Color
Bar (range of 0 to 359): or
2) Clicking the appropriate Color button on the Color Palette. The
Color Bar represents Color degrees in the standard color wheel
representation, and the Color Palette contains a subset of possible
Colors (pure red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and white): or
3) Select a dye in the dye list, and click the Select Dye button.
Note:You can navigate through the Select Color dialog box by using
the <Tab> and <Shift + Tab> keys to cycle through the items
in the dialog box.
Intensity is determined by the image the Color is applied to, and
saturation will always be 100%.
The only exception to this is the white Color, which has by definition
a saturation of 0%. Selecting a value greater than or equal to 360
(dragging the Color Value slider over to the far right) is a choice of
white, which results in a non-tinted (gray) image.

Page 2-318

Process:Color Composite
The elements of the Select Color dialog box are:
Color Bar: The Color Bar shows a rainbow displaying the Colors
underneath the appropriate point of the Color Value slider.
Note:

If Color Value Slider is the selected (highlighted) selected


control, then you can also control the slider with keyboard
strokes:

Use the left/right arrow <


>keys to move the slider
incrementally.
Press the <Page Up> and <Page Down> to move the slider in
chunk sections along the Color Bar.
Use the <Home> and <End> keys to move the slider to the
beginning and end of the Color Bar.

Selected: This color block displays the new Color selected by the
Color Value slider bar or the Color Palette.
Selected Color: The Selected Color text field displays the
corresponding numeric Color value of the Selected color block
described above. The Selected Color value is expressed as an RGB
color, with the red value first, followed by the green and blue values.
If the color corresponds to a dye color, the dye name will be
displayed. If the dye color corresponds to a color palette color, the
name of the color will also be displayed.
Current: The Current color block displays the starting Color of the
channel.
Color Palette: The Color Palette proves an alternate method of
selecting a Color. Clicking on an item in the Color Palette will set
the Color Value slider to the correct value and update the displays in
both the Selected color block and Selected Color text field.
For example, clicking on the white button on the Color Palette will
set the Color Value slider to the right, change the Selected color
block to white, and cause the Selected Color text box to display
White.
Adjust: The controls in this section are used to adjust the color
composite contribution from each image, or for the color composite
preview itself. You can adjust the input image that is currently
selected in the Colors list by clicking the selected button. When you
want to adjust the color composite preview, or you want no image is
selected in the Colors list, use the All button.

Page 2-319

Process:Color Composite
Registration: Registration allows you to correct for mis-registrations
of images caused by filter-induced optical shifts. Use the directional
keys to shift the selected image in the x- and/or y- direction, with
respect to the rest of the input images. One click moves that channel
one pixel in the direction indicated. Blank areas are filled with black.
The key labeled 0,0 will re-center the selected image.
The registration shift for the selected channel or the overall image is
displayed in the static text box below the directional keys.
Contrast: Use the BCG sliders along with the Best Fit and Reset
buttons to adjust the contrast of the selected image or the composite.
BCG sliders: The Brightness, Contrast, and Gamma sliders are the
similar to the Contrast Enhancement feature in Image-Pro Plus. You
can also adjust each channel individually or collectively by using the
Selected or All radio buttons (to the left of the BCG sliders in the
Adjust group box).
Best Fit: Click this button to perform a Best-Fit contrast stretch on the
selected input, automatically setting the Brightness and Contrast
settings accordingly (Gamma will be reset to 1.0.). This method is
identical to the Best Fit contrast adjustment under the standard
Contrast Enhancement feature of Image-Pro Plus. Best Fit is useful
for first pass adjustments.
Reset: Pressing the Reset button automatically resets the BCG
settings. If the Adjust radio button is set on All, the BCG settings for
the overall color image will be reset.
Frame: Use the frame slider to adjust the frame of the selected image
that is used for the preview, or the active frame of the composite.
(Please see the discussion of Color Composite and Image
Sequences that follows this section.)
Background: Select one of the available images to be the background
color in this combo box. The rest of the image planes are subtracted
from the background image effectively punching holes into it
and allowing the foreground colors to show without mixing with the
background. This is most effective where the background covers
large areas and the other images have smaller objects within the
background objects.
Background allows the other inputs to be displayed in front of the
background inputs, minimizing color mixing. For example, ImagePro can display a red dot on a blue background without turning the
dot to magenta.
Selecting None causes all images to be equally mixed.
Page 2-320

Process:Color Composite
New: Click on the New button to discard the current color composite
image, and start over.
The Source Images combo box will reset to include all gray scale
images (including floating point images). Selecting an image from
the list will create a new composite the same size as the initial
selection. As mentioned previously, the source images list will be
filtered to contain only images of the same size as the initial
selection.

Color Composite and Image Sequences


When working with single-frame images, the Frame slider and the
Make Sequence button will both be disabled and have no effect. When
working with image sequences, the Frame slider affects both the
single-frame preview and the way that the sequence will be built when
Make Sequence is invoked.
Frame: The single-frame color composite workspace that is created
once youve added at least one image, is built from the frame of each
image that is indicated by the Frame slider. Note that when the
image is added, the frame setting for that image defaults to the
currently active frame of the sequence. Changing the Frame slider
for an image does NOT change the images active frame.
As you activate different images (or click them in the Colors list), the
Adjust radio button switches to Selected to indicate the settings for
that images contribution to the color composite. The Frame slider
will update to indicate the currently selected frame that is
contributing to the color composite preview, and you can adjust the
slider to select a different frame to contribute.
If you change the Adjust radio button to All, then you can use the
Frame slider to change the frames of ALL images. This has the same
effect as the sequence tool bar for sequences but the color composite
preview is still a single-frame workspace. The color composite
preview will also track the active frame when you navigate through
the contributing sequences using the Sequence Toolbar.
The frame settings for each image determine how those sequences
will be aligned when Make Sequence is used to create a color
composite sequence. To illustrate, consider two workspaces of 5 and
7 frames, where the frame setting is frame 4 for the first sequence and
frame 3 for the second (numbering from 1, with the selected frames
being represented by Frame # (F1, F2, etc.) in the following
diagram):
Page 2-321

Process:Color Composite

S1
F1

S2

Result

F2

F1

F2/F1

F3

F2

F3/F2

F4
F5

F3
33
F4

F4/F5
F4/F5

F5
F6
F7

Note that the first frame of sequence S1 is ignored because of the way
the two sequences are aligned. Note also that the All frame setting for
this color composite will start at 3 - this is the point of alignment in the
resulting sequence. If the sequences have been captured using the same
Zstack settings, you will seldom if ever want to mis-align the sequences
this way, but it also makes for some interesting effects. Note also that
the length of the sequence built by Make Sequences is the amount of
overlap between the sequences with the specified alignment, or 4
frames in this case.
Note: Image-Pro Plus 5.1 allows you to turn the display of color
channels on or off by clicking on the color bar. The color bar will
display the color of the selected channel only when that channel is
displayed.

Page 2-322

Process:Pseudo-Color

Pseudo-Color
Use the Pseudo-Color command to colorize the active monochrome
(Gray Scale 8, Gray Scale 12, Gray Scale 16, or Floating Point)
image. You might do this to highlight certain features in a gray scale
image. For example, you might want to display all densities above a
certain point in red, or, if your imaging device recorded thermal
information, all temperatures below a certain point in blue.
You might also use it to visually amplify specific intensities that are
very difficult to distinguish from their surroundings. For example,
features produced by pixels with values of 122 in a field of pixels with
similar values would be impossible to see in a gray tone image, but
would jump out if that value were to be rendered in color.
When you pseudo-color a monochrome image, you build a special
palette through which your monochrome image is displayed. Pseudocoloring an image does not modify the pixel values in your image
bitmap in any way (it does not convert your image to True Color or
Palette, for example). It simply associates a pseudo-color palette with
the image, that interprets the gray-level values in the image as color.
Pseudo-colored images are very similar in structure to Palette class
images, but they differ in a couple of important ways. First, the pixel
values in a pseudo-colored image actually represent continuous-tone
intensity information, whereas a Palette image's pixels carries no
intensity significance. Secondly, a Palette image includes a palette
table that is actually part of the image file.
The pseudo-color palette associated with a pseudo-colored image is not
a permanent part of the image. It is a palette that you assign to the
image while you work with it in Image-Pro. Pseudo-color palettes can
be saved to a disk file, and later loaded for subsequent use with any
monochrome (Gray Scale 8, Gray Scale 12, Gray Scale 16, or Floating
Point) image.

Page 2-323

Process:Pseudo-Color
When you select the Pseudo-Color
command, the Pseudo-Color dialog
box is displayed. It contains the tools
you need to build, save and load
pseudo-color palettes for monochrome
images.
Note - Because the Pseudo-Color
command is only relevant to
monochrome images, it will be
dimmed if the active image is True
Color. If you want to pseudo-color a
True Color image, you must first
convert it to one of the monochrome
classes.
The basic steps involved in pseudo-coloring the active, monochrome
image are to:
1) Specify the range of intensities you want to pseudo-color.
The intensity range is specified using the Upper Limit and
Lower Limit spin buttons.
2) Specify the number of distinct colors you want to
associate with the selected intensity range. The number of colors
is selected using the Divisions spin buttons. When you set
Divisions to a positive number, a second color bar appears to the
right of the first one, and both color bars and your image assume
the default pseudo-color settings. The color bar on the left
represents the entire intensity range and illustrates the portion
that is being colorized. The color bar on the right represents just
the colorized portion of the intensity range.
3) Change the color assignments and refine the intensity
division widths. This is done using the color bar or the Edit
button.
4) Save the settings for future use (with the current image, or
with another). This step is optional. You do not need to save the
pseudo-color assignments in order for them to be applied to the
active image. When you click the OK button, Image-Pro saves
the current setting. If, however, you want to save it for
continuing use or to exchange with a colleague, you need to save
it.
When you have finished specifying/saving the pseudo-color palette,
click OK to assign it to your image. Your image will be displayed
through this palette for as long as it (your image) remains open. If you
Page 2-324

Process:Pseudo-Color
want to remove the effect of the palette upon the active image, select
the Pseudo-Color command and click Reset. Your image will be
returned to its normal monochrome state. Pseudo-colored images can
be converted to True Color or Palette images using the Convert To
command.
Each of the buttons and fields in the Pseudo-Color dialog box are
described in more detail below.
Division: Within this group box, enter the intensity range and the
number of distinct colors you want Image-Pro to use to pseudo-color.
Image-Pro will divide the specified intensity range into the number
of intervals you specify here, and assign a default color to each
interval. The color intervals are displayed in the pseudo-color scale
located along the left edge of the dialog box. Changing the number
of divisions will divide the range into an equal number of intensities.
Using the Upper and Lower Limit controls, set the intensity scale to
define the intensity range you want to colorize. If you want to
colorize just a segment of low intensities, for example, set the scale
to specify just that segment. If you want to pseudo-color a single
intensity, set both limits to that intensity.
Note: When you set the range, the endpoint values are included in the
range.
Upper Limit: Use the spin buttons or select and overwrite the
current intensity value that is the highest one you want to colorize. If
you have selected the number of divisions, the left color bars will
reflect the change.
Lower Limit: Use the spin buttons or select and overwrite the
current intensity value that is the lowest one you want to colorize. If
you have selected the number of divisions, your image and the color
bars at the left will reflect the change.
Divisions: Use the spin buttons or select and overwrite the current
number of distinct colors to be pseudo-color. Your image and the
color bars at the left respond to each change. You can specify up to
256 divisions.

Page 2-325

Process:Pseudo-Color

Edit: Click this button to change a divisions color or range. When


you click Edit, the Division Attributes dialog box appears.

Within this box, select the number of the division you want to modify
(in the Div Number field), then modify the interval width (using
Range fields) and/or change the color assignment using the RGB
sliders.
Div Number: This field indicates the number of the interval (on the
pseudo-color scale) that you want to modify. You may move the
slider or click on the bar itself at the relative point you want to
activate. The color currently assigned to the division you select
here, will be displayed in the swatch at the lower-right corner of
the dialog box.
TIP

You can access the Division Attributes options simply by doubleclicking on the color bar in the Pseudo-Color window. This allows
you to go directly to that colors division number.
Range: Use these fields to change the starting and ending values of
the division associated with this color. Set the smaller value to
specify the beginning of the range, and the larger value to the last
value in the range (values are inclusive). The ranges of the
divisions that adjoin the one you are editing will automatically be
adjusted to compensate for your changes (e.g.., if you changed
Division #4s Start value from 64 to 62, Divisions #3s End value
would be adjusted down to 61). If you extend a range by a large
amount, the neighboring range(s) can be reduced to a single
intensity value.

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Process:Pseudo-Color
Color Edit: Use the Red/Green/Blue sliders in this group box to
specify the color you want assigned to the specified division. A
color is defined by entering the amount of each color component
(RGB) it contains. The color you specify here will be displayed in
the swatch at the lower-right corner of the dialog box, as you
create it.
Color Spread: Within this group box, you may change the pseudocolor scales predefined or custom color assignments.
Blue to Red: When Image-Pro sets the initial color values for
your image, they are roughly in the order the colors appear in the
spectrum. Click this button to array these colors with blue assigned
to a lower value than red.
Red to Blue: When Image-Pro sets the initial color values for
your image, they are roughly in the order the hues appear in the
spectrum. Click this button to array these colors with red assigned to
a lower value than blue.
Red, Green, Blue, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow: Selecting one of
these colors will display the color values in your images as graduated
shades of that particular color.
Custom 1 - Custom 4: You may define one to four custom color
palettes for pseudo-color. To define a custom color, highlight the
custom selection in the list box, and click on the Edit button.
Note: When creating a custom color, you must use the Edit button.
Double-clicking on the Color bar (above) will not save the adjusted
color in your custom settings.

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Process:Pseudo-Color

This button is activated


when you select a
custom color spread.

Clicking the Color Spread Edit button displays the Color Spread
dialog box. This group box is enabled only when one of the four color
spreads is selected:

End Colors: In this group box, select the colors for the top and
bottom ends of your custom color range. Clicking on either Select
button displays the Color dialog box:

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Process:Pseudo-Color

Basic colors: Click on the appropriate color square to choose one of


the basic colors for the end of your color palette.
Custom colors: Click on the Define Custom Colors >> button to
create a new color. You can create a custom color by adjusting the
Hue, Saturation, and Luminance values, and/or the Red, Green, and
Blue color values. The 4-way cursor will appear on the color
selection area. You can move this cursor around the color selection
area, and the HSL and RGB values will change with it.
Method of Interpolation: In this group box select the method for
displaying your custom colors:
Ramp RGB: Use this method to go directly across the Hue color
wheel from color to color with no intermediate colors. For example,
in gradations from blue to red.
Ramp HSI (clockwise): Use this method go around the Hue color
wheel clockwise. For example, from blue to red going through
shades magenta.
Ramp HSI (counter-clockwise): Use this method go around the
Hue color wheel counter-clockwise. For example, from blue to red
going through shades of yellow and green.
The Color/Solid block will show your custom color as the values
change. When you are satisfied with your new color, click on the
Add to Custom Colors button, and the new color will appear in the
Custom Colors sampler.
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Process:Pseudo-Color
When you have finished your color selections, click OK
Reset: Click this button to reset the image to its prior (monochrome)
representation.
Default: Click this button to select the pseudo-color default settings
(intensity range from 0 to 255, with 10 color divisions). The pseudocolor default in Image-Pro is the Red to Blue color assignment.
Last Setting: Click this button to recall the pseudo-color settings as
of the last time you saved them. When you click the OK button on
the Pseudo-Color dialog box, you save the settings.
Note: Any changes you have made to your settings will be lost when
you recall the Last Setting. If you want to keep them, use the Save
command on the Pseudo-Color dialog boxs File menu.
OK: Click the OK button if you want to close the Pseudo-Color
dialog box and assign the pseudo-color palette to the active image.
Cancel: Click the Cancel button if you want to close the PseudoColor dialog box without making changes to the colorization of your
image.

Page 2-330

Process:Pseudo-Color

Pseudo-Color File Menu


Use the commands on the Pseudo-Color : File menu to load or save
pseudo-color settings.
Load Pseudo-Color: Select this command to load a previously
saved pseudo-color palette file (.PSC), and apply it to the active
image. Pseudo-color palette files are created using the PseudoColor Save button (see below).
When you select the Load command, the Load Pseudo-Colors
dialog box is issued:

Specify the name of the file that contains the pseudo-color palette
you want to load, then click OK. The palette will be loaded into the
Pseudo-Color dialog box. You may edit the palette using the any of
the Pseudo-Color tools described above. When you click OK, the
palette will be assigned to the active image.
Save Pseudo-Color: Select this command to save the current
pseudo-color palette to an Image-Pro pseudo-color file (a .PSC file).
It is important to save a pseudo-color palette file if you want to use it
with the active image at some future point. This is because only the
most recent pseudo-color palette is stored automatically. If you do
not store the pseudo-color palette, you may need to manually recreate
it next time you work with the image. If the palette has been saved, it
can simply be reloaded using the Pseudo-Color Load command (see
above).

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Process:Pseudo-Color
Note: The Last Setting palette is the one last used for any image. If
you want to keep settings specific to the active image, use the Save
command.
When you select the Save command, the Save Pseudo-Colors dialog
box is issued:

Specify the name of the file to which you want the pseudo-color
palette saved, then click Save.

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Process:Pseudo-Color

Pseudo-Color Areas Menu


Use the command on the Pseudo-Color : Report menu to show the
counts associated with pseudo-color settings.
Areas: Select this command to display a report of the number of
pixels in each color representation (or the calibrated value if a spatial
calibration is attached to the image) and to enable copying the report.
When you select the Areas command , the Pseudo-Color Areas
dialog box is issued:

Use the File menu to save, copy, or link the report to other
applications or to a file.
Use the Report menu to modify the amount of information given in
the report, and you can select tabular or graphic representation.

Page 2-333

Process:Pseudo-Color

Pseudo-Color : Pseudo-Color Areas File Menu


The commands on the Pseudo-Color :Areas: windows File menu are
used to perform operations that copy and save your pseudo-color
percentage areas to other applications or to disk files.
Save Areas As : Select the Save Areas As command to store the
current pseudo-color areas to disk. Pseudo-color areas are saved in an
ASCII file containing the starting and ending values within each
division, the area in pixels (or calibrated area if the image is attached
with a spatial calibration), and the percentage of total area covered by
the division.
When the Save Areas As command is selected, the Save Areas As
dialog box is displayed.

Enter the name of the file to which you want the pseudo-color areas
stored, then click OK. Your pseudo-color areas will be written to the
file.
Append To : Select the Append To command to store the
current pseudo-color areas at the end of an existing pseudo-color
file.
When the Append To command is selected, the Append To dialog
box is displayed:

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Process:Pseudo-Color

Select the file to which you want the current areas appended, then
click Save. The current pseudo-color areas will be written to the
end of the specified file.
Note -If you enter the name of a file that does not exist, Image-Pro
will create a new file with that name.
Copy To Clipboard: Select the Copy To Clipboard command to
copy the current pseudo-color areas to the Windows Clipboard.
From there, the areas can be pasted into any application that
accepts text from the Clipboard.
Save Options: Select the Save Options command to change the
style in which pseudo-color areas files are written.
Click once on your selection to choose (if checked) or omit
(unchecked) it.
9 Header: Select Header to save the heading information at
the top of the pseudo-color areas file.
9 Div Number: Select Div Number to save the division
number to the left of the pseudo-color areas.
9 Statistics: If Statistics is selected, the statistical information
will be appended to the end of the areas file.
DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to transfer
pseudo-color areas to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. For
additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data
Exchange discussion.
Page 2-335

Process:Pseudo-Color

Pseudo-Color : Pseudo-Color Areas Report Menu


The commands on the Pseudo-Color : Areas windows Report menu are
used to determine the report type and style.
Table: Select the Table command to display the current pseudo-color
settings in tabular form. The information that is displayed is
determined by the settings in Table Style . If Table is selected, Graph
is deselected.
Graph: Select the Graph command to display the current pseudocolor settings in graphic form. Choose the form of the graph in Graph
Style . If Graph is selected, Table is deselected.
Table Style : Select the Table Style command to select the properties
to include in the table. When Graph is selected, this option has no
effect.
When you select the Table Style command, you will see a menu from
which you may choose the settings you want listed in the table.
You may choose any or all of these options. A check mark to the left
indicates that the option is selected. Each option is described below.
Start of Div: Select this option to display the starting
pixel value in the division.
End of Div: Select this option to display the ending pixel
value in the division.
Absolute Area: Select this option to display the total
count of pixels whose value falls within the division (or the
calibrated value if the image is spatially calibrated).
Relative Area(%): Select this option to display as a
percentage the number of pixels whose value falls within
the division, divided by the number of pixels in the image
or AOI.
Graph Style : Select the Graph Style command to display the
graph as a line or bar graph. When Table is selected, this option
has no effect.

Page 2-336

Process:CIE L*A*B Color

CIE L*A*B Color


The CIE L*A*B color module is designed for absolute color
measurements in CIE L*A*B color coordinates. This module provides a
simple and reliable color correction tool that can be used to correct
image colors.
When you select CIE L*a*b color from the Process menu, you will see
the following dialog:

Color model: Choose a color model from the drop-down list box.
This feature supports XYZ, LAB, RGB, CMY, and YIQ. Note that
you can measure LAB and XYZ color coordinates only when you
XYZ or LAB calibration. If your calibration is in RGB, LAB and
XYZ are not available.
Input: The information in this group box reflects information from the
active image in the Image-Pro workspace.
Calibrate: Clicking the Calibrate button displays the following
dialog: (These buttons should be re-ordered??)

The current calibrations appear in the window at the bottom of this


dialog.

Page 2-337

Process:CIE L*A*B Color


OK: Click OK to accept the current calibrations and return to the
previous dialog.
Cancel: Click Cancel to return to the previous dialog without
making any calibration changes.
Image: Click the image button to place a new calibration marker on
the current image. You will see the following dialog:

Use the eyedropper tool to select a point on the image for an input
color calibration, then click OK.
Add: Clicking the Add button after selecting a new input calibration
adds that calibration to the current list.
Change: Use your cursor to highlight one of the numbers in the
calibration list. Click Change to substitute a new calibration for the
selected one.
Matrix: Clicking the Matrix button displays the XYZ color
conversion matrix, as shown here:

The number of rows in the matrix corresponds to the number of


reference points used to create it. Each column represents a color
channel. You can edit the cells in the matrix by clicking on the
selected cell and entering a new number.
OK: Click OK to accept your changes and close the Matrix dialog.
Cancel: Click Cancel to close the Matrix dialog without making
any changes.

Page 2-338

Process:CIE L*A*B Color


New: Clicking the New button begins the process of creating a new
color calibration by clearing any calibration points from the
window on the Calibration dialog.
Load: Click this button to load existing color calibration settings
from a file, as shown here:

Color calibration settings files have the extension *.xyz .


Save: Click this button to save your current calibration settings to
a file with the extension *.xyz , as shown here:

Page 2-339

Process:CIE L*A*B Color


Extract: Click this button to extract a color channel from the active
image. Check the box next to the channel you want to extract, as
shown here:

An image with the extracted color channel will be placed in the


Image-Pro workspace.
Convert: Click this button to convert the active image from the input
color model to the one youve selected. The converted image will be
placed in the Image-Pro workspace.
Close: Click this button to close the Color coordinates dialog.

Page 2-340

Process:Registration

Registration
Use the Registration command to align one image with another by
defining a set of anchor points common to both images. This
command is often used to prepare images, acquired from different
angles or distances, for comparative analysis. For example, if you
needed to measure and compare vegetation growth of an area depicted
in two aerial photographs taken several months apart from substantially
different angles and / or altitudes, you would want to register one
photograph to the other to ensure comparable measurements.
The Registration command requires two input images: a reference
image and an object image. The reference image defines the standard
perspective of the subject; the object image is the one that is to be
spatially transformed to the reference's standard (i.e., the object image
is warped to match the reference's anchor point coordinates). The result
of the transformation is written to a new image window.
If you attempt to use the Registration command when you have only
one image open, you will receive an error message:

The examples below show how a distorted image was corrected by


registering it to a reference image.

the "reference" image

the "object" image

Page 2-341

Process:Registration

the corrected result

Note: The registration process merely warps the object image to the
specified anchor points; there is no blending of the two images, nor is
there any attempt to match similar features. The image data in the
reference image are entirely ignored; only its anchor point coordinate
information is used by the transformation process.
To register one image to another, follow the steps below:
1. Open the reference image and the object image (the
one to be warped).
2. Select the Registration command from the Tools
menu. The Registration dialog box will be presented, and a
set of anchor point markers will be placed in each of the
images.
3. Select the object images name in the Transform list
box.
4. Select the reference images name in the Into list box.
5. Use your mouse to position the anchor point markers
in the registration and object images. An anchor point
identifies a point of correspondence between the two images. In
the example above, an anchor point was established over each
of the registration cross hairs in the reference and object images.
In an aerial photograph you might tie the images together with
landmarks (e.g. buildings or geologic formations) or
intersecting features (e.g., rivers, roads, fences). When
positioning your anchor points, keep in mind the following:
Position the anchor points as far apart as possible. If anchor
points are too close together, your registration request will be
ignored.
Position the anchor points as accurately as possible. Use the
Zoom tool to magnify your images so that the markers can
be positioned exactly over the designated point (you can use
the Pan To Point button to move quickly from one point to

Page 2-342

Process:Registration
another when you are zoomed-in on the image. See Pan To
Point below).
Be sure the anchor point numbers correspond between the
two images. If, for example, anchor point #1 marks the
corner of Building A in the reference image, anchor point #1
in the object image must also mark the corner of Building A.

Note: The order of your anchor points is not significant (i.e.,


anchor point #1 does not have to be near #2, nor does it have to
mark the upper-left corner of a quadrilateral). Anchor point
markers can appear in any order youd like; just be sure that the
#s correspond between the two images.
You must define at least 4 anchor points (you may include
more; see Options, below). When more than four are
defined, Image-Pro reduces your set to 4 points using a leastsquares method before performing the transformation.
6. Click the Register button. The object image is spatially
transformed by matching its anchor points to the anchor points
in the reference image. The result is placed in a new image
window.

If the image has been transformed to a smaller or nonrectangular


shape, the unused image space will be padded with black pixels,
as shown in the example below.

The object image on the left was skewed using the registration
command (the reference image is not shown here). Note that in the
result (on the right) the unused pixels are set to black.

Page 2-343

Process:Registration
When you select the Registration command, the Registration dialog
box will be presented:

Transform: In this list box, select the name of the object image
(this image must already be open). The object image is the one
that will be spatially transformed.
Into: In this list box, select the name of the reference image (this
image must already be open). The reference image is the one
that defines the perspective to which the object image will be
transformed.
Note: Generally the Registration command is used to align two
images of the same subject; however, it can also be used to
deliberately distort an image for aesthetic purposes (to change
perspective, or to create an unusual effect, as was done in the
previous example). When used for this purpose, the reference
image can be any image at all (it need not be a different "view"
of the subject). You merely need a workspace large enough to
position the anchor points required to produce the effect you
want. In the example above, the reference image (not shown)
was simply an empty (all white) image window of the same size
as the object.
Pan to point: Click this button to display the specified anchor
point marker. This feature is useful for quickly moving to a
specific anchor point when you are zoomed-in on your image (it
is a quick alternative to scrolling or zooming-out and zooming
back in again). To move to an anchor point, first select the
anchor point number in the # list box, then click Pan to point.
Reset: Clicking the Reset button will reset all the registration
points to their default locations on the two registration images.

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Process:Registration

Options: Click this button to set the options associated with the
Register command.

Number of points: Select the number of anchor points that


you want to define in each image. You must define at least 4,
and no more than 10, points. If you use more than four
anchor points, Image-Pro will fit your set to just 4 points
(using a least-squares method) before it performs the
transformation.
Precision: Select the precision, Floating or Fixed, in which
you want the registration process performed. This setting
determines the level of accuracy that will be maintained by the
transformation, as described below.
Floating Point: Select this option if your application demands a
very high level of data accuracy (if you are registering an image for
measurement purposes, you should use Floating Point mode).
Floating-point transformations are time consuming when
performed on a system without a math co-processor if your
work involves frequent transforms of this type, you will want to
have one installed.
Fixed Point: Select this option if your application does not
demand a high level of data accuracy (if you are registering an
image for aesthetic purposes, Fixed Point mode is appropriate).
A fixed-point transform will be significantly faster than a floatingpoint transform if your system is not equipped with a math coprocessor.
Color of Points: Select the color in which you want the
anchor point markers displayed.
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Process:Registration
Correct for: Select the combination of transformations that
you want performed. The placement of the anchor points is a
critical factor in determining the outcome. For this reason, a
small displacement of an anchor point may introduce a skew
or a scale factor that you dont want. In that instance you may
choose not to perform those transformations.
Select from the following combinations:
translation, rotation, scaling, perspective: Select
this option to perform all transformations.
translation, rotation, scaling: Select this option if you
know there is no skewing to correct for.
translation, rotation: Select this option if you know
there is no scaling or skewing to correct for.

Page 2-346

Process:FFT

FFT
Use the FFT command to edit a grayscale image in its spectral form.
FFT editing is useful for removing periodic noise from an image. This
type of noise can be very difficult to remove using spatial filters, but
tends to generate isolated energy spikes that are easily de-emphasized
or removed in the FFT spectrum.
The following general steps are required to perform an FFT
transformation:
1. Selecting the area of the active image that will be
transformed. Define an AOI if you want Image-Pro to
transform just a certain part of your image. If a nonrectangular
AOI is defined, the pixels within its bounding-rectangle will be
recognized as the AOI. If no AOI is active, the entire image will
be transformed.
2. Performing an FFT : Forward transformation using the
Forward button to display the image as an energy spectrum.
3. Editing the spectrum to enhance, attenuate or eliminate certain
characteristics. This is done by drawing an AOI around a
particular group of frequencies to isolate them from the rest of the
spectrum, then filtering the spectrum using the Filter button.
4. Performing an FFT : Inverse transformation to write the
edited data back to its original window, or to a new window.
Additionally, the FFT command lets you save FFT results to a file.
You might want to do this to use the data as input to an external
program. You can also reload the saved data back into Image-Pro.
When the FFT command is selected, the FFT dialog box is presented.

The options available to you in the FFT dialog box are determined by
whether the active window contains an image, or an FFT spectrum.
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Process:FFT
This dependency is discussed in each of the FFT dialog-box
components below.
Forward: Click this button to generate a transformation of the active
AOI or image. The Forward button will produce a new window
containing a representation of the FFT data for the image. The FFT
data will be represented in the form that you have specified in the
FFT Options dialog box (see Options below).

If an AOI is active when the Forward button is clicked, just the


pixels within the AOI will be transformed.
Before clicking the Forward button, you should click the Options
button to make sure your transformation options are set as you would
like. See Options below.
The Forward button will only be enabled when an image is in the
active window. If the FFT window is active, this button will be
dimmed.

Page 2-348

Process:FFT
Forward FFT Options: Click this button to select the options for
the Forward transformation. The Forward FFT Options dialog
box will be displayed if the Forward button is active:

Note: If the Inverse/Filter dialog box is displayed when you press


the Options dialog box, it means that the active window contains
FFT data, not an image. To get the Forward FFT Options dialog
box, simply close the Inverse/Filter dialog box, and click on your
image window. Then select Options again.
The Forward FFT Options dialog box allows you to specify the
way in which you want the data represented, and how much of it you
want to generate.
Spectrum: Select this Display option if you want the FFT data
represented as the traditional cloud of points spectrum.
Log Scale: Check this box if you want to display the FFT
spectrum as a logarithmic scale.
Phase: Select this Display option if you want to display the
phase of the FFT. You may display it as an integer scale or as
floating point (see note ).
Amplitude: Select this display option if you want the FFT data
displayed in varying degrees of brightness (amplitude).
Note: The difference between floating point and integer display
options is that in the case of floating point options, the FFT data is
directly available as images (spectrum and phase images), whereas
in the integer case the FFT data is kept hidden and separate from
the displayed spectrum and phase. The only way to process the
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Process:FFT
FFT data in the integer case is via the built-in lopes, hi-pass, spike
cut and boost options. In the floating point case, since the FFT
data is the image itself, you can apply any type of processing
using any module in Image-Pro. In the floating point case we need
to display the raw FFT data and therefore we cannot display the
FFT using a log scale.
Half FFT: Select this Generate option if you want to create just
half of the FFT data. Because an FFT data set is symmetrical
around its zero frequency factor, it is not always necessary to
create the full set of data, since the missing half may easily be
calculated from the half that is generated. If you do not plan to
export your FFT data, use this option instead of Full FFT as Full
FFT generations take longer to produce.
Full FFT: Select this Generate option if you want to create the
full set of FFT data. You might select this option if you want to
export the FFT data to an external program that is not capable of
calculating the missing half of an FFT data set generated with the
Half FFT option.
Spectrum Gain: You can select a number between 1 and 200 in
order to provide the best visual representation of the spectrum for
your processing. The image on the left below was processed with
a Spectrum Gain of 30. The one on the right, a Spectrum Gain
of 150.

Filter: Use the buttons in this box to edit the data in the FFT window.
The FFT spectrum is edited by:
1. Selecting an FFT Filtering option in the Filter group box
(see filtering descriptions below).
2.

Page 2-350

Defining an AOI that isolates the frequencies you want


to have addressed by the selected filter. Only an elliptical or
rectangular AOI can be used here - irregular AOIs will not work.

Process:FFT

3. Clicking Filter to initiate the filtering operation. Before


clicking the Filter button to perform the specified filtering
operations, you should click the Options button to make sure
your filtering options are set as you would like. See Options
below.
Low Pass: Select this filtering option if you want to eliminate
or attenuate the frequencies above a specified range. When you
select the Low Pass option, you must define an AOI around the
center of the spectrum. Adjust the AOI so that it encompasses
only the frequencies you want to remain in the image.
Frequencies outside of the AOI will be eliminated if the
Rectangle filtering option is selected, or attenuated if the
Hanning filtering option is selected.
Low Pass frequency editing has the same effect as applying a Low
Pass spatial filter in that it softens the image. The advantage of
using the Low Pass frequency filter over the Low Pass spatial
filter is its flexibility and ease of use. Experimenting with the
frequency spectrum is usually easier to do than developing the
exact spatial kernel configuration to produce the desired effect.
Hi Pass: Select this filtering option if you want to eliminate or
attenuate the frequencies below a specified range. When you
select the Hi Pass option, you must define an AOI around the
center of the spectrum. Adjust the AOI so that it encompasses the
frequencies you want to remove from the image. Frequencies
inside of the AOI will be eliminated if the Rectangle filtering
option is selected, or attenuated if the Hanning filtering option is
selected.
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Process:FFT
Hi Pass frequency editing has the same effect as applying a
Hi Pass spatial filter in that it produces an image with only high
contrast elements. The advantage of using the Hi Pass frequency
filter over the Hi Pass spatial filter is its flexibility and ease-ofuse. Experimenting with the frequency spectrum is usually easier
to do than finding the exact spatial kernel configuration to produce
the desired effect.
Spike Cut: Select this option if you want to eliminate or
attenuate just a certain frequency, or group of frequencies, in an
image. When you select the Spike Cut option, you must define an
AOI around the group of frequencies you want to cut. Adjust the
AOI so that it encompasses just the frequencies you want to
remove from the image. Frequencies inside of the AOI will be
eliminated if the Rectangle filtering option is selected, or
attenuated if the Hanning filtering option is selected.
Spike Boost: Select this option if you want to accentuate a
certain frequency, or group of frequencies, in an image. When
you select the Spike Boost option, you must define an AOI around
the group of frequencies you want to enhance. Adjust the AOI so
it surrounds just those frequencies that you want to boost. The
energy of the frequencies inside the AOI will be increased up to
twice their value.
Inverse FFT Options : Click this button to select the options for
the Inverse FFT and Filter operations. The following
Inverse/Filtering dialog box will be displayed.

Note: If the Forward FFT Options dialog box is displayed when


you press the Options dialog box, it means that the active window
contains an image, not FFT data. To get the Inverse/Filter Options
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Process:FFT
dialog box, simply close the Forward FFT Options dialog box, and
click on your FFT window. Then select Options again.
Filter: Within this group box, select the type of filter you want to
use, the transitions, whether or not you want spikes to be cut or
boosted symmetrically, and whether or not you want to preserve
the average intensity of the image.
Rectangle: Select this option if you want to set the specified
frequencies to null. If the Hi Pass or Spike Cut frequency filter
has been selected, the Rectangle option will set all frequencies
within the masking-AOI to null. If the Low-Pass filter has been
selected, the Rectangle option will set all frequencies outside the
masking-AOI to null.
Note: Avoid using the Rectangle option with AOI masks that are
tightly defined around the center of the spectrum, as this will
introduce an artifact known as ringing.
Hanning: Select this option if you want to attenuate the
specified frequencies, rather than setting them to null.
Attenuation is performed at the rate specified in the Transition
field. If the HiPass or Spike Cut frequency filter has been
selected, the Hanning option will attenuate all frequencies within
the masking-AOI. If the Low-Pass filter has been selected, the
Hanning option will attenuate all frequencies outside the
masking-AOI.
Transition:
Set this value to specify the rate at which the
specified frequencies will be attenuated. The closer the
Transition value is to 0, the more the result will resemble the
Rectangle option (setting the specified frequencies to null).
Symmetrical: Check the Symmetrical check box if you want
the Spike Cut and Spike Boost filters to affect the specified
frequencies in both halves of the FFT data set. When the
Symmetrical option is set, you will see that the corresponding
group of frequencies in the opposite half of the spectrum are also
cut/boosted when you perform a Spike filtering operation. If you
do not want this to occur, disable the Symmetrical option.
Note: Disabling the Symmetrical option affects only full FFT
data sets. When only half of an FFT data set has been generated,
spike filtering is always performed symmetrically. This happens
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Process:FFT
because the missing half is automatically derived from the half
that was initially generated. The two halves, by definition, will
mirror each other.
Preserve Nil Freq: Check the Preserve Nil Freq check box if
you want to preserve the average intensity of the image when
using a HiPass frequency filter. This check box has no effect
with LoPass, Spike-Cut, or Spike-Boost filters.
Inverse FFT: Within this group box, select the image into which
you want the inverted image to be placed and whether or not the
FFT data should be kept after inversion is complete.
Write Inverse FFT into: In this list box, select the window you
want the inverse FFT data written to when the Inverse button is
clicked. FFT data can be inversely transformed into any open
image window, or to a new window.
This button has no effect on the filtering process; it is used by
the Inverse operation only.
Preserve Data: Check this box if you want to maintain the
FFT data after an Inverse operation is performed. If this option
is disabled, the FFT data will be cleared from the FFT window
when the Inverse operation is complete. Please note that this
will not close the FFT window; the spectrum will still exist as an
image; however, the data from which it was generated will no
longer exist.
OK: Click OK when the options for inverting the image are set to
your satisfaction.
Inverse: Click this button to generate an inverse transformation of
the active FFT window. The Inverse button will write the FFT data
back to its spatial form. Data will be written to the window specified
in the Write Inverse FFT into list box in the Options dialog box.
An FFT can be inversely transformed into any open image window,
or into a new window.
The inverted data will be written back to the AOI if the original
window is specified as the destination. If a different window has
been specified, the data will be written to the equivalent position
within the image (it will match the position of the upper-left corner),
or into an AOI, if one is active.
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Process:FFT
The FFT window will remain open after an Inverse operation. If you
have checked Preserve Data in the Options dialog box, the FFT
data will remain, too. This lets you continue to edit the frequency
spectrum until you are satisfied with the results.
The Inverse button will only be active when an FFT is in the active
window. If an image window is active, this button will be dim.
Load: Click this button to load FFT data from a previously saved
FFT data file (FFT data files are created using the FFT commands
Save button -- see below). All other functions perform as described
in Open and Load Dialog Boxes.
Save: Click this button to save FFT data from the active FFT window
to an FFT data file. FFT data are saved to a binary file containing the
coefficients of the FFT array. The saved data can be used as input to
an external program, or can be reloaded into Image-Pro at a later
time using the FFT commands Load button.
You may supply an extension or let Image-Pro automatically append
an extension of .FFT to the file name you provide. If you assign your
own extension, you must give the full name with that extension to
Image-Pros Load routine and use the FFT file type. Using an .FFT
extension assures that Image-Pro will identify and list your file when
you are ready to Load it. All other functions perform as described in
Save Dialog Boxes.
Apply: Click this button to apply the FFT to the active image.
AOI: Clicking this button opens the AOI dialog, which allows you to
set a center, radius, and type of AOI that will be used for the FFT
process.

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Process:FFT
Center X, Center Y, Radius X, Radius Y: These coordinates are
in pixels, and relative to the center of the FFT image.
AOI Shape: Indiate which shape your AOI should take by clicking
the radio button next to Ellipse or Rectangle.
OK: Clicking OK sets the AOI on the FFT image.
Cancel: Click Cancel to return to the main FFT dialog.
Show >>: Click this button to show frequency period, distance and
angle values for the current cursor position or for a group of selected
frequencies.
When you click the Show button, the FFT dialog box is expanded to
display these values:

Clicking this button ...

wiill display this frequecy information

Cursor Periods: After you have performed the Forward FFT


on your image, these options become available. When you
have the Cursor option selected, the x-axis, y-axis, absolute and
angle values are displayed in response to the placement of your
cursor on the frequency image. Moving the cursor around changes
the values that are displayed.
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Process:FFT
Show Pattern: Check the Show Pattern check box if you want
Image-Pro to display the frequency pattern generated by your filter
on the source image. In order to see this effect, be sure your source
image is visible on your desktop, then in the inverted image create
an AOI that surrounds the area that you want to alter. The source
image reflects where the changes will occur. Show Pattern works
only when the Cursor option is selected.
Filter: Click the Filter button at the bottom of the period group
box when you want to display information relating to the
currently selected FFT filter.
Cursor: Click the Cursor button when you want frequency
information associated with the current cursor position.
Hide >>: Click the Hide button to suppress the display of frequency
information.

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Process:FFT

Working with FFT Data Files


If you plan to develop programs that read Image-Pro FFT files,
you may want to consult the source in Appendix D: Source Code.

Page 2-358

Process:Image Overlay

Image Overlay
Use the Image Overlay command to combine two images with varying
degrees of transparency. It is similar to the Paste Options command.
Selecting Image Overlay displays the Transparency Options dialog:

Source Image: The source image is the image with the characteristics
you want to copy. The target or destination image is the active image.

Source Image

Destination Image

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Process:Image Overlay
Options: The check boxes in this group indicate how the two images
will be combined.
Overlay Transparency determines how much of the destination
image will be visible through the overlaid image. Turning this check
box off means that that the overlaid portion will be opaque when
placed onto the target image.

Image with Overlay Transparency On

Image with Overlay Transparency Off

Overlay: Click this button to paste one image or AOI onto another
temporarily. You can move the overlaid area around using the crossshaped cursor. When you have the overlaid area positioned where
you want it, click the right mouse button to merge the two images.

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Process:Image Overlay
Merging Transparency determines how much of the destination
image will be visible through the overlaid image when the two
images are merged.

Image with Merge Transparency On

Image with Merge Transparency Off

Merge: Click this button to combine the two images (or AOI). This is
identical to clicking the right mouse button after you have overlaid
two images.
Blend Control: Use the options in this group box to control the ratio
at which Clipboard data is blended with the destination image. These
values are only utilized when the Overlay Transparency or
Merging Transparency options are set (see above).
Src: Select the percentage at which merged data will be applied to
the image. The larger the number, the heavier the merged data is
applied (e.g., if 100% is set, only the pasted merged data will be
visible in the result). This value is linked to the Dest value, such
that when Src is changed the necessary change is automatically
made to Dest to maintain a sum of 100%.
Dest: Select the percentage of the destination image allowed to
show through the applied merged data. The smaller the number,
the less the original image will remain visible (e.g., if 0% is set, only
the Merged data will be visible in the result). This value is linked to
the Src value, such that when Dest is changed the necessary change
is automatically made to Src to maintain a sum of 100%.

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Process:Image Overlay
Apply Blended Image To: Specify the intensity values that are to
be affected by the blend. Select from the following:
All: The merged data will be applied, in the specified blend
ratio, to all pixels in the paste area, regardless of their
intensity.
On Lighter Only: The merged pixels will be pasted (in the
specified blend ratio) only in places where the destination
pixel is lighter than the corresponding merged pixel.
On Darker Only: The merged pixels will be pasted (in the
specified blend ratio) only in places where the destination
pixel is darker than the corresponding merged pixel.

Page 2-362

Process:Grid Mask

Grid Mask
The Grid Mask tool allows you to define and create precise grids for
intercept counting in either a manual (Manual Tag) or semi-automated
(Image Operations) fashion.
This tool allows you to create and save a grid of your own design,
including such information as length of the grid lines or number of
points in the grid. You may also define the following type of grids:
point, lines (horizontal or vertical or both), random lines, line segments
(horizontal or vertical or both), circles, and cycloids. In addition, you
may set the X and Y intervals for the line grids, spacing for point grids
and combine multiple point grids in one grid overlay.
The Grid Mask tool will generate an overlay on the image for viewing
purposes, although you also have the option to create a new image
mask of the grid. The grid is not attached to the image, but stored in a
separate file (*.grd).
When you select the Grid Mask tool, you will see the following tabbed
dialog:

The following selections are common to all the Grid Mask pages:
Grid Files: The Grid Files list box lists the saved grid files (*.grd)
in the default folder that are available to be reloaded and used.
New: Click the New button to create a new untitled grid file.
Delete: Click the Delete button to remove the selected grid file.
Save: Click the Save button to save or update the selected grid file.
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Process:Grid Mask
Save As: Click the Save As button to save the current grid file under
another name.
The Calibration/Summary area provides a brief description of your
calibration units and grid specifications.
Default Folder: This area displays the path and name of the folder
where your grid files are stored. Click the folder icon to select a
different folder.
Apply: Click this button to display the grid overlaid on your image.
Remove: Click this button to erase the grid overlay from the image.
Create Mask: Click this button to create a separate black and white
image containing the grid mask overlay.
OK: Click this button when you are finished with your grid. All the
grid mask features on the image will be removed.

Preview
The Preview area lets you see what your grid looks like before
applying it to the image.

Use the selections on the Grid page to change the format and display of
your grid.

Page 2-364

Process:Grid Mask

Grid
Grid settings define the appearance of the overlay on the image.

Objects: Click one of the radio buttons to indicate what type of grid
symbols you want to use. Your choices are:

Points

Lines

Line Segments

Circles

Cycloids.

Layout: Click one of the radio buttons to indicate the placement of the
objects on the image to create the grid. You have the following
choices:
Orthogonal: The objects on the grid are displayed in a regular
pattern of horizontal rows and vertical columns.
Concentric: The objects on the grid are displayed in a regular
pattern of concentric circles.
Random: The objects on the grid are displayed in a random
arrangement. Selecting Random allows you to choose a fixed
seed parameter, so that the same random pattern can be repeated.
Parameters: The information and selections in this group box will
change, depending on the type of objects you have selected. Your
choices are:

Page 2-365

Process:Grid Mask
Display as: When you have selected points as the object, this list
box offers a selection of symbols to mark the objects on the grid.
Checkered: Click this box to create a checkerboard pattern
with the objects. You can apply this to points, line segments,
circles, and cycloids.
Spacing: Use the spin buttons to indicate the horizontal and
vertical spacing of the objects on the grid, using the
measurement units selected on the Settings page. This selection
appears when you have chosen the Orthogonal layout. Points,
lines, line segments, and circles allow you to select both
horizontal and vertical spacing. Cycloids let you select vertical
spacing only.
Length: Line Segments lets you indicate the length of a line
segment in percent of measurement units.
Radius: Circles and Cycloids lets you indicate the radius of the
objects.
Radial Spacing: This parameter lets you indicate the distance
between objects when you have selected Concentric Circles or
Concentric Points.
Segments: This parameter lets you indicate the number of
objects when you have selected Concentric Points.
Count: This parameter lets you indicate the number of objects
when you have selected Random objects.
Note: The parameter and spacing selections may change depending
on the type of object you have selected.
The example grid below displays the points marked as +s in a
checkerboard pattern spaced 20 pixels apart.

Page 2-366

Process:Grid Mask

Settings
Options on the Settings page help you to define the size of your
overlaid grid.

Margins: The Margins group box lets you define the grid by creating
margins within the image. Enter a number in each box, or check the
Full Size box to cover the entire image with the grid.
Draw: Click the Color button in this group box to assign a color to the
grid.
Width: These spin buttons let you determine the thickness of the lines
used to draw the grid.
Measure Units: Click the appropriate radio button to use either Pixels
or the Calibration units taken from the image (microns, for
example) to define the grid spacing and margins in the appropriate
units.
Save Grid File without Prompt: Check this box to automatically
save your grid settings file without Image-Pro prompting you to do
so.

Page 2-367

Process:Extended Depth of Field

Extended Depth of Field


The Extended Depth of Field feature comprises the multi-plane focus
feature, along with a new contrast detection algorithm and an option to
return a topographic map of the image. This feature allows you to
combine individual images or sequences into a single, in-focus,
composite image.
When you choose this option from the Process menu, you will see the
dialog below:

Image List Tab


The Available Images contains a list of all the images or sequences
that could be used to create a best-focus image. Any number of singleframe images or image sequences can be moved from the Available
Images list to the Selected Images list. Use your cursor to highlight
the name of the image or sequence that you want to move into the
Selected Frames area.
Available images that are sequences will indicate how many of the
frames are selected for the operation. If Apply to Sequence (on the
Page 2-368

Process:Extended Depth of Field


Sequence toolbar) is not selected, only the active frame will be used.
This indicates that Apply to Sequence is not active. When Apply to
Sequence is active, the length of the active portion of the sequence will
be indicated.
After the first image is selected, the Available Images list will be
filtered to list only images that are the same type and size as the
selected image (no conversion or resizing is supported).
Add: Click this button to move the highlighted image or sequence from
Available Images into Selected Frames. The Selected Frames are
used to create the image stack. Add will add frames from any images
selected in the Available Images list to the Selected Frames list, and
is enabled whenever there are one or more images selected. When an
image with multiple frames is added, the Selected Frames list will
indicate the range of frames that will be used, e.g. Heart.seq (525).
Add All: Click this button to move all the images or sequences from
Available Images into Selected Frames. Add All is always
enabled, and will add all images from the Available Images list to
the Selected Frames list. This feature does not check to see if there
are duplicate images, so if there are already images in the Selected
Frames list, the whole list from Available Images will be added to
them.
Remove: Click this button to move the highlighted image or sequence
from Selected Frames back into the Available Images list. Remove
will remove any images selected in the Selected Frames list, and is
enabled whenever there are one or more images selected.
Clear: Click this button to erase the images or sequences from the
Selected Frames list. Clear is always enabled and will remove all
images from the Selected Frames list.
Stack Order: The order of the images in the Selected Images, in
combination with the Stack Order controls, list will determine the
order of the stack.
Top Down: If you click this button, the first image at the top of the list
will be the first image in the stack and the bottom image the last.
Bottom Up: If you click this button, the order of the images is
reversed. The image at the top of the list will be the last image in the
stack, and the image at the bottom of the list will be the first image in
the stack. Note that the perceived position of the images will affect
the Topographic Map, and may affect which pixel is selected for
some of the focus analysis operations.
Page 2-369

Process:Extended Depth of Field


Move Up/Move Down: The Move Up and Move Down buttons ere
enabled when only one image is selected in the Selected Images list,
and only if the selected image does not have Z position information.
These buttons will move the selected item up or down in the list.
Select Default Plane: This feature is enabled whenever there are
images in the Selected Frames list. Clicking this button displays the
following dialog:

Select as Default Plane: Click this button to set the selected image
frame as the default plane to use when the multi-plane focus
algorithm does not find in-focus material on any of the supplied
planes. Since one or more of the source images may be multi-frame
image sequences, any sequence images are expanded to list each
included frame, with the frame number indicated in parenthesis.
Cancel: Click this button to cancel the default plane select and return
to the Extended Depth of Field dialog.
At the bottom of the Extended Depth of Field dialog box are 3
controls that are shared by all tab pages, as shown here:

The message box at the far left contains a text field indicating the
current number of images and frames in the stack. This field is updated
whenever any of the pertinent settings change. The first portion of the
field indicates the number of images; the second portion of the field
indicates the number of frames currently selected for inclusion in the
stack.
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Process:Extended Depth of Field


Create: Click this button to start the process of creating the image
stack. This button will only be enabled when there are at least two
selected image/frames. The dialog will not close when the stack is
created.
Cancel: Click this button to close the dialog. If images have been
added but an image stack has not been created, you will see a
message asking you if you want to continue.

Focus Settings Tab


The Focus Settings tab page allows you to select the various focus
analysis and output options.

The Output options provide the same functionality as the multi-plane


focus and software auto-focus options on the Acquire feature of
Scope-Pro.
Generate composite best-focus image: Clicking this button
creates a single image composed of the best pixels from the set of
input images, as determined by the Focus Analysis Options.
Return best-focus frame: Clicking this button creates a new
workspace containing a copy of the selected frame with the most infocus material.
Normalize Illum inatin: Use this option when the illumination or
intensity of emitted light will change in the time that it takes to
acquire all of the planes. Basically, this option corrects for uneven
illumination as the Z plane changes.
Page 2-371

Process:Extended Depth of Field


An example would be a sample that uses a fluorescent dye that
degrades with exposure to light. The first captured plane will have a
higher intensity then the last plane captured. In this case all captured
planes will be normalized before being processed into the final image.
Select Focus Regions for: There are four options to select what
area is in-focus:
Maximum Local Contrast: This method considers areas with
high/maximum contrast to be in focus. Pixels are analyzed in the
area around the current pixel location. The pixel from the plane
with the largest variance or local contrast is selected.
Maximum through-depth contrast: The mean value of the
pixels is calculated. The pixel from the plane with the largest
variance from the mean is selected.
Max. Intensity: This method is used for samples that are more
intense than the background such as light emitting fluorescent
dyes. The pixel from the plane having the highest intensity at the
current pixel location is selected.
Min. Intensity: This method is used for regions that are darker
than the surrounding area to be in focus. The pixel from the plane
having the lowest intensity at the current pixel location is selected
The Topographic Map options allow you to select whether or not to
generate a topographic map from the focus, and if so, whether to add an
intensity calibration.
Generate Topographic Map: Clicking this button creates a
topographic map from the focused image.
Display calibrated height: Clicking this button adds an intensity
calibration that translates the plane number values in the image to the
height. This option will be disabled if Generate Topographic map
is not selected, and also if the Z position of the image frames is not
known.
Activate Selected Image: When this box is checked, selecting an
image in the in the selected frames list will also cause the associated
workspace to be activated.
TestStrips: Clicking the Test strips button will generate a sequence
containing one frame for each combination of the Focus Analysis
options (Normalize on and off and the 4 Select regions options)
and order options (top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top).

Page 2-372

Process:Extended Depth of Field


Generate Topographic Map: Checking this box will cause the test
to use the topographic map output when selected; otherwise the
composite output is used.
Generate Sequence Gallery: Checking this box will cause the
resulting sequence to be made into a sequence gallery.

Page 2-373

Process:Align Images

Align Images
The Alignment Correction feature allows you to align individual
images, or images in a sequence, for translation, rotation, or scaling.
This feature is useful if you are working with images taken over time,
images with some camera movement, or if you are aligning channels in
multiple images from a beam splitter, or correcting for offset angles
through a stereo microscope Z-stack.

Input Tab
When you select Align Images from the Process menu, you will see the
following dialog:

The Input tab allows you to select two or more images to align. This
tab displays the list of available images on the left and the selected
images or sequences on the right.
Add: Click this button to move the highlighted image or sequence from
Available Images into Selected Images. The Selected Images are
used to create the aligned image stack. Add will add frames from any
images selected in the Available Images list to the Selected Images
list, and is enabled whenever there are one or more images selected.
When a sequence containing multiple frames is added, the Selected
Images list will indicate the range of frames that will be used, e.g.
Heart.seq (5-25).
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Process:Align Images
Add All: Click this button to move all the images or sequences from
Available Images into Selected Images. Add All is always enabled,
and will add all images from the Available Images list to the
Selected Frames list. This feature does not check to see if there are
duplicate images, so if there are already images in the Selected
Frames list, the whole list from Available Images will be added to
them.
Remove: Click this button to move the highlighted image or sequence
from Selected Images back into the Available Images list. Remove
will remove any images selected in the Selected Images list, and is
enabled whenever there are one or more images selected.
Clear: Click this button to erase the images or sequences from the
Selected Images list. Clear is always enabled and will remove all
images from the Selected Images list.
Iterate results: Checking this box allows you to select the output
sequence as the next input, once the initial alignment has been
performed. Some data sets may have incomplete registration, due to
data being distributed away from the center of the image, and a
second or third pass may improve the results.
Select Anchor Plane: This feature is enabled whenever there are
images in the Selected Images list. Clicking this button displays the
following dialog:

Page 2-375

Process:Align Images
Select as anchor frame: By default the reference image (which will
not be moved) will be the first item on the list or the first image in a
sequence. You can change the default by highlighting an image with
the cursor and clicking the Select as anchor frame button. All other
images will be moved to align relative to that image.
Images are presented as individual workspaces, as sequences with
active ranges, or as portions of Set Manager Z stacks. If any subset of a
sequence is chosen, all other subsets from that workspace will be
removed. Unselected Z stacks will remain in the input list. The input
list is filtered to include only images of the same size as those selected.
Selected images will be shown as workspace and frame number. Note
that set information is currently not preserved in the selection listbox.

Options Tab
The Options tab allows you to select the appropriate alignment
method; choose rotation, scaling, or translation, and set limits on how
far the alignment should go. The Options tab is shown here:

Alignment Method: Currently, you can choose between Fourier


Correlation and a user-specified model.
Save Alignment/Load Alignment: Click one of these button to
save or load a set of calculated alignments to/from the Documents
and Settings file. Alignment files have the extension *.ipa .

Page 2-376

Process:Align Images
Trim Borders: If the alignment is purely translation, checking this
box allows you to select trimming the output to include only those
pixels valid in each image. Otherwise the output image is the same
size as the input images, and empty pixels are filled with black.
If you select Fourier Correlation, you will see the following options:
Rotation/Scaling/Translation: Click the radio button to choose
which alignments to perform.
Rotation/Scaling angles and scales: These options let you choose
how many angles and scales to test. Rotation can be +/- 90
degrees, while scaling is possible over a range of about 0.7 to 1.4.
These ranges are divided by the number of angles or scales to test.
Higher numbers will require more computation. Note that these must
be power of 2 factors for the FFT algorithms.
Full/Phase correlation: Select one of these radio buttons to perform
the FFT translation correlation as a full correlation or as a phase-only
correlation. Full correlation works better for most images. Phaseonly correlation ignores image intensity, and may be preferable if the
overall image intensities vary while the patterns remain similar.
If you have User-Specified alignment selected, you will see the
following options:

Shift Per Plane: Indicate the number of pixels to shift the images on a
per plane basis. The XY calibration may be attached to the frames
using the Edit button on this options page
Angle in degrees: Indicate the angle to shift the images. This
requires calibrated XY images and a Z distance between images. The
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Process:Align Images
Z distance may be attached to the frames if they were captured using
Stage-Pro, or applied using the Edit button on this options page .
Calibrated DistancesClick this button to set the calibration for
XY distance (using the Spatial Calibration dialog) or the Z spacing
for stacks lacking inherent Z information. This affects the
relationship between the user specified shift per plane and the angle
Calculate: Click this button to run the alignment calculations on the
selected set of images.
Always Recalculate: Check this box to recalculate the alignment
whenever you click the Apply button.
Apply: Click this button to apply your alignment to the selected
images. This will create a new sequence of aligned images.
Adjust: Click this button to manually adjust the alignment. You will
see the following dialog:

Translation: Use the arrow buttons to adjust the translation .


Rotation: Use the spin buttons to adjust the rotation. Rotation can
be +/- 90 degrees.
Scaling: Use the spin buttons to adjust the scaling. scaling is
possible over a range of about 0.7 to 1.4.
X: Use the spin buttons to adjust the X position of the image for
alignment.
Y: Use the spin buttons to adjust the Y position of the image for
alignment.
Method of comparing images: Click the appropriate radio
button to choose the average or difference method.
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Process:Align Images
Frame: The slider bar indicates which frame in the sequence is
being processed.
Apply: Click this button to apply your alignment to the selected
images. This will create a new sequence of aligned images.
Cancel: Click this button to cancel the alignment changes.

Page 2-379

Process:Tile Images

Tile Images
The Tiling feature allows you to align and stitch images together. This
might be useful when constructing panoramic views, or for linking
together multiple images taken with a motorized stage
When you select the Tile Images feature from the Process menu, you
will see the following dialog:

Inputs Tab
The Input tab allows you to select two or more images to align. This
tab displays the list of available images on the left and the selected
images or sequences on the right.
Add: Click this button to move the highlighted image or sequence from
Available Images into Selected Images. The Selected Images are
used to create the tiled image stack. Add will add frames from any
images selected in the Available Images list to the Selected Images
list, and is enabled whenever there are one or more images selected.
When a sequence containing multiple frames is added, the Selected
Images list will indicate the range of frames that will be used, e.g.
Heart.seq (5-25).
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Process:Tile Images
Add All: Click this button to move all the images or sequences from
Available Images into Selected Images. Add All is always enabled,
and will add all images from the Available Images list to the
Selected Frames list. This feature does not check to see if there are
duplicate images, so if there are already images in the Selected
Frames list, the whole list from Available Images will be added to
them.
Remove: Click this button to move the highlighted image or sequence
from Selected Images back into the Available Images list. Remove
will remove any images selected in the Selected Images list, and is
enabled whenever there are one or more images selected.
Clear: Click this button to erase the images or sequences from the
Selected Images list. Clear is always enabled and will remove all
images from the Selected Images list.
Move Up/Move Down: The Move Up and Move Down buttons ere
enabled when only one image is selected in the Selected Images list,
and only if the selected image does not have Z position information.
These buttons will move the selected item up or down in the list.
These buttons are enabled only if Full Listing is on.
Insert Blank: Clicking this button will insert an empty frame into the
input list of available images.
Grid: Use this box to select the tiling arrangement. Note that only
rectangular arrangements are allowed, such as 3x4, 1x9, 5x2, etc. The
available arrangements are listed in the Grid combo box. Inserting
blanks may allow tiling if not all images are available for a
rectangular layout
Zig-Zag Ordering: Checking this option arranges the images in a zigzag pattern, like this:
1

Vertical Ordering: Checking this option arranges the images in


sequential order, as shown here:
1

Reverse X: Checking this option arranges the images in a reversed Xorder, as shown here:
Page 2-381

Process:Tile Images
2

Reverse Y: Checking this option arranges the images in a reversed Yorder, as shown here:
3

Full Listing: Clicking this button displays a list of all the images in
the sequence in the selected images list, in a regular order, as shown
here:
1

Otherwise, sequential frames in sequences are grouped together.


Set From Frames: Click this button to use the current position
information to create the tile.
Show Layout: Clicking this button displays a thumbnail of the tiled
image layout, as shown here:

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Options Tab
The Options tab allows you to choose the mosaic dimension, alignment
method, specify how much overlap is to be expected between images,
and limit how far the alignment may go. You will also be able to
choose whether edges of the images will be clipped midway between
images or blended in a graduated fashion. The Options tab is shown
here:

Tiling Method: Choose either User Specified or Fourier


Correlation from the drop-down list.
Stitch Method: Use the drop-down list to choose one of the stitching
methods: None, gradient blend, or trim to fit.
Save Tiling/LoadTiling: Click one of these button to save or load a
set of calculated alignments to/from the Documents and Settings file.
Tiling files have the extension *.ipt .
Full Correlation: Full: Click this radio buttons to perform the FFT
translation correlation as a full correlation Full correlation works
better for most images.
Phase Correlation: Click this button to perform the FFT correlation
as a phase-only correlation. Phase-only correlation ignores image
intensity, and may be preferable if the overall image intensities vary
while the patterns remain similar.
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Process:Tile Images
Use Calibrated Values: If spatial calibrations are available and
consistent for all input frames, it is possible to specify the overlap
region in calibrated units.
Compare Overlap: Specifies how much of the image should be
considered when calculating the tiling offsets. This is shown on the
Layout Preview with a red border between images. Note that the
shift between images is limited to these distances in X and Y.
Center of edges only: Check this box to perform the tiling using the
center of the edges of the image only.
Horizontal / Vertical: Specify the X-Y offset for horizontal (row)
pairings and for vertical (column) pairings, as described here:
Max offset (X and Y): Indicate the maximum offset in pixels for
the image tiling overlap.
Min offset (X and Y): Indicate the minimum offset in pixels for the
image tiling overlap.
Show Layout: Clicking the Show Layout button displays a new
dialog and a new workspace, showing all of the images overlaid with
a 50-50 blending or clipping at the edges. Each tile is indicated with a
crosshair in the center. Clicking on a tile recreates the data with the
selected tile shown as a Paste preview on the image, which allows
you to move it about with the mouse. This tile will be highlighted
with an additional graphic showing the active tile. Here is a preview
of the tiled images.

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Process:Tile Images
Adjust: Clicking this button allows you to adjust the image tiling
manually. You will see the following dialog:

Use the spin buttons to adjust the tile offsets manually.


Limit to potential matches: Checking this box limits the tiling to
adjacent images meeting a certain number of matching criteria.
Reset: Click this button to discard any changes and return to the
original image layout.
Cancel: Click this button to discard any changes and close the
Adjustment dialog.
Apply: Click this button to apply the tiling and stitching methods
selected to the images.

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Process:Sequence Gallery

Sequence Gallery
The Sequence Gallery feature creates a workspace from an active
image sequence. The individual frames in the sequence are displayed in
a gallery format; hence it creates a sequence gallery. Clicking the
Sequence Gallery menu item displays the following dialog:

Create Gallery: Clicking this button creates a sequence gallery


workspace from the active workspace. This feature is disabled if
there are no active images, or if the active image is a single-frame
workspace. Here is a sample sequence gallery:

Bring Sequence to Top: Clicking this button activates the sequence


workspace on which the gallery is based, and is only enabled when
the active workspace is a sequence gallery.
Update: Clicking this button will update the sequence gallery with any
changes to the image sequence in the active workspace.

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Update will be disabled until a sequence gallery is the active
workspace, and a change is made to the sequence that the gallery
cannot track, or when other changes are made and Update in
Background is not selected.
Update in Background: Checking this box provides a live link
between the sequence workspace and its gallery so that any changes
made to the sequence are updated in the gallery as they are made.
OK: This button closes the Sequence Gallery dialog.
The red square in the Sequence Gallery workspace indicates the active
frame in the larger Image-Pro workspace. Use your cursor to click on
different frames in the Sequence Gallery, and the red square will move
to the selected frame, and the active image in the Image-Pro workspace
will change to the selected frame as well.
Note: When a change is made to the length of the original sequence,
e.g. frames are added or removed, the sequence gallery workspace will
no longer be associated with the sequence, and the Update and Update
in Background links will no longer be active. The only valid option
will be Create Gallery.

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Measure:Calibration

The Measure Menu


Use the Measure menu commands to perform calibration, counting, and measurement
operations. If you have not done so already, please review the Measuring and
Counting discussion in Section 1 of your Start-Up Guide to provide you with an
overview of how the different tools work together.

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Calibration
Use the Calibration command to work with intensity and spatial
calibration scales. It is used to modify the scales, store modified scales
to disk, and re-load them when needed. If you are not familiar with the
calibration process, you may want to review the Intensity Analysis and
Measuring and Counting discussions in Section 1 before proceeding.
When you select the Calibration command, you will receive a menu
from which you must choose the calibration operation you want to
perform.
Calibration Wizard
Select Spatial
Spatial
Set System
Intensity
Step Tablet
Open
Save Active
Save All
Linearize Image
Linearize New
Each of these operations is described in the following pages.

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Reference Calibrations
Image-Pro Plus v. 5.1 introduces the concept of reference calibrations.
A reference calibration is generally a spatial calibration for a particular
configuration of your microscope optics (e.g. an objective) but any
calibration that you use frequently may be used as a reference
calibration.
Note: Previous versions of IPP saved every calibration used from
session to session, and after frequent use, the list of saved calibrations
could get cluttered. IPP 5.1 saves only reference calibrations. If you
want to import your calibrations from previous versions of Image-Pro
into version 5.1, copy the IPCAL.CAL file from old versions folder
into the IPREF.CAL folder in version 5.1.
You will generally want to create a reference calibration for each value
or total magnification of your optical system. Some of the elements that
affect total magnification are the microscope objectives, any
magnification-changing optics in the light path, and the camera used for
acquiring images. The recommended method for creating reference
calibrations is the Calibration Wizard, discussed in the next section, and
in your Image-Pro Plus Start-Up Guide.
The system calibration is a selected reference calibration . It is applied
automatically to each captured image. If you change the optics in the
light path, by changing the objectives or the camera, you should select
the corresponding calibration as the system calibration. The easiest way
to do this is to use the System Calibration toolbar, also discussed in
the following section.

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The Spatial Calibration Wizard


The Calibration Wizard is designed to make it easier for you to
calibrate single images or to define a set of reference calibrations.
Reference calibrations are used to calibrate each microscope objective,
used by Stage-Pro and Scope-Pro, and the system calibration will be
drawn from the list of reference calibrations. When you select the
Spatial Calibration Wizard from the Measure: Calibration menu, you
will see a Welcome screen.

The Spatial Calibration Wizard is designed to walk you through the


process of creating both active and reference calibrations quickly and
easily. You can follow the directions on each screen, and click Next to
continue.

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The following table indicates the steps required by both actions:

Step

Calibrate the active image

Create reference calibrations

Welcome page

Welcome page

Name and Units page

Reference Process page

Image Calibration page

Capture Setup page

Finish Image page

Magnifier page

Objective page

Capture Preview page

Reference Calibration page


Finish Reference page
Addition instructions and advice for using the Spatial Calibration
Wizard can be found in Chapter 10 of your Image-Pro Plus 5.1 StartUp Guide.

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Measure:Calibration
Use the Select Spatial option from the pop-out menu to
calibrate the current image. Clicking on this menu item displays the
following dialog box:

Choose the required spatial calibration from the drop-down list box,
and click OK. The correct calibration will be applied to the current
image.
List reference calibrations only: Check this box to see only the
list of saved IPP reference calibraions.
To place a marker on the image, click the Marker button. You will
see the following dialog:

The Style drop-down list allows you to choose either the On-Image or
Non-Destructive Markers. On-Image is the method that has been
used in previous versions of IPP, and is shown in the example above.
Non-destructive uses the same graphics overlays used in the Annotate
and Image Overlay features. Here is an example of the NonDestructive Marker settings:

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Measure:Calibration

The Non-Destructive Marker options include a Color button which


sets the on-image color in the same way described for the other OnImage color buttons, and Remove, which is enabled if there is a nondestructive marker on the active image and will remove the marker if
selected.
As the Tip indicates, once a non-destructive marker is placed on the
image (select one and click OK), the style of the marker can be edited
by double-clicking any of the marker elements (the text or either line):

The Marker Properties dialog allows you to change the marker


color (which will affect all on-image Calibration objects, in the same
way as all the previous on-image color buttons), and the settings for
the marker label, in a similar manner to the Annotation properties
dialog. The editable Marker properties are limited to the ones that
affect presentation and would not affect the accuracy of the marker
(such as line width or the ability to turn off Zoom with Image).

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Select Spatial from the pop-out menu if you want to calibrate


the spatial scale. By default, Image-Pro expresses spatial
measurements in terms of pixels. The Spatial command is used to
change the terms in which Image-Pro reports such measurements.
You would use this command if you wanted to measure objects in
terms of microns, or miles.
The Spatial command is also used to establish Aspect Ratio, Image
Offset, and Angle Offset values.
When you select the Calibration : Spatial command sequence, the
Spatial Calibration command window is displayed. This window is
linked to the active image, as is indicated by the image name in the
Spatial Calibration title bar.

From within this command window, you can apply an open set of
calibrations to the image by selecting the name of the set in the Name
field, or you can create a new set of calibrations by clicking the New
button and entering your calibration values in the appropriate group
box. When creating a new set, or modifying an existing set, you can
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Measure:Calibration
use the Image buttons to obtain the calibrations from within the
image itself.

Note: Your first step in using this window must be to either select an
existing set of calibrations in the Name field, or click New to create a
new set. The fields and buttons in this window will remain dimmed
until this is done. See Name and New discussions below.
Name: In this list box, select the set of calibration values you want
to apply to the image. If you want to use the uncalibrated (pixel)
values, select (none). Any reference calibrations that were loaded
(using the Calibration : Open command), and all calibrations used
on open images created since the Image-Pro application window
was last opened, will be listed in this list box.
You will not be able to enter calibration values until a name other
than (none) has been selected in the Name list box. If (none) is the
only set listed, you can create a set by clicking the New button and
specifying its calibration values.
By default, Image-Pro will assign the name Spatial Cal 0 to a
new calibration set; however, you may change this to a more
descriptive name if youd like. Up to 128 characters can be entered
as a description. Spaces and punctuation are allowed.
Note: Naming a calibration set does not save the set to disk. When a
calibration set is created, it is stored in memory. The name you
assign in the Name field is used to reference the set while it exists in
memory. If you want to permanently save a set of calibrations, you
must use the Save command on the Calibration commands pop-out
menu.
Apply: Clicking this button applies the selected calibration to the
active image. When None is selected, clicking this button removes
any calibrations from the active image. Apply is disabled when
there is no active image.
List reference calibrations only: This checkbox determines if
only reference calibrations will be listed. When this box is checked,
you will see a list of reference calibrations. This list does not
necessarily include the calibration of the current active image. If
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Measure:Calibration
this box is not selected, the calibration for the current active image
will appear in the list of all available system calibrations.
Calibration is a reference calibration: This checkbox indicates
the state of the current calibration. It can be used to make the
calibration a reference calibration if it isnt already, or make a
reference calibration a normal non-reference calibration (if the
calibration is also the system calibration, the system calibration will
be set to none).
System: Clicking this button makes the current calibration the
system calibration. It will be automatically applied to captured
images since the system calibration must be a reference calibration,
the current calibration is added to the list of reference calibrations
if it is not already there.
System Cal: The System Cal text field indicates the current system
calibration, which may or may not be in use.
New: Click this button to create a new set of calibration values.
When this button is clicked, Image-Pro will place the Spatial Cal
0 name in the Name list box (the 0 digit may be incremented to
make the set name unique) and activate the calibration fields in the
4 group boxes. The values you enter in the group boxes will make
up the new set. You can change the Spatial Cal 0 name to
something more descriptive by simply typing over this name in the
Name field. You can store the new set of values to disk using the
Save command on the Calibration commands pop-out menu.
Delete: Click this button to delete the current calibration.
Del All: Click the button to clear the list of all the reference
calibrations.
Unit: Type the name of your unit in this field (e.g., microns, inches,
miles) or select it from the list in the combo box . This name will
appear when Image-Pro reports spatial data in a report or graph.
Convert when change units: This option determines what action
will be taken when you change the calibration units in the unit list.
If this option is not selected, or if either of the calibration units are
not absolute physical units (such as meters or miles) then no action
will be taken. If this option is selected, and the units are absolute
physical units, then the pixels/unit (or units/pixel) scaling value will
be adjusted to converting the existing calibration to the new units.
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For example, if you convert a one-pixel per millimeter calibration
to use meters, the converted calibration will be set to 1000 pixels
per meter.
Pixels/Unit: In this group box, specify the number of pixels that
represent a single unit in both the horizontal (X) and vertical (Y)
direction.
The pixels/unit and units/pixel radio buttons determine how the
scaling values are used. The Pixels/Unit group box name is
changed to indicate the scaling in use, and the current scaling is
adjusted accordingly (e.g. 2 pixels/unit will convert to .5
units/pixel).
You may either enter the Pixel/Unit values directly into the X
and Y fields (by typing the values or using the and buttons),
or you can click the Image button to specify the values from an
object of known length in your image.
Note: If you enter X and Y values that are not the same,
Image-Pro will automatically update the Aspect Ratio field to
reflect the relationship between the two values (i.e., X/Y).
Similarly, if you change the Aspect Ratio value to anything but 1,
Image-Pro will change the Y value to reflect the selected Aspect
Ratio.
When you select the Image button, the Scaling dialog box is
presented, and a defining line is placed in your image.
Use the "defining
line" to measure a
reference object.

Enter units/
reference value in
this dialog box.

In the Scaling dialog box, specify the number of units your


reference object represents. If you will be calibrating from an
object that is exactly one unit in length, leave the reference value at
1. If it measures anything but 1, you must specify its known
length here. Then, you must place the defining line over the length
of the object to specify its size in pixels.
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Measure:Calibration
Use your mouse to position the defining line over your object.
When you move your cursor over the line, special cursor symbols
appear, letting you know that the line or one of its endpoints can be
moved.
To move the entire line,
place your cursor over
the middle of the line.
When the 4-way arrow
appears, drag the line to
a new position.
To move an endpoint,
place your cursor over
the end of a line. When
the wheel-cursor
appears, drag the
endpoint to its new
position.

You may drag the entire line


when you see the 4-way
cursor.

You may drag an endpoint


when you see the 4-spoked
cursor.

Position the defining line such that it stretches the length of the
reference object. Then click OK to return to the Spatial
Calibration dialog box.

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Image-Pro will calculate the calibration by dividing the number of
pixels under the defining line by the unit number you specified in
the Scaling box. The result will be placed in both the X and Y
fields of the Pixels/Unit group box.
Aspect Ratio: Use this group box to specify the relationship
between the horizontal and vertical axes in your image. The value
in this field represents X/Y. It is used to compensate for an image
acquired with a camera having an aspect ratio different from that of
the displaying device.
You may either enter the value directly into the Aspect Ratio field
(by typing the value or selecting it with the and buttons), or
you can click the Image button to specify the value from an object
that is known to be square in your image.
When you select the Image button, the Aspect Ratio message box
is presented, and a defining line is placed in your image.

Use your mouse to position the defining line diagonally over your
square object. When you move your cursor over the line, special
cursor symbols appear letting you know that the line or one of its
endpoints can be moved.
To move the entire line,
place your cursor over
the middle of the line.
When the 4-way arrow
appears, drag the line to
a new position.

You may drag the entire line


when you see the 4-way
cursor.

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To move an endpoint,
place your cursor over
the end of a line. When
the wheel-cursor
appears, drag the
endpoint to its new
position.

You may drag an endpoint


when you see the 4-spoked
cursor.

Position the defining line such that it stretches the diagonal length
of the square object, from corner-to-corner. Then click OK to
return to the Spatial Calibration dialog box.
Image-Pro will calculate the Aspect Ratio and update the Y value
in the Pixels/Unit group box if necessary.

You may also indirectly specify Aspect Ratio by setting the Y


value in the Pixels/Unit group box to a value not equal to the X
value. When X and Y values are not equal, Image-Pro will
automatically calculate and update the Aspect Ratio value.
Origin: Use this group box to specify an offset to the horizontal
and/or vertical origin of your image. These values establish what
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Measure:Calibration
will be considered position 0,0 within your bitmap. For example, if
you wanted pixel 10,10 to be considered the upper-left corner of
your image, you would enter offset values of 10 in each Origin
field. The Origin offset values affect the results produced by the
Centr-X and Centr-Y measurements, which report the X and
Y position of the center of a counted object..
You may either enter the Origin values directly into the X and
Y fields (by typing the values or selecting them with the and
buttons), or you can click the Image button to specify the values
from a point in your image.
When you select the Image button, the Origin Offset message box
is presented, and a cross hair is placed in your image.

Use your mouse to position the cross hair over the pixel that
represents the upper-left corner of the image. Then click OK to
return to the Spatial Calibration dialog box. Image-Pro will
calculate the X and Y origin offsets based upon the point you
selected.

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Measure:Calibration

Both positive and negative values are allowed. Negative X values


move the origin to the left of the left edge of the image, and
Negative Y values move the origin up above the top line of the
image.
Angle Offset: Use this group box to specify an offset, in degrees
to the vertical axis. This value affects the Angle results reported by
the Count/Size command, which measures the angle between the
vertical axis and the major axis of the measured object. The
vertical angle is equal to 0 unless an offset has been specified here.
If an ellipse measured 90 from vertical, but an offset of 10 had
been specified, Image-Pro would report the measurement as 80.
You may either enter the Angle value directly into the field (by
typing it or using the and buttons), or you can click the Image
button to specify the angle from the image.
When you select the Image button, the Angle Offset message box
is presented, and a defining line is placed in your image.

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Measure:Calibration

Use your mouse to position the defining line along the vertical axis
of your image.
To move the entire line,
place your cursor over
the middle of the line.
When the 4-way arrow
appears, drag the line to
a new position.
To move an endpoint,
place your cursor over
the end of a line. When
the wheel-cursor
appears, drag the
endpoint to its new
position.

You may drag the entire line


when you see the 4-way
cursor.

You may drag an endpoint


when you see the 4-spoked
cursor.

When the defining line is positioned along your vertical axis, click
OK to return to the Spatial Calibration dialog box.

Stretch the defining line


vertically along the
reference

Image-Pro will calculate the vertical offset in degrees and place the
result in the Angle field.

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Measure:Calibration

When you are satisfied with your Spatial Calibration settings,


press the Close button. This holds them in memory. To save them,
see the Calibration : Save command sequence below.

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Measure:Calibration
Wizard: Click this button to launch the Calibration Wizard, which
is described earlier in this section.
Mark: Use this button to add a Calibration Bar to your image. The
Mark button will be enabled, and you will see this message:

Use the spin buttons to set the marker size. To set the markers on
the image, click OK and move the marker on the image to the
desired position, and click the right mouse button. The marker
remains on the image:

This marker now represents one of whatever unit of measure you


have selected. To change the number of units represented, use the
spin buttons under Marker Length.
Note: The image itself is modified by marking the calibration bar
with on-image markers. If you want to be able to return to the
original image, make a copy before marking it, or use the nondestructive markers.
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Color: Click this button to set the color of overlay objects and the
non-destructive calibration markers used on the active image.
From Resolution: Click this button to create a new calibration
from the images resolution.
Select Set System from the Calibration pop-out menu if
you want to set a system calibration. The Spatial Calibration
toolbar appears, displaying the current active calibration:

You can choose a system calibration from the drop-down list box.
button: Clicking this button displays the full Spatial Calibration
dialog, where you can modify the spatial calibration settings.
Select Intensity from the Calibration pop-out menu if you
want to calibrate the intensity scale. By default, Image-Pro expresses
intensity measurements in terms of the actual pixel value contained in
the image bitmap. The Intensity command is used to express this
value in other terms. You would use this command if you wanted to
relate intensity to optical density, or relate intensity to temperature or
relate intensity to protein content, for example.
The Intensity calibration command is also used to establish Black and
Incident levels for optical density experiments.
When you select the Intensity command, the Intensity Calibration
command window is displayed. This window is linked to the active
image, as is indicated by the image name in the Intensity
Calibration title bar.

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Measure:Calibration

When the window is initially activated, the curve window is blank,


and most buttons and fields are dimmed. This indicates that ImagePros default intensity calibration is in effect for the image.
To change the default calibration, you can apply an open set of
calibrations to the image by selecting the name of the set in the Name
field. Or, you can create a new set of calibrations by clicking the
New button and specifying your curve type.
Once a calibration set has been selected, the curve window is filled
with the specified calibration curve, and the buttons along the right
are activated. Your window will look similar to the one below.

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The curve describes how the intensity values within your image will
be interpreted by Image-Pro. The horizontal axis depicts the
incoming intensity value, and the vertical axis, the output value
produced by calibration. Using the Options button, you can modify
the shape of this curve.
Using the Intensity Calibration window to create a new intensity
calibration involves the following basic steps:
1) Clicking the New button to create a new set. The
default intensity curve will be displayed.
2) Selecting the kind of curve you want to work with.
Highlight the Standard Optical Density option button if you
want to apply the standard optical density curve to your image.
Otherwise, leave the Free Form option button enabled.
3) Modifying the curve with the Options button. If the
Free Form option button is active, the Options button lets
you define the calibration curve. If the Standard Optical
Density is active, the Options button lets you define incidentlight and black levels.
The specific elements of the Intensity Calibration window are
defined below.
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Name: In this list box, select the set of intensity calibration values
you want to apply to the image. If you want to use the Image-Pro
default values, select (none). Any intensity calibration sets that
were loaded (using the Calibration : Open command), or created
since the Image-Pro application window was last opened, will be
listed in this list box.
You will not be able to enter intensity calibration values until a
name other than (none) has been selected in the Name list box. If
(none) is the only set listed, you can create a set by clicking the
New button and specifying its calibration values.
By default, Image-Pro will assign the name Intensity Cal 0 to a
new calibration set; however, you may change this to a more
descriptive name if youd like. Up to 20 characters can be entered
as a description. Spaces and punctuation are allowed.
Note: Naming a calibration set does not save the set to disk. When a
calibration set is created, it is stored in memory. The name you assign
in the Name field is used to reference the set while it exists in memory.
If you want to permanently save a set of calibrations, you must use the
Save command on the Calibration commands pop-out menu.
List reference calibrations only: This checkbox determines if
only reference calibrations will be listed. When this box is checked,
you will see a list of reference calibrations. This list does not
necessarily include the calibration of the current active image. If
this box is not selected, the calibration for the current active image
will appear in the list of all available system calibrations.
Calibration is a reference calibration: This checkbox indicates
the state of the current calibration. It can be used to make the
calibration a reference calibration if it isnt already, or make a
reference calibration a normal non-reference calibration (if the
calibration is also the system calibration, the system calibration will
be set to none).
New: Click this button to create a new set of calibration values.
When this button is selected, Image-Pro will place the Intensity
Cal 0 name in the Name list box (the 0 digit may be incremented
to make the set name unique) and activates the curve window. The
values you enter in the Options dialog box will make up the new
set.
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You can change the Intensity Cal 0 name to something more
descriptive by simply typing over this name in the Name field.
You can store the new set of values to disk using the Save
command on the Calibration commands pop-out menu.
Unit Name: Type the name of your unit in this field (e.g., density,
degrees, disbursement). This name will appear when Image-Pro
reports intensity data in a report or graph.
Free Form: Select this option button if you need to define a
calibration curve unique to your application.

When the Free Form button is enabled, the Options button is used
to specify (X,Y) pairs that define the shape of the calibration curve.
See Options on the following pages
Standard Optical Density: Select this option button if want to
interpret pixel values according to the standard optical density
curve (see Optical Density discussion in Section 1 for a definition
of this curve). When Standard Optical Density is selected, the
calibration curve appears as follows:

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When Standard Optical Density is selected, the Options button


is used to establish Incident and Black levels.
Number of Samples: Enter the number of samples to be used
along the X-axis. By default this value is set to the maximum value
for the intensity range. For Floating Point images, the sample
value defaults to 1000, but can be re-defined by setting a new value
here.
Options: Click this button to access the options dialog box for the
selected curve type: Free Form or Standard Optical Density.

Free Form Optical Density Options: If this button is checked


the FreeForm Intensity Calibration dialog box is presented.

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Within this box, specify the (X,Y) pairs that define your particular
curve. If your curve is linear, only two pairs need to be entered. If
your curve is nonlinear, enter as many pairs as you need to define
the curve to your satisfaction (you may enter a pair for each point
on the X-axis if you want - e.g., 256 pairs for a Gray Scale image).
Once you have entered all your points, click Close to return to the
Intensity Calibration window. The calibration curve will be
updated to reflect the points that you specified.
The following fields and buttons are used to create a list of
coordinates that define your curve:
In/Out: Enter the coordinate-pairs here. The In value specifies
the X-axis value (the intensity value actually contained in your
image), and the Out value specifies the Y-axis value (the
interpreted value). For example, if you want the intensity value
of 10 expressed as 50, type 10 as the In value, and 50 as the Out
value.
The In value can also be obtained from within the image itself by
using the Image button. See below.

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Note: The suggested workflow for Freeform Intensity Calibration is
to set the In and Out values first, then click Add to to add a new point
with those values. To edit an exisiting point, click the point in the list,
change the values in the edit boxes, and then click Change.
Add: Click this button to add the In and Out values to the
coordinate list. (You can also use this button to add a 0,0 pair to
the coordinate list , then use the Change button to assign new In
and Out values to each of these 0,0 pairs).
Change: Click this button to change the highlighted pair in the
list to the new values specified by the In and Out fields.
Delete: Click this button to delete the highlighted pair in the list.
Defaults: Click this button to delete the entire list, and return to
the Image-Pro default coordinates.
Image: Click this button to select the In value from within the
image itself. This is generally used if you have a test image
containing known calibration values. For example, you might
have an image that provides intensity examples for a range of
temperatures. The intensity value (In), would be selected from
the image, and the temperature value it represents would be
typed into the Out field (for optical density applications, such a
test strip is known as a density wedge).
When the Image button is selected, the Input Level dialog box
is presented. This box will report the actual intensity value of the
pixel beneath the cursor.

To select an intensity value from your image, move the cursor to


a representative pixel; the Current Value is updated as you move
the cursor. To use a bigger pixel neighborhood instead of just
one pixel, you may choose an average pixel value from the dropPage 2-415

Measure:Calibration
down list. When satisfied, click with the left mouse button or
press Enter. The value will be placed in the In field.
Note: Clicking OK places in the In field the value at the time you are
clicking OK. This may not be what you want.
Fitting Method: These fitting options are available:
LaGrange order 1 to 3: These are identical to fitting modes 1
to 3 in previous versions of Image-Pro Plus. This is also
known as piecewise polynomial fitting, where groups of 2 to
4 adjacent sampling points are fitted with a polynomial
function of order to 1 to 3.
Polynomial order 1 to 3: Polynomial fitting means that a
single polynomial function is fitted to all the sampling points.
Calibration always positive: This option ensures that the
fitted calibration curve or function never displays a negative
calibrated intensity.
Monotonic calibration: This option ensures that the fitted
calibration function always increases or always decreases ( i.e.
no two gray levels can have the same calibrated intensity value
unless the calibration function is flat between these two gray
levels.

Note: The two check boxes are needed most when using a polynomial
fitting, since Lagrange fitting ensures that the calibration function goes
through the sampling points, and unwanted negative values or nonmonotonic behavior is unlikely.
If the Standard Optical Density option button is checked,
the Optical Density Calibration dialog box is presented.

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Use the options in this box to set you Black and Incident levels.
You may enter these values directly into the edit boxes, or set them
by selecting a representative pixel within an image (that you have
acquired from your camera) using the Image button.
Black/Incident Level: In these two fields, specify the values
that represent Black (no light being transmitted) and Incident
(all possible light being transmitted) states in your image. You
may type the values directly into these fields, or use the Image
button to obtain them from the image.
Image: Use this button to obtain the Black or Incident level by
reading the value of a pixel in the image. When you select the
Image button the Black Level or Incident Level message box is
presented, as shown here:

Move the cursor to a pixel that represents the level you want to
set, and click your left mouse button. To use a bigger pixel
neighborhood instead of just one pixel, you may choose an
average pixel value from the drop-down list. The intensity value
will be placed in the Black Level / Incident Level field.
Select Step Tablet from the Calibration pop-out menu if
you want to use the Step Tablet to create a new intensity or
optical calibration curve by using a calibrated step tablet.

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When you select the Step Tablet command, the Step Tablet
Calibration dialog box appears as follows:

Open the image of an intensity or density calibration step tablet,


similar to the one following:

Click on the Locate Step Tablet button. Follow the instructions that
appear in the additional dialog box below:

Use the left mouse button to click on the first step in the image and
then click on the OK button.
Follow the next set of instructions by clicking on the last step.
Image-Pro displays the outline of the various steps and labels them
with step numbers, as shown below.
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Measure:Calibration

Enter the optical density or intensity values in the appropriate cell


corresponding to each of the steps of the Step Tablet Calibration
dialog box. Image-Pro allows you to enter values for up to 28 steps
for the calibration. When you are finished entering the step values in
the Step Tablet Calibration dialog box, click on OK.
Image-Pro creates a new intensity or optical density calibration curve
according to the step values just entered, and returns to the Intensity
Calibration dialog box described in the previous section.
Select Open from the Calibration pop-out menu if you want
to load a calibration file that had been created using the Calibration
commands Save option. Once a calibration file is loaded, its values
are made available to any open image window. The calibration
values are applied to an image by selecting them in the Spatial
Calibration and Intensity Calibration dialog boxes.
When the Open command is selected, the Open Calibration dialog
box is presented.
File Name: From this list box, select the name of the file you want to
open. You can either type the name of the file (with its entire path, if
is not in the current directory), or use the Look in, and File Type
selections to obtain a list of file names from which you can select.
Double-clicking on a file name in the File Name list box will
automatically open it.
File Type: Only calibration files (*.CAL) can be selected in this list
box.
Select Save Active from the Calibration pop-out menu if
you want to save the Intensity and/or Spatial calibration values
currently applied to the active image. Saved calibration files can be
re-loaded at a later time and attached to any open image. You might
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Measure:Calibration
also distribute the calibration file to other Image-Pro-for-Windows
users in your work group who need the same calibration settings for
their analyses.
It is important to understand that it is the selections of the active
image that are saved to a file. If the active image has both Intensity
and Spatial calibration sets applied to it, both sets of data will be
saved into the calibration file. If the active image has only one type
of calibration values applied, and the other type is set to (none), only
the selected type will be saved to the file (for example, if Spatial
values are set but Intensity values are not, only the Spatial values
would be stored into the file).
Similarly, reference calibrations need to be applied to the active
image to be saved with the image data. Otherwise, you need to use
the Save All feature to save both system and reference calibrations.
When you select the Save Active option from the Calibration popout menu, the Save Calibration dialog box is presented.
File Name: Enter the name of the file you want the calibration
values saved to. To specify the files location, you can either enter
its entire path (disk and directory), or specify its location using the
Save in list box.
Do not type an extension. Image-Pro will automatically assign a
.CAL extension to your file name.
Clicking once on a file displayed in the list of files under the File
Name box will select that file name as the one to which you want
the calibration values stored (i.e., you are requesting that the file be
overwritten). Double-clicking on the file name will automatically
save the values to that file. Any time you save calibration values to
an existing file, Image-Pro will request confirmation.
File Type: Only *.CAL can be selected here. Calibration values
are stored in ASCII format.
Select Save All from the Calibration pop-out menu if you
want to save the Intensity and/or Spatial calibration values currently
selected for the active image. Saved calibration files can be re-loaded
at a later time and attached to any open image. You might also
distribute the calibration file to other Image-Pro-for-Windows users
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in your work group who need the same calibration settings for their
analyses.
It is important to understand that it is the selections of all open
images that are saved to a file. All Intensity and Spatial calibration
sets assigned to any open image will be saved into the calibration file.
If the open images have only one type of calibration values and the
other type is set to (none), only the selected type will be saved to the
file (for example, if Spatial values are set but Intensity values are
not, only the Spatial values would be stored into the file).
When you select the Save All option from the Calibration pop-out
menu, the Save All Calibrations dialog box is presented.
File Name: Enter the name of the file you want the calibration
values saved to. To specify the files location, you can either enter
its entire path (disk and directory), or specify its location using the
Save in list box.
Do not type an extension. Image-Pro will automatically assign a
.CAL extension to your file name.
Clicking once on a file displayed in the list of files under the File
Name box will select that file name as the one to which you want
the calibration values stored (i.e., you are requesting that the file be
overwritten). Double-clicking on the file name will automatically
save the values to that file. Any time you save calibration values to
an existing file, Image-Pro will request confirmation.
File Type: Only *.CAL can be selected here. Calibration values are
stored in ASCII format.
Select Linearize from the Calibration pop-out menu if you
want to display the current image with the calibrated pixel values
that were applied as a result of the intensity calibration.
Select Linearize New from the Calibration pop-out menu if
you want to create a new image with linearized, calibrated pixel
values.

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Measure:Count/Size

Count/Size
Use the Count/Size command to perform counting and measurement
operations. The Count/Size dialog contains many functions and
options. Moreover, it contains a menu bar with an entire set of its own
commands.

Counting/Sizing can be performed upon an entire image, or upon an


active AOI.
Important - if you want to express your measurement results in terms
other than the default intensity and pixel-width values, you must
calibrate the intensity and spatial scales before you count and measure.
See the Calibration command.
The basic steps involved in a counting task are to:
1. Set the range of intensities (monochrome images) or the
colors (color images) that identify the object you want to count
using the tools in the Intensity Range Selection group box.
2. Select the kinds of measurement you want to record
in the Count/Size : Measure menus Select Measurements
command.
3. Count and measure the objects using the Count button.
Then, using the Count/Size menu commands, your measurements can
be viewed, saved, and edited. You can also classify, sort and graph
your data using the menu commands.
When you select the Count/Size command, the Count/Size window is
displayed.
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Measure:Count/Size
Before performing your counting or measurement operation, be sure
your intensity and spatial scales have been calibrated for your
application. See the Calibration command.
Note: During a Count/Size operation, Image-Pro reports intensity
and size data in terms of the currently specified intensity and spatial
units. In the command and option descriptions below, the general
terms intensity and pixels are used, but keep in mind that these
properties will actually be reported in the terms that you have
specified with the Calibration command.
Intensity Range Selection: Use the options in this box to specify
the intensity values that define the objects you want counted and
measured. You can manually select the range by highlighting a
segment of the intensity or color scale, or you can request to have
Image-Pro automatically determine the range.
Current Range: This informational field displays the boundaries
of the currently selected intensity range. All pixels containing
intensities within this range (endpoints included) are considered
part of a countable object. These values are set using either the
Manual or Automatic intensity selection options.
Automatic Bright Objects: Click this option button if you
want Image-Pro to analyze your image and automatically set the
intensity range when it performs the count. Image-Pro will
interpret Bright Objects as foreground objects (on a dark
background).
Automatic Dark Objects: Click this option button if you want
Image-Pro to analyze your image and automatically set the
intensity range when it performs the count. Image-Pro will
interpret Dark Objects as foreground objects (on a bright
background).
If Image-Pro does not successfully extract your objects from your
image, you may need to use the Flatten Background command on
the Count/Size windows Image menu to eliminate background
intensities that compete with your objects.
Manual: Click this option button if you want to define your
intensity range manually. After you have selected Manual, click
the Select Range button (for monochrome) or Select Color
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Measure:Count/Size
button (for color), to specify the range of intensities/colors that
define the objects in the active image.
If you are working with a monochrome image, click the
Select Ranges button to set from one to 16 intensity ranges that
define the objects in the active monochrome image. You might want
to do this to distinguish objects at a particular intensity range from
their background or from other objects. An object is defined as that
area whose pixels fall within the intensity values of its defined
range.
Note: Image-Pro attempts to preview your segmentation on the image
while you adjust the ranges. This is done using a process that divides
the current display range into 256 bins and assigns the preview colors
for each bin. If you are segmenting a high-precision image type (i.e. 16bit grayscale), this process is inherently less accurate than the actual
segmentation will be. You can make the preview more accurate by
using Enhance: Display Range to narrow the range of intensities that
are displayed during the preview process.
When you click Select Ranges , the Segmentation dialog box is
presented.

Initially, one range will be selected. You will set it and additional
ranges, one range at a time, until you have as many as you need. For a
description of this dialog, please refer to the Segmentation section.
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Measure:Count/Size
Click the Color Button to change the color representation of the
current range. The Colors dialog box appears.

To choose a different Basic Color, click the desired color, then


click OK. Custom colors are not enabled. For more information
about the Colors dialog, see the Process: Pseudo-Color section
earlier in this manual.
Click the OK button when you have completed your multiple
threshold selections.
You may proceed with counting objects based upon the value
ranges you have selected.
If you are working with a color image, click the Select
Color button to specify the range of colors that define the
objects within your image. When you click Select Color the
Segmentation dialog box is presented. For a description of this
dialog, please refer to the Segmentation section

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Measure:Count/Size

Use this dialog box to segment out the objects that are to be
counted and/or measured. See the Segmentation command for
procedures on segmenting color ranges from an image.
Note: You do not have to apply the segmentation to the image
with Make Mask in order to count/measure the objects within
it. Once you have segmented out the objects to your
satisfaction (as evidenced by a segment Preview), the
Segmentation dialog box can be closed, and you may proceed
to count and measure the objects.
Count: Click this button to initiate a counting and measuring
operation. When this button
is clicked, Image-Pro will
count and outline the objects
within the active image or
AOI, as shown in this
example.
If either the Automatic
Bright Objects or
Automatic Bright Objects
intensity option is enabled,
Image-Pro will automatically
analyze the image before
performing the count, and
identify the intensities that separate the objects from the
background. Otherwise, it will count the objects as defined by
the intensity range you have set manually.
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Measure:Count/Size
Before clicking the Count button, be sure you have specified
your measurement and outline options. Image-Pro will measure
as well as count if measurements have been selected with the
Select Measurements command, and if the Measure Objects
option is on. Otherwise, objects will simply be outlined and
counted. You can control whether measurements replace or are
added to existing data in the data sheet using the Add Count
option. You can also count and measure only objects meeting
certain criteria using the Apply Ranges option and Set Ranges
command. See option and command descriptions below for more
information about these capabilities.
The count operation will outline the objects it finds in your image
in the manner you have specified in the Options menu. See
Options below.
Options: Click this button to access and change options relating to
the way counted objects are identified and outlined. These options
can be used to change the outline color, or to display counted
objects with a solid color instead of an outline. It also contains
options that determine how holes and partial objects are treated.
When you click the Options button, the Count/Size Options dialog
box is presented.

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Measure:Count/Size
Display Options: Use the options in this group box to specify
how you want your counted objects highlighted and labeled. The
results of each option you select will be depicted in the sample
image to the right.
Outline Style: This list box determines the way in which you
want your counted objects distinguished. Choose one of the
following options:

None - counted objects will not be highlighted in any way


(other than with their label number, if that option is
enabled).

Outline - counted objects will be highlighted with a


colored trace around their perimeter.

With Holes - counted objects will be highlighted with a


colored trace around their perimeter and around any holes
that are within the object (holes are defined as pixels
within an object that are not of the specified intensity).
The objects on the left have been outlined using the With
Holes option, and on the right with the Outline option.

Note: If the Fill Holes checkbox is selected, the With Holes outline
style has no effect. Only a perimeter outline will appear. This is
because the Fill Holes option treats all pixels encompassed by the
perimeter as part of an object, regardless of their intensity value.

Page 2-428

Filled - counted objects will be highlighted with a solid


color. The entire object will appear in the color selected in
the color option box.

Ellipse - counted objects will be highlighted with their


ellipse equivalents (ellipse with same major and minor
axes as object).

Measure:Count/Size

Class - counted objects will be colored according to their


class. This option will color-code the counted objects
according to the classifications created by the Auto
Classification or Single Variable Classification
commands. If there is only one object class, this selection
will yield the same results as Outline.

Class Filled - counted objects will be colored according


to their class, then highlighted with a solid color. This
option will color-code the counted objects according to the
classifications created by the Auto Classification or
Single Variable Classification commands. If there is
only one object class, this selection will yield the same
results as Filled.

Dot -marks each counted object with a small cross hair


positioned in the center of the objects bounding box.
Label Style: This list box determines the kind of label that will
be displayed. Choose one of the following options:

None - label numbers will not be displayed.

Obj # - a counted objects will be displayed with the


unique number that identifies it.

Class - a counted object will be displayed with the


number of the class to which it has been assigned by the
Auto Classification or Single Variable Classification
commands.

Measurement- use the value for a specific measurement,


such as area, as the label.

Label Color: The Label Color list box allows you to choose
the colors for your labels. If you elect to show labels, all the
labels will be in the same color, even if you have several ranges
or several classes.
Choose Color by Range: If you have selected Multiple
Thresholds, using the Manual: Select Range option on the
Count/Size dialog box, the (Range) list box will contain the
names of those ranges. Otherwise, only one range will be
available to you. If you make no color changes, the colors you
chose for the Multiple Threshold will be used.
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Measure:Count/Size
If you have trouble distinguishing some ranges, you may want
to change one or more colors. Note that you will be able to
observe the distinction better if you select Filled for your
Outline Style. From the list box, choose the range whose color
you want to change.
Click the Choose Color button to change the color
representation of the current range. The Color dialog box
appears. Colors

To choose a different Basic Color, click the desired color, then


click OK. For more information about the Colors dialog, see
the Process: Pseudo-Color section earlier in this manual.
Dark Background on Sample: Check this box if your image
has bright images on a dark background. This allows you to
observe on the sample image the color selections you have
made.
Object Options: The options in this group box affect how objects are
recognized by the Count/Size module.
Clean Border: Select an option from the drop-down list to exclude
from the count any objects that intersect the designated edges of
your image or AOI.
Pre-filter: Select this option to include in the Total Count
display, only those objects that are within the specified range.
When Pre-filter is not checked, the Total Count value
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Measure:Count/Size
represents all objects within the AOI or image, not just those
meeting the range criteria.
Fill Holes: Select this option to exclude from the count any
objects that are embedded within other objects. When Fill Holes
is checked, Image-Pro will ignore any objects it finds that are
totally encompassed by a larger object.
Convex hull: Select this option to create a smooth area around
the perimeter of irregularly shaped objects. For example, if you
have an area such as star or crescent shape, selecting this option
will fill in the areas between the points before taking any
measurements.
Smoothing: Enter a smoothing value from 0 (no smoothing) to
100 (Maximum smoothing). Any smoothing value greater than
zero instructs Image-Pro to perform smoothing, and indicates to
what degree smoothing should be performed. If perimeter and
roundness are critical measurements, do not use smoothing.
4-Connect: Check this box to use the 4-connect method of
separating objects in the image. If the 4-connect method is used,
only objects that share a corner pixel will be counted separately.
8-Connect: Check this box to use the 8-connect method of
separating objects in the image. If the 8-connect method is used,
objects that are connected in any way will be counted as one.
This property is used during the object extraction process. If the
mode is set to 4-connected, objects that share only a corner pixel
are counted as separate objects. When the mode is set to 8connected, objects connected in any way will be counted as one.
The following figures illustrate 4- and 8-connected joinings,
respectively:
1
1
2
3
2
3
4
5
4
6
7
8

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Measure:Count/Size
In the example below, two objects
are connected by two pixels along
a diagonal.

When 4-connected mode is


selected, they will be counted as
two objects. In 8-connected mode,
they count as one.

In the example below, the same


two objects are connected by two
pixels in a vertical or horizontal
direction.

In both 4- and 8-connected modes,


the two objects are counted as one.

Measure Objects: Select this option on the Count/Size window if


you want Image-Pro to record measurements for the counted
objects. If this option is checked, Image-Pro will perform and
record the measurements you have specified with the Select
Measurements command. If this option is not checked, Image-Pro
will only count and outline your objects.
Apply Ranges: Select this option if you want Image-Pro to count
only those objects that fall within the measurement ranges you have
specified with the Set Ranges command. If this option is
unchecked, all objects are counted and measured; the Set Ranges
criteria are ignored.
Note: The Measure Objects option must be checked when you use the
Apply Ranges option. If Measure Objects is not enabled, Image-Pro
will not have the data it needs to determine whether an object is within
the specified range.
Accumulate Count: Select this option if you want Image-Pro to
keep the current outlines and measurements when you perform a
new count (i.e., when you click Count). Ordinarily, Image-Pro
clears all previous measurements when it begins a new count;
however, if the Accumulate Count option is enabled, the previous
measurements are maintained, and the new ones are simply added
to it.
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Measure:Count/Size
There are a couple of instances where the Accumulate Count
option is useful. First, you might use it to add the measurements
from one AOI to another. If you had collected measurements from
one part of your image, then moved your AOI to collect additional
measurements from another area, you might want to set
Accumulate Count option to collect all the measurement in a
single data set.
You might also want to use Accumulate Count if you were
collecting data for more than one kind of object. If, for example,
you had counted a set of objects defined by one intensity range,
then redefined the intensity range for a new set of features, you
would use Accumulate Count to combine the measurements of the
two object sets.
Note: If the new intensity range causes a new object to touch an
existing outline, the new object will be counted as a part of the
previous outline.
Display objects: Check this box to turn the display of the counted
objects on or off.
Delete: Click this button to clear the existing object outlines and
measurements. When you select this button, the following prompt
will require you to confirm your request:

If you respond Yes or press Enter, Image-Pro will clear the outlines
from your image, and clear the measurements from your data sheet.
A response of No will leave your outlines and measurements
unchanged.

Page 2-433

Measure:Count/Size

Count/Size File Menu


The commands on the Count/Size windows File menu are used to
perform operations that load and save measurement, outline and
environment settings to and from disk files. It also contains the
command to close the Count/Size window.
Data to File : Select the Data to File. command to store the current
measurement data sheet to disk. The measurement file can be saved to
an ASCII file, or to a LOTUS 123 WK1 spreadsheet file. In either
case, the file will contain a measurement record for each object in the
count. The saved data can be imported into a spreadsheet application or
used as input to an external program.
When you select Data to File, the Save Data dialog box is displayed:

Specify the type of file you want to create in the Save As Type field.
Then, enter the name of the file to which you want the measurement
data saved and click OK.
Header: Check this box if you want Image-Pro to create a header for
your file.
Left Column: Check this box if you want Image-Pro to place the
data in the file starting with the far left column.
Append Data to File : Select the Append Data to File. command to
store the current measurement data sheet as an attachment to an existing
file.

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Measure:Count/Size
The measurement file can be saved to an ASCII file, or to a LOTUS
123 WK1 spreadsheet file. In either case, the file will contain a
measurement record for each object in the count. The saved data can be
imported into a spreadsheet application or used as input to an external
program.
When you select Append Data, the Save Data dialog box is displayed
(on preceding page). Specify the type of file you want to create in the
Save As Type field. Then, enter the name of the file to which you want
the measurement data saved and click OK.
Data To Clipboard: Select the Data To Clipboard command to copy
the current measurement data to the Windows Clipboard. From there,
the data can be pasted into any application that accepts text from the
Clipboard.
Data to Printer: Select the Data To Printer command to print out
the current measurement data .
DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to transfer data
to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. For additional information about
DDE, see the Dynamic Data Exchange discussion.

DDE Options : Select the DDE Options command to tell Image-Pro


how and where to export the current data via DDE. For additional
information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data Exchange discussion.

Save Outlines : Select the Save Outlines command to store the


current outlines to disk. You may save your object outlines, as a list of
polygonal shapes, to an ASCII or a binary file.
Saved outlines can be superimposed upon another image using the Load
Outlines command. Outline files are required by the Population
Density command, as they define the area from which object density
will be derived. You might also use an outline file as input to an
external program. When you select Save Outlines , the Save Outlines
dialog box is displayed:

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Measure:Count/Size

Specify the name of the file to which you want the counted object
outlines saved, choose *.OUT for binary files or *.TXT for ASCII
files, then click Save.
Note: If you have highlighted your objects with the Fill option,
Image-Pro will store the perimeter definitions to the outline file.
No data will be included to describe the fill.
Load Outlines : Select the Load Outlines command on the
Count/Size windows File menu to superimpose an outline file onto the
active image. Outline files are created using the Save Outlines
command from the Count/Size or Measurements commands File
menu. If you are preparing an image for a Population Density
command, you must use this Load Outlines to superimpose the outlines
encompassing your counted objects. You might also load an outline file
for positional or alignment purposes.
When you select the Load Outlines command, the Load Outlines
dialog box is presented.
Select the binary outline file(*.OUT) you want to load, then click
Open. When the outlines are loaded, their measurements (as currently
specified in the Select Measurements command) are calculated and
added to the measurement data sheet. If the outline file is one created
by the Measurements command, and contains open outlines (e.g., lines,
traces, angles), they will be closed when they are loaded (Count/Size
works with polygons).
Note: An outline loaded from an outline file is simply superimposed
upon your image. It is not actually written to your image bitmap.
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Save Settings : Select the Save Settings command on the


Count/Size windows File menu to store the current Select
Measurements , Set Ranges, and Options specifications. The Save
Settings command stores these values to a file so that, at some future
point, you can simply reload these values instead of having to
reestablish them manually. Your Count/Size settings are saved to an
environment (.ENV) file.
When the Save Settings command is selected, the Save Settings dialog
box is presented:

Specify the name of the file to which you want the count/size settings
saved, then click OK.
Load Settings : Select the Load Settings command on the
Count/Size windows File menu to set the Select Measurements, Set
Ranges, and Options settings to the values defined in the Image-Pro
environment file (an .ENV file). An environment file is created by
saving these settings using Image-Pros Save Settings command.
When the Load Settings command is selected, the Load Environment
dialog box is presented. Select the environment file you want to load,
then click Open.
Record Environment: Select this command if you want to record
your current environment settings in a macro.
Close: Use this command on the Count/Size windows File menu to
close the Count/Size window. Closing the Count/Size window will not
affect active measurements and outlines, nor will it close the
Measurements data sheet window if it is open.

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Count/Size Edit Menu


The commands on the Count/Size windows Edit menu are used to
modify counted objects and their outlines. Note that you must select the
objects in your image to apply these commands to them.
Split Objects : Use the Split Objects command to manually split a
single object (usually a cluster that Image-Pro has counted as one
object) into two or more objects. When you select Split Objects the
Outline dialog box and the Split Objects message box are both
presented, the freeform AOI tool is activated, and the drawing-arrow
cursor appears in your image:

Use the drawing arrow to draw


a dividing line between your
two objects. To draw a line,
click the left mouse button at
each endpoint. When both
points have been defined, click
your right mouse button.
Image-Pro will display the line
that you have defined. If you
are satisfied with the line, click
the right mouse button.
You may also split an object
with a polyline (a continuous
line with more than one
segment). To create a
polyline, simply click the left
mouse button at each node.
When the line has been
entirely defined, click the right
mouse button.

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When placing the line to split your object, be sure the dividing line
intersects the perimeter of the object that you are splitting (its okay if
the line extends outside the perimeter, as shown in the examples above).
You may also use the Freeform AOI
Tool to segment the object. Simply
click once on the Outline dialog box,
then draw your AOI (or use the AutoTrace feature). When the line has
been entirely defined, click the right
mouse button.
When you have finished splitting the object, using any of the above
methods, click the right mouse button to finish the operation.
Auto-Split: Use the Auto-Split command on the Count/Size windows
Edit menu to automatically analyze every counted object and split any
detected clusters into individual objects (note that Auto-Split will
evaluate all objects in your image or AOIif you want to selectively
split objects, use the Split Objects command above).
The Auto-Split command performs its splitting process by looking for
concavities in objects. It works best on clusters created by round
objects that overlap by no more than 1/3. Please refer to the Measuring
and Counting discussion in Section 1 for more about clustering criteria.
When you select the Auto Split command, the following message box is
presented:

Click Yes to continue with the Auto Split operation, or No to cancel it.

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Watershed Split: Use the Watershed Split command on the
Count/Size windows Edit menu to automatically analyze every counted
object and split clusters using the Watershed separation technique. The
Watershed method erodes objects until they disappear, then dilates them
again such that they do not touch.
The Watershed Split command may be more effective than the AutoSplit method if your objects are not convex.
Limited Watershed Split: Use the Limited Watershed Split
command on the Count/Size windows Edit menu to set a limit on the
number of pixels to erode for a watershed split. The Limited Watershed
method erodes objects only up to a certain point. When you select this
command, you will see the following dialog box:

Enter the number of pixels to erode for the limited watershed split, and
click OK.
Draw/Merge : Use the Draw/Merge command on the Count/Size
windows Edit menu to manually create an object outline or merge
individual counted objects into one. The basic steps involved when
using the Draw/Merge command are:
1. Draw an AOI that defines the object(s) you want to merge or create
(you will probably want to use the Freeform AOI tool for maximum
flexibility, but any of the AOI tools can be used).

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You can combine objects by
drawing the AOI to connect the
perimeters of the objects
(example, right). Or you can
define an entirely new object by
simply drawing an AOI over the
background (lower example).
Please refer to the Measuring
and Counting discussion in
Section 1 for more about
defining AOIs to group objects
for Draw/Merge.

2. Select the Draw/Merge command to create a counted object


from the AOI you have defined. When you select the Draw/Merge
command, the Outline dialog box and the Draw/Merge Objects
message box are presented and the freeform AOI tool is activated.

If your AOI is already defined (as described in Step 1), click OK. If
you have not yet defined an AOI, or are not satisfied with the one you
have defined, define one now. Then click OK.
Once you click OK, Image-Pro will combine the objects, or add the
new object to the count.
Convert AOI to Object: The Convert AOI to Object command finds
any AOIs or Multiple AOIs outlined in the image and converts them to
objects. The AOI is then hidden to display the new objects. This
command is only available when you have created AOIs before
selecting the Count/Size function.

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Smooth Objects: Use the Smooth Objects command on the
Count/Size windows Edit menu to smooth objects that have already
been counted. When the Smooth Objects command is selected, the
following dialog box is issued:

Enter a smoothing value from 0 (no smoothing) to 100 (maximum


smoothing). This command performs the same smoothing as the
Smoothing option in the Count/Size Options dialog box, but is done
without recounting your objects (you wont lose any object edits, i.e.,
split, merge, hide, that have been done).
See also Smoothing in the discussion of the Count/Size Options dialog
box.
Remove Holes : Use the Remove Holes command on the Count/Size
windows Edit menu to remove counted objects that are embedded
within other counted objects, and count as the area all pixels
encompassed by the perimeter of an object, not just those falling within
the selected intensity range.
When the Remove Holes command is selected, the following dialog box
is issued:

Click Yes to proceed. This command performs the same process as the
Fill Holes option in the Count/Size Options dialog box, but is done
without recounting your objects (you wont lose any object edits, i.e.,
split, merge, hide, that have been done).
Note: The Remove Holes command does not literally remove, or fill,
the holes in your objects. It does, however, remove embedded objects
from the count and ensure that the entire area within an object is
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Measure:Count/Size
included in its area measurement. See also Fill Holes in the discussion
of the Count/Size Options dialog box.

Toggle Objects On/Off: Use this command to show or hide objects


in your image. When you left-click the mouse cursor on an object, its
overlay is hidden, so that object will not be taken into account in any
measurements or statistics. Left-click the mouse cursor again to display
the object.
Delete Hidden Objects: Use this command to remove objects that
you have hidden, or that are out of the selected range. When you click
this command, you will see a message asking you if you really want to
remove these objects. Click Yes to remove the objects. The remaining
objects in the image will be renumbered.

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Count/Size View Menu


Use the commands on the Count/Size : View menu to view the data and
statistics associated with the counted objects in the active window.
Measurement Data: Use the Measurement Data command to
display the Measurements window. The Measurements window
contains the measurement data sheet for objects in the active image
window.

The Measurements window, like other windows, can be moved by


dragging its title bar. It can be enlarged and reduced by dragging its
borders. Use the scroll buttons along the bottom and left side to scroll
through your data.
Only measurements for the active objects are listed in the data sheet.
And, its contents are dynamicthe measurements will change as you
activate/deactivate objects, or add/remove measurement types.
The Sort options on this dialog box allow you to leave it in object
number order (No Sort), or sort your measurement information in
ascending or descending order, using your choice of measurements for
the sort (using the On list box) .
Locate the object: As you examine the measurement data, you may
want to view a specific object. To do so, click this check box, then
select the object from the Measurement Data window (click
anywhere on the row for that objects data). A radiating signal
identifies the object if it is in view.

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Note: If the Measurement Data window is covering up your image,
you may need to drag it aside, in order to see the located object.
Scroll to the object: If you want to locate an object that may not be
in view, click this check box before you select the object (see Locate
the object, above). Image-Pro finds the objects, scrolls your image to
center it in your view, and signals its location.
If you do not check the Scroll to the object check box and the object
you are locating is not visible, Image-Pro will signal this fact with a
beep and a radiating flag at the side or corner of the image to which
you should scroll, manually, in order to see the object.

View : Measurement Data : File Menu: The options on


this menu allow you to print, save, append, or copy this
information to the Windows clipboard.

Data to File : Select the Data to File command to save


the current measurement data sheet as an attachment to a
file.
Append Data to File : Select the Append Data to File.
command to store the current measurement data sheet as an
attachment to an existing file. The measurement file can be
saved to an ASCII file, or to a LOTUS 123 WK1
spreadsheet file. In either case, the file will contain a
measurement record for each object in the count. The saved
data can be imported into a spreadsheet application or used
as input to an external program.
Data To Clipboard Select the Data To Clipboard
command to copy the current measurement data to the
Windows Clipboard. From there, the data can be pasted
into any application that accepts text from the Clipboard.
Data To Printer : Select the Data To Printer command
to send the current measurement data to your printer.
Table To Clipboard: Select the Table To Clipboard
command to copy the current measurement data to the
Windows Clipboard in table format From there, the data
can be pasted into any application that accepts text from
the Clipboard.
DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to
transfer data to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. For
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Measure:Count/Size
additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data
Exchange discussion.

DDE Options : Select the DDE Options command to tell


Image-Pro how and where to export the current data via
DDE. For additional information about DDE, see the
Dynamic Data Exchange discussion.

Statistics: Use the Statistics command on the Count/Size windows


View menu to display the statistic data sheet for the active window.
The statistic data sheet contains a table of statistics for the
measurements that have been made of the active objects. It contains
information such as Minimum, Maximum and Mean values for each
measurement type selected in the Select Measurements command.
When you select the Statistics command, a Statistics window is
opened. It contains the statistics data sheet for the objects in the active
image window.

The Statistics window can be moved by dragging its title bar. It can be
enlarged and reduced by dragging its borders. Use the scroll buttons, if
there are any, to scroll through your data.
The following statistics are listed for each measurement you have made:

Page 2-446

Min: This row lists the smallest value for each measurement
you have specified. The object possessing the minimum
measurement is identified, by number, below the stated
minimum.
Max: This row lists the largest value for each measurement
you have specified. The object possessing the maximum

Measure:Count/Size
measurement is identified, by number, below the stated
maximum.

Range: This row lists the difference between the maximum


and minimum values for each measurement you have specified.
Mean: This row lists the average (mean ) for each
measurement you have specified.
Std. Dev: This row lists the standard deviation for each
measurement you have specified.
Sum: This row lists the sum of the measurements for each
measurement type (e.g., area, perimeter, etc.) you have
specified.
Samples: This row lists the total number of objects that
have been included in the count from which these statistics
were derived.

The contents of this window are dynamicthe statistics will change as


you activate/deactivate objects, or add remove measurement types.
Locate the object: You can identify on your image any object that is
the Max or Min object for a given statistic. To do so, click this
check box, then select the object from the Statistics window (click on
the object number in the Obj.# row; Obj.# rows are flagged with a
symbol ). A radiating signal identifies the object if it is in view.
Note: If the Statistics window is covering up your image, you may
need to drag it aside, in order to see the located object.
Scroll to the object: If you want to locate an object that may not be
in view, click this check box before you select the object (see Locate
the object, above). Image-Pro finds the objects, scrolls your image to
center it in your view, and signals its location.
If you do not check the Scroll to the object check box and the object
you are locating is not visible, Image-Pro will signal this fact with a
beep and a radiating flag at the side or corner of the image to which
you should scroll, manually, in order to see the object.
i

View : Statistics : File Menu: The options on this menu


allow you to save, append, or copy this information to the
Windows clipboard.
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Page 2-448

Data to File: Select the Data to File command to save


the current statistics data sheet as an attachment to a file

Append Data to File Select the Append Data to File.


command to store the current measurement data sheet as
an attachment to an existing file. The measurement file can
be saved to an ASCII file, or to a LOTUS 123 WK1
spreadsheet file. In either case, the file will contain a
measurement record for each object in the count. The
saved data can be imported into a spreadsheet application
or used as input to an external program.

Data To Clipboard the Data To Clipboard command to


copy the current measurement data to the Windows
Clipboard. From there, the data can be pasted into any
application that accepts text from the Clipboard.

Data To Printer : Select the Data To Printer command


to send the current measurement data to your printer.

Table To Clipboard: Select the Table To Clipboard


command to copy the current statistics data to the Windows
Clipboard in table format From there, the data can be
pasted into any application that accepts text from the
Clipboard.

DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to


transfer data to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. For
additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data
Exchange discussion.

DDE Options : Select the DDE Options command to tell


Image-Pro how and where to export the current data via
DDE. For additional information about DDE, see the
Dynamic Data Exchange discussion.

Measure:Count/Size

Histogram: Use the Histogram command on the Count/Size


windows View menu to display measurement data in histogram form,
where the X-axis represents the value of the measurement being
graphed, and the Y-axis represents the number of objects with that
measurement value.
When you select Histogram, a Histogram window is opened.

Area: From this list box, select the measurement type that you
want to have graphed.
Bins: In this field enter the number of intervals you want the Xaxis divided into.

View : Histogram : File Menu: Graph to Clipboard:


This menu allow you to copy this graph to the Windows
clipboard.

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Scattergram: Use the Scattergram command on the


Count/Size windows View menu to plot two measurement
types against each other.
When you select Scattergram, a Scattergram window is
opened.

In the list box in the upper-left corner, select the measurement


type you want plotted along the Y-axis.
In the list box in the lower-right corner, select the measurement
type you want plotted along the X-axis.

Page 2-450

View : Scattergram : File Menu: Graph to Clipboard:


This menu allow you to copy this graph to the Windows
clipboard.

Measure:Count/Size

Object Window: Use the Object Window command on the


Count/Size windows View menu to view the measurements for a
specific object. You can also use the Object Window command to
deactivate an object (remove it from the list of measurements) and
reactivate an object.
When the Object Window command is selected, the Object Attributes
window is displayed:

Object #: In this field, enter the number of the object for which you
want to view measurements. You may type the number in, or use
the spin buttons to select it. When an object number has been
entered, the measurements for that object are displayed in the
window.
Range #: In this field, enter the number of the objects range for
which you want to view measurements. You may type the number
in, or use the spin buttons to select it. When a range and object
number have been entered, the measurements for that object are
displayed in the window.
Note: You will not be able to change this field if you did not select
ranges or colors manually.
Hide: Check this box if you want to deactivate an object. When an
object is deactivated, its measurements are removed from the
measurement list (and any statistics or graphs that are derived from
the active measurements). Its outline and label are cleared from the
screen.
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Measure:Count/Size
Note: This action does not delete an object, it merely deactivates it.
The object can be reactivated by selecting it again with the Object
Attribute command, and unmarking the Hide box.
You can invoke the Object Attributes dialog box, and you can show or
hide an object, even when the Count/Size dialog box is not open. After
you have completed the count process, right-click on the object you
want to query; a pop-up menu appears.
Select Object Info to bring up the Object Attributes dialog box.
Select Hide or Show to hide or show the object.

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Measure:Count/Size

Count/Size Measure Menu


Use the commands on the Count/Size : Measure menu to select and
modify the kinds of measurements you want to make upon your counted
objects. This menu is also used to perform population density and
cluster analysis operations.
Select Measurements : Use the Select Measurements command to
specify the types of measurement data you want to record when your
objects are counted. You may select as many of these measurement
types as you need (they can all be selected simultaneously if needed).
You also use the Select Measurements command to specify the limits
by which Image-Pro will exclude objects from the count. When a range
for a measurement is selected, and the Apply Ranges option in the
Count/Size window is enabled, only objects that fall within the range
(min and max inclusive) are included in the count and are recorded on
the measurement data sheet.
When you choose the Select Measurements command, the Select
Measurements dialog box is displayed:

Measurements: Use this list box to select types of measurements.


Click on the measure you want taken upon the counted objects. A
measure will be highlighted when it is selected. Clicking on a
selected measure will deselect it..

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Measure:Count/Size
Click OK to return to the Count/Size menu, or Measure to perform
the specified measurement upon the counted objects.
Note: Clicking OK will not perform the specified measurements.
Measurements are not taken until you select Count in the Count/Size
window, or either Measure or Filter Objects in the Select
Measurements dialog box.
Clicking Measure will remeasure all the counted objects in your
image or AOI and update the measurement data sheet with the
selected measurements. If a measure has been deselected, its
measurement values will be removed from the measurement data
sheet. If the Apply Ranges option on the Count/Size menu is
enabled, only objects meeting the criteria set forth in the Set Ranges
dialog box will be counted and measured.
Edit Ranges: Use button to set or modify a measurement range, in
order to restrict the values that are measured for an object. Clicking
this button displays the Edit Measurement Ranges dialog box:

Use the settings on this dialog to adjust the values for the
measurement range(s). Cumulative will add a series of range
measurements together. Display filled will color in the objects in
that range on your active image.
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Click OK to return to the Count/Size menu, or Filter Objects to
apply a filter to the measurements for the counted objects.
Start/End: Enter the minimum and maximum allowable values for
the selected measure. Image-Pro will count and record data for only
those objects whose measurements equal or fall between the two
values you specify here.
Note: Only measurements that have been specified with the Select
Measurements dialog box can be selected and limited with Set
Ranges. If the measure you want to limit is not listed by Set Ranges,
you will need to enable it in the Select Measurement list box.
Filter Objects: Clicking Filter Objects will count only the objects
meeting the specified criteria and update the measurement data sheet
with the selected measurements. This Filter Objects button ignores
the status of the Apply Ranges option in the main Count/Size
window. When you click Filter Objects within this dialog box,
Image-Pro always applies the specified limiting criteria to the count.

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Population Density: Use the Population Density command on the
Count/Size windows Measure menu to overlay a set of previously
stored outlines onto the current image, and calculate the object density
within them.
Before selecting the Population Density command, you must have
already performed the following steps:
1) Created a set of site outlines and stored them into an
outline file. The site outlines define the areas for which
population density will be determined.
2) Counted the individual objects for which density is being
measured. This image must be the active image when the
Population Density command is invoked.
If you are not familiar with the population density procedure, review the
Population Density Analysis in Section 1. It describes the entire
population density process.
When you select the Population Density command, the Sites Outline
File dialog box is displayed.

Select the outline you want to load, then click OK. The outlines from
the selected file will be overlaid onto your active image, and the
population density for each site will be displayed in the Population
Density window.

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Measure:Count/Size

The Population Density window can be moved by dragging its title


bar. It can be enlarged and reduced by dragging its borders. Use the
scroll buttons along the bottom and left side to scroll through your data.
If you scroll to the bottom of the window, the following summary data
are reported:

See Population Density Analysis in Section 1 for a description of the


values reported in the Population Density window.
Locate the site: Select this check box if you want Image-Pro to
signal the site location on the image. To do so, click this check
box, then select the object from the Population Density window. A
radiating signal identifies the object if it is in view.
Note - If the Population Density window is covering up your image,
you may need to drag it aside, in order to see the located object.
Scroll to the site: If you want to locate an object that may not be in
view, click this check box and the Locate the site check box before
you select the object (see Locate the object, above). Image-Pro
finds the objects, scrolls your image to center it in your view, and
signals its location.
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Page 2-458

Measure : Population Density : File Menu: The options


on this menu allow you to save, append, or copy this
information to the Windows clipboard.
i

Data to File: Select the Data to File command to save


the current statistics data sheet as an attachment to a file

Append Data to File Select the Append Data to File.


command to store the current measurement data sheet as
an attachment to an existing file. The measurement file can
be saved to an ASCII file, or to a LOTUS 123 WK1
spreadsheet file. In either case, the file will contain a
measurement record for each object in the count. The
saved data can be imported into a spreadsheet application
or used as input to an external program.

Data To Clipboard the Data To Clipboard command to


copy the current measurement data to the Windows
Clipboard. From there, the data can be pasted into any
application that accepts text from the Clipboard.

Data To Printer : Select the Data To Printer command


to send the current measurement data to your printer.

Table To Clipboard: Select the Table To Clipboard


command to copy the current statistics data to the Windows
Clipboard in table format From there, the data can be
pasted into any application that accepts text from the
Clipboard.

DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to


transfer data to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. For
additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data
Exchange discussion.

DDE Options : Select the DDE Options command to tell


Image-Pro how and where to export the current data via
DDE. For additional information about DDE, see the
Dynamic Data Exchange discussion.

Measure:Count/Size

Clusters: Use the Clusters command on the Count/Size windows


Measure menu to perform a cluster analysis of your counted objects.
During cluster analysis, Image-Pro examines all of the counted
objects, identifies objects that are clusters of single objects, and
estimates the number of objects in the clusters.
Important - The Cluster Analysis command works by analyzing
counted objects. Therefore, you must perform a Count before you
perform Cluster Analysis. Your counted objects must include both
the clusters you want analyzed and several typical single objects.
In the following example, objects 9, 16 and 17 are actually clusters
of single objects. A cluster analysis of this image would provide an
estimate of the number of single objects contained in these three
clusters.

Clusters

When you select the Clusters command, the counted objects are
analyzed, and the analysis results are presented in the Cluster Info
window:

This window provides the following information:


Original Count: This value reports the number of objects
detected by the Count process. This number reflects a cluster
as a single object.
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Single Objects: This value reports the number of nonoverlapping objects in the original count.
Clusters: This value reports the number of groups of
objects that have been counted as one, in the original count.
Objects in Clusters: This value reports the number of
single objects encompassed within the clusters.
Total Objects: This value reports the total number of
objects in the image, as determined by Single Objects +
Objects in Clusters.
Object Type Area: This value reports the average area for
a single object.

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Measure: Clusters: File Menu: The options on this menu


allow you to save, append, or copy this information to the
Windows clipboard.
i

Data to File: Select the Data to File command to save


the current statistics data sheet as an attachment to a file

Append Data to File Select the Append Data to File.


command to store the current measurement data sheet as
an attachment to an existing file. The measurement file can
be saved to an ASCII file, or to a LOTUS 123 WK1
spreadsheet file. In either case, the file will contain a
measurement record for each object in the count. The
saved data can be imported into a spreadsheet application
or used as input to an external program.

Data To Clipboard the Data To Clipboard command to


copy the current measurement data to the Windows
Clipboard. From there, the data can be pasted into any
application that accepts text from the Clipboard.

Data To Printer : Select the Data To Printer command


to send the current data to your printer.

Table To Clipboard: Select the Table To Clipboard


command to copy the current statistics data to the Windows
Clipboard in table format From there, the data can be
pasted into any application that accepts text from the
Clipboard.

Measure:Count/Size

DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to


transfer data to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. For
additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data
Exchange discussion.

DDE Options : Select the DDE Options command to tell


Image-Pro how and where to export the current data via
DDE. For additional information about DDE, see the
Dynamic Data Exchange discussion.

Auto Classification: Use the Auto Classification command on


the Count/Size windows Measure menu to automatically categorize
your counted objects into groups with similar measurements.
Before performing an Auto Classification you must have performed
a count on the objects you want categorized.
When you select the Auto Classification command, the Auto
Classification dialog box is presented. In it, select the measurement
types to be used as classifiers, and the maximum number of
categories into which you want the data divided. Then select OK.

Classifiers: In this list box, select the measurement types by


which you want the objects classified. Image-Pro will analyze the
data for clusters created when these measurement values are
plotted against each other, and divide the data accordingly. Only
three classifications are allowed at one time.
Max. Classes: In this field, enter the maximum number of
categories into which you want the measurement data categorized.
You may have a maximum of 16 classes. Depending upon the
number of clusters Image-Pro identifies, fewer classes than the
number specified here may actually be produced. However, the
number of classes will never exceed the specified Max. Classes
value.
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Iterate: Check this box if you want Image-Pro to repeat and
refine the classification process until there is no change in the
results.
When you click OK, the selected object measurements are
classified, and the results are presented in the Classification
window:

This window provides the information that is checked in the view


menu (see below). If nothing is checked, only the object class and
object count are given.
Class: This number identifies the class.
Objects: This value reports the number of objects in the class.
Note: Once objects have been classified, they can be color-coded
by their class. To do this, select the Class outline option in the
Count/Size dialog box.

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Measure: Classification : File Menu: The options on this
menu allow you to print, save, append, or copy this
information to the Windows clipboard.

Data to File: Select the Data to File. command to store


the current measurement data sheet to disk. The
measurement file can be saved to an ASCII file, or to a
LOTUS 123 WK1 spreadsheet file. In either case, the
file will contain a measurement record for each object in
the count. The saved data can be imported into a
spreadsheet application or used as input to an external
program.

Append Data to File: Select the Append Data to File.


command to store the current measurement data sheet as
an attachment to an existing file. The measurement file can
be saved to an ASCII file, or to a LOTUS 123 WK1
spreadsheet file. In either case, the file will contain a
measurement record for each object in the count. The
saved data can be imported into a spreadsheet application
or used as input to an external program.

Data To Clipboard: Select the Data To Clipboard


command to copy the current measurement data to the
Windows Clipboard. From there, the data can be pasted
into any application that accepts text from the Clipboard.

Data To Printer : Select the Data To Printer command


to send the current data to your printer.

Table to Clipboard: Select the Table To Clipboard


command to copy the current measurement data in table
format to the Windows Clipboard. From there, the data
can be pasted into any application that accepts text from
the Clipboard.

DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to


transfer data to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. For
additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data
Exchange discussion.

DDE Options : Select the DDE Options command to tell


Image-Pro how and where to export the current data via
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Measure:Count/Size
DDE. For additional information about DDE, see the
Dynamic Data Exchange discussion.

Close: Select the Close command to close the


Classification window.

Measure: Classification : View Menu: The options on


this menu allow you to display your choice of measurements in
the Classification window. (Did this get removed??)

Page 2-464

Object Count: This number identifies the class.

Objects: This value reports the number of objects in the


class..

%Object: This value reports the percentage of objects in


the class..

Sum <measure>: This value reports, for all objects in


the class, the sum of each measurement you selected under
Count/Size : Measure : Select Measurements..

% <measure>: This value reports, for all objects in the


class, the percentage for each measurement you selected
under Count/Size : Measure : Select Measurements..

Mean <measure>: This value reports, for all objects in


the class, the mean for each measurement you selected
under Count/Size : Measure : Select Measurements..

Std.Dev <measure>: This value reports, for all objects


in the class, the standard deviation for each measurement
you selected under Count/Size : Measure : Select
Measurements.

Min <measure>: This value reports, for all objects in


the class, the smallest object for each measurement you
selected under Count/Size : Measure : Select
Measurements.

Max <measure>: This value reports, for all objects in


the class, the largest object for each measurement you
selected under Count/Size : Measure : Select
Measurements.

Measure:Count/Size

Class Range: This value reports, for all objects in the


class, the range limits of each measurement you selected
under Count/Size : Measure : Select Measurements. This
option is available only in conjunction with the Single
Variable Class. command.

View All: Check View All if you want to check all the
measurement types for viewing.

View Default: Check View Default if you want to check


just the default measurement types for viewing. The
default selections depend on whether you have selected the
Single Variable Class. or the Auto Classification
command.

Single Variable Class.: Use the Single Variable Class command on


the Count/Size windows Measure menu to categorize your counted
objects by a single measurement type (to classify by multiple
measurements, see the Auto Classification command above).
The Single Variable Class. command lets you group objects, on an
increasing scale, by their measurement values. For example, you might
group classify your objects by their area measurement, dividing them
into 4 categories.
Before performing a Single Variable Class., you must have performed a
count on the objects you want categorized.
When you select the Single Variable Class. command, the Classification
dialog box is presented. In it, select the measurement type to be used as
the classifier, and the maximum number of categories into which you
want the data divided. Then select OK.

Measurement Type

Range Endpoints

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Number of Bins: In this field, enter the number of categories into
which you want the selected measurement values divided. The
beginning value for each category is displayed in the Bins Start At
box.
Measurement Type: In this list box (located just above the Spread
button) select the measurement type by which you want the objects
categorized. Only measurement types for which you have actual
measurement values will be listed here.
Note: If the type of measurement by which you want to classify objects
is not listed here, exit this dialog box, and select and measure it using
the Select Measurements command.
Bins Start At: This box will contain the equal intervals into which
the measurement values will be divided for classification. The
number of intervals contained in this box is determined by the value
you have specified in the Number of Bins field. The first value in
this box represents the beginning of the range (and the beginning of
the first class), and the last value in this box represents the last value
in the range. The values in between represent the beginning value for
each class between these two values.
By default, the beginning and ending values in this box are derived
from the minimum and maximum values contained in the set of
measurement data you have chosen to classify. However, you may
override these end values by highlighting the value you want to
change, and typing a replacement value for it in field at the bottom of
the dialog box (see illustration below). Once new beginning/ ending
values have been selected, you can click Spread to distribute the bins
equally between the new values.

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Measure:Count/Size

Highlight the end value you


want to change...

When new end values have


been defined, click Spread to
redistribute the bins between
them.

.... and type the new value


here.

You can also change any of the Bins Start At values by highlighting
the value and entering a replacement for it in the box at the bottom of
the dialog box.
Spread: Click this button to distribute the beginning bin values
equally between the currently specified beginning and ending
values (see illustration above).
Reset: Click this button to set the beginning and ending range
values back to the min and max values in the set of measurement
data to be classified (you would use this if you had manually
changed these values in the Bins Start At list box, and wanted
the original values back again).
Measure: Classification : File Menu: The options on this
menu allow you to print, save, append, or copy this
information to the Windows clipboard.

Data to File: Select the Data to File. command to store


the current measurement data sheet to disk. The
measurement file can be saved to an ASCII file, or to a
LOTUS 123 WK1 spreadsheet file. In either case, the
file will contain a measurement record for each object in
the count. The saved data can be imported into a
spreadsheet application or used as input to an external
program.

Append Data to File: Select the Append Data to File.


command to store the current measurement data sheet as
an attachment to an existing file. The measurement file can
be saved to an ASCII file, or to a LOTUS 123 WK1
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Measure:Count/Size
spreadsheet file. In either case, the file will contain a
measurement record for each object in the count. The
saved data can be imported into a spreadsheet application
or used as input to an external program.

Page 2-468

Data To Clipboard: Select the Data To Clipboard


command to copy the current measurement data to the
Windows Clipboard. From there, the data can be pasted
into any application that accepts text from the Clipboard.

Data To Printer : Select the Data To Printer command


to send the current data to your printer.

Table to Clipboard: Select the Table To Clipboard


command to copy the current measurement data in table
format to the Windows Clipboard. From there, the data
can be pasted into any application that accepts text from
the Clipboard.

Data To Printer : Select the Data To Printer command


to send the current data to your printer.

DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to


transfer data to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. For
additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data
Exchange discussion.

DDE Options : Select the DDE Options command to tell


Image-Pro how and where to export the current data via
DDE. For additional information about DDE, see the
Dynamic Data Exchange discussion.

Close: Select the Close command to close the


Classification window.

Measure:Count/Size

Count/Size Image Menu


Use the commands on the Count/Size windows Image menu to perform
pre-processing functions that can prepare your image for a more
successful count/size operation. You might use the options on this
menu to better distinguish objects from background, or to separate
objects or particles that touch.
Flatten Background: Use the Flatten Background command to
even out backgrounds that contain the same intensities as the objects
you want to count. Backgrounds containing such intensities make it
difficult to isolate just the objects you want to count. The Flatten
Background command filters the background and reduces the intensity
variations within it.
When you select the Flatten Background option, the Flatten
Background dialog box is presented:

Background: Select the option, Dark or Bright, that describes the


background of your image. Usually you will select the intensity
that specifies the field upon which your objects lie. However, if
your objects are large or numerous and they occupy most of the
area within your image or AOI, this option should be set to
describe your objects.
Max. Feature Size: Enter the approximate diameter of the largest
object in your image or AOI. This value is used by the Flatten
Background operation to distinguish objects from background.
When selecting a Max. Feature Size value, it is better to estimate
high rather than low. Selecting a value that is too large will
increase processing time, but will not adversely affect the image.
Selecting a value that is too low may produce unwanted results.
Note: Because of the large filtering kernel that is used by this operation,
some distortion will be introduced at the edges of your image or AOI.
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Measure:Count/Size
Make Mask: Use the Make Mask command on the Count/Size
windows Image menu to create a gray scale image in which only the
counted objects are shown. In the example below, an image containing
just the counted spores has been created.

Before using the Make Mask command in the active image, you must
have performed a count, or have loaded the saved outlines from a
previous count. The mask will be created from the objects that the
count describes. Pixels that are part of a counted object will be
rendered in white; all others in black.
Make Sorted Objects Image: Use this command to generate an
image of the counted objects sorted according to size (or other criteria).
For details, please see the Object Sorting module described in the next
section.

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Sort Objects
Use the Sort Objects command to order objects by size or any other
available measurement. When the sorting operation is complete, objects
are copied to a new image where they appear in the order selected.
To sort them, objects must first be counted and measured using a
Count/Size operation. Any measurement type selected in Count/Size can
be used to order them. During the sorting process, objects can be
rotated automatically so that their major axes are aligned vertically. A
new image is generated with the objects sorted according to the selected
measurement and positioned in rows.
When you select Sort Objects , you will see the following dialog:

Sorting Options: The options in this group box allow you to specify
how your objects will be sorted and displayed.
Sort By: Use the items in this drop-down list box to select which
measurement to use for the sort. Only those measurements selected
during the count/size phase will be presented.
Display Objects Vertically: Use this check box to select whether
objects will be presented in vertical columns in the sorted image or in
their original orientation .
Background Color: Use these two radio buttons and the spin box to
set the gray scale index of the background of the sorted image. You
are limited to 256 levels of grayscale, regardless of the image class.
The values will be scaled for 12- and 16-bit images.
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Measure:Sort Objects
Automatic: If you click this button, the background index is calculated
as the average gray level around the objects.
Set To: If you click this button, you can set the background index to a
number that you choose by using the spin box.
Labels: Check this box to turn on and off object labels in the sorted
image. Objects labels are the same as those assigned by Count/Size.
Red: Label color is red by default but a new color may be selected
here.
Sort Objects: Click this button to start the sorting process.
Close: Click this button to close the dialog.

Original Image

Sorted Image

Double-clicking on an object in the sorted image will flip it (rotated 180


degrees) in case the sorting process positioned the object upside-down.
Objects in the sorted image can be dragged to other locations in the
sorted image or in other images. The shape of the cursor indicate
whether an object can be dropped under the cursor or not. Objects are
not allowed to overlap other sorted objects during drag and drop. Note
that you cannot drag a sorted object of one class into a different class.

Page 2-472

Measure:Measurements

Measurements
The Measurements commands and tools appear in two groups::basic
and advanced. The basic measurements are identical to the
Measurements module in version 4.5.1 of Image-Pro Plus. Two
additional tools, the Pitch tool and the Count tool, have been add to the
advanced measurements.
The basic steps involved in taking measurements are:
1. Selecting the measurement tool you need to obtain your
measurement. This is done by selecting the appropriate tool button
(point, line, circle, etc.) .
2. Taking the actual measurement in your image. Each tool has
its own way of obtaining a measurementyou might stretch a
defining line to obtain a straight-line length, select two existing
features to measure the intervening distance, or trace an object to
obtain an area. The process for each is defined in the tool
descriptions below.
3. Collecting and saving the measurements in the data sheet.
When you take a measurement, the measurement is highlighted and
numbered in the image, and the result is placed in the
Measurements data sheet. You may take as many measurements
as you need. The values of each will be recorded in the data sheet.
You need to be in the advanced mode to see the Measurements
page.
Note: To select more than one feature or measurement, press the
<Ctrl> key while clicking on the feature (in the image) or row (on the
Features or Measurement pages).
When you first choose Measurements, you will see the basic
Measurements window:

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Measure:Measurements

There are three tabs or pages in the dialog box, which are organized in
the order of workflow from left to right. The first tab is the Feature
page. The second is the Input / Output page, and the last one is the
Options page. This dialog is resizable, with a minimum size that
accommodates the larger of the Input / Output and Options pages.
When the dialog is opened, the last page used will be displayed.
Clicking the Advanced button displays additional tools and options,
which are discussed later in this section.
Clicking the Update button recalculates all the measurements if the
image calibration changes.

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Measure:Measurements

Basic Measurements and Tools


The basic toolbar contains all the tools you will need to create the most
common types of features and measurements:
Note that Tool Tips for each of these
tools will appear when you place your
cursor on top of one of them.

Selector: This button is used to select existing features and/or


measurements, i.e. to move or delete them.
Delete: This button is used to remove all of the currently selected
features or measurements from the image. All related
measurements in the Measurement tab and the corresponding
row(s) in the Feature tab will be removed. This button is enabled
only when you have one or more features selected with the
Selection tool.
Delete All: This button is used to remove all features and
measurements from the image, whether they are selected or not.
This button is enabled when you have one or more features on the
image, and are using the selector tool.
Straight Line: This button is used to create a straight line feature
on the current image. (This is the equivalent of the Length tool in
previous versions of Image-Pro Plus.)
Polygon: This button is used to create a polygon feature on the
current image. This will be created using the current trace/wand
tool, and will always yield a closed figure. (This is the equivalent of
the Area tool in previous versions of Image-Pro Plus.)
Trace: This button is used to create a trace on the current image.
This will be created using the current trace tool, and will always
yield a open figure. (This is the equivalent of the Trace tool in
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Measure:Measurements
previous versions of Image-Pro Plus. See the Trace and Magic
Wand tools earlier in this manual.)
Under these tool buttons, there are six measurement buttons. When one
of these measurement tools are selected, you will be prompted to select
the appropriate features. If two such features are already selected, the
measurement will be added immediately, otherwise the measurement is
added when the second of two appropriate features is selected. The
selection is then cleared, and you can continue to select features and add
more measurements.
Distance Measurement: This button creates a measurement of
the distance between two features.
Create Click and Drag Angle Measurement: This button is
used to create two new lines and take an angle measurement
between these two lines. The two lines do not need to intersect. The
angle is measured from the first line drawn to the second line, in a
counter-clockwise direction. Note that this tool is different from
the five other measurement tools in that rather than selecting two
features for the measurement, you will create two features, and then
create the measurement derived from them.
Add Angle Measurement: This button creates a measurement
of the angle between two existing line features. The angle is
measured from the first line drawn to the second line, in a
clockwise direction. (This is the equivalent of the Angle tool in
previous versions of Image-Pro Plus.)
Horizontal Thickness: Adds a thickness measurements between
two primarily horizontal lines or traces.
Vertical Thickness: Adds a thickness measurement between two
primarily vertical lines or traces.
Curve Thickness: This button creates a measurement of the
minimum or maximum distance between any two features in any
direction.
Display: Checking this box allows you to show or hide the
measurements on the image.
When any tool is selected (other than the selection and deletion tools), a
modeless dialog will be displayed, prompting you for the correct
action, i.e. click and drag a line, select two features for distance
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Measure:Measurements
measurement, etc. Similar text will be displayed in the Image-Pro status
bar. This dialog will be updated automatically when another tool is
selected, and closed when the dialog is closed or the selection tool is
selected.
Note: When Measurement tools are active, these tools receive all
mouse movements and clicks on the image first. This means that tools
such as the AOI manager, Zoom, and Pan do not receive mouse
movements or clicks. If you wish to manipulate the image using these
tools, you must first de-select the Measurement tool by clicking it
again. Clicking on a active tool button will release it, turning off the
tools and allowing other tools to receive mouse events.

Features
The Features page is visible in both the basic and advanced
Measurements. It is illustrated below in the basic format:

The Features page includes every possible measurement for all the
features and measurements that you have created for the current image.
You can resize the columns for a better fit, or to hide measurements that
are not of interest. In basic mode, all the position column are hidden
(the default). In the following example, the Area column has been
hidden:

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Measure:Measurements
You can edit the name of a feature by clicking on the name in that
features grid row and typing the new name. If you are using the
selection tool or most of the measurement tools, you can select a feature
by clicking on the row number. Multiple rows can be selected holding
down the <Ctrl> or <Shift> keys while clicking on the row numbers,
or clicking and dragging the mouse across the appropriate rows.
When you have selected one or more features on the image or the
Features page, using the selection tool, you can delete the feature and
all of its related measurements by pressing the <Del> key, or clicking
the Delete button in the Measurements toolbox.
An optional second grid can display statistics for the measurements a
control on the Options page determines whether the statistics grid is
displayed or not. When the statistics grid is enabled, it will track the
Features grid as the columns are scrolled and/or sized. The sizing bar
between the two grids allows the user to determine how much of the
Features page is used by each grid. The statistics grid will include
calculated minimum, maximum, and mean values for each type of
measurement, the range of the measurement (max - min), the sum of the
measurements, the standard deviation, and the number of values being
analyzed.
Note: All of the characteristics of the data overlay, including the font
face and size, can be edited by double-clicking on the overlay itself.
Please see the Annotation discussion for more information.

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Measure:Measurements

Input/Output
The Input / Output page is visible in both the basic and advanced
modes. It includes the ability to load or save measurements (the feature
definitions and the selected set of measurements), to load outlines
(features only), copy data to the clipboard, to file, and to export to
Excel.

Each command on the Input/Output page is described below.


Features: The buttons in this group box allow you to load and save
files containing feature outline, statistics, and measurement
information.
Load: Click this button to load an outline or measurements file to the
current image.
If you are loading an outline file (*.out) the appropriate line,
angle, trace, polygon, or thickness features will be created from the
loaded outlines. Note that thickness features cannot be fully recreated
from previously saved outline files. Line features will be created to
represent the minimum and maximum distances originally measured.
If you are loading a measurements file (*.msr) the Load as
Template option determines how the file will be loaded. If Load as
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Measure:Measurements
Template is NOT checked, the features and measurements from the
file will be restored to the image. You would use this method to
continue or reuse measurements from a previous session.
Load as Template: Click this button to load a file as template for
future measurements. If you are loading a template file (*.tpl)
(Load as Template is checked) you will be prompted to make the
measurements on the current image. You would use the Template
option to create a set of template measurements on a new part of
the sample. You could then reuse the template measurements in
subsequent sessions.
The following dialog prompts you during the loading process:

This dialog indicates the type of feature to be measured, (i.e.


Line), the features name (L1), instructions for its creation, and
a representation of the features layout indicating the current feature
in red. You can choose to Skip this Feature, which causes the load
to continue with the next primary feature, or to Cancel loading. If
loading is canceled, features already created and all dependent
features and measurements will be retained only the loading of
the rest of the features will be canceled.
Save: Click this button to save the layout and measurements of the
current image to a measurements file(*.msr).
Data to Output: The selections in this area indicate the type of
data you wish to save. Click the radio button to indicate your
choice:

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Features

Statistics

Measurements

Measure:Measurements
Output Data to: The selections in this area indicate where you want
the output data to go. Click the appropriate radio button to indicate
your choice:
File: Select this command if you want to save the measurement
values (the results in the data sheet) to a file.
File (Append): Select this command if you want to append the
measurement values to an existing file.
Clipboard: Use the Measurement windows Copy To Clipboard
command to copy the current measurement data to the Windows
Clipboard. Once on the Clipboard, the data can be pasted into any
Windows application that accepts text from the Clipboard.
DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to transfer
data to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. Before selecting DDE To
Excel, you should use DDE Options to determine the correct
placement (within Excel) for the data. When you select DDE To
Excel, the transfer occurs with little visible evidence that it has
happened. By switching to the Excel application, you can confirm
that the transfer has occurred. For additional information about
DDE, see the Dynamic Data Exchange discussion.
Printer: Click this radio button to send the data to your specified
printer.
Output Window: This the button to send the data to the Output
Window (see the Macro menu for a complete description).
Export Now: Outputs the data to clipboard, file or Excel, depends
on the users selection.
Options : Select the Options command to tell Image-Pro how and
where to export the current data via DDE. For additional
information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data Exchange
discussion.

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Measure:Measurements

Options
The basic Options tab includes a number of controls to set the default
behavior of the Measurements module, and is illustrated below:

Display prompting dialog when adding features is used to


determine whether the feature prompting dialogs are shown while
creating new features (this does not affect the prompting during
loading of a measurements file). The default for this option is
checked, and will be unchecked if the user clicks Do not display
these prompts again on the prompt dialog.
All angles between 0 and 180 degrees is used to set the reporting
of angles. When checked, all angles will be reported between 0 and
180 degrees, otherwise the angles will be reported between 0 and 360
degrees.
Update measurements while positioning features is used to
turn on updating of whichever grid is visible while objects are being
positioned or resized. This involves recalculating measurements and
possible updates of multiple rows, so for slower machines it is
possible to suppress the update until the positioning is complete by
leaving this box unchecked.
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Measure:Measurements
Display feature statistics is used to control whether the Feature
Statistics are shown on the Features page or are hidden.
Include the Features Name: Check this box to use the name of the
feature as part of the label on the image.
Include Features Measurement Value as its label on the
image creates a label on the image displaying the value of the
measurements.
Significant Digits: Indicate the number of sigificant digits to use in
the measurement values. The valid range is 3 20 digits.
Include Measurement Units: Check this box to include the
measurement units as part of the label on the image.
Display Thickness is used to display minimum, maximum, or both
thickness measurements on the image.
Display Colors: The Feature, Measurement and Label color combo
boxes are used to set the respective colors used in drawing the
overlay on the image. The possible selections in each combo box are
Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Cyan, Magenta, White and Black.

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Measure:Measurements

Advanced Measurements and Tools


The advanced measurements add ten new tools to the basic set
described in the previous section. The Advanced tools include best-fit
measurements: line, circle, and arc; the rectangle, point, and circle
measurement tools, as well as the pitch, count, data overlay, and
count/size tools.

Note that best-fit features are defined by their points. If you need to
move a best-fit feature, you will need to select all of the points in the
feature to move it.
Point: This button is used to create a point feature on the current
image.
Circle: This button is used to create a circle feature on the current
image. Place your cursor on the image and drag it until the circle
reaches the correct size.
Rectangle: This button is used to create a rectangle feature on the
current image. Place your cursor on the image and drag it until the
rectangle reaches the desired size.
Best Fit Line: This button is used to create a straight line that best
fits several points on the current image. Click on the image to add
up to 1000 points, and double-click to end the list of points. A
setting on the Advanced Options page determines the limit to the
number of points and the feature will be added when this limit is
reached. For instance, to draw a two-point line (with two clicks)
this option could be set to a user limit of 2. The end points of the
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Measure:Measurements
line will be the point where the line is perpendicular to the first and
last points.
Best Fit Circle: This button is used to create a circle that best fits
several points on the current image. You should click on the image
to add up to 20 points, and double-click to end the list of points,
creating the best-fit circle. A setting on the Advanced Options
page determines a user-defined limit to the number of points and
the feature will be added when this limit is reached.
Best Fit Arc: This button is used to create an arc that best fits
several points on the current image. You should click on the image
to add up to 20 points, and double-click to end the list of points.
The points of the arc will need to be ordered, i.e. clicked in order
from the beginning to the end of the arc. A setting on the Options
page determines a user-defined limit to the number of points and
the feature will be added when this limit is reached.
Pitch: This button is used to measure the calibrated perpendicular
distance between a set of user-defined points and a user-defined
reference line. This tool asks you to create a reference line on the
image. Then, clicking on points above and below this line will draw
perpendicular lines from the reference line to the point.
Count Gray Spots: Use this button to count selected objects
based on the gray value of a selected spot. You can click on a gray
object in an image, and all the objects in that image with a similar
gray value will be outlined and counted. The result of this
measurement indicates the number of objects found.
Launch Count Size: Clicking this button invokes the
Count/Size feature of Image-Pro Plus. (Please refer to the
Count/Size descriptions earlier in this chapter.)
Data Overlay: Click this button to place selected data onto the
image as an overlay. After you click the right mouse button, the
chosen features and data will be formatted into a table and placed
in the upper right hand corner of the image. Using the selection
tool, you can double-click the Data Overlay to change the color,
font, or text size. The Data Overlay can be searched and deleted
like any other feature.

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Measure:Measurements
Display: Check this box to show or hide the measurements on the
image.
Advanced Distance Measurements
The same distance measurement tools described in the basic mode are
also available in the advanced mode.

The table below shows which distance measurements are available in


the advanced mode:
Features

Measurement

point - point
point - line
point - circle
point - rect.
point - polygon or trace
point - arc
line - line *
line - circle **

ctr-to-ctr
ctr-to-ctr , min., max., perpendicular
ctr-to-ctr , min., max.
ctr-to-ctr , min., max.
ctr-to-ctr , min., max.
ctr-to-ctr , min., max.
ctr-to-ctr , min., max.
ctr-to-ctr , min., max., perpendicular
(ctr. pt.)
ctr-to-ctr , min., max., perpendicular
(ctr. pt.)
ctr-to-ctr , min., max., perpendicular
(ctr. pt.)
ctr-to-ctr , perpendicular (ctr. pt.)
ctr-to-ctr , min., max.
ctr-to-ctr
ctr-to-ctr
ctr-to-ctr
ctr-to-ctr
ctr-to-ctr
ctr-to-ctr
ctr-to-ctr
ctr-to-ctr
ctr-to-ctr

line - rect **
line - polygon or trace **
line - arc
circle - circle
circle - rect
circle - polygon or trace
circle - arc
rect - rect
rect - polygon or trace
rect - arc
polygon or trace - polygon
polygon or trace - arc
arc - arc

For line-to-line distance measurements, the minimum and maximum


distances are evaluated between the end points, using the two pairs of
end points where the distances evaluated do not intersect.
** For these distance measurements, the minimum and maximum
distances reported are the minimum and maximum perpendicular
distances between the line (extended if necessary) and the other object.
Page 2-486

Measure:Measurements
The minimum distance may be zero if the object intersects the extended
line.
Note that the ctr-to-ctr distance measurement is the ONLY distance
measurement that is guaranteed to be available for all feature
combinations.
The following table lists the types of features available and the
measurements which each can generate, with the initial default
measurement indicated (the last measurement used for each feature type
will be retained for the next session):
Feature /
Meas.

Point
Line
BF Line
Rectangle
Circle
BF Circle
BF Arc
Trace
Polygon
Distance
H/V/C
Thick.

Pos

D
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Len

D
D
*
*
*
*
D
*

Area

Ang

Rad

*
*
D
D
D
*

*
*
D

Start
Pos

End
Pos

*
*

*
*

*
*

*
*

Ctr.
Dist

Min.
Dist

Avg
Dist

Max
Dist

*
*

*
*

Perp
Dist

D
D

*
*

*
*

D = Default

Page 2-487

Measure:Measurements

Advanced Measurements
The Measurements page is visible only in the advanced mode. It
contains the following measurement information:

The Measurements grid includes measurement data for the selected


measurements. As with the Features grid, you can resize the columns
for a better fit to the displayed values or to hide columns that are not of
interest. If tolerance testing is enabled (see the Advanced Options
page) additional columns will report the pass/fail status along with
either the minimum and maximum acceptable values (as shown above),
or the target value and minimum / maximum tolerances, depending on
the type of tolerance testing selected on the Advanced Options page.
By default, the target value will be identical to the measured value when
first measured. Double-clicking in the Target Value cell allows you to
adjust the target values. This affects the pass/fail tolerances.
The Measurement grid is also used to set or adjust the type of
measurement, tolerances, etc. You may edit the name of a feature by
clicking on the name in that features grid row and typing the new name.
Clicking on the measurement type reveals a combo box that can be used
to change the particular measurement to report and test for tolerance; as
with the Select Measurement combo box, only the valid measurements
will be listed. You can change either tolerance by clicking on the
current value and editing. It is possible to delete a measurement by
clicking on the row number (which selects the row) and pressing the
<Del> key, or clicking the Delete button in the Measurements toolbox.
Page 2-488

Measure:Measurements
Multiple rows can be selected holding down the <Ctrl> or <Shift>
keys while clicking on the row numbers.
The following controls along the left side of the Measurements dialog
are used to select, add and remove measurements from the
Measurements page.
The Select Meas. combo box contains the available
measurements for the currently selected feature or measurement, as
determined by the table shown previously. This combo box determines
the current measurement for each feature type. This control will be
disabled under the following conditions: no features or feature creation
tools are selected, or the set of selected features includes different
feature types.
The Add button is used to insert measurements of the features
to the Measurements pages grid. Whenever one or more features are
selected on the image, the Add button will be enabled. When the Add
button is clicked, the current measurement for each of the selected
features will be inserted in the Measurement grid.
The Auto Add check box is to indicate that the currently
selected measurement for each feature type should be added to the
Measurements grid whenever a new feature is created. The default
setting of the check box is checked, and the setting is remembered from
session to session.
The Remove button is used to remove the selected
measurement from the grid of the Measurements page. The Remove
button will be enabled whenever one or more rows in the
Measurements grid are selected. The features on the image and the
measurements on the Features page are unaffected.
There are several ways to add a measurement to the grid:
1. When a new feature is created and Auto Add is checked, the
currently selected measurement for that type of feature will be
added to the grid at this time.
2. Double-clicking a feature on the image will add the currently
selected measurement for that type of feature.
3. After selecting one or more features, clicking Add will add for
each feature the currently selected measurement for that type of
feature.
Page 2-489

Measure:Measurements
If your screen is very crowded, and you want to make sure that you are
selecting the correct features, follow these instructions:
1. Select the tool you will be using (i.e. distance).
2. Select the measurement that you want to Auto-Add (these first two
steps only apply if you have Auto-Add selected).
3. Select the two features between which you want to measure.
4. Select the measurement tool.
The correct measurement feature will then be added measuring between
the correct two features.
Note: If multiple features of different types are selected, the Select
Meas. combo box is disabled, since it can only select the measurement
type for one type of feature at a time.

Advanced Options
The Advanced Options page contains the best-fit and pass/fail
measurement statistics:

Display points for best-fit features determines whether the points


added to define best-fit features are listed on the Features page or
not, and if they will be displayed on the image.
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Measure:Measurements
The Maximum Feature Points edit boxes for Line, Circle, and Arc
features are used to set the maximum number of points for best fit lines,
circles, and arcs. Lines will allow from 2 to 1000, while circles and arcs
will allow from 3 to 20. When creating a best-fit feature, the feature will
be automatically created when the current maximum is hit. This makes
it possible to set feature creation to accept 2-point lines and 3-point
circles and arcs (without requiring double-click on the last point) while
still supporting multiple-point fits when desired.
Do not test pass/fail tolerances is used to select display of
measurements only on the Measurements grid.
Test tolerances is used to select display of minimum and maximum
tolerances, a target value, and a pass/fail indication.
Test min/max value is used to select display of minimum and
maximum measurement values and a pass/fail indication.
Default tolerance is used to set the default tolerance that is used
when a measurement is added. This will be specified either in
Percent or as an Absolute value of the value measured.
Display Count minimum object size dialog: Checking this box
indicates that the Filter for Minimum Size dialog will be displayed
after you select the object intensity.

2:

The [size] In Pixels The number in this box indicates the minimum
size of the objects to count. To ignore small noise features, set the
minimum size larger.
Current Count: This field indicates the number of objects counted
using the current threshold and minimum size.
Apply: Clicking this button removes those objects which do not meet
the minimum size requirement and updates the current count in the
Features table. The dialog remains open.
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Measure:Measurements
Do not show this dialog again: Checking this box will prevent the
dialog from being displayed after the trace or wand tool is used to
select the threshold.
Use this minimum for succeeding Counts: Checking this box
ensures that the minimum size that has been selected is used for all
subsequent counts (and as the default for this dialog if shown).
OK: Selecting OK also removes those blobs which do not meet the
minimum size requirement and updates the current count, and closes
the dialog.
Cancel: Selecting Cancel closes the dialog and discards the count.
Since the Count tool is still active, you can select a new object
intensity.
The object count will be displayed in the Features table on the
Features tab of the Measurements dialog.

Page 2-492

Measure:Measure Distance

Measure Distance
The Measure Distances function allows you to measure distances by
drawing a line between two features on your image. When you select
Measure Distances from the Measure menu, the Measure Distance
toolbar appears:

The Distance tool is automatically selected so that you can begin to


measure distances right away.
To measure distance, click and drag to create a line on your image. You
can draw as many lines as you like.
The distance will be displayed on the line, as shown here:

This picture illustrates a distance feature using the default name and
display settings.
The other tools are:
Selection: Click this button to use the normal Windows selection
options (e.g. Control and Shift keys) to select one or more features to
be moved, deleted or edited.
Delete: The Delete tool is only enabled when the selection tool is
active. When clicked, an are you sure prompt will be displayed, and
the selected distances will be deleted if you agree.
Delete All: When clicked an are you sure prompt will be displayed,
and all distances will be deleted if you agree.
Distance Color: The Distance Color drop-down list allow you to
select of one of 6 standard display colors. If the color is changed, the
distance features on all open images will be updated to the selected
color. This assures that distance features are always distinguishable
from other annotation and measurement features.
Double-click on a distance feature with the selection tool to change the
distance properties. You will see the following dialog:
Page 2-493

Measure:Measure Distance

Name: The Name edit box will be disabled if more than one feature is
selected when the properties are edited. When enabled, you will be
able to edit the default name.
Display Name/Display Units: The Display name and Display units
settings determine whether the name prefix and units suffix are
included in the on-image display of the values (D1 and Pixels
respectively in the example above).
Distance Color/Color: The Distance Color button Color changes
the current distance color. Additional colors beyond the 6 available
from the drop-down list can be selected using this method.
Distance Label: The Distance Label section allows you to select or
change the format of the label font, size, and attributes such as bold
and underline. Note that editing these properties changes both the
default properties of all future distance features, as well as the display
of all existing distance features on all open images.
Sign Digits: The Significant Digits edit box allows you to specify
how many significant digits will appear on the image next to the
measurement line. The software can carry up to eight digits internally
but you may not want that many digits shown on the image,as it can
get cluttered. You may specify as many (up to 8) as you find
appropriate.
Distance features drawn on an image will be saved along with the
image when then image is saved to a TIFF file, and restored when the
TIFF file is re-opened. Note that if a TIFF file is opened that contains
distance features of a different color than the current setting, the color
setting will be updated to the files color. This is another measure to
assure that distance features are always distinguishable from other
annotation and measurement features.

Page 2-494

Measure:Manual Tag

Manual Tag
Use the Manual Tag command to select individual objects or groups
of objects in an image with your mouse. You can create different
classes of objects for analysis, and tag each object with a specific
marker. Clicking on the Manual Tag command displays the Manual
Point Count dialog box:

Tag Points: Clicking on this button activates the manual tagging


mode. Manual tagging mode allows you to use the mouse to place
markers on various classes of items in the image, and to switch among
different classes of items for analysis. You will see the following
dialog box:

Select the name of the current class from the list box. Then, using your
left mouse button, click on the items in the image that belong to this
class. There is a limit of 255 class marker types for any given image.
When you have finished, click on the right mouse button or click OK.
Delete Points: Clicking on this button allows you to delete one or
several of the markers in the image. You will see the Delete Points
dialog box:
Page 2-495

Measure:Manual Tag

Use the left mouse button to select the markers to be deleted. When
finished, click the right mouse button or click OK.
Delete All: Clicking Delete All will erase all the tagged markers
from your image.
Class: Clicking on the Class button allows you to define the classes
used to identify the different objects in your image. Clicking on the
button displays the following dialog box:

You may select the name, color and symbol to identify the class
of object.
Add Class: Adds a new class with a default name to the list
of available classes. There is a limit of 255 possible classes per
image.
Delete Class: Removes the highlighted class from the list of
available classes.
Name: Allows you to change the name of the highlighted
class.
Color: Allows you to select a color to identify each class of
objects.
Page 2-496

Measure:Manual Tag
Symbol: Allows you to select a symbol to identify each class
of objects.
OK/Cancel: Click OK to save the class information; click
Cancel to abandon the changes.

Manual Tag File Menu


The commands in the Manual Tag windows File menu are used to save
measurement data (the measurement values) to a disk file. You can also
save the points and sets of points you have generated in the image.
You may use the files as input to an external program, or you can reload
them into Image-Pro for future use with this or another image.
Each command on the Manual Tag : File menu is described below.
Data to File: Select this command if you want to save the
measurement values (the results in the data sheet) to a file.
Measurement data are saved in an Image-Pro count file (.CNT) in
ASCII format. The file will contain the data sheet, exactly as it
appears in the window. The saved data can be imported to a
spreadsheet application or used as input to an external program.
Append Data to File: Use the Append Data command on the
Manual Tag: File menu to add the current measurement data to an
existing file. Select the file to which you want the current data
appended, then click OK. The current measurement data will be
written to the end of the specified file. If the file does not already
exist, Image-Pro will create it.
Data To Clipboard: Use the Manual Tag windows Data To
Clipboard command to store the current data to the Windows
Clipboard. Once on the Clipboard, the histogram data can be
pasted into any Windows application that accepts text from the
Clipboard.
Data to Printer: Select the Data To Printer command to print
out the current tag data.

Page 2-497

Measure:Manual Tag
Save Options: This selection offers you a choice of saving the
data in a data sheet with or without a top line and/or left-hand
column.
DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to transfer
data to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. Before selecting DDE To
Excel, you should use DDE Options to determine the correct
placement (within Excel) for the data. When you select DDE To
Excel, the transfer occurs with little visible evidence that it has
happened. By switching to the Excel application, you can confirm
that the transfer has occurred. For additional information about
DDE, see the Dynamic Data Exchange discussion in Part One of
this manual.
DDE Options: Select the DDE Options command to tell ImagePro how and where to export the current data via DDE. For
additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data
Exchange discussion in Part One of this manual.
Save Points: Use the Save Points command on the Manual Tag
windows File menu to save the locations of your manual tags to a
file.
Load Points: Select the Load Points command on the Manual
Tag windows File menu to superimpose a tagged file onto the
active image, and add the measurements it produces to the data
sheet.
Note: A tagged image loaded from a file is simply superimposed
upon your image. It is not actually written to your image bitmap.
Save Settings : Select the Save Settings command on the
Manual Tag windows File menu to store the current tagged
points specifications. The Save Settings command stores these
values to a file so that, at some future point, you can simply reload
these values instead of having to reestablish them manually.
Load Settings : Select the Load Settings command on the
Manual Tag windows File menu to set the tagged points settings
to the values defined previously.
Page 2-498

Measure:Manual Tag

Close: Use this command on the Manual Tag windows File


menu to close the Manual Tag window. Closing the Manual Tag
window will not affect active measurements and outlines.

Page 2-499

Measure:Manual Tag

Manual Tag View Menu


Use the commands on the Manual Tag : View menu to view the data
and statistics associated with the tagged objects in the active window.

When you select the View menu, you have the option to display Counts,
Points, or Class Statistics in the table (example above). You may also
hide or show the Area, Label, and Point symbol on the image. Each of
these choices is described below:
Counts - displays the name of each class, the number of objects,
the symbol for each class of objects, and the percent of the total
number of objects for each class of objects in the image.
Points - displays the marker number, class, x and y position, and
color identifier for each class of objects in the image.
Class Stats - displays the statistics (min, max, mean, standard
deviation, total) associated with each class of objects in the image.
Area - draws a circle around the selected markers. The radius of the
circle is specified in the Options dialog box. This option allows you
to zoom in/out to examine a selected tagged point. This option is
only available when intensity calculations for the area or radius are
active.
Label - displays a label (number) for each marker, when selected..
Note: If the marker is hidden (see Hide/Show Marker, below), the
label will not be visible.
Hide/Show Points - hides or shows the class symbol associated
with each tagged point.

Page 2-500

Measure:Manual Tag

Manual Tag Options Menu


Use the Options menu to select which characteristics in each class of
objects will be displayed. Options set in this dialog affect the display of the
image on the screen when the Points option from the Manual Tag : View
menu is selected. Select one or all of the choices from the following dialog
box.

.
X Pos: Displays the x position of the points.

Y Pos: Displays y position of the points.

Intensity: Displays intensity of the points.

Class: Displays the class name of the points..

Red, Green, Blue: Allows the user to choose red, blue, or green
values for the points in the image. If you have a monochrome image,
these checkboxes are dimmed.

Calculate Intensity Of: This selection offers you a choice of analyzing


the intensity of the tagged points only, or within given area.
Points Only: Calculates the grayscale or RGB intensity of the
pixel(s) under the marker. When you select this option, ImagePro resets the image to its original point size.
Area of Radius: Displays the grayscale or RGB intensity of a
circular area of a certain radius from 1-15 pixels. Use the scroll
arrows to select the length of the radius or type in a number.
When this selection is activated, the points displayed on the
image change in diameter as the radius setting changes.
Page 2-501

Measure:Manual Tag

Manual Tag Update Menu


Select the Manual Tag windows Update menu to refresh the values in
the data sheet following a change to the image data. For example, if
you added a class while the View options were displayed, you would
need to update the Manual Tag window to add the new class
information.
The Manual Tag data sheet is updated automatically as points are
deleted or selections from the Options menu change the display.
However, you will need to use the Update menu to refresh the values if
the image bitmap changes during a Manual Tag session.
To update the Manual Tag data sheet, simply click the Update menu.
The values in the data sheet will be rewritten based upon the contents of
the active image or AOI.

Page 2-502

Measure:Caliper

Caliper
The Caliper, or Edge Detection tool can be used to:
define a line or shape called a sampling tool and place it on the
image
create edge detectors that will find edges along the length of the
sampling tool
derive distance measurements based upon the detection and
location of the edges.
When you first select Caliper from the Measure menu, you will see a
tabbed dialog:

The sampling tools appear at the left side of the Caliper window. The
tabbed dialog pages on the right side contain selections that allow you
to refine the edge detection and measurement operations, and direct the
output to a file, printer, or spreadsheet.

Page 2-503

Measure:Caliper

Sampling Tools
The first step in the edge-detection process is to create a sampling tool
using the buttons in the tool bar. The sampling tools are used to create
the Luminance Profile (described later in this section). You may use
more than one tool per image, but you may only select one tool at a
time. The tools are:
Line

Clockwise Circle
Counter-Clockwise Circle
Polygon

Selection Tool

Add/Delete Marker

Cut
Copy

Paste

The picture below shows an image with a clockwise


circletool
applied to it.
Delete sampling

Origin

Note: You can move the location of the origin of the circle tool with
your cursor. This may be important for obtaining accurate
measurements.
Important: If you have more than one tool drawn on your image, the
smaller one may be hidden by the larger one. To stack the tools,
select the larger image and click the right mouse button. The pop-out
menu contains a Caliper selection, which lets you send the selected tool
to the back, making the smaller tool accessible again.
Page 2-504

Measure:Caliper
To select an edge-detection method, click the New button. You will see
the following dialog:

The Caliper tool offers two different edge-detection methods:


Derivative and Pattern Match.
Derivative: Click this radio button to use the Derivative method of
edge-detection. This method uses the first- and second-order
derivatives of the luminance profile to detect peaks, valleys, rising
points of inflection, and falling points of inflection.
Pattern Match: Click this radio button to use the Pattern Match
method. This method uses a pattern-matching template of luminance
values ranging from 0 (black) to 255 (white) as the basis for placing
markers. The Caliper compares the luminance values in the image to
the template. Markers are placed at those locations in the image that
most closely match the pattern in the template.
Select: Click this button to choose your edge-detection method.
Clicking this button activates the choices in the bottom part of the
screen:
Name: Enter a name for the edge detector.
Label: Use the spin buttons to select a letter to identify the markers.
Color: Use the Color button to choose a color for the markers.
If you choose the Derivative method:
Page 2-505

Measure:Caliper
Detect Position of: If you are using the Derivative method, you
may use the radio buttons to choose the features that you want to
select. Click the appropriate radio button next to Peak, Valley,
Rising point of inflection, or Falling point of inflection. These
selections are previewed in the pattern template window.
Offset: The offset slider lets you choose how many pixels to offset
the markers from the detected features.
Sensitivity Threshold: The Sensitivity Threshold defines the
minimum difference between an extreme point and neighboring
opposite extremes. If the difference between the extremes is smaller
than the sensitivity threshold, the marker is ignored. The
Sensitivity Threshold is defined in percentage from 0 to 100 from
the dynamic range of the Caliper profile. The default value is 0, so
that all peaks and valleys are detected, even when deviations of
intensities are very small.
If you choose the Pattern Match method:

Matching Level: If you are using the Pattern Match method, you
can use the slider to select the degree of closeness of the pattern
match. Strong means that the matches are nearly perfect; as the
slider moves from right to left, the matches are less identical.
Get Example: In pattern matching, clicking this button allows you
to draw a line on the image over a sample of an edge that you wish
to detect. The pattern detected by this sample will be used to
identify other edges of this type in the image.

Page 2-506

Measure:Caliper
After you have selected your edge-detection method, click the OK
button. The markers will appear in the image, as shown here:

In this example, peaks were selected for edge detection, so the top of
each gear tooth is marked.

Luminance Profile
This page displays the Luminance Profile, as shown here:

Page 2-507

Measure:Caliper
The scaling and display of the Luminance Profile are controlled from
the Options page. The Luminance Profile can display luminance
values from the minimum and maximum values of the image class, or
automatically scale the graph to the minimum and maximum values in
the profile. The peaks in the Luminance Profile correspond to the
peaks detected in the gear image. The valleys in the profile correspond
to the valleys detected in the gear image.

Measurements
This page displays the measurements associated with the edges
detected.

After the measurements are defined, the Measurements page shows the
measurement in each column and statistics are given at the bottom of
the table. The example above shows the following columns:

Page 2-508

A.x

The X positions of the markers in edge detector A.

A.y

The Y positions of the markers in edge detector A.

The distance of the markers along the sampling tool from


the origin of the sampling tool.

A-A

The distances between two consecutive markers.

A-B

The distances between the markers in edge detector A and


edge detector B.

Measure:Caliper
To display the measurements on this page, click the Measurements
button. You will see the following dialog:

Measurements: This box lists the defined measurements. There are


five types of measurements:
X-position shows the position of the markers in the image. Values
are in image coordinates.
Y-position shows the position of the markers in the image. Values
are image coordinates.
Distance from samplers origin shows the distance along the
sampling tool from the origin of the tool.
Distance between markers within a detector shows distances
between two adjacent markers of the same edge detector type.
This measurement is useful for finding aberrations in distances
between the teeth of a gear, for example.
Distances between markers of two edge detectors calculates
distances between two markers of two different edge detectors.
This distance measurement always produces positive values. In
other words, an A-B (A to B) measurements measure the distance
between B marker positioned after the A marker. This type of
measurement is useful for finding bars and spaces in a barcode. AB can be arranged to measure the bar, and B-A can be arranged to
measure the spaces between the bars.
Add: To add a measurement to the list, highlight your selection, and
click the Add button.
Delete: To remove a measurement from the list, click the Delete
button.
Page 2-509

Measure:Caliper
Type: The selections in this area allow you to defined the type of
measurement to display (see previous page). Click the appropriate
radio button:
When you have decided which measurements to display, click OK. To
quit, click Cancel.

Input/Output
The Input/Output page displays the options for loading and saving
Caliper settings files, and saving/printing the measurements and
luminance profile.

Load: Click the Load button to use Caliper settings that you have
defined previously. Settings include your sampling tools, edge
detectors, and measurement definitions. Caliper settings are stored in
files with the extension *.cps .
Save: Click the Save button to save and reuse Caliper settings that you
have just defined. Caliper settings are stored in files with the
extension *.cps .
If you are loading a caliper settings file (*.cps) the Load as
Template option determines how the file will be loaded. If Load as
Template is NOT checked, the features and measurements from the
file will be restored to the image. You would use this method to
continue or reuse measurements from a previous session.

Page 2-510

Measure:Caliper
Load as Template: Click this button to load a file as template for
future measurements. If you are loading a template file (*.tpl)
(Load as Template is checked) you will be prompted to make the
measurements on the current image. You would use the Template
option to create a set of template measurements on a new part of the
sample. You could then reuse the template measurements in
subsequent sessions.
Data to Output: Click the appropriate radio button to indicate if you
are sending the measurements or the luminance profile as output.
Destinations: Click the appropriate radio to indicate the destination
for your output.
Clipboard: Select Clipboard to copy the caliper data to the
Windows Clipboard. From there, the data can be pasted into any
application that accepts information from the Clipboard.
File: Select File to save your data in a file. When you click the File
button, you will be asked to supply a file name.
Printer: Select Printer to print out the current measurement data.
DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to transfer
data to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. For additional information
about DDE, see the Dynamic Data Exchange discussion.
Options : Click the Options button to tell Image-Pro how and
where to export the current data via DDE. For additional
information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data Exchange
discussion.
Send Data: Click this button to send the output data to the selected
destination.

Options
The Options tab contains settings for various areas in the Caliper Tool.

Page 2-511

Measure:Caliper

The Sampling Tool group box offers two selections to smooth the
luminance profile. Smoothing and Thickness.
Smoothing: Use the spin buttons to apply the Gaussian smoothing
filter to the luminance profile. The numbers indicate the degree of
smoothing that the filter uses. Smoothing of 1 means no smoothing.
If smoothing value is more that 1, a Gaussian smoothing kernel will
be applied to the luminance profile.
Thickness: The Thickness control specifies the thickness of the
sampling tool in pixels. The thicker the sampling tool, the more
pixels used to generate a pixel value. Use the spin buttons to select
the thickness of the sampling tool. Thicker lines cover more pixels,
therefore averaging in the values of the surrounding pixels.
The Smoothing and Thickness options adjust the behavior of the
sampling tool. By increasing the smoothing value, you can reduce the
sensitivity of the sampling tool to small changes in the luminance
profile. If you find large numbers of markers on your sampling tool,
increase the smoothing. Values in the range of 10 - 30 or more are good
values to try.
Similarly, the Thickness controls how much data is sampled by the
tools. Increasing the thickness value causes more pixel data to be
sampled. This will reduce the effect of small variations in image
luminance.
Page 2-512

Measure:Caliper
The Calibration group box allows you to use intensity calibration to
calculate the luminance profile, or use the spatial calibration to report
measurements in spatially calibrated values. Check the appropriate box:
Apply Intensity Calibration: Check this box to apply intensity
calibration.
Apply Spatial Calibration: Check this box apply the spatial
calibration.

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Measure:Caliper
The Luminance Profile group box allows you to select Auto-Scaling
for displaying the profile. The Luminance Profile can display
luminance value from the minimum and maximum values of the image
class, or automatically scales the graph to the minimum and maximum
values in the profile. .
Auto-Scale the Plot: Check this box to activate Auto-Scaling, which
automatically adjust the display of the luminance profile to include
only those values actually detected. An example appears here:

Luminance Profile with Auto-Scaling On

Luminance Profile with Auto-Scaling Off

The Marker group box controls the display of the edge-detection


markers (label and sequence number) on the image:
Show Label: Check this box to display the marker label (A,B, C, etc.)
on the image.
Show Number: Check this box to display the marker number (1, 3, 11
etc.) on the image.
The Other group box contains additional selections for the display.
Precision: Use the spin buttons to indicate how many numbers after
the decimal point you want to display on the measurements page.

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Measure:Co-Localization

Co-Localization
Co-localization describes the existence of two or more molecule types
in precisely the same space. The material under examination may be
treated with different types of dyes to indicate the presence or absence
of areas of co-localization or overlap. The Co-Localization command
can be used to measure the amount of co-localization in a color image,
in a pair of gray images, in an image sequence, or in an AOI on a color
image.
Selecting Co-Localization from the Measure menu displays the
following dialog box:

Operations with original color or gray images: Co-localization operates


on a pair of grayscale images or two planes of one color image. An AOI on
a grayscale image will be ignored; however if there is an AOI on a color
image, the calculations will be limited to the area of the AOI. Otherwise,
calculations will be performed on the whole image.
Active Image: Indicates which image is currently in the active
workspace. This image will be used as the baseline for the colocalization calculations.
nd

Image: Indicates the second image in the pair of grayscale images


for co-localization. This control will be disabled (grayed out) if the
active image is color.
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Measure:Co-Localization
If the original images are grayscale, the next four options will create a color
image showing the two source images merged according to the Color Pair
that has been selected, in addition to any Co-Localization plots that are
specified.
Create gray co-localization with frequencies: Choosing this
option will create a new, untitled grayscale image that displays the colocalization areas of the two channels selected (these can either be
two grayscale images, or two channels of a color image) when the
Forward button is clicked.
Create color co-localization: Choosing this option will create a
new, untitled color image that displays the co-localization areas of the
two channels selected (these can either be two grayscale images, or
two channels of a color image) when the Forward button is clicked.
Create 3D view of color co-localization: Choosing this option
will create both a gray scale and a color Co-Localization plot of the
selected area of the active image and uses Image-Pros Surface Plot
feature to create a three-dimensional image of the color colocalization when the Forward button is clicked.
Calculate correlation between images: Choosing this option will
use the Pearson Correlation Coefficient to measure the amount of colocalization in the selected image or AOI when the Forward button is
clicked. The results are displayed in the Output Window, which can
be accessed from the Macro menu.
Color pair: Use this drop-down list box to select the two colors that
Image-Pro will use to define the co-localization area. When using
gray scale images as the data source, this drop-down list determines
the colors that will be assigned to each source image in making the
color composite image and the color co-localization image. When a
color image is the data source, this drop down determines which two
of the three RGB planes will be used for the co-localization
calculations.
Forward: Click this button to begin the co-localization analysis
process.
Operations on the co-localization plot: These selections affect the way in
which co-localization is displayed on the image that Image-Pro created.
Use an AOI on co-localization plot to select area for analysis:
Create an AOI on the co-localization image to define the range of
intensities for each color on which the co-localization calculations
should be performed. Also, notice that as the AOI is drawn, or
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Measure:Co-Localization
moved on the co-localization plot, a three-color mask, based on the
bounding box of the AOI, is applied to the source color image. The
two colors from the imaging show non-co-localized pixels within the
area selected by the AOI range of intensities. The third color, a
summary of the channel colors, represents the co-localized pixels.
For example, if the channels are red and green, the co-localized pixels
are shown in yellow.
Note: To display the co-localized pixels only, press and hold the
<CTRL> key while moving the AOI.
Create mask of co-localizing objects: Click this radio button to
create an image mask using Image-Pros Grid/Mask feature. The
image mask will show the areas of co-localization, as defined by the
AOI on the co-localization plot.
Calculate co-localization coefficients: Clicking this radio button
uses the Pearson Correlation Coefficient to measure the amount of
co-localization in the selected image or AOI. The mathematical
results are displayed in the Output Window.
Analyze: Click this button to execute the operation selected above.
Close: Click this button to close the Co-localization dialog.
Co-Localization Plot: The Co-Localization plot is a 256 x 256 pixel
image displaying a scatter plot, with the origin in the bottom left
corner, in which the intensity of each pixel represents the frequency
with which that color pair exists in each image. For example, if pixel
10, 12 has an intensity of 2013, that means that there are 2013 pixels
with an intensity of 10 in the first channel that also have an intensity of
12 in the second channel.

Page 2-517

Measure:Track Objects

Track Objects
The Tracking feature of Image-Pro Plus 5.1 allows you to follow an
object in an image sequence (*.seq) as it moves through time and
space. This new feature provides the ability to track objects
automatically, semi-automatically, or manually.
In order to use object tracking, you must have an image sequence open
in your Image-Pro workspace. When you select Track Objects from the
Measure menu, you will see the Tracking Data Table, as shown here:

The data table contains information about tracks on the active image
and provides tools to create, measure, and visualize tracks.
The toolbar contains the following buttons:
Load tracks: Clicking this button loads saved tracks from
*.TRC files, and appends these tracks to the existing list.
Save tracks: Clicking this button saves the tracks in *.TRC
files.
Save table: Clicking this button saves the data table in text, tabdelimited, comma-delimited, or HTML format.
Send table to Excel: Clicking this button sends the tracking
data to Excel, using regional settings as the decimal separator.
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Measure:Track Objects
Tracking options: Clicking this button opens the Tracking
Options dialog. In this dialog, you can select measurements, set
default a prefix for names, set colors, graphic size, font size, and
label type. See the Tracking Options section for more
information.
Load tracking options: Clicking this button loads saved
tracking options from a file.
Save tracking options: Clicking this button saves the tracking
options to a file.
Show statistics: Clicking this button shows or hides the
tracking statistics.
Select tracks: Clicking this button activates the selection mode
on the active image.
Add track manually: Clicking this button enables you to create
a new manual track on the active sequence. You will be
prompted to click on an objects position on every frame of the
sequence.
Add intensity track: Clicking this button creates an intensity
track based on the active AOI. The intensity track is linked to the
first selected track (if one or more tracks are selected). If no
tracks are selected, the AOI position does not change from frame
to frame.

Add correlation track: Clicking this button adds a new


correlation track based on the active AOI. The AOI have to be
placed around the object on the first (Start) frame of the
sequence. The object will be tracked from the Start frame to
the End frame. Please refer to the Correlation tab in the
Tracking Options section for settings.

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Measure:Track Objects

Add track automatically: Clicking this button creates a new


track on the active sequence. You will be prompted to
click on an objects position on the first frame, the other track
positions will be found automatically. If the program can not find
the position of the object within the search radius, you will be
prompted to locate that object manually.
Find all tracks automatically: Clicking this button finds all
tracks in the active sequence. The program tries to find tracks for
all objects located in the first frame. If a track is not complete, that
track is canceled.
Show graph: Clicking this button shows the tracking graph.
Merge selected tracks: Clicking this button merges the
selected tracks by interpolating the point positions found in the
gaps between the the tracks, and averaging the coordinates where
the tracks overlap.

Split track: Clicking this button splits selected the track at the
active frame point. After the split, one new track is created from
the second part of the active track, and the active track is split at
the active frame point. The active frame is included in the first
track
Show all tracks: Clicking this button shows all tracks (undoes
the hide operation).
Hide unselected tracks: Clicking this button shows the
selected tracks only, and hides the rest.
Hide selected tracks: Clicking this button hides the selected
tracks, and shows the unselected ones.
Delete all tracks: Clicking this button deletes all the tracks.

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Measure:Track Objects
Delete selected tracks: Clicking this button deletes the
selected tracks.
The values in the Tracking Data Table can be sorted by clicking on
that columns header.
Double-clicking on the color icon
edit dialog that allows you to change a tracks color.

opens the color

The Name of each track can be modified by double-clicking on the cell


containing the selected name and editing the text.

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Measure:Track Objects

Tracking Options
The list of measurements and other parameters are defined in the
Tracking Options window, which can be opened from the Tracking
button. The
Data Table by clicking the Tracking Options
Tracking Options dialog has been expanded to three pages, as shown
here:

Measurements Page
The Measurements page (above) allows you to select the options for
measuring your selected tracks. This page includes the following items:

Distance: Distance between tracking points

X Coord: X coordinates of tracking points


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Measure:Track Objects

Y Coord: Y coordinates of tracking points

Or. Dist: Distance from the starting point to the selected


object

Angle: Angle of the direction

Velocity: Velocity of object

Acceleration: Acceleration of object

Acc. Dist: Accumulated traveled distance from the


starting point

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Measure:Track Objects

The complete list of more than 50 density and


morphological measurements, available in the Count/Size
module, is also included into the tracking measurements.
These measurements are available for tracks created in
automatic and semi-automatic modes, and also for density
tracks. Note that the measurements must be selected before
creating tracks.
The following statistical parameters are included in the statistics
combo-box:

Mean value

Standard deviation

Minimum

Maximum Range

Sum

Index of Min

Index of Max

Total number of objects

Values.

Add: Clicking the Add button adds the current measurement with a
selected statistical field into the Selected measurements list.
Values: If the Values field is selected, the data table will include
values for every vertex of the track. Otherwise, the corresponding
statistical parameter will be calculated.
Remove: Clicking the Remove button deletes the selected
measurement from the list.

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Measure:Track Objects
View/Output Page
The View/Output page contains options for displaying your tracks and
measurements, as shown here:

Labels: The Labels group contains controls for the tracking labels
displayed on the image.
Text color: This button set the text color.
Font size: This button sets the font size.
Show: The Show combo-box displays the type of labels.
The labels can be one of the following:
Name: the tracks name is displayed.
First measurement: value of the first selected measurement will
be displayed as the label.
None: no labels are displayed.
Interval: The Interval control defines the way the interval between
frames is measured, which affects the velocity and acceleration
measurements. When the option is off (default), the frame interval is
calculated as the difference between the capture times of successive
frames. If the option is on, the user-defined interval is used. The
interval is in seconds.

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Measure:Track Objects
Use this option if the analyzing sequence is captured by an external
program (not Image-Pro). In that case, the capture frame time is not
saved in the sequence file, and you may define the correct frame
interval manually.
Tracks: The Tracks group contains other choices for displaying the
tracks.
Prefix defines default prefix for track names.
Color: The Coloring control defines what color the tracks will
have. Two choices are available: Fixed color and Random. If
Fixed color is selected, new tracks will have the Default color.
If Random color is selected, the colors for tracks are generated
randomly, so every track has different color. Note that the colors
of tracks can be edited later from the data table.
Arrow Size: The Arrow size defines the size of the line ends of
the tracks. This selection also affects the size of any points on
the Tracking graph and the size of the crossed circle that shows
the track position on the current frame. The choices are: None,
Small, or Large.
Time Units: The Time Units setting defines units for relative time
display on the Tracking Graph, and time-related
measurements, such as Velocity and Acceleration. It can be
Seconds, Minutes or Hours. For example, if the calibration units
for spatial calibration is in mcm and Time Units is in minutes,
the Velocity values will have mcm/minute units and acceleration
in mcm/minute^2.
Partial Tracks: The Partial tracks group defines how the tracks are
shown on the image.
Show Complete Tracks : If tShow complete tracks is active the
tracks are shown completely, from the beginning to the end, this
option can be used with relatively short sequences.
Show Partial Tracks: If the option Show partial tracks relatively
to the active frame is active, only the part of the track starting
from Active frame Tail to Active frame + Head is shown. This
option should be used on long sequences.
Outline: If the Show object outlines on active frame is selected, the
object outlines are shown on the image.

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Measure:Track Objects
Output: The Output group determines the destination for the
meaurement data.
Swap rows/columns for Excel: When the Swap rows/columns
for Excel option is on, rows and columns are swapped when data
table is exported to Excel. The maximum number of columns in
Excel is 256, so if you have more than 256 columns in the data
table you have to activate this option to export the data correctly.
Digits after decimal: This option defines the number of digits
after decimal point that will be displayed in the data table and other
data windows.
DDE Options : Select the DDE Options command to tell Image-Pro
how and where to export the current data via DDE. For additional
information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data Exchange
discussion.
Smoothing: The Smoothing option defines whether the point
coordinates will be filtered using a running average filter. If the
value is 0 (default), no filtering is applied. In other cases, a
running average filtering is applied with filter size of Smoothing*2
+1. The smoothing can be used when objects move from frame to
frame by a very small distance (0-2 pixels). Because of rounding to
nearest pixel position small movements produce a very jagged
graph of velocities and accelerations. The filtering smoothes the
and improves readability of the graphs.

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Measure:Track Objects
Auto-Tracking Page
The Auto-Tracking page defines the options used with automatic and
semi-automatic tracking.

Track Parameters: The Track Parameters group defines the limits


of the tracks you are creating.
Velocity limit/Search radius: The Velocity limit (Search radius)
defines maximum distance in calibrated units between object
positions on the neighboring frames. The parameter is used with
automatic tracking to find tracks on the first two frames (on all
frames with Chaotic movement type). If no object is found in the
search radius, you will be prompted to click on the expected
position manually. In automatic mode the track is closed at this
point.
Acceleration limit : The Acceleration limit defines the maximum
change in velocity of an object between the frames. The value is in
calibrated units. Starting from the third frame, the estimated
position of object is calculated based on the movement vector in the
first two frames. The search area is defined as a circle with center in
the estimated position and the radius of the acceleration limit. If no
object is found within the search area, you are prompted to click on
the expected position manually. In automatic mode the track is
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Measure:Track Objects
closed at this point. If Auto option is on, the acceleration limit is
taken as half of the velocity limit.
Image: Clicking the Image button allows you to set the search radius
directly on the image.
Minimum total track length: The Minimum total track length
defines the minimum track length in calibrated units. The tracks
that are shorter than this value will not be accepted during
automatic and semi-automatic tracking. The default value is 0.
Predominant motion type: The Predominant motion type
defines the type of objects movement:
Chaotic: Select Chaotic if there is no directional movement of
the objects, and the direction of the movement can be changed
abruptly. In this case, the search area on all frames is defined
only by the speed limit, the acceleration limit is ignored.
Straight: If the objects move following straight monotonous
trajectories, choose the Straight type of motion.
Directional: Select the Directional type of motion if the
objects movement is predominantly directional, but not always
straight.
Calculate: Clicking the Calculate button will then analyze the
existing tracks and calculate the Velocity limit, Acceleration
limit and Predominant motion type , which will be used for
further automatic and semi-automatic track detection.
Objects in Tracks: This group determines how the objects in the
tracks will be defined.
Allow shared objects between tracks: If some objects on the
image, which belong to different tracks, can not be separated
(overlapped, clustered, etc) the Allow shared objects between
tracks option can be checked. This will include merged objects in
several tracks. If this option is unchecked, a single object can
belong to only one track.
Allow partial tracks: If the track length is less than the number of
active frames in the sequence, the sequence may have entries and
exits, where some objects appear in the field of view after the first
frame and leave the area before the last frame. These tracks can be
taken into account by checking the Allow partial tracks option.
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Measure:Track Objects
Minimum track length: The tracks that are shorter than the
Minimum track length are ignored when you select automatic or
semi-automatic tracking.
Tracking Prediction Depth: Tracking Prediction Depth defines
the number of frames ahead of the current, which are used to find
most suitable track for the given object (default is 2). This
parameter also defines the maximum number of consecutive
occlusions on track. The occlusions number is less than the
Prediction Depth by 1. For example, if the Prediction Depth of 3
the maximum number of consecutive object occlusions is 2, it
means that if the tracking object in sequence disappears (or gets
hidden) for 1 or 2 consecutive frames it will still be detected as a
part of the track. The estimated position will be used for missed
objects. The track points of missed objects do not have outlines and
Count/Size measurement values. High prediction depth values
increase computation time significantly.
Auto split objects: When Auto split objects is checked, the
objects are automatically separated after the Count operation.
Use Watershed split: If Use Watershed split is checked, the
watershed split is performed. If this option is unchecked, then
Image-Pro will use the Auto-split option. This option is
recommended when the active image has many objects that touch
each other.
Track Only One Object: If the sequence contains only one object
the Track only one object option can be checked to eliminate other
objects on the image, which can be within threshold levels, but
insignificant for tracking.
Coherence filtering: If the sequence represents coherent motion, in
which spatially close particles are likely to have similar velocity
vectors, the Coherence filtering option should be activated. The
filtration discards those velocity vectors whose orientation is
incompatible with the dominant orientation of the surrounding
vectors. The dominant orientation is the median in a window
centered on the origin of the vector being considered.
Size: The window size is defined in percents of image size.
Incompatible outliers are detected as falling outside the limits
specified by the median.

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Measure:Track Objects
Angle Range: Angle range is defined in degrees (default is +60
degrees). Tracks that include one or more incompatible vectors
are removed. The Allow shared objects option should be on
with this option
Show outlines during auto-tracking: You may choose to display
the outlines of the objects in all frames, or only in the active frame, by
clicking the appropriate radio button.
Show objects outlines with semi-automatic tracking: When
the image has too many frames and many objects, the outlines of the
objects can hide the image itself, making object picking in semiautomatic tracking difficult. The overlays can be switched off using
the Show objects outlines with semi-automatic tracking option.

Correlation Page
This page contains the options used with Correlation tracking:

Reference frame: The Reference frame defines which frame will be


used for cross-correlation for the current frame.
First frame: The First frame can be used when object does not
change shape from frame to frame.
Previous frame: The Previous frame option can be activated when
the moving object changes slightly.
Correlation methods in addition to translation: Rotation and
Scaling are additional correlation methods.
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Measure:Track Objects
Rotation : If the object changes orientation during tracking the
Rotation option should be activated.
Scaling: If the tracking object changes size the Scaling option can
be switched on.
Note that activating these options will slow down the tracking
process.
If the tracking object moves without changing orientation and/or
scale, the Rotation and Scaling options should be switched off.
Translation correction method: The best-match position between
the reference and current frame can be calculated using Full
Correlation or Phase Correlation. Full correlation works better for
most images. Phase correlation ignores image intensity, and may be
preferable if the overall image intensities vary while the patterns
remain similar. Click the appropriate radio button to select the
correction method.

Manual tracking
Add track manually: When you click the Add track manually
button, following dialog is displayed:

You will need to click on the objects position in every frame to


create the track.
Continue: To cancel the track the Continue button can be selected.
Close Track: The track is started from the Start frame of the sequence
and closes on the End frame. You can use the Close track button to
close the track before the End.
Note that the tracks can be created only on sequences where the
number of frames is greater than 1.
A sample image with tracks is displayed here:
Page 2-532

Measure:Track Objects

This is an example of the tracks on the image. A crossed circle on each


track shows the position of the object on the current frame.

Semi-Automatic Tracking
Add track automatically : You can add tracks in semi-automatic
mode by clicking on the Add track automatically button.
The first time you click this button, the following message is shown:

Click Yes to activate the Count/Size dialog . At this stage, you


should define all the parameters in the Count/Size dialog to identify
the tracking objects. You may adjust threshold level, and set
measurement filters to eliminate unwanted objects (like dust) from
tracking, and perform other tasks. You may click the Count button
(on the Count/Size dialog) to check the correctness of the outlines on
the first frame. When the parameters are set, click the Continue
button.
In the following step the program finds object outlines on all frames
and shows them to you for confirmation.

Page 2-533

Measure:Track Objects

If the outlines are not correct, click the No button to reset the
Count/Size parameters. If the outlines are correct, clicking the Yes
button starts semi-automatic tracking.
For every track, you will be prompted to click on the position of an
object in the first frame.

When you click on the object position on the first frame, the program
tries to create a track starting from that point. On the next frames, all
objects within the search radius are considered as track point
candidates. The point, which can create a track with the lowest cost is
selected from the available candidates. Objects that move in erratic
patterns are considered to be higher-cost candidates. The program uses
2-frame forward tracking for every tracking point candidate. If there are
no points found within the search radius, you will be prompted to locate
the point manually.

Page 2-534

Measure:Track Objects

Continue: To cancel the track, click Continue. (Still makes no sense.)


Close track: The track can be closed by clicking on the Close track
button; in this case a partial track will be saved in the list of tracks.

Automatic tracking
Find all tracks automatically: You can find all the tracks on the
image automatically by clicking on the Find all tracks automatically
button.
In the first step, you will be prompted to set the correct Count/Size
parameters (see semi-automatic tracking). The program then finds
tracks for all objects located in the first frame. If a track cannot be
completed in automatic mode, it will be canceled.

Page 2-535

Measure:Track Objects

Intensity Tracking
Intensity tracks can be created to control changing of intensity
parameters over time within an AOI. The intensity tracks can be static
or dynamic.
To create a static intensity track, follow the steps below:
1.

draw an AOI around the object of interest .

2.

Then click the Add Intensity track

button.

A new track with 0 length will be created and the intensity (and other
parameters in the measurements list) in every frame will be measured.
If there are no Intensity measurements in the list, a warning message
will be displayed prompting you to select one of intensity
measurements: Density (mean), Density (red), Density (green), Density
(blue), IOD, Density (std.dev.), Density (min.), Density (max) or
Density (sum).
A dynamic intensity track traces the intensity parameters of moving
objects. To create a dynamic intensity track, follow these steps:

Page 2-536

1.

First, you need to create a base track, either manually or


automatically. The track has to follow the moving object of
interest..

2.

Then, create an AOI around the object of interest on the first frame
of the active sequence portion .

3.

Next, select the base track and click the Add Intensity track
button. A new track that follows the base track with density
measurements within the moving AOI will be created.

Measure:Track Objects

Correlation Tracking
Correlation tracking can be used to track objects when image
segmentation is difficult or not possible. Correlation tracking uses
Fourier cross-correlation to find the position of the object outlined by
an AOI on the next frame of the sequence.
Use the following steps to perform correlation tracking:
1.

Draw a rectangular AOI around the object

2.

Click the Add correlation track


button. The area around the
current AOI position expanded by the Search radius on the
following frame will be analyzed to find the best-match position of
the object. This procedure will be repeated for all active frames of
the sequence. Then the tracking module will create a new track,
using the central positions of the AOIs.

Page 2-537

Measure:Track Objects

Tracking Graph
The Tracking Graph window can be opened by clicking on the Show
Graph icon

in the Tracking Data Tables toolbar.

The window shows the track values for all Visible tracks according to
the selected measurement parameters (from the Measurements
combo-box). The marker (vertical dashed line) shows the current frame
position on the active image.
The window has tool tips showing the name of the track under the
cursor. Clicking on a point on the graph selects the track and moves the
active frame of the sequence to the selected position. The selected
tracks are shown with large points. Selections on the image, the data
table and the graph are synchronized. For statistical parameters, a bar
graph is used:

Page 2-538

Measure:Track Objects
Tracking Graph Toolbar buttons:
Copy graph to clipboard: Clicking this button copies the
graph to the Windows Clipboard in Enhanced Metafile format.
Graph options: Clicking this button opens the Graph Options
window, as shown here:

Vertical range: The Vertical range controls define the minimum and
maximum data ranges if the Auto-range flag is off. If the flag is on,
the ranges are defined from the data values of the corresponding
measurement.
X labels : The X labels control defines labels for X axis. The choices
are : Frame Number, Relative Time and Absolute Time. When
Relative time is selected, measurement points along the X axis are
distributed according to its relative time. In other cases, the
measurement points are spaced equidistantly.
Reset: Clicking the Reset button resets all graph parameters to the
original state.

Page 2-539

Measure:Snap Measurements

Snap Measurements
Snap Measurements allows you to capture a picture of your image with
measurement overlays. This feature will not store the measurements as
overlay objects. The result will is a new 24-bit color image showing the
image as displayed in the image workspace, with all measurement, AOI
and annotation overlays. This feature has no user interface or options.

Page 2-540

Measure:Histogram

Histogram
Use the Histogram command to open the histogram window and
display the intensity histogram and statistics for the active image or
AOI. A histogram shows you a frequency distribution of the intensities
in your image. It describes, in graphic form, the contrast and dynamicrange characteristics of your image. If you are not familiar with
histograms, you may want to review the Histogram and Intensity
Analysis discussions in Section 1 before you begin using the Histogram
command.
When you select the Histogram command, a Histogram window is
opened.

The Histogram window is not a common access window like the


Count/Size or Measurement windows. A Histogram window is
associated with, and accessed by, only one image (the name of the
owning image is displayed in its title bar). The Histogram window
remains open until you explicitly close it, or until you close the image
to which it is attached.
By default, the histograms X-axis will be calibrated to your intensity
unit-of-measure, and the Y-axis to your spatial unit-of-measure.
However, histogram data can be displayed in uncalibrated form by
disabling the Intensity/Spatial calibration options in the histogram
Report menu.
Zoom: Clicking on the Zoom button enables you to enlarge and
focus on a particular area of the histogram.

Page 2-541

Measure:Histogram
Reset: Clicking on the Reset button returns the Histogram to its
original size.
Color: For a color image, clicking on the color list box changes the
color channel displayed on the Histogram.
Important - the histogram measures pixel values as they exist in the
image bitmap. It does not reflect values as they are interpreted
though the LUT. This allows you to make visual adjustments to your
image for viewing purposes without affecting the data used for
analysis. In the event that you want to have LUT intensity
adjustments reflected in your histogram, you must apply the LUT to
your bitmap using the Apply LUT command.
The appearance of the histogram can be modified, and its data saved
to a file, using the Histogram menu commands. These commands are
listed in the following sections.

Note: In the command and option descriptions below, the general terms
intensity and pixels are used, but keep in mind that on your system
these values will actually be reported in the terms you have specified
with the Calibration command (optical density and millimeters, for
example).

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Histogram File Menu


The options on the Histogram windows File menu are used to store
histogram data. The current set of histogram data may be stored to a
new file, or appended to an existing histogram file. The File menu also
contains an option that lets you close the Histogram window.
Data to File: Use the Histogram windows Data to File command
to store the current histogram data to a file. Histogram data are saved in
an ASCII file containing the intensity intervals and the spatial frequency
reported for each. The saved data can be imported into a spreadsheet
application or used as input to an external program.
When the Data to File command is selected, the Save Histogram
dialog box is presented.
Enter the name of the file to which you want the histogram data stored,
then click OK. Your histogram data will be written to the file.
If you have sub-divided the X-axis into bins using the Histogram Bins
command, the data will be expressed and recorded in the intervals you
have specified. Each bin along the X axis will be labeled with its
midpoint value.
Append Data to File..: Use the Histogram windows Append
command (on the File menu) to add the current histogram data to an
existing histogram file.
When the Append command is selected, the Save Histogram dialog
box is presented.
Select the file to which you want the current data appended, then click
OK. The current histogram data will be written to the end of the
specified file.
Statistics to File: Use the Statistics to File command to store
the current Statistic or Range/Area data to a file.

Note: The Statistics to File command can also be used to save the
current range information. If the Range/Area option is enabled in the
Report menu when the Statistics to File command is performed, the
current range information will be saved to the file instead of statistics.

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Measure:Histogram
Data are saved to an Image-Pro histogram file (.HST) in ASCII
format. The saved data can be imported into a spreadsheet
application or used as input to an external program.
When the Statistics to File command is selected, the Statistics to
File dialog box is presented. Within it, specify the name of the file
to which you want the statistic or range data saved. Then click
OK.
Append Statistics to File: Use the Histogram windows
Append Statistics command to add the current Statistic or
Range/Area data to the end of an existing histogram file.
Note: The Append Statistics command can also be used to append the
current range information to a histogram file. If the Range/Area option
is enabled in the Report menu when the Append Statistics command is
performed, the current range information will be saved to the file
instead of statistics.
When the Append Statistics command is selected, the Statistics to
File dialog box is presented. Within it, specify the name of the file
to which you want the statistic or range data appended. Then click
OK.
Data To Clipboard: Use the Histogram windows Data To
Clipboard command to store the current Statistic or Range/Area
data to the Windows Clipboard. Once on the Clipboard, the
histogram data can be pasted into any Windows application that
accepts text from the Clipboard.
Data to Printer: Select the Data To Printer command to print
out the current histogram data.
Graph To Clipboard: Select the Graph To Clipboard command
to copy the current histogram graph to the Windows Clipboard.
From there, the data can be pasted into any application that accepts
text from the Clipboard.
DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to transfer
data to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. Before selecting DDE To
Excel, you should use DDE Options to determine the correct
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Measure:Histogram
placement (within Excel) for the data. When you select DDE To
Excel, the transfer occurs with little visible evidence that it has
happened. By switching to the Excel application, you can confirm
that the transfer has occurred.
For additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data
Exchange discussion.
DDE Options: Select the DDE Options command to tell ImagePro how and where to export the current data via DDE. For
additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data
Exchange discussion.

Close Use the Histogram windows Close command (on the File
menu) to close the histogram window.
If you close the image with which the Histogram window is
associated, the Histogram window will automatically close, too.

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Measure:Histogram
Saving Header, Legend and Axis Information
The Histogram Data to File, Append Data to File, Statistics to File
and Append Statistics to File commands provide the ability to include
or suppress the following kinds of information: the header, the legend
and the X-axis values.

Enable the option to include the information; disable the


option to suppress it.

Header: When enabled, this option will include descriptive header


information at the beginning of the data set, as shown in the example
below.
# Image-Pro Plus Histogram Data
#
#
#
#
#
#

Time: Mon Mar 07 16:06:31 1998


Image: dna.tif
Spatial Unit: Pixels
Intensity Unit: Gray Level
Number Of Channels: 1
Number Of Samples: 256
30
30
32

descriptive header
information.

histogram data

.
.
.

Legend: When enabled, this option will include column headings with
the data (see example below). Columns will be labeled with the unit
names specified by the Calibration command, or with the default labels
of Intensity and Pixels, if unit names have not been specified.

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Measure:Histogram

Density

0
1
2
.
.
.

Pixels

30
30
32

__

data legends

histogram data

.
.
.

X-axis: When enabled, this option will store the X-axis values (the
intensity values for the histogram), along with the pixel counts for each
intensity. See examples below.
0
1
2
.
.
.

30
30
32
.
.
.

30
30
32
.
.
.

histogram data stored with X-axis data


(leftmost column).

histogram data stored without


X-axis data.

Page 2-547

Measure:Histogram

Histogram Color Menu


The options on the Histogram windows Color menu are used to specify
which color model you want your images color information measured
in, and which color channels you are interested in seeing. If you are not
familiar with color models, you may want to review the Intensity
Analysis discussion in Section 1 before working with this command.
Each command on the histogram Color menu is described below.
Note: The Color command will be dim if the active image is not a True
Color image. If your image is a Palette class image, you must convert it
to True Color if you want to extract histogram data for each color
channel. See the Convert To command.
RGB: Check this command on the Histogram windows Color menu
if you want your color data expressed in terms of its Red, Green and
Blue components.
When RGB is checked, you can select the channels you want to
measure, Red, Green or Blue, in the middle segment of the Color
menu. If there is a check by the channel name, it will be measured.
Click on the channel name to toggle it off and on.
HSI: Check this command on the Histogram windows Color menu
if you want your color data expressed in terms of its Hue, Saturation
and Intensity components.
When HSI is checked, you can select the channels you want to
measure, Hue, Saturation or Intensity, in the middle segment of the
Color menu. If there is a check by the channel name, it will be
measured. Click on the channel name to toggle it off and on.
HSV: Check this command on the Histogram windows Color menu
if you want your image data expressed in terms of its Hue, Saturation
and Value components.
When HSV is checked, you can select the channels you want to
measure, Hue, Saturation or Value, in the middle segment of the Color
menu. If there is a check by the channel name, it will be measured.
Click on the channel name to toggle it off and on.

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YIQ: Check this command on the Histogram windows Color menu if
you want your image data expressed in terms of its Y-axis (luminance),
In-phase and Quadrature components.
When YIQ is checked, you can select the channels you want to
measure, Y-axis, In-phase or Quadrature, in the middle segment of the
Color menu. If there is a check by the channel name, it will be
measured. Click on the channel name to toggle it off and on.
Order : Use this command on the Histogram windows Color menu
to arrange the way in which the individual channel plots are layered in
the graph. This might be used when you have graphed more than one
channel simultaneously, and the plot for one channel is obscured by
another.
When the histogram Order command is selected, the Histogram Order
dialog box is presented:

The channels listed inside the box show you the order in which the plots
are currently layered, from front to back. In the Line Profile Order
box above, the Blue channel is in front, and the Red channel is in back.
To rearrange the layers, click on the channel you want to reposition,
then click the Up or Down button to exchange the two channels.
To move the Green channel in front of the Blue channel, click the Up button.
To move the Green channel in back of the Red channel, click the Down
button.

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Measure:Histogram
Note: If you have selected a different color model (e.g., HSI or YIQ),
then your choices will be expressed in terms of the color model chosen
(e.g., hue, saturation, intensity).

Histogram Report Menu


The options on the Histogram windows Report menu are used to
determine the format in which data are presented in the histogram
graph. Choices relating to interval width and X/Y-axis calibration are
available within this menu. You can also choose to display the data in
bar/line/table form, or summarize the data into a set of statistics.
Bins: Select this command on the Histogram windows Report
menu to specify the number of intervals you want the X-axis
segmented into. When you select the Bins command, the
following dialog box is presented.

Type the number of intervals (bins) you want your scale divided
into. By default, Image-Pro will divide the scale into the
following number of segments:
Gray Scale

256

True Color

256

Gray Scale 12

4096

Gray Scale 16

65536

Floating Point

256

You may change the number of intervals to any whole number


that does not exceed the intensity range defined by the image bit
depth; i.e., no more than 256 for an 8-BPP image, no more than
Page 2-550

Measure:Histogram
4096 for a 12-BPP image. Floating Point scales can be
segmented into a maximum of 256 bins.
The Bins command on the Histogram windows Report menu
now offers the option of locating the tick mark between adjacent
bins to the Left of each bin or in the Center of each bin.

The calculation is the same in both instances. Only the placement


of the value on the report changes. In the following histograms,
five bins are selected.

Division marks at Left

Division marks at Center

Important - Changing the bin value affects your histogram in a


couple of important ways. First, it affects the statistics produced
by the Report menus Statistics command. Some precision will
be lost due to averaging that occurs within the consolidated bins.
Second, if histogram data are saved to a file, the data will reflect
the number of bins selected here (i.e., if 10 bins were specified,
10 data points would be recorded in the file).

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Measure:Histogram
Accumulated: Select this command on the Histogram
windows Report menu to display pixels values cumulatively. An
accumulated histogram indicates the number of pixels having the
measured intensity value, or a lesser value, as shown in the
example below.

When you select Accumulated, a check will appear next to it


indicating that it is enabled.
Spatial Cal: Toggle this option on the Histogram windows
Report menu ON to measure Y-axis values in their calibrated
form. Toggle this option off to measure spatial values (Y-axis
data) in uncalibrated form. In uncalibrated form, the Y-axis
reflects the number of pixels for a given intensity value. By
default this option is enabled.
Intensity Cal: Toggle this option on the Histogram windows
Report menu ON to measure X-axis values in their calibrated
form. Toggle this option off to measure intensity values (Xaxis data) in uncalibrated form. In uncalibrated form, the X-axis
measures the pixels actual intensity value. By default this option
is enabled.

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Measure:Histogram
Bar: Select this option on the Histogram windows Report
menu to display your histogram in bar graph form. In bar form,
Image-Pro indicates the measurement points with a bar, as shown
in the example below:

Line: Select this option on the Histogram windows Report


menu to display your histogram in line form. In line form,
Image-Pro connects the measurement points with a line, as shown
in the example below:

Page 2-553

Measure:Histogram
Table: Select this option on the Histogram windows Report
menu to display the histogram data in tabular form, as shown in
the example below:

Statistics: Select this option on the Histogram windows


Report menu to display statistics concurrently with the histogram,
as shown in the example below. If the active image contains True
Color data, the statistics in this box will relate to the color
channel that is the backmost layer in the graph (you can relayer
the channels using the Order command on the Color menu).

The following statistics will be included:


Mean: Reports the average (mean) intensity value for
your the active image or AOI.
Std Dev: Reports the standard deviation of the
intensities contained in the active image or AOI.
X Min: Reports the smallest intensity value contained
within the active image or AOI.

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Measure:Histogram
X Max: Reports the largest intensity value contained
within the active image or AOI.
Sum: Reports the sum of all the intensity values
contained within the active image or AOI.
Range / Area: Select this option to isolate a segment
(range) of the X-axis, and display information relating to this
range. When this option is selected, two movable boundary
markers are placed in the histogram.

Upper limit marker


Lower limit marker

The boundary markers can be positioned to select just the range


you want to study (see also the Histogram windows Scaling
menu, which can be used to accomplish the same thing).
Information about the selected range is displayed along the righthand side of the Histogram window. The window also contains a
Zoom button to re-scale the graph to the selected range (i.e.,
display the histogram for just the selected range, as shown
below).

Click Zoom to display


histogram for selected
range.

Page 2-555

Measure:Histogram
Note: The Range/Area and Statistics options are mutually exclusive,
i.e., they cannot be enabled simultaneously. Image-Pro will
automatically disable the Statistics option when Range/Area is
selected.
The following information is reported for the selected range.
X1: Reports the intensity level that marks the beginning
of the current range (it identifies the position of the left
boundary-marker).
X2: Reports the intensity level that marks the end of the
current range (it identifies the position of the right
boundary-marker).
Area: Reports the number of pixels between the left and
right boundary-markers (the area under the curve).
%: Reports the number of pixels within the current range
(under the curve) expressed as a percentage of the number
of pixels in the entire histogram.
Zoom: Click this button to zoom-in on the selected range,
and display just that portion of the histogram. Data
outside the boundary markers are eliminated from the
graph. The Y-axis is re-scaled to accommodate the largest
value in the selected range.
Note: If the Statistics command is enabled while the
display is zoomed-in on a segment of the X-axis, the
reported statistics represent the entire histogram, not just
the selected segment.
Reset: Click this button to reset the X and Y axes to their
default values after having zoomed-in on a histogram
range using the Zoom button (see above).

Page 2-556

Measure:Histogram

Histogram Update Menu


Select the Histogram windows Update menu to refresh the contents of the
histogram window to reflect any changes that have been made to the image
data. For example, if you moved the AOI from which the histogram was
generated, you would need to select Update to plot the data at the AOIs
new position. Or, if you filtered an image after creating its histogram, you
would need to update the histogram to reflect the intensity changes produced
by the filter.
To update the histogram, simply click the Update menu. The contents of the
histogram will be rewritten based upon the contents of the currently selected
image or AOI.

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Measure:Histogram

Histogram Scaling Menu


The Scaling menu lets you define how much of the data you want
graphed by controlling the length of the X and Y axes. This lets you
graph just part of your intensity data.
When you select the Scaling menu, the Graph Scaling dialog box is
presented:

By default, the Auto-Scaling option will be selected for both axes. If


you want to change the endpoints of an axis, you must disable this
option. Doing so will allow you to enter values into the From and To
fields.
For each axis, the following fields are available:
Auto-Scaling: Check this box if you want Image-Pro to use the
default length of the axis. For the X-axis, the default length is the full
intensity range (e.g., 0 - 256 for Gray Scale and True Color images, 0
- 4095 for Gray Scale 12). For the Y-axis, the default range is
determined by the largest value measured on the Y-axis for that
particular AOI or image. When the Auto Scaling box is selected for
an axis, its From and To fields and values are dimmed.
From/To: In these fields, enter the values to be used as the axis
beginning and end points. When you define a range on the X-axis,
just the intensities within the range you specify are graphed. You can
also specify the Y-axis limits. This is usually done to reduce its scale
to make small values visible. For example, in the histogram below,
the huge number of pixels at 79 dwarfed the measurements at either
end of the X-axis.
Page 2-558

Measure:Histogram

By scaling both the X and Y axes, the intensity measurements at the


lower-end of the scale can be visualized:

In this case, the X-axis was changed to range from 0 to 101, and the
upper limit of the Y-axis was set to 5000.
In cases where the upper limit of the Y-axis is not large enough to
accommodate a value in the graph, the value is simply clipped at the top
of the chart.
Note: The values specified in the Graph Scaling dialog box do not
affect your actual histogram data in any way. These values merely
determine how much of the data will be displayed in the graph, and how
it will be scaled vertically. If the histogram data were to be viewed in
table form, or stored to a file while these scaling value were in effect,
the entire set of histogram data would be displayed or stored.

Page 2-559

Measure:Line Profile

Line Profile
Use the Line Profile command to obtain a plot of the intensity values of
a single line within your image, or the average values of a band of lines.
When you select the Line Profile command, the Line Profile window is
opened. The Line Profile window is not a common access window
like the Color Map or Count/Size windows. A Line Profile window is
associated with, and accessed by, only one image (the name of its owner
is displayed in its title bar).
The Line Profile window will remain open until you explicitly close it,
or close the image to which it is attached.

Note: You can change the size of the dialog box by positioning your
cursor near an edge or corner and dragging the two-way arrow to the
desired position.
When you select the Line
Profile command, a Line
Profile window is opened,
and a defining-line is
placed within your image.
The defining-line specifies
the line of pixels to be
plotted.

Page 2-560

Position the "defining line" over the


line of pixels you want to measure.

Measure:Line Profile
Use the mouse to position
the defining-line over the
Position your cursor over an
line of pixels you want to
endpoint to change its position.
measure. The line can be
Drag the line when you see the 4drawn to any length or
spoked cursor.
angle. When you move
your cursor over the line,
special cursor symbols
will appear, letting you know
that you are in a position to
Position your cursor within the
line to move the entire line.
move the line or one of its
Drag the line when you see the
endpoints. To move the
4-way cursor.
entire line, place your cursor
over the middle
of the line. Your cursor will change into a 4-way arrow. When you
see the 4-way arrow, drag the line to its new position.
To reposition an endpoint, place your cursor over the endpoint you
want to move. Your cursor will change into a wheel. When you see
the wheel, drag the endpoint to its new position. Image-Pro will
redraw your Line Profile graph to reflect the lines new position.
The Line, Circle, and Freeform options allow you to select the area
to be graphed. An example of the Line option is shown above.
The Circle option places a
circle on the image, and you
can use your cursor to
position it.

Use your cursor to


define the shape and
placement of the circle.

The Freeform option allows you to draw an irregular shape on the


image. Clicking the Del Freeform button removes the drawing from
the image.
The graph in the Line Profile window displays the type of plot you
have selected in the Line Profile : Report menu (i.e., Normal, Thick
Horizontal, or Thick Vertical). By default, a Normal line plot is
created. It plots intensity values along a single line of pixels. If you
have calibrated your intensity and/or spatial scales, the calibrated values
Page 2-561

Measure:Line Profile
will be reflected in the graph (the Y-axis depicts intensity values, and
the X-axis, spatial values).
Important - the line profile measures pixel values as they exist in the
image bitmap. It does not reflect values as they are interpreted through
the LUT. This allows you to make visual adjustments to your image for
viewing purposes without affecting the data used for analysis. In the
event that you want to have LUT intensity adjustments reflected in your
line profile, you must apply the LUT to your bitmap using the Apply
LUT command.
If the Reference option is checked, the defining line becomes a
baseline against which a subsequent line is measured (see Reference
below). You can also Freeze a line plot on the graph so that it, and a
subsequent line, can be viewed simultaneously (see Report menu
below).
If True Color data are being measured, Image-Pro will plot the values
of the color channel(s) you have specified in the Color menu.
Line profile commands are performed using the commands from its menu
bar. These commands are described in the sections that follow.
Note: The line profile X-axis will be calibrated to your spatial unit-ofmeasure, and the Y-axis to your intensity unit-of-measure. In the
command and option descriptions below, the general terms intensity
and pixels are used, but, on your system, these values will actually be
reported in the terms you have specified using the Calibration
command (which might be optical density and millimeters, for example)
Reference: Check this box if you want the current line to become the
baseline against which all further measurements will be plotted. This
option lets you visualize the differences between two lines of pixels.
To create such a plot you must:
1. Position the defining line in the image to represent the first
line in the pair.
2. Check the Reference option. This will establish the first
line as the baseline. The defining line in your image will appear
in dashed form to indicate this. You will also see the profile for
that line plotted as the baseline (0) in your graph.
Page 2-562

Measure:Line Profile

The Reference line is


dashed to identify it.

3. Place your cursor over the middle of the reference line


in your image. When the 4-way cursor appears, drag the line to
its new position. When the line is in its new position, the
differences between it and the reference line are plotted in the
graph as shown below.

The Reference line


becomes the baseline for

Note: Once a reference line has been established, its position can be
moved, but its length should not be changed. Changing its length
will cause it to lose its reference attribute and will change it back
into an ordinary defining line.

Page 2-563

Measure:Line Profile

Line Profile File Menu


Use the Line Profile windows File menu to store your line profile data.
This menu lets you store the current data to a new file or append it to an
existing histogram file. The File menu also contains an option that lets
you close the Line Profile window.
The commands on the Line Profile windows File menu are described
below.
Data to File: Use the Data to File command to store the current line
profile data to a file. Line profile data are saved in an Image-Pro
histogram file (.HST), in ASCII format.
The file will contain the pixel positions along the line and the intensity
associated with each. If the reference option has been selected, ImagePro will save the offsets (positive and negative) from the reference line.
The saved data can be imported to a spreadsheet application or used as
input to an external program.
When the Data to File command is selected, the Save Profile dialog
box is presented.
Enter the name of the file to which you want the line profile data stored,
then click OK. Your line profile data will be written to the histogram
file.
Append Data to File: Use the Append command on the Line
Profile : File menu to add the current line profile data to an existing
histogram (.HST) file.
When the Append command is selected, the Save Profile dialog box is
presented.
Select the file to which you want the current data appended, then click
OK. The current line profile data will be written to the end of the
specified file.
Statistics to File: Use the Statistics to File command to store
current Line Profile statistics to a file.

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Measure:Line Profile
Note: The Statistics to File command can also be used to save the
current range information. If the Range/Area option is enabled in the
Report menu when the Statistics to File command is performed, the
current range information will be saved to the file instead of statistics.
Data are saved to an Image-Pro histogram file (.HST) in ASCII
format. The saved data can be imported into a spreadsheet application
or used as input to an external program.
When the Statistics to File command is selected, the Statistics to File
dialog box is presented. Within it, specify the name of the file to
which you want the statistic or range data saved. Then click OK.
Append Statistics to File: Use the Line Profile windows Append
Statistics command to add the current Line Profile data to the end of an
existing file.
Note: The Append Statistics command can also be used to append the
current range information to a file. If the Range/Area option is
enabled in the Report menu when the Append Statistics command is
performed, the current range information will be saved to the file
instead of statistics.
When the Append Statistics command is selected, the Statistics to File
dialog box is presented. Within it, specify the name of the file to
which you want the statistic or range data appended. Then click OK.
Data To Clipboard: Use the Line Profile windows Data To
Clipboard command to copy the current Line Profile data to the
Windows Clipboard. Once on the Clipboard, the histogram data can
be pasted into any Windows application that accepts text from the
Clipboard.
Data to Printer: Select the Data To Printer command to print out
the current line profile data.
Graph To Clipboard: Use the Line Profile windows Graph To
Clipboard command to copy the current Line Profile graph to the
Windows Clipboard. Once on the Clipboard, the histogram data can
be pasted into any Windows application that accepts text from the
Clipboard.

Page 2-565

Measure:Line Profile
DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to transfer data
to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. Before selecting DDE To Excel, you
should use DDE Options to determine the correct placement (within
Excel) for the data. When you select DDE To Excel, the transfer
occurs with little visible evidence that it has happened. By switching
to the Excel application, you can confirm that the transfer has
occurred. For additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic
Data Exchange discussion.

DDE Options : Select the DDE Options command to tell Image-Pro


how and where to export the current data via DDE. For additional
information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data Exchange discussion

Close: Use the Close command on the Line Profile : File menu to
close the Line Profile window.

Page 2-566

Measure:Line Profile

Line Profile Color Menu


The options on the Line Profile windows Color menu are used to
specify which color model you want your images color information
measured in, and which color channels you are interested in seeing. If
you are not familiar with color models, you may want to review the
Color Models discussion in Section 1 before working with this
command.
Each command on the line profile Color menu is described below.
Note: The Color command will be dim if the active image is not a True
Color image. If your image is a Palette class image, you must convert it
to True Color if you want to extract histogram data for each color
channel. See the Convert To command.
RGB: Check this command on the Line Profile : Color menu if you
want your color data expressed in terms of its Red, Green and Blue
components.
When RGB is checked, you can select the channels you want to
measure, Red, Green or Blue, in the middle segment of the Color menu.
If there is a check by the channel name, it will be measured. Click on
the channel name to toggle it off and on.
HSI: Check this command on the Line Profile : Color menu if you
want your color data expressed in terms of its Hue, Saturation and
Intensity components.
When HSI is checked, you can select the channels you want to measure,
Hue, Saturation or Intensity, in the middle segment of the Color menu.
If there is a check by the channel name, it will be measured. Click on
the channel name to toggle it off and on.
HSV: Check this command on the Line Profile : Color menu if you
want your image data expressed in terms of its Hue, Saturation and
Value components.
When HSV is checked, you can select the channels you want to
measure, Hue, Saturation or Value, in the middle segment of the Color
menu. If there is a check by the channel name, it will be measured.
Click on the channel name to toggle it off and on.

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Measure:Line Profile
YIQ: Check this command on the Line Profile : Color menu if you
want your image data expressed in terms of its Y-axis (luminance), Inphase and Quadrature components.
When YIQ is checked, you can select the channels you want to
measure, Y-axis, In-phase or Quadrature, in the middle segment of the
Color menu. If there is a check by the channel name, it will be
measured. Click on the channel name to toggle it off and on.
Order : Use this command on the Line Profile : Color menu to
rearrange the way in which the individual channel plots are layered in
the graph. This might be done so you can view the statistics of a
particular channel (statistics represent the values of the backmost layer
in the graph).
When the Order command is selected, the Line Profile Order dialog
box is displayed:

The channels listed inside the box show you the order in which the plots
are currently layered, from front to back. In the Line Profile Order
box above, the Blue channel is in front, and the Red channel is in back.
To rearrange the layers, click on the channel you want to reposition,
then click the Up or Down button to exchange the two channels.
T o move the Green channel in front of the Blue channel, click
the U p button.
T o move the Green channel in back of the Red channel, click
the Down button.

When the cross hair appears at the position of your choice, click your
mouse. The highlighted channel will be inserted at that point. Press
OK when the channels are arranged as you like.

Page 2-568

Measure:Line Profile

Line Profile Report Menu


Use the options on the Line Profile : Report menu to format the way in
which data are presented in the line plot. Choices relating to the X and
Y axis calibration and multiple line plotting are available within this
menu. It also allows you to display the data in tabular form, or
summarize it into a set of statistics.
Each command on the line profile Report menu is described below.
Freeze: Select this command if you want to maintain a copy of the
current plot within the graph when you plot another line or band.
Freeze allows you to view the plots of two lines (or bands)
simultaneously .

The red line is the New


line.

The blue line is the Frozen


line.

When you have a line or band that you want to freeze, select the Freeze
command. The defining line within your image will be displayed in
blue to indicate that it is frozen.
To plot the intensities of a companion line, place your cursor over the
middle of the frozen line. When the 4-way cursor appears, drag the line
to its new position. The frozen line will remain in place, but an
identical defining line will be created at the position you specify. The
same procedure can be applied to a band that you have frozen.
Once a companion line or band has been created, it can be moved about
the image freely. Each time you drag it to a new position, Image-Pro
will plot the intensities for that location.
Page 2-569

Measure:Line Profile
Although you can change the companions position, you must not
change its endpoints (modify its length or orientation). Doing so will
release your freeze line.
If you save data while both a frozen plot and a companion plot are
active, the data from the companion line are written to the file.
A frozen line or band will remain active until you either toggle off the
Freeze command, modify its endpoints or close the Line Profile
window. A check mark will appear next to this command when it is
enabled.
Normal: Select the Normal command on the Line Profile : Report
menu to measure the intensity of a single line of pixels. When this
mode is enabled, a check mark will appear next to it. By default, this
command is enabled when you select the Line Profile command.
Thick Horz: Select the Thick Horz command on the Line Profile :
Report menu to plot the specified measurement (mean or standard
deviation) for a band of pixel columns. Values are measured from left
to right in the band. To obtain the measurements for a Thick Horz plot,
Image-Pro calculates and plots the requested statistic (average or
standard deviation) for each column in the band.
A Thick Horz averages the pixels in
each column of the band.

When you select the Thick Horz command, Image-Pro will position two
defining lines within your image. You must position these two lines
such that they encompass the band of pixels you want to measure.
To define the height of your
band, place the cursor over the
Drag the line when you
see the 2-way cursor.
middle of one of the defining
lines. When the cursor
changes to a 2-way arrow,
drag the line up or down to its
new position.
Note that a single line cannot be moved in a horizontal direction.

Page 2-570

Measure:Line Profile
To change the position of your
band, place your cursor
between the pair of lines.
When you see a 4-way arrow,
drag the pair to their new
position.

Drag the band when you see


the 4-way cursor.

Thick Vert: Select the Thick Vert command on the Line Profile :
Report menu to plot the specified statistic (mean or standard deviation)
for the specified band of pixel rows. Values are measured from top to
bottom in the band. To obtain the measurements for a Thick Vert plot,
Image-Pro calculates and plots the requested statistic (average or
standard deviation) for each row in the band.
A Thick Vert averages the pixels in
each row in the band.

To define the width of your


band, place you cursor over
the middle of one of the
defining lines. When the
Drag the line when you see
cursor changes to a 2-way
the 2-way cursor.
arrow, drag the line left or
right to a new position.
Note that a single line cannot be moved in a vertical direction.
To change the position of your
band, place your cursor
between the pair of lines.
When you see the 4-way
arrow, drag the pair to their
new position.

Drag the band when you


see the 4-way cursor.

Thick Options: Select this command on the Line Profile : Report


menu to specify the statistic (mean or standard deviation) you want
plotted.
Average: Select this option if you want Image-Pro to
calculate the mean value for each strip of pixels in the band.
When you select Average, a check mark will appear next to it.
The Average option is the measurement Image-Pro sets as the
default when Line Profile command is selected.
Page 2-571

Measure:Line Profile
Std Dev: Select this option if you want Image-Pro to
calculate the standard deviation for each strip of pixels in the
band. When you select Std Dev, a check mark will appear
next to it.
Spatial Cal: Toggle this option on to measure X-axis values in
their calibrated form. Toggle this option off to measure spatial values
(X-axis data) in uncalibrated form. In uncalibrated form, the X-axis
reflects the pixel position along the line. By default this option is
enabled.

Intensity Cal: Toggle this option on to measure Y-axis values in


their calibrated form. Toggle this option off to measure intensity
values (Y-axis data) in uncalibrated form. In uncalibrated form, the Yaxis measures the pixels actual intensity value. By default this option
is enabled.

Statistics: Select this option on the Line Profile : Report menu to


display statistics concurrent with your line profile, as shown in the
example below. If the active image contains True Color data, the
statistics in this box will relate to the color channel that is the backmost
layer in the graph (you can relayer the channels using the Order
command on the Color menu).

The following statistics will be included:


Page 2-572

Measure:Line Profile
Mean: Reports the average (mean) intensity value along the
line.
Std Dev: Reports the standard deviation of the intensities
along the line.
Y Min: Reports the smallest intensity value along the line (if
you are plotting a band, this will be the minimum of the
averaged values, not the actual minimum intensity value
contained in the band).
Y Max: Reports the largest intensity value along the line (if
you are plotting a band, this will be the maximum of the
averaged values, not the actual maximum intensity value
contained in the band).
Sum: Reports the sum of all the intensity values along the
line.
Range / Area: Select this option to isolate a segment (range) of the
X-axis, and to display information relating to this range. When this
option is selected, two movable boundary markers are placed in the line
profile.

lower-limit marker

upper-limit marker

The boundary markers can be positioned to select just the range you
want to study. Information about the selected range is displayed along
the right-hand side of the Line Profile window.
Note: The Range/Area and Statistics options are mutually exclusive,
i.e., they cannot be enabled simultaneously. Image-Pro will
automatically disable the Statistics option when Range/Area is
selected.
The following information is reported for the selected range.
Page 2-573

Measure:Line Profile
X1: Reports the spatial position that marks the beginning of
the current range (it identifies the position of the left boundarymarker).
Y1: Reports the spatial position that marks the beginning of
the current range (it identifies the position of the top boundarymarker).
X2: Reports the spatial position that marks the end of the
current range (it identifies the position of the right boundarymarker).
Y2: Reports the spatial position that marks the beginning of
the current range (it identifies the position of the bottom
boundary-marker).
Area: Reports the sum of all intensity values in the selected
range (the area under the curve).
%: Reports the area of the selected range as a percentage of
the entire profiles area.
Table: Select this option on the Line Profile : Report menu to display
the line profile data in tabular form, as shown in the example below:

Full Scale: Select this command to force a Line Profile plot to scale
the Y-axis to the length of the entire intensity range (e.g., 0 - 255 in a
Gray Scale image). If this option is not set, the Y-axis is scaled to the
minimum and maximum intensity values produced by the profile.
Page 2-574

Measure:Line Profile

Line Profile Update Menu


Select the Line Profile windows Update menu to refresh the line profile to
reflect changes that have been made to the image data. For example, if you
filtered an image after creating its profile, you would need to update the
profile to reflect the intensity changes produced by the filter.
To update the line profile, simply click the Update menu. The contents of
the Line Profile window will be rewritten based upon the contents of the
currently selected image or AOI.

Page 2-575

Measure:Bitmap Analysis

Bitmap Analysis
The Bitmap Analysis command on the Measure menu is used to view
the pixel values of the active window (or AOI) in numeric format.
These values can be saved to an ASCII file for later use with an external
program, or copied to the Clipboard and pasted into another application
(a 3D plotting package, for example).
When the Bitmap Analysis command is selected, the Bitmap Analysis
window is opened and the pixel values associated with the active image
or AOI are displayed.

Pixels X coordinate

Pixels Y coordinate

Pixel values

Bitmap analysis of a Gray Scale image

Pixels X coordinate

Pixels Y coordinate

Pixels Red value


Pixels Green value
Pixels Blue value

Bitmap analysis of a True Color image

Page 2-576

Measure:Bitmap Analysis
Pixel values can be displayed as they actually exist in the image or in
their calibrated form (see the Bitmap Analysis Options Menu, below).
They are not interpreted through the display LUT however.
The Bitmap Analysis window imposes no limit on the number of pixels
that can be processed. There is, however, a maximum of 30,000 pixels
that can be saved, copied to the Clipboard or transferred to Excel. If you
need to save more than this number of pixels, you can define an AOI that
is less than or equal to 30,000 pixels, and process the image in chunks
(i.e., move the AOI systematically across the image and save the data at
each interval). Or, you can use the Sampling option to read the pixel
values at larger intervals (see the Bitmap Analysis Options Menu,
below).
Note: Consider carefully how much data you actually need to save in
ASCII form; a 100 x 100 segment of a Gray Scale image (10K in binary
image form) will consume over 60K, and a True Color segment will take
three times that amount.

Page 2-577

Measure:Bitmap Analysis

Bitmap Analysis File Menu


Use the commands on the Bitmap Analysis windows File menu to
save the displayed bitmap values to disk or to the Clipboard. This menu
also contains the command to close the Bitmap Analysis Measure
window.
Data to File: Select the Data to File command to store the current
bitmap values to a file in ASCII format. The bitmap values in the ASCII
file are padded with leading spaces and are delimited with a tab
character.
Note: A maximum of 30,000 pixels can be saved at one time. You may
save more by successively defining AOIs and saving the data.
If the Pixel Values Only option has been checked, Image-Pro will save
the data without the pixel coordinates, which are contained in the first
row and column of the Bitmap Analysis window. See Pixel Values
Only, below, for more information about this option.
When you select the Data to File command, the Save Bitmap dialog
box is displayed.
Enter the name of the file to which you want the ASCII data saved, and
click OK. If you do not specify a file extension, Image-Pro will
automatically attach the .BIT extension to your file name.
Append Data to File: Select the Append Data command on the
Bitmap Analysis windows File menu to add the current bitmap values
to an existing ASCII file. The ASCII values are padded with leading
spaces and are delimited with a tab character.
Note: A maximum of 30,000 pixels can be saved or appended when the
box is displayed.
Enter the name of the file to which you want the ASCII data appended,
and click OK. If you specify a file that does not already exist, a new
file will be created.
Data to Clipboard: Select the Data To Clipboard command on the
Bitmap Analysis windows File menu to copy the current bitmap
values to the Windows Clipboard. The values are placed on the
Clipboard in ASCII (text) format (the values are padded with leading
Page 2-578

Measure:Bitmap Analysis
spaces and are delimited with a tab character). The text can be pasted
into any application that accepts text from the Clipboard.

Note: A maximum of 30,000 pixels can be copied to the Clipboard at


one time. You may copy more by successively defining AOIs and
copying the data.
Data to Printer: Select the Data To Printer command to print out
the current bitmap analysis data.
DDE To Excel: Select the DDE To Excel command to transfer data
to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. Before selecting DDE To Excel, you
should use DDE Options to determine the correct placement (within
Excel) for the data. When you select DDE To Excel, the transfer occurs
with little visible evidence that it has happened. By switching to the
Excel application, you can confirm that the transfer has occurred. For
additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data Exchange
discussion.
Note: A maximum of 30,000 pixels can be transferred to Excel at one
time. You may transfer more by successively defining AOIs and
transferring the data.
DDE Options : Select the DDE Options command to tell Image-Pro
how and where to export the current data via DDE.
.
Pixel Values Only: The Pixel Values Only command on the
Bitmap Analysis windows File menu determines whether the
coordinate-identifying row and column (i.e., the first row and column in
the table) are written along with the bitmap analysis when it is saved
using the Data to File , Append Data or Copy To Clipboard
commands. A check mark appears next to this command when it is
enabled. When Pixel Values Only is checked, the first row and column
of the data sheet are not saved with the data. Clicking this command
toggles the option off and on.
Close: Use this command on the Bitmap Analysis windows File
menu to close the Bitmap Analysis window.

Page 2-579

Measure:Bitmap Analysis

Bitmap Analysis Options Menu


Use the commands on the Bitmap Analysis windows Options menu to
set sampling rate and intensity calibration options.
Sampling : Use this command to specify whether the value of every
pixel is to be displayed, or whether sampling should be performed at
some other regular interval (e.g., you might choose to display the value
of every other pixel, or every 10th pixel).
When the Sampling command is selected, the Sampling Rate dialog
box is presented.

Enter a value from 1 to 100 in the Read Every field. This value
specifies the frequency at which pixel values are presented in the
Bitmap Analysis data sheet. This value applies to both the X and Y
dimension.
For example (assuming data were being viewed from the upper-left
segment of an image): a sample rate of 1 would display pixels 0,0 0,1
0,2 0,3 0,4 on the first line; a sample rate of 2 would display pixels
0,0 0,2 0,4 0,6 ; a sample rate of 10 would display pixels 0,0 0,10
0,20 0,30 , and so forth.
Intensity Cal: The Intensity Cal command on the Bitmap Analysis
windows Options menu determines whether the pixel values displayed
in the Bitmap Analysis menu are calibrated values or actual image
values. A check mark appears next to the command when this option is
enabled. When Intensity Cal is checked, the values are displayed in
calibrated form. Clicking this command toggles the option off and on.

Page 2-580

Measure:Bitmap Analysis

Bitmap Analysis Update Menu


Select the Bitmap Analysis windows Update menu to refresh the values in
the data sheet following a change to the image data. For example, if you
filtered the image while its bitmap values were displayed, you would need to
update the Bitmap Analysis window to retrieve the filtered image values.
To update the Bitmap Analysis data sheet, simply click the Update menu.
The values in the data sheet will be rewritten based upon the contents of the
active image or AOI.

Page 2-581

Measure:Surface Plot

Surface Plot
The Surface Plot (or 3-D Plot) tool is a new feature in Image-Pro Plus
version 5.1. It creates a three-dimensional representation of the intensity
of an image. When using the Surface Plot tool, keep in mind that X =
length; Y = width; and Z = height.
When you select the Surface Plot command, you will see the following
tabbed dialog:

Viewpoint
The Viewpoint page describes the positioning of the viewer toward the
object.
Elevation: Indicates the height of the display. You can adjust the
elevation by moving the arms of the angle indicator in the
Elevation group box, or typing new numbers in the spin box. For
example, elevating the image 90 degrees provides a view looking
directly down on the object; zero degrees of elevation would be
looking straight at the object. In the picture above, the elevation is 45
degrees.

Page 2-582

Measure:Surface Plot
Rotation: Indicates the position of the viewer around the object. You
can adjust the rotation by moving the smaller circle around the large
one in the Rotation group box, or by typing in new numbers. In the
picture above, the rotation is set to 45 degrees.

Style
The options on the Style page govern the display of the surface plot:

Wireframe: This option speeds up the surface plot display by not


drawing every pixel. To do this, set the Span to the required pixel
interval. For example, if Span is set to 10, the display will sample
every 10th pixel. Intervening pixels will be transparent, as in the
picture above.
Unshaded: This option displays the surface plot without reflections or
shading; the whole surface of the plot is colorized.
Shaded/Illuminated: This option displays the surface plot with any
shadows resulting from the position of the light source (see the
Lighting page). This setting also displays the horizon to help in
maintaining perspective.
Draw Edges: Checking this box displays the edges or curtain of the
surface plot.
Page 2-583

Measure:Surface Plot
Draw Axis: Checking this box displays lines representing the X, Y,
and Z axes of the image.
Textured: This option activates the textured mode. The texture image
can be selected in the Surface tab of the dialog. If this switch is off a
color spread applies to the image.
Z Scale: Use the slider to adjust the relative height of the display of the
Z scale. The possible range is 0 - 400%.

Surface
The Surface page options control the color and glossiness of the
surface plot.

Color: The Color group box lets you select the colors to map to the
gray values found in the surface plot. The buttons at each end of the
color strip bring up the Colors dialog, which allows you to select the
starting and ending colors of the range. (Please refer to the PseudoColor discussion earlier in this manual for more information.)
From: Enter a number to indicate the starting value for the color range.
The default is 0.

Page 2-584

Measure:Surface Plot
To: Enter a number to indicate the ending value for the color range.
The default is 255.
Spins: Enter a number to indicate the number of iterations of the
color wheel to use for coloring the surface plot. Each spin is
equivalent to one cycle of the color wheel. The range of possible
values is 0 -5.
Spread: Check this book to create a color spread. If the box is not
checked, and the From has a value greater than 0, or To has a value
lower than 255, the pixels with values below (From) or above (To)
will be displayed in grayscale.
Gloss: Use the slider to adjust the reflectivity of the surface plot
image. Matte surfaces have lower reflectivity, shiny or glossy
surfaces have higher reflectivity. The range of possible values
is 0 -100.
In Textured mode the page has another appearance.

The Surface color control shows the texture image superimposed on


the active image.

Page 2-585

Measure:Surface Plot

Lighting
Lighting options controls the position and color of the light source.

Elevation: Indicates the angle of the light striking the image. 90


degrees would be as if the sun were overhead at noon, with very few
shadows. Lower angles make more shadows visible.
Rotation: Indicates the location of the light source around the image.
You can adjust the rotation by moving the smaller circle around the
large one in the Rotation group box, or by typing in new numbers.
Color: Clicking this box allows you to change the color of the light
striking the image.

Page 2-586

Measure:Surface Plot

Advanced
The Advanced options determine the characteristics of the surface
when it reflects light. Note that these settings are independent and do
not combine to total 100%.

Ambient Reflection: Ambient Reflection uses the available light


normally present to light the entire surface plot image. Ambient light
is of uniform brightness caused by multiple reflections of light from
the many surfaces present in most environments. This component
presents the surface color, which is set on the Surface tab. When
Ambient Reflection is set to 100, Diffuse to 0 and Specular to 0, the
image appears as it does in the unshaded mode.
Diffuse Reflection: Diffuse reflection uses diffused light to soften
and smooth the surface of the surface plot image. Dull matte surfaces
exhibit diffuse reflection, scattering light equally in all directions so
that all the surfaces appear to have the same brightness from all
viewing angles. When Diffuse Reflection is set to 100, Ambient to 0
and Specular to 0, the image appears as it would in moonlight.
Objects do not show their own surface color in this case.
Specular Reflection: Specular reflection uses a spotlight effect to
focus bright light on the surface plot image. Specular reflection is
best observed on a shiny or glossy surface; the highlighted effect is
Page 2-587

Measure:Surface Plot
caused by specular reflection. When Ambient Reflection is set to 100,
Diffuse to 0 and Specular to 100, the image appears in a glass or
candy-like material, because glass has very low diffuse reflection.
Shadow: sets depth of the shadow. When the Shadow is 0 the shadow
mode is turned off.
When all the color components are added together, this creates to
color of the image pixels in shaded mode.

Output
The Output options determine where your surface plot settings and
information will be directed.

New Image: Clicking this button creates the surface plot in a new
Image-Pro workspace. This function creates the surface plot in the
same size as the original image. It is a good idea to create a new
image when you want to save or print the surface plot, because in this
case the surface plot has maximal resolution.
Printer: Clicking this button sends a copy of the surface plot image to
your printer.

Page 2-588

Measure:Surface Plot
Clipboard: Clicking this button sends your surface plot information to
the Windows clipboard, where it can be pasted into other applications
that accept data from the clipboard.
Create Intensity Scale: Check this box to create an additional image
or key with the intensity scale displayed in it. This is available for a
new image (above) only.
Default Settings: Click this button to return all the surface plot
settings to the original, default settings. Your modifications will not
be saved.
Record Settings: Click this button to record your settings in an
Auto-Pro macro.

Page 2-589

Measure:Report

Report
Use the Report command to work with the Image-Pro Plus Report
Generator. This feature lets you compile your Measure menu
information into a report with graphs, tables , and images.
For information about using the Report Generator, please refer to the
Report Generator online help.

Page 2-590

Measure:Data Collector

Data Collector
Data Collector is a new feature in version 5.1 of Image-Pro Plus. This
feature provides a place where you can accumulate, summarize, and
store information from the analysis of multiple images.
Unlike most tools in Image-Pro which show data one image at a time,
Data Collector provides a place where you can collect analysis data
from multiple images. Tools such as Count/Size, Histogram, and
Manual Measurements are set up to respond to collection requests from
Data Collector. More tools will have that capability in the future. To
check whether a given tool supports Data Collector, simply invoke the
tool and look for its name in the Layout page of Data Collector, under
Sources. Tools that supply data to Data Collector are called Data
Sources.
Data can be collected in two ways: Automatically, every time new data
become available from one of the data sources, or at specific times the
user specifies by pressing the Collect Now button. Each new collection
updates the statistical summary available on the Statistics page.
When you first select Data Collector, you will be shown the Layout
page. This page may be empty if no data source has been invoked yet.
One way for Data Collector to be aware of the various data items that
can be collected is to first invoke the tools that supply them. It is also
possible to specify a list of collected items via macro before or after any
data source is invoked. In this case though, data will not be collected
until the tools are invoked and supply the data.

On the left-hand side of the dialog, you will find a number of buttons
that are always present, regardless of which page is show:
Page 2-591

Measure:Data Collector
Automatic Collection: This check box turns automatic collection on
or off. With Automatic Collection on, the collection process is
triggered each time one of the tools generates new data. When
Automatic Collection is off, no new data is collected until the
Collect Now button is pressed.
Collect Now: Pressing this button will trigger the collection of a new
data block. Each selected data source will be asked to supply its
selected data in turn (See Layout page to learn more about selecting
data sources and data items).
Delete Last: Press this button to delete the last collected data block.
Delete All: Press this button to delete the whole collection. Only data
stored in Data Collector will be deleted. This does not affect any of
the data stored by the data sources or data collected prior to that
and saved to disk.
Close: To close the Data Collector dialog. This does not delete any of
the data collected so far. Nor does it affect ongoing automatic data
collection. In the case the dialog is closed while the Automatic
Collection option is on, a message will come up reminding the user
of that fact.

Page 2-592

Measure:Data Collector

Layout
The Layout page is the first page that you see when you start Data
Collector for the first time.

This page may be empty if no data source was invoked first and no
selection macros were called. Tools such as Count/Size which support
Data Collector are called Data Sources. Each data source supplies one
or several Data Items. Some of the data items can have several
representations. Data source and data items are found on the left hand
side of the Layout page. Items selected for collection are found in the
list box on the right hand side of the page.
Data Source Lists: The top-most drop-down list box contains the list
of all the data sources registered thus far. Remember that for a data
source to appear in this list, its dialog must have been invoked first.
Selecting a data source causes its related data items to be listed in
the list box below it. Certain data items may have different
representations. These representations are listed in the bottom
drop-down list. This list is grayed out for data items that have one
representation only.
To select a given data item for collection, double-click on its name
with the left mouse button. Alternatively, you can click once on the
item to highlight it and press the >> button. In either case, make
sure that you picked the right representation for that item before
selecting it.
In version 5.1 of Image-Pro Plus, the Caliper feature can export
information to the Data Collector. When at least one sampler exists
with at least one detector, Caliper will add a Detector group to the
Data Collector. This group supports Name and Count. Together,
Page 2-593

Measure:Data Collector
these can be used to see how many intercepts are detected, e.g.
checking the number of gear teeth found. The name is the name of
the sampler (e.g. C1) followed by the detector label (e.g. A) for
a result like C1 A.
Selected Lists: Once an item is selected, it will appear on the right
hand side list box (Selected box), with its name, representation (in
parentheses), and data source name. To deselect an item, doubleclick on its name with the left mouse button. Alternatively, you can
highlight one or more items and press the << button.
Collection can begin as soon as one or more items have been selected.

Page 2-594

Measure:Data Collector

Data List
This page shows the list of data points collected thus far. Each data item
selected in the Layout page will appear as one or several columns.
Each row represents a data point for one of several of the data items.
Each time the Collect Now button is pressed, a new data block will be
appended to the list. Similarly, under Automatic Collection mode, new
blocks will be appended every time that data becomes available.

Statistics
This page shows a statistical summary of the data collected thus far. The
column layout of this page is identical to that of the Data List page.
The rows show the minimum (Min.), maximum (Max.), average
(Mean), standard deviation (Std.Dev.), and accumulated (Sum) values
of each column. The number of samples (# Samples) and data blocks (#
Blocks) collected is also shown for each column. Note that the number
of blocks collected is always the same for each column.

Page 2-595

Measure:Data Collector

Export
This page provides different ways in which the collected data can be
saved or exported.

Export: The left hand side options identify what data is saved or
exported.
Data List: Click here if you want to save or export the data listed in
the Data List page.

Page 2-596

Measure:Data Collector
Statistics: Click here if you want to save or export the results listed in
the Statistics page.
With column headers: Click this option to include column headers.
With row headers: Click this option to include row headers.
To: The right hand side options indicate the destination for the exported
data.
File: To save the data into a file on disk.
File (Append): To append the data to an existing file.
Clipboard: To copy the data in text form to the clipboard.
Printer: To print the data.
Excel (DDE): To send the data to Excel via DDE. Excel will be
started automatically if it is installed on the system.
DDE Options: Press this button to bring up the DDE Options
dialog. For additional information about these options, see the
Dynamic Data Exchange discussion in the first part of this
manual.

Page 2-597

Measure:Data Collector

Options
The Options page contains selections that affect the way Automatic
Collection works. It also contains options for controlling the way the
data gets presented in the Data List and Statistics pages.

Auto-Collection: This set of options controls the way Automatic


Collection is done. These options have no effect until AutoCollection is turned on via the Automatic Collection check box
found on the main page. They have no effect on manual collection
(see Collect Now button). Automatic Collection is triggered by
the data sources when they generate new data.
Always append new data to the end of the last collected
block: Select this option if all new data must be collected
regardless of its contents or regardless of which image it comes
from.
Conditional Update: Select this option to restrict automatic data
collection according to the following criteria.
Replace last block if image hasnt changed. Append
otherwise: New data will be appended to the current collection,
or will replace the last collected block. It will be appended if the
data comes from a different image than that of the previous
block. It will replace it if the new data comes from the same
image. This can be useful when collecting from a data source
(tool) that triggers Auto Collection several times before the final
Page 2-598

Measure:Data Collector
data has stabilized. For instance, when working with Count/Size,
Auto Collection is triggered after the Count button is pressed. It
is also triggered each time individual objects are deleted or split.
By replacing the previous block with the new data instead of
appending it, one can refine the Count/Size data without
collecting temporary and unnecessary data.
Ignore new data if image and data are found in any prior
block: New data will be rejected if it is found in any prior
block, and if that block came from the same image. Playing a
sequence for example may cause the Histogram tool to trigger
Automatic Collection for each frame in the sequence. Auto
Collection can be restricted to one loop through the sequence by
selecting this option.
Check pixel values when comparing images (slower):
The two previous options (above) will check to see if the image
the data is collected from has changed since prior blocks were
collected. Image identity can be checked in two ways: By
checking whether the image workspace has changed, or by
checking whether the image pixel values have changed. The
second option is slightly slower and should be used only when
needed. To illustrate when it is needed, lets assume that each
new image is captured into the same workspace (see Capture
module). In this case, the only way to check whether the image
has changed is to physically check whether pixel values are
different. In the case where each new image is captured into a
new workspace, then comparing pixel values is unnecessary.
Collect from any image active at time of collection: Select this
option if you want to collect from any image workspace.
Collect from a single image workspace (determined by first
collection): Select this option if you want to collect from a single
image workspace only. Which image workspace is used is
determined by which workspace is active during the first collection.
Following the first collection, any data collected from any other
image workspace will be ignored.
Show the following information in left-most column: This
gives you the choice of what to display in the left most column of
the Data List and Statistics pages: Row number and/or Block
number and/or the Row number within the block.

Page 2-599

Measure:Data Collector
Show module name in col. headers: Check this option to display
the data source (module) name in each column in addition to the
data item name.
Insert empty lines between blocks: Insert empty lines in the Data
List table to separate (in the display only) the different blocks
collected. This does not affect any of the statistical results.
Column width: To set the width (in characters) of the columns in the
Data List and Statistics tables.
Significant digits: To set the number of significant digits used to
display number values in the Data List and Statistics pages.

Page 2-600

Macro:Macro

The Macro Menu


Use the Macro command to work with the contents of the selected script (.IPM) file.
A script file (.IPM) contains one or more macros that have been created using the
Record Macro command, or have been manually created using Image-Pros macro
language, IPBasic. By default all macros are stored in a default file. but using the
Macro command you can direct Image-Pro to store macros, or play them back, from
a file of your choice.

Important: With the release of IPP 5.1, the preferred new extension for script files is
.IPM. If you want to use older files with the extension .IPM , you must manually
type the name of the file (or .IPM to see a list of all files with that extension) into
the file name field.

Note : You can also incorporate Image-Pro macros into a Visual Basic or Visual
C++ program. See the Using Auto-Pro with Visual Basic and Using Auto-Pro
with Visual C++ sections in your Auto-Pro manual.

Page 2-601

Macro:Macro

Macro
Using the Macro command, you can run, rename, delete, or copy the
macros that have been recorded into the selected script file. You can
also use the Macro command to edit a script file.
When you select the Macro command, the Macro dialog box is
presented.

Script File: In this group box, select the script file with which you
want to work. A script file contains zero, one, or more macros. By
default, the script file named default.ipm is selected when you start
Image-Pro, unless you specify a new default using the -s command
line parameter (see the Start-Up Macro topic) .
Change: Click this button to select a different script file. When
you click Change, the Select Script File dialog box is presented.
Within it, select the script file you want to use and click OK. The
name of the selected script file will appear in the Script File group
box, and the macros it contains will be listed in the Macro Name
box (see below).
Reload: Click this button to reload the selected script file. This
action would be required if you had manually edited the selected
script file using an editor other than Image-Pros built-in Macro
Editor, while Image-Pro was active. The edited macros would not
be recognized within Image-Pro until the script file was reloaded.
Page 2-602

Macro:Macro
A Reload is required under these circumstances because macros
are maintained in, and executed from, memory. When you edit the
selected script file, you are modifying the disk copy of the file, but
the macros in memory are unchanged. The Reload button instructs
Image-Pro to refresh the macros in memory based upon the current
contents of the disk file.
Note: Besides clicking the Reload button, there are three other actions
that will cause the contents of the selected script file to be written to
memory: 1) starting Image-Pro (the macros in the default script are
loaded into memory), 2) selecting a new script file using the Change
button (see above), and 3) editing and saving the script file with
Image-Pros Macro Editor (see below) .
Edit: Click this button to edit the selected script file. This action
will invoke Image-Pros built-in Macro Editor, and will
automatically load the current script file into it. You may modify
the macros as needed (refer to your Auto-Pro manual for macrolanguage syntax). When you have finished your edits, remember to
save the file using the Save command in the Macro Editor : File
menu. Then close the editor to return to Image-Pro. The newly
revised copy of the script file will automatically be loaded into
memory.
When you click the Edit button, the Macro Editor window
appears. For a description of the menus and usage of this window,
see the Edit Macro command.
TIP

You can have Image-Pro open the Macro Editor window and
position the cursor at the macro of your choice. This is especially
helpful if you have many macros in the script file. In the Macro
dialog box, select the script file of your choice. Names of macros
within that file will be listed in the large central list box. Select the
macro name you want, then click the Edit button. Image-Pro
positions the cursor at the first line of that macro.
Macro Name: In this list box, select the macro with which you want
to work. A macro is selected by clicking its name in the list box.
Once a macro is selected, you may apply the Rename, Delete, Run,
and Copy to Clip. buttons to it (these buttons always work upon the
selected macro). You may also apply the Edit button (see Tip
above).
Page 2-603

Macro:Macro
Description: This view-only field will display the selected macro's
description, if one was assigned to it when it was created.
Sort by key: Enable this option if you want the macros contained in
the selected script file to be listed by their assigned shortcut keys.
When disabled, the macros will be listed in alphabetical order, by
name.
Run in trace mode: Enable this option if you want to run your
macros in step-by-step fashion. In trace mode, Image-Pro presents
each macro statement before it is executed. The presented command
is not executed until you click the Step Into button in the Edit
Macro panel. Trace mode can be very useful for pinpointing a
statement that is causing a macro to fail. For more about trace mode,
see Running a Macro in Trace Mode later in this section.
Show code while running: Enable this option if you want to
display the code during execution. In this mode, Image-Pro presents
each macro statement before it is executed, but the macro operates
continuously, rather than in step-wise fashion.
Run: Click this button to play back the selected macro (this is just one
of several way to invoke a macro see also Running A Macro later
in this section). This button will be dimmed if a macro has not been
selected.
Delete: Click this button to delete the selected macro from the script
file. Be careful with this button; once a macro has been deleted there
is no way to retrieve it.
Rename: Click this button to rename the selected macro. When you
click Rename, the Rename Macro dialog box is presented. Enter the
macro's new name and click OK. You may enter up to 15 characters.
The name must conform to the naming conventions outlined under
Record Macro/Stop Recording below.
The name you enter must also be unique to the selected script file
if you enter a name already assigned to another macro, you will be
prompted to enter a new one.

Page 2-604

Macro:Macro
Copy to Clip.: Click this button to copy the contents of the selected
macro to the Windows Clipboard. You might use this feature to copy
a macro into a Visual Basic or Visual C++ program.

Page 2-605

Macro:Record Macro/Stop Recording

Record Macro/Stop Recording


Use the Record Macro command to record a series of Image-Pro
commands as you perform them. When Record Macro is enabled,
Image-Pro begins saving your commands to a script file using the AutoPro scripting facility. It continues to record your actions until you
instruct it to stop by clicking the Stop Recording button in the
Recording dialog box, or selecting the Stop Recording command in the
Macro Menu.
While a macro is being recorded, the message Image-Pro - Recording
will flash in the Title bar and the Recording dialog box will be
displayed. The Template Mode option in this dialog box can be
enabled at any point while the macro is being recorded
Note: If you are recording a macro, and you call an image from the File
menu that is no longer accessible, the steps requiring that image will not
be recorded.
Enabling this option causes an IpTemplateMode(1) statement to be
written to the script file. This statement affects the behavior of the
macro when it is played back instead of using the actual data values
written into the macro, the user will be prompted to provide input
during playback.
The Template Mode option can be enabled and disabled at any time
(even multiple times) in a macro. When you disable the option, an
IpTemplateMode(0) statement is written to the script file. When
played back, the commands following this statement are executed in
literal mode. For more about Template Mode see your Auto-Pro
manual.
The Show Recording option, which can also be enabled at any time,
lets you view the macro statements as they are being recorded (see the
Output Window command for more information about this).
To begin recording a macro, select the Record Macro command. The
Record Macro dialog box is presented. Within this box, enter a name
that will uniquely identify the macro you are about to record and
(optionally) assign it a shortcut key that can be used to play it back.
You may also enter optional comment information.

Page 2-606

Macro:Record Macro/Stop Recording

Macro Name: Enter a name for your macro. You may assign a name
of up to 30 characters. This name must conform to the following
rules (nonconforming names will cause an error during playback):

TIP

the name must begin with a letter.

the name must be made up of only letters, numbers, spaces or the


"_" (underscore) character (note - Image-Pro will convert all
spaces to the underscore character in the final name).

the name must not duplicate one of Auto-Pros reserved words.


Reserved words are words with special meaning to Image-Pro,
such as command names (e.g., IpDocClose,
IpFftForward, IpLutApply) and BASIC-like keywords
(e.g., If, Or, Open, loop). See Appendix B in your Auto-Pro
manual for a list of reserved words.

If you want to ensure that your macro name does not conflict with a
reserved word, you can make it distinct by appending the underscore
character to it, e.g., Open_ , Close_ , LOOP_.

The name you enter must also be unique to the selected script file. If
you enter a name that is already assigned to another macro, you will
be prompted to enter a new one.
Shortcut Key: Enter a key combination that can be used to play
back the macro you are about to record.

Page 2-607

Macro:Record Macro/Stop Recording


Note: You are not required to assign a shortcut key. A shortcut
keys purpose is simply to let you play back your macro quickly and
easily basically, with the touch of a key. If you do not assign a
shortcut key, you can play back your macro using the Run Macro
or Macro command.
A macro can be assigned to a function key (activate the Key list
box, to find the available function keys), or to a <Ctrl>+<key>,
<Shift>+<key> or <Ctrl>+<Shift>+<key> combination.
Ctrl: Select the Ctrl box to use the <Ctrl> key plus another key to
activate your macro. The <Ctrl> key can be used in combination
with an available Function or Alphanumeric keys (activate the Key
list box, to find the available keys). It can also be combined with
the <Shift> key to create <Ctrl>+<Shift>+<key> combinations.
Shift: Select the Shift box to use the <Shift> key plus another key
to activate your macro. The <Shift> key can be used in
combination with an available Function key. It can also be used
with an Alphanumeric keys (activate the Key list box, to find the
available keys), as long as it is combined with the <Ctrl> key. If
the <Ctrl> key is not checked, the alphanumeric choices will be
dimmed.
Description: This field can be used to include an optional
comment or description with your macro. The description is
displayed when you use the Macro command to browse the
contents of a script file.
An unlimited number of characters can be entered. Use
<Ctrl>+<Enter>to enter a line ending.

Page 2-608

Macro:Record Macro/Stop Recording

Running a Macro
There are five ways of invoking a macro that you have created:
1. Press its shortcut key, if one has been assigned to the macro.
2. Click the macros name listed at the bottom of the Macro
menu.

Macros are listed at the bottom of


the Macro menu.

3. Select the macro name in the Macro commands dialog


box and click the Run button.
4. Select it from a menu (or Toolbar button) to which it
has been assigned (see Adding a Macro to a Menu under
Customizing the Command Menus and Buttons).
5. Call it from another macro or a Visual Basic program
(see your Auto-Pro Reference for more about calling a macro
from Visual Basic).

Page 2-609

Macro:Record Macro/Stop Recording

Running a Macro in Trace Mode


For debugging purposes, there are occasions when it is useful to run
your macro in trace mode. Trace mode lets you execute the macro
in step-by-step fashion, allowing you to see the effect of each
command. It can help you quickly identify the specific statement that
is causing a macro failure.
Enable trace mode by selecting the Macro command's Run in trace
mode option (see the Macro command earlier in this section). When
you run your macro, Image-Pro will display the first macro statement
in the Macro Editor window. This statement is not executed until
you click the Step Into button in the Macro Editor.

Using the Macro Editor, you can step though your entire macro one
statement at a time, or step through just a portion of the macro and
execute (or terminate) the remainder automatically. Trace mode also
lets you view the value of a symbolic construct (i.e., a variable or
constant).

Page 2-610

Macro:Record Macro/Stop Recording


The trace function uses the following buttons:
Step Into: Execute the current line. If the current line is a subroutine
or function call, stop on the first line of that subroutine or function.
(If the macro is not active, start it.)
Step Over: Execute to the next line. If the current line is a subroutine
or function call, execute that subroutine of function completely.
Step Out: Step out of the current subroutine or function call.

Page 2-611

Macro:Edit Macro

Edit Macro
Use the Edit Macro command to edit an existing macro. This command
can be used instead of selecting the macro in the Macro dialog and
choosing Edit.
When you select the Edit Macro command, the Macro Editor window
appears.

Using the commands on the Macro Editor windows menus, the


contents of the window can be searched, edited directly, saved to a
file or the Clipboard, and printed. You may also open other files,
print a file, search for a character sequence, cut, copy, paste, delete
text, and query the Help files.

Important: With the release of IPP 5.1, the preferred new extension for
script files is .IPM. If you want to use older files with the extension
.IPM , you must manually type the name of the file (or .IPM to see
a list of all files with that extension) into the file name field.
The following information will help you use the IPBasic Macro
Language Editor:

Page 2-612

Macro:Edit Macro

File Menu
The File menu provides the following options.
Item

Description

New
New Module

Create a new macro.


Create a new macro module (code, object or
class).
Load an existing macro/module from disk.
Close the current macro/module.
Save the current macro/module to disk.
Save the current macro/module to disk as a
particular file.
Save all the macros/modules to disk.
Print the current macro/module.
Select the default printer.
Exit IPBasic Editor.

Open
Close
Save
Save As
Save All
Print
Print Setup
Exit

Page 2-613

Macro:Edit Macro

Edit Menu
The Edit menu provides the following options.
Item
Undo

Description

Undo the last edit.


Hot Key: <Ctrl+Z>
Redo
Redo the last undo.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+Y>
Cut
Move the selected text to the Clipboard.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+X>
Copy
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+C>
Paste
Paste the Clipboard text over the selected
text.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+V>
Delete
Delete the selected text.
Hot Key: <Del>
Select All
Select all of the text.
Indent
Move selected lines right.
Hot Key: <Tab>
Outdent
Move selected lines left.
Hot Key: <Shift+Tab>
Tab As Spaces Toggle the insert tab as spaces mode on/off.
Find
Find a string.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+F>
Replace
Replace a string with another.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+R>
Again
Repeat last find or replace.
Hot Key: <F3>
UserDialog
Edit a User Dialog.
References
Edit the macro/modules references
Properties
Edit the modules properties.

Page 2-614

Macro:Edit Macro

View Menu
The View menu provides the following options.
Item

Description

Macro

Activate the macro editing window.


Hot Key: <Ctrl+A>
Show the immediate output window.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+E>
Show the watch expressions window.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+W >
Show the call stack window.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+T>
Show the loaded macros/modules window.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+L>
Toggle the toolbar on/off.
Toggle the status bar on/off.
Toggle the edit buttons on/off.
Toggle the split on/off.
Set the display font.
Set the tab width.
Select the Object/Proc list display mode.

Immediate
Watch
Stack
Loaded
Toolbar
Status Bar
Edit Buttons
Always Split
Font
Tab Width
Object/Proc
Immediate Window

Use this window to Evaluate an expression, assign a variable or call


a subroutine.
Type "?expr" <Enter> to show the value of "expr".
Type "var = expr" <Enter> to change the value of "var".
Type "Set var = expr" <Enter> to change the reference of "var".
Type "subname args" <Enter> to call a subroutine or built-in
instruction.
Type "Trace" <Enter> to toggle trace mode. Trace mode prints
each statement in the immediate window when a macro/module is
running.

Page 2-615

Macro:Edit Macro
Watch Window
List the variables, functions and expressions that are calculated and
displayed.

Each time execution pauses the value of each line in the window is
updated.
The expression to the left of "->" may be edited.
Pressing Enter updates all the values immediately.
Pressing <Ctrl+Y> deletes the line.

Stack Window
List the lines which called the current statement.

The first line is the current statement. The second line is the one
that called the first. And so on.

Clicking on a line brings that macro/module into a sheet and highlights


the line in the edit window.

Page 2-616

Macro:Edit Macro

Macro Menu
The Macro menu provides options for starting macros, stopping macros
and extending the Basic language.
Item

Description

Run

Run the macro to completion. (If the macro


is not active, start it.)
Hot Key: <F5>
Stop the macro/module. Execution can be
continued.
Hot Key: <Esc>
Terminate the macro/module. Execution
cannot be continued.

Pause

End

Page 2-617

Macro:Edit Macro

Debug Menu
The Debug menu provides the options for debugging macros/modules.
Item
Step Into

Description

Execute the current line. If the current line is


a subroutine or function call, stop on the first
line of that subroutine or function. (If the
macro is not active, start it.)
Hot Key: <F8>
Step Over
Execute to the next line. If the current line is
a subroutine or function call, execute that
subroutine of function completely.
Hot Key: <Shift+F8>
Step Out
Step out of the current subroutine or function
call.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+F8>
Step to Cursor Execute until the line the cursor is on is the
current line. (If the macro is not active, start
it.)
Hot Key: <F7>
Toggle Break Toggle the break point on the current line.
Hot Key: <F9>
Clear All Breaks Clear all break points.
Hot Key: <Shift+Ctrl+F9>
Quick Watch Show the value of the expression under of
the cursor in the immediate window.
Hot Key: <Shift+F9>
Add Watch
Add the expression under of the cursor in the
watch window.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+F9>
Browse
Show the methods of the expression under
of the cursor.
Set Next
Set the next statement to be executed. Only
statements in the current subroutine/function
can be selected.
Show Next
Show the next statement to be executed.

Page 2-618

Macro:Edit Macro

Sheet Menu
The Sheet menu provides the sheet options.
Item

Description

Open Uses

Open all the #Uses modules for the current


macro/module.
Close all the macros/modules.
Show this macro/module.
Hot Key: <Ctrl+1> to <Ctrl+9>

Close All
19

Help Menu
The Help menu provides the following options.
Item

Description

Editor Help

Show the table of contents for IPBasic


Editor.
Language Help Show the table of contents for the Basic
language.
Hot Key: <Shift+F1>
Topic Search Show IPBasic language help for the keyword
under the cursor.
Hot Key: <F1>
About IPBasic
IPBasic Editors about box.

Page 2-619

Macro:Output Window

Output Window
Use the Output Window command to display the Macro Output
window. This window serves a variety of macro-related purposes. It
can be used to copy Auto-Pro commands to a file or the Clipboard.
It can be used as a scratch pad on which you can jot notes or annotate
an Auto-Pro script. It can be used as a window in which to display
output from an Auto-Pro macro (see the Print and IpOutput
statements in your Auto-Pro Reference).
When the Macro Output window is opened for the first time in the
Image-Pro session, it is empty.

From that point on it will begin collecting information that is:


Typed in directly:

Beginning of text with new image

Page 2-620

Comments and
annotations can be typed
directly into the window.

Macro:Output Window
Or, printed by the macro when it is played back (i.e., output produced
by the Print or IpOutput statement).

Printed output, created by


the macro, is displayed in
the window.

The Macro Output window retains the data it receives until its buffer
becomes full (approximately 25,000 characters), Image-Pro is closed,
or the window is cleared by the user (see the Edit menu, below). When
the buffer becomes full, the oldest lines are pushed out to accommodate
the new text.
Using the commands on the Macro Output windows File and Edit
menus, the contents of the window can be edited directly and saved to a
file or the Clipboard. See the descriptions of these commands, below.
See also, the Print and IpOutput statements in your Auto-Pro
Reference.

Page 2-621

Macro:Output Window

Output Window : File Menu


Use the commands on the Output Window : File menu to save the
contents of the window to a file or the Clipboard.

Save: Select the Save command on the Output Window : File


menu to save the contents of the Macro Output window to a text
file.

Append: Select the Append command on the Output Window :


File menu to add the contents of the Macro Output window to the
end of an existing text file.

Copy To Clipboard: Select the Copy To Clipboard command


on the Output Window : File menu to copy the contents of the
Macro Output window to the Windows Clipboard. The text can
then be pasted into any application that accepts text from the
Clipboard.

DDE To Excel: Use the DDE To Excel command on the Output


Window : File menu to transfer the contents of the Output Window
to Microsofts Excel spreadsheet. Before selecting DDE To Excel,
you should use DDE Options to determine the correct placement
(within Excel) for the data. When you select DDE To Excel, the
transfer occurs with little visible evidence that it has happened. By
switching to the Excel application, you can confirm that the transfer
has occurred.

For additional information about DDE, see the Dynamic Data


Exchange discussion.

Page 2-622

DDE Options: Use this command on the Output Window : File


menu to tell Image-Pro how and where to export the current output
window data via DDE.

Print: Use this command on the Output Window : File menu to


print the Macro Output window. The window must be open to
print the contents.

Macro:Output Window

Close: Use this command on the Output Window : File menu to


close the Macro Output window.

Output Window : Edit Menu


Use the commands on the Output Window : Edit menu to cut, copy and
paste text in the Macro Output window.

Undo Last: Select this command on the Output Window : Edit menu
to undo the last editing operation that was manually performed in the
Macro Output window (e.g., a typing sequence, a cut operation or a
paste operation). This command does not undo data that have been
printed by a macro or passed from the macro recorder.

Clear Screen: Use this command on the Output Window : Edit menu
to delete the contents of the Macro Output window.

Copy: Use this command on the Output Window : Edit menu to copy
the selected text to the Clipboard (this command will be dimmed if
there is no selected text). Text is selected by dragging the mouse across
it. When text is selected, it will be highlighted.

Cut: Use this command on the Output Window : Edit menu to copy
the selected text to the Clipboard and simultaneously remove it from the
Macro Output window (this command will be dimmed if there is no
selected text). Text is selected by dragging the mouse across it. When
text is selected, it will be highlighted.

Paste: Use this command on the Output Window : Edit menu to copy
the contents of the Clipboard into the Macro Output window. Before
selecting the Paste command, place your insert cursor in the position at
which the text is to be inserted. If the Clipboard is empty, or does not
contain textual data, this command will be dimmed.

Page 2-623

Macro:Insert

Insert
Use the Insert command to add messaging and control commands to
your macro while it is being recorded. This command can be used
instead of manually editing such statements into your macro after it is
recorded.
Select the Insert command when you are recording your macro and
have reached the point at which you want a control statement inserted.
You will receive a pop-out menu from which you must choose the kind
of statement to insert, or a comment.
Hint - it is often easier to use the Insert command if the "Show
Recording" option is enabled so you can see your macro commands as
they are being recorded. Seeing a command sequence often makes it
easier to identify the points at which a control statement should be
inserted.
Each option on the Insert commands pop-out menu is described below.

Run Program: Use this command to add an IpAppRun statement


to your macro. The IpAppRun statement is used to execute a DOS or
Windows application from your macro. When you select the Run
Program command, the Run Program dialog box is displayed.

Run: In this field, type the file name of the program that is to be
called by your macro (you can also use the Browse button to
select a program file using a dialog box; see below). Then, set
the options that describe the way in which you want the program
called. When you click Insert, the IpAppRun statement will be
written into your program.

Page 2-624

Macro:Insert
A DOS or Windows program can be invoked by this command.
A DOS program must be called by its PIF file, which is created
with the Windows PIF Editor.
Refer to your Auto-Pro Reference for more about the
IpAppRun statement and its options.
Browse: Click this button to receive the Select Program Name
dialog, with which you can display the contents of a directory
and select a program file. The file name you select will
automatically be placed in the Run field.
Start program and continue: Enable this option if you want
your macro to continue processing after the external program has
been loaded (i.e., the external application and your macro will be
active, simultaneously). The disposition of the external program
when Image-Pro is subsequently closed, is determined by the
End program upon exit value (see below).
Complete program and continue: Enable this option if you
want your macro to suspend its processing until the external
application is closed. Setting this option is equivalent to setting
IpAppRuns RunMode parameter to RUN_MODAL.
End program upon exit: Enable this option if you want the
external program to close automatically when you exit ImagePro. Otherwise, the external program will remain active even if
Image-Pro is no longer running. Setting this option is equivalent
to setting IpAppRuns RunMode parameter to
RUN_AUTOCLOSE. Setting Start program and continue
without this option is equivalent to setting IpAppRuns
RunMode parameter to 0.
Run program minimized: Enable this option if you want the
external programs window to be displayed as an icon when it is
initially loaded. Setting this option is equivalent to setting
IpAppRuns ShowMode parameter to RUN_MINIMIZED. If
Run program minimized is not enabled, the ShowMode
parameter is set to RUN_NORMAL.
Stop/Message: Use this command to add an IpMacroStop statement
to your macro. The IpMacroStop statement suspends macro
processing, and displays a message box containing text that you have
Page 2-625

Macro:Insert
specified. The box can be designed to include buttons such as Yes, No,
Continue, and Cancel. When the user clicks a button, macro
processing resumes with the next statement.
When you select the Stop/Message command, the following
dialog box is displayed:

Message: In this field, type the text that is to be displayed when


the macro is executed. Set the options that describe the way in
which you want the message to be displayed (see definitions,
below) and click Insert. The IpMacroStop statement will be
written into your program.
Refer to your Auto-Pro Reference for more about the
IpMacroStop statement and its options.
Exclusive message (modal): Enable this option to display a
modal message box. A modal message box is one that locks
out Image-Pro when it is displayed i.e., the user is prevented
from selecting an image or performing any Image-Pro operations
while the message is on the screen. Modal messages are useful
for reporting events that do not require any user action (e.g.,
notifying the user that the last image was processed or that an
error had occurred). When Exclusive message (modal) is
selected, the button options are activated, allowing you to
include buttons that best suit the purpose of your message box
(e.g., OK, Yes/No, or Continue/Cancel). See button options,
below.
If Exclusive message (modal) is not enabled, a modeless
message box is issued. A modeless message allows the user to
Page 2-626

Macro:Insert
access Image-Pro while the message is displayed. This sort of
message is generally used to request an action of the user. You
might use it to instruct the user to select an AOI, or remind
him/her to adjust image brightness to a satisfactory level. The
button options (see below) are not active when the Exclusive
message (modal) is not enabled. A modeless message box can
contain only a Continue button, which, when clicked, will
resume processing of the macro.
Continue: Enable this option to include a single button labeled
Continue in your message box. When the Continue button is
clicked, macro processing will resume with the next macro
statement. This is the only button configuration that can be
selected when Exclusive message (modal) is disabled (i.e., a
modeless message box is requested).
OK / Cancel buttons: Enable this option to include two buttons,
labeled OK and Cancel, in your message box. When either
button is clicked, macro processing resumes with the next macro
statement. This statement should be the first statement of a
decision structure that acts upon the value returned by the
IpMacroStop function (you will need to manually add this
structure with the Macro Editor). See the IpMacroStop
statement in your Auto-Pro Reference for the value that is
returned by each button, and an example of a decision structure
that handles them.
This option is available when Exclusive message (modal) is
selected. Otherwise, it is dimmed.
Yes / No buttons: Enable this option to include two buttons,
labeled Yes and No, in your message box. When either button is
clicked, macro processing resumes with the next macro
statement. This statement should be the first statement of a
decision structure that acts upon the value returned by the
IpMacroStop function (you will need to manually add this
structure with the Macro Editor). See the IpMacroStop
statement in your Auto-Pro Reference for the value returned by
each button, and an example of a decision structure that handles
them.
This option is available when Exclusive message (modal) is
selected. Otherwise, it is dimmed.
Page 2-627

Macro:Insert
Yes / No / Cancel buttons: Enable this option to include three
buttons, labeled Yes, No, and Cancel, in your message box.
When any button is clicked, macro processing resumes with the
next macro statement. This statement should be the first
statement of a decision structure that acts upon the value returned
by the IpMacroStop function (you will need to manually add
this structure with the Macro Editor). See the IpMacroStop
statement in your Auto-Pro Reference for the value returned by
each button, and an example of a decision structure that handles
them.
This option is available when Exclusive message (modal) is
selected. Otherwise, it is dimmed.
Break Point: Use this command to add a Stop statement to your
macro. The Stop statement halts the macro and activates trace
mode. It is often included during the debugging stage to stop a macro
at a specific point so that the status of certain data values can be
examined.
Refer to your Auto-Pro Reference for more about the Stop statement.
Delay: Use this command to add an IpMacroWait statement to
your macro. The IpMacroWait statement halts macro processing for
a specified duration. You might insert this command to slow down a
particular step so that its results can be easily observed on the screen.
Or, you might use it to allow sufficient time for an external event to
occur; perhaps to await a result from an external application.
When you select the Delay command, the following dialog box is
displayed:

Enter the amount of time that must pass before Image-Pro processes the
next statement in the macro. When you click Insert, the

Page 2-628

Macro:Insert
IpMacroWait statement will be written into your program (its time
will be expressed in 1/10ths of a second).
Refer to your Auto-Pro Reference for more about the IpMacroWait
statement.
Menu Selection: Use this command to add an
IpAppMenuSelect statement to your macro. The
IpAppMenuSelect statement can be used to invoke any item from
the Image-Pro main menu it is typically used for user-defined menu
commands, which are not recognized by the macro recorder.
When you select the Menu Selection command, the following dialog
box is displayed:

To insert a menu command, simply select it from the menu listed at the
top of the box. (Alternatively, you may enter the command's Title or ID
in the Select by Name or Select by ID number field, respectively.
When you use this method, you must enter the command name and
program number exactly as they have been defined in the Title and ID
parameters of the MENU.INI file see item and progitem under
the MENU.INI Syntax section in Part 1 of this manual for more about
the Title and ID parameters).
When you click Insert, the IpAppMenuSelect statement is written
into your macro.
Select by name: Enable this option if you want the
IpAppMenuSelect statement written with its Mode parameter
set to MENU_NAME, which identifies the requested command by
its title (as specified in the IPWIN32.MNU file). See the
IpAppMenuSelect statement in your Auto-Pro Reference for
more about this parameter.
Select by ID: Enable this option if you want the
IpAppMenuSelect statement written with its Mode parameter
set to MENU_ID, which identifies the requested command by its
Page 2-629

Macro:Insert
ID number (as specified in the IPWIN32.MNU file). See the
IpAppMenuSelect statement in your Auto-Pro Reference for
more about this parameter.
Comment: Use this command to add text to your macro. The text
statement can be used to describe the actions performed by the macro.
Comments do not affect the performance of the macro.

Stop Image Refresh: Use this command to turn off the image display
while the macro is running. This may speed up the time it takes to
process the image using macros.

Resume Image Refresh: Use this command to turn the image


display back on while the macro is running. This may slow down the
time it takes to process the image using macros.

A Start-Up Macro
Any macro you create can be made to automatically run whenever
Image-Pro is loaded. Assigning a start-up macro is accomplished by
using the -m and -s switches on the ipwin32.exe command line.
To add these parameters, perform the following steps:
1. Right-click on the Windows Start button, then click Open.
2. Double-click the Programs folder.
3. Double-click the Image-Pro Plus group.
4. Right-click the Image-Pro Plus icon.
5. Select Properties.
The Image-Pro Plus Properties dialog box will be presented.

Page 2-630

Macro:Insert

Edit this line.

Add the -m switch to the end of the ipwin32.exe statement in the


Command Line field. Type the name of the start-up macro after this
switch. The example below shows how the statement should look to
assign a macro called init as the start-up macro.
C:\IPWIN5\ipwin32.exe -m init
Note that a space is placed before and after the -m switch, separating
it from both the ipwin32.exe file name and the init macro name.
If your macro is not contained in the default.ipm file, you must also
add the -s switch to specify the script file in which the macro is
located. The example below shows how the command line should
look if the init macro were located in the cellwork.ipm script file.
C:\IPWIN5\ipwin32.exe -m init -s cellwork.ipm

Note - The specified script file becomes the "selected" script file once
Image-Pro is loaded. Also, be sure to include the extension in the
script files name.

Page 2-631

Macro:Load Demo Macros

Load Demo Macros


This selection contains the demonstration script files for Image-Pro
Plus. A list of available demo macros will appear in the drop-down
menu. Click on the name of the demo macro that you wish to run. Some
of the available demo macros are:
Separate_Fluorochromes: This macro demonstrates the
separation of a 24-bit color image into its red, green, and blue
channels. After enhancing the blue channel, the individual
channels are recombined to create a 24-bit color image.
CountSmall_Cells: This macro shows how to count the number
of cells in a sample.
MeasureStain: This macro uses an image of a tissue section to
demonstrate the Count/Size tools to select objects of interest,
based on their color.
MeasureAngles: This macro uses an x-ray film image to
calculate the angle of the leg. First, the image is processed to
define area of interest, and second, the angles are measured using
the Count/Size tools.
CountandClassify: This macro demonstrates one possible way
to count the number of holes (pores) in an object or objects, and
then determine the percent area of the holes compared to the
objects of interest.
MeasureIronPhases: This macro demonstrates how to locate
and count individual phases of a multiple-phase material. In this
macro, individual phases are segmented and then measured using
the Count/Size tools.
ThoroughfocusSequences: This macro shows how to open a
sequence of images using the Sequencer tool, and then apply a
pseudocolor to the sequence. For additional detail, the histogram
of the image sequence is also opened in order to view the
histogram from frame to frame.
MeasureAutoradiograph: This macro creates an intensity
calibration curve and then derives measurements from selected
areas of an autoradiograph.

Page 2-632

Macro:Load Demo Macros


SprocketCountDemo: This macro demonstrates the creation of
a mask image. It then applies various filters, such as Thinning and
Branch/EndPoint to locate endpoints, and uses the Count/Size
tools to count the number of endpoints.
Note: Saving an image in lossy format (*.jpg, for example) will
damage the watermark. If you add a watermark to your image, save the
image in a lossless format, such as *.tif .
The set of demonstration macros available on your Image-Pro Plus
system may differ.

Page 2-633

Macro:Macro Player

Macro Player
The Macro Player is a new feature in Image-Pro Plus 5.1. It allows
you to load and run the various macros within IPP, demonstrating the
range of applications that Image-Pro addresses for different groups of
users.
The Macro Player appears when you first start Image-Pro Plus. You
can also find this feature on the Macro menu. You will see the Macro
Player dialog:

The list of demonstration macros appears in the dialog window. Use


your cursor to highlight the one you wish to run.
Macros is a list box displaying the current set of demonstration
macros. This list may change from time to time.
Play: This button is enabled when one or more macros are selected,
and will play the macros sequentially, with a brief (2 second) pause
between each one.
Loop Macros: Clicking this button causes the macros to play over and
over again, until the user cancels.
Stop for User Response: Check this box to pause the macro.
Show on Startup: Check this box to display the demonstration
macro dialog when you start Image-Pro.
Page 2-634

Macro:Macro Player
Overview: Clicking this button brings up a brief description of the
different macros.
Browse: allows you to select a different macro list file.
Description: The Description field displays the demo list description
for the highlighted macro.

Page 2-635

Macro:Macro Player

Page 2-636

Window:Tile Images

The Window Menu


Window menu commands control the display of images in Image-Pro Plus. You can
arrange the display of multiple images in the Image-Pro Plus application area, move
back and forth from image to image, and hide or show the Image-Pro Plus toolbars.

Page 2-637

Window:Tile Images

Tile Images
Use the Tile Images command to arrange your open image windows so
that all windows are visible and roughly equally sized across the screen.
Tile Images rearranges only the open image windows; command
windows (such as Count/Size) and data windows (such as histogram
windows) retain their positions.
An example of tiled image windows is shown below.

Page 2-638

Window:Cascade Images

Cascade Images
Use the Cascade Images command to arrange your open image
windows so that they are roughly equally-sized and layered, leaving
only their title bar and left border visible. Cascade Images rearranges
only the open image windows; command windows (such as Count/Size)
and data windows (such as histogram windows) will stay in their
positions.
An example of cascading image windows is shown below.

Page 2-639

Window:Overlap Images

Overlap Images
Use the Overlap Images command to arrange your open image windows
so that they are stacked one above the other and the active window is on
top. Overlap Images rearranges only the open image windows;
command windows (such as Count/Size) and data windows (such as
histogram windows) retain their positions.
An example of overlapping image windows is shown below.

Page 2-640

Window:Next Image

Next Image
Use the Next Image command (<F2>) to select (activate) the next open
image window i.e., the one with the next higher window ID. This is
a useful way of specifying an image window in a macro. Because
window IDs vary greatly from session to session, it is difficult to
ensure that a window ID at playback matches the ID it had when a
macro was initially recorded. Specifying an image window relatively
using the Next Image and Prev. Image commands often alleviates this
problem.

Page 2-641

Window:Prev. Image

Prev. Image
Use the Prev. Image command (<F3>) to select (activate) the previous
open image window i.e., the one with the next lower window ID.
This is a useful way of specifying an image window in a macro.
Because window IDs vary greatly from session to session, it is difficult
to ensure that a window ID at playback matches the ID it had when a
macro was initially recorded. Specifying an image window relatively
using the Next Image and Prev. Image commands often alleviates this
problem.

Page 2-642

Window:Close All

Close All
Use the Close All command to close all open image windows at once.
When an image is closed, its associated histogram and profile windows
are closed with it. Many features will also close automatically when the
last open image is closed.
Certain windows, such as those containing measurement data sheets and
object outlines, will not be closed with the Close command from the
File menu. To close these windows, you must use the Close option on
their Control icon menu.

Page 2-643

Window:Close Tools

Close Tools
Use the Close Tools command to close the Image-Pro tools and dialogs.
Any open workspaces will remain open.

Page 2-644

Window:Select Menu

Select Menu
Image-Pro Plus is used by a wide variety of different types of users for
a wide variety of purposes. As such, it is a general-purpose imaging
toolbox with a large number of features, not all of which are useful to
any one user. The Select Menu feature allows you to select a menu and
toolbar configuration that contains a more focused set of features for
your particular image processing needs.
When you first start Image-Pro Plus, you will see the following dialog:

Use your cursor to highlight one of the choices and then click OK.
Basic: Displays a minimal set of menus.
Biological: Displays a menu set designed for life science and
biological applications.
Complete: Displays the full set of Image-Pro features and functions
on all menus.
Industrial: Displays a menu set designed for industrial applications.
Cancel: Clicking this button cancels the selection of a new menu.
Dont prompt for menu selection on startup: Checking this box
will hide the Menu Selection dialog when you start Image-Pro Plus.
Image-Pro will start using the most recently selected menu.
Note that this option is also accessible from the Edit:Preferences
dialog. The Select Menu and Toolbar dialog may be displayed at any
time using the Select Menu item on the Window menu.

Page 2-645

Window:Select Menu
If you have one of the Image-Pro plug-ins (Scope-Pro, AFA,
3D-Constructor, or SharpStack for example) installed on your system,
you might see the Merge Product Features dialog. This dialog lets you
determine how the plug-ins menus will be integrated into the existing
set of Image-Pro menus:

The Merge product features dialog lets you determine how the
product features of the plug-in are merged to the existing set of menus.
Merge All: Clicking the Merge All button will cause the changes
found in the plug-in file to be merged into all existing menus.
Select: Clicking the Select button displays the Merge menus dialog.
From this menu, you may select a sub-set of the existing set of menus
for the merge. Regardless of which of these choices are selected, the
reference file is updated so that the program knows that the
modifications have been merged as you have specified.
Cancel: Clicking the Cancel button will leave all of the menus
unchanged. This means that the newly installed add-on or third-party
product will not appear in any of the Image-Pro menus, and it also
means that you will be prompted about the merge at every IPP startup
until a choice is made.

Page 2-646

Window:Select Menu
The Merge menus dialog is illustrated below:

The Merge menus dialog allows you to select one or more of the
existing menus to merge the new features into.
Select All: Clicking the Select All button selects all menus for
merging.
Clear All: Clicking the Clear All button clears all selections, so that
none of them are merged.
Cancel: Clicking the Cancel button will return you to the Merge
product features dialog without making any changes.
OK: Clicking the OK button closes both dialogs and applies the
selected merge.
Note that you can choose to ignore the changes made to the menu only
by choosing Select to display the Merge menus dialog, clicking Clear
All to clear all selections, and finally clicking OK. At this time you will
be warned that the modifications will be permanently discarded.

Page 2-647

Window:Hide/Show Tool Bar

Hide/Show Tool Bar


Use the Hide/Show Tool Bar command (<F5>) to enlarge your imaging
area by removing the tool bar from your application area, or to restore
the tool bar to your application area. The command works as a toggle:
if the tool bar is currently being shown, it hides it; if currently hidden, it
restores it.

Page 2-648

Window:Hide/Show Workflow Tool Bar

Hide/Show Workflow Tool Bar


Use the Hide/Show Work Flow Tool Bar command to hide or display
the work flow tool bar in your application area. The command works as
a toggle: if the tool bar is currently being shown, it hides it; if currently
hidden, it restores it. If you have not defined a workflow tool bar, you
will see a message asking if you want to create one.

Page 2-649

Window:Edit Workflow Tool Bar

Edit Workflow Tool Bar


Use this feature to create or modify a workflow toolbar in the
Image-Pro workspace. Selecting Edit Workflow Tool Bar from the
Window menu displays the Edit toolbar dialog:

This dialog is displayed alongside the toolbar that is being created or


edited. The editor will always default to editing the current toolbar, of if
one has not been selected, a new, empty toolbar. The right-hand
illustration above shows a new toolbar with the default title next to the
Edit Toolbar dialog.
The next illustration shows a toolbar with the Title changed to Capture
and a single bitmap button added.

New: Click the New button to create a new, empty toolbar. You will be
prompted whether to save or discard changes if the toolbar has been
modified.
Open: Clicking the Open button displays a standard common File:
Open dialog that allows you to select and open a toolbar definition
file (.IPT) from the toolbar folder.
Save: Clicking the Save button will save the edited toolbar back to its
original file. If you have created a new toolbar, you will be
prompted for a file name, as if you had used the Save As button.
Save As: Clicking the Save As button displays a standard
File: Save As dialog that lets you save the toolbar to a new toolbar
definition file.
Page 2-650

Window:Edit Workflow Tool Bar


Add: Clicking the Add button displays the Add/Edit button dialog,
(described later in the Basic View and Advanced View sections).
Edit Button: The Edit button button is only enabled when a button
is selected on the current toolbar, and when clicked, will display the
Add/Edit button dialog to edit the selected button.
Delete Button: The Delete button button is also only enabled
when a button is selected, and when clicked will delete the button.
Title: The Title box allows the user to provide a specific title for the
workflow toolbar, such as the Capture title illustrated above.
Show Toolbar on StartUp: The Show toolbar on startup (which
has a corresponding item in the Application page of the Edit:
Preferences dialog) will set whether the currently selected toolbar is
shown in the Image-Pro workspace when the application is launched.
Note: When you are editing a toolbar, you can click on any button to
select it. That button will have a blue frame to indicate that it has been
selected. You can click and drag on the blue frame to move the button
to a new location.
The Add/Edit button dialog has two views, a Basic view and an
Advanced view, which are described below. The Add/Edit button
dialog is always shown in its Basic view when used for the first time. In
subsequent uses, the Basic or Advanced view will be displayed
according to which was last used.

Toolbars
The workflow toolbars themselves will have tool tips, which by default
will display the function description provided by the toolbar script. The
toolbars will remember the last position in which they were displayed.

Page 2-651

Window:Edit Workflow Tool Bar

Basic View
The Basic View of the Add/edit button dialog is shown here:

The Basic view allows you to create workflow toolbars very quickly. A
list of functions from the current toolbar script is displayed in the list on
the left-hand side of the dialog. The Basic view supports only text
buttons, with no ability to edit or customize the button text or tool tip.
To add a button to the workflow toolbar, double-click on one of the
functions in the list, or highlight a function and click OK. Your new
button will appear in the workflow toolbar, as shown here:

Record: Clicking the Record button takes you to the macro recording
dialog. You can record a set of Image-Pro operations here, exactly as
if you were creating a new macro. However, your recorded actions
will be saved in the toolbar instead of a macro file.
More: Clicking this button switches to the Advanced view, as shown
below.
OK: Click this button to save your additions and changes to the
workflow toolbar. This button is disabled until you have actually
made a toolbar selection.
Cancel: Click Cancel to discard your changes.

Page 2-652

Window:Edit Workflow Tool Bar

Advanced View
The Advanced View of the Add/edit button dialog is illustrated below:

The Advanced view of the dialog allows you to create more complex
workflow toolbars. The Advanced view supports graphical buttons, and
all of the aspects of the button may be edited.
The list of functions is similar to that of the Basic view, except that
double-clicking a function is not supported. Clicking the function
selects that function to be assigned to the button. This will also default
the button tool tip.
Record: Clicking the Record button takes you to the macro recording
dialog. You can record a set of Image-Pro operations here, exactly as
if you were creating a new macro. However, your recorded actions
will be saved in the toolbar instead of a macro file.
Use button text: Check this box to use the default text on the new
button in your workflow toolbar.
Use button picture: Check this box to use the image bitmap on the
new button in your workflow toolbar.
Button picture: Double-click here to display a standard File:Open
dialog to select the desired BMP file. Graphical buttons can be
created from any BMP file of a suitable size, e.g. not larger than 300
pixels wide by 100 pixels tall. When a picture is selected, the Use
button picture option is selected automatically. Currently, the button
can use text or picture, but not both simultaneously.
Page 2-653

Window:Edit Workflow Tool Bar


Select script: : Click this button to change the script that is used to fill
the list of functions. Note that the script can be changed as often as
desired, with the resulting toolbar combining functions from many
source scripts.
Edit Function: Clicking this button creates a temporary script
containing the macro function that is currently assigned to the button.
You can edit the script and save it to update the function assigned to
the button, or just close the script if you are inspecting it. The button
editor is disabled until you do one or the other. You can also use Save
As in the Macro Editor to save a copy of the script; this could be
used to document the function assigned to the toolbar button, or to
make the function available as a script so that it can be assigned to
other buttons in other toolbars. :
Less: Clicking the Less button switches to the Basic view.
OK: Click this button to save your additions and changes to the
workflow toolbar. The OK button will be disabled until the following
prerequisites are met:

A function is selected in the list AND


The user has chosen to Use button text and there is button text
provided, OR

The user has chosen to Use button picture and a picture file
has been selected.
Cancel: Click Cancel to discard your changes.

Page 2-654

Window:Sync Pan and Zoom

Sync Pan and Zoom


Use this command to synchronize the zoom, scroll, and pan movements
in different open workspaces. When you select this feature, all the open
workspaces will be set to the same size, zoom factor, and pan/scroll
position as the active workspace. Any changes in the zoom, pan, or
scroll of the active image will be mimicked in the other open
workspaces.
Newly-created workspaces (regardless of their origin) will not
automatically take on the characteristics (size, zoom, pan , or scroll) of
the other, already synchronized workspaces; however, panning,
zooming, scrolling or resizing any work space will affect all
workspaces, including the newly-created one.

Page 2-655

Window:Memory Monitor

Memory Monitor
The Memory Monitor feature in Image-Pro Plus 5. 1 supports custom
virtual memory management, allowing the application to exceed the
2GB process size. When you select Memory Monitor from the
Window menu, you will see the following dialog:

The first bar (with the green background) indicates how much of the
allocated RAM is being used. The second bar indicates the percentage
of memory currently residing on disk. The third bar indicates how much
of the disk used for virtual memory storage is currently free.
button : The button next to the RAM % Max allows you
to change the RAM percentage, up to 100%. Note that the actual
RAM used is limited to 1GB, and that allocating all of the available
RAM will cause thrashing between the IPP and Windows virtual
memory mechanisms. The initial default is 40%.

Page 2-656

Window:Memory Monitor
Browse: The Storage Directory indicates where the virtual memory
files are to be stored. Clicking the Browse button allows you to
change this. The default location is the Documents and Settings
directory, as shown here:

Enable Virtual Memory Management : Checking this box lets you


disable the virtual memory module. Note that currently unloaded
frames will remain unloaded until they are accessed.
Note: This can lead to memory errors if you visit frames exceeding the
2-GB limit.

Page 2-657

Window:Memory Monitor
Less: Clicking this button displays a reduced form of the
Memory Monitor dialog:

OK: Click OK to save your virtual memory settings.

Page 2-658

Help:Index

The Help Menu


The Help menu contains the commands for accessing the Image-Pro Plus and
Image-Pro plug-in online help systems. Version 5.1 of Image-Pro Plus now includes
HTML-based online, which requires an internet browser, such as Netscape or
Microsoft Explorer, to view.

Page 2-659

Help:Index

Index
Use the Index command to access the table of contents for Image-Pros
online help facility. Clicking on the Index tab displays the following
dialog box:

To display help information on a specific topic:


1.

Type in the first few letters of the word youre looking for.

2.

Click on the index entry that most nearly corresponds to that topic.

The Help window will pop up with the requested information.

Page 2-660

Help:Image-Pro Plus

Image-Pro Plus
Use the Image-Pro Plus command to access the table of contents for
Image-Pros online help facility. To access one of these topics, simply
click on the topic of your choice.

Page 2-661

Help:Solutions Zone

Solutions Zone
The Solutions Zone is an information and resources web page which
can be accessed freely by Media Cybernetics customers. This page
contains downloadable solutions that range from device drivers, plugins, macros, hardware, and services. Solutions are created by Media
Cybernetics employees, dealers, and users. Solutions created by
Media Cybernetics employees can be downloaded at no cost. Some
solutions created by dealers or other users may have a cost listed in
their description. Media Cybernetics does not set any of these prices.
The Solutions Zone is searchable by keyword, product (i.e. Image-Pro
Plus, Scope-Pro, etc.), by solution type (i.e. device driver, plug-in,
etc.), or application (biological sciences, industrial, or forensics).
Click this link to visit the Media Cybernetics' Solutions Zone web
page:
http://www.solutions-zone.com/

Device Drivers
Device drivers are small software programs that help a user control a
specific piece of hardware that is connected to their computer. From
time to time, Media Cybernetics will post new and updated drivers on
the Solutions Zone. If your device is not working correctly, please
check first to see if there is an updated driver available before
contacting Technical Support.
To search for a device driver, type the name of the device for which
you are seeking a driver (e.g.Leica DC500). After the search is
complete, click on a driver so that you can read the description and
updated information (if applicable). The next screen will allow you to
download the driver directly to your computer.

Page 2-662

Help:Solutions Zone

Plug-ins
Plug-ins are software programs that work within Image-Pro to provide
a new function or feature. Many times, users have asked how rather
complicated functions can be accomplished using Image-Pro Plus. In
some cases, our engineers and other Image-Pro Plus users have taken
it upon themselves to write new plug-ins so that these complex or
novel tasks can be accomplished. We feel that if one user asks a
question, there are probably many more that will have to have the same
question answered. That is why these plug-ins are placed on the
Solutions Zone.
A plug-in search is best accomplished by selecting Application
Programs/Plug-Ins from the Solutions Type drop-down menu on the
front page of the Solutions Zone. You should then limit your search
with a keyword based on what you would want the plug-in to do (e.g.
trace object). Once you have some options to choose from, click on the
plug-in title for more information. The page with information on the
plug-in will have a link to allow you to download the plug-in directly
to your computer.

Macros
One of the major advantages of using Image-Pro Plus is the ability to
record and use macros. Macros are programming scripts that call the
programming language of Image-Pro Plus to automatically execute
tasks. Our engineers and other users have written macros to solve
problems and add to the capabilities of Image-Pro Plus.
A macro search is accomplished in a similar manner as a plug-in
search. Select Macros from the drop-down menu on the front page of
the Solutions Zone. You should then limit your search with a keyword
based on what you would want the macro to do (e.g. sort objects).
Once you have some options to choose from, click on the macro title
for more information.
The page with information on the macro will have a link to allow you
to download the plug-in directly to your computer.

Page 2-663

Help:Solutions Zone

Hardware and Services


Dealers and other users have specialized hardware and macro/plug-in
authoring services that are listed on the Solutions Zone. Hardware
devices can best be found by selecting Other Hardware
Driver/Component from the Solutions Type drop-down menu on the
front page of the Solutions Zone.
Macro/plug-in authoring services can best be found by selecting
Consultants/Programming Services from the Solutions Type dropdown menu on the front page of the Solutions Zone. After selecting a
specific item for more information, a description of the hardware or
service will appear as well as contact information.
Do you have a solution that you think others could benefit from?
Submit it to the Solutions Zone today! Just click
http://www.solutions-zone.com/addedit.htm
and fill out the form on the webpage.

Page 2-664

Help:Macro Language

Macro Language
Use the Macro Language command to access the table of contents for
Image-Pros Auto-Pro online help facility. The following topics are
covered:

Functions: this section describes each Auto-Pro


function (e.g., IpLutShow, IpFltHiPass) and the options
associated with each. Auto-Pro Functions contains all
the information in Section 2 of the Auto-Pro Reference
Manual.

Data Types: this section describes each Auto-Pro


data type, as listed in Appendix D of the Auto-Pro
Reference Manual.

Variable Names: this section describes the rules for


designating a variable name in Auto-Pro, as listed in the
Auto-Pro Reference Manual.

Reserved Word List: this sections lists the


keywords reserved for Auto-Pro use, as listed in
Appendix B of the Auto-Pro Reference Manual.

ANSI Character Table: this sections lists the ANSI


Character Table, as listed in Appendix C of the Auto-Pro
Reference Manual.

Shortcut Key Assignments: this sections shows


the shortcut key combinations supported by Auto-Pro,
as listed in Appendix E of the Auto-Pro Reference
Manual.

To access one of these topics, simply click on the topic of your


choice.

Page 2-665

Help:Using Online Help

Using Online Help


Use the Using Online Help command to learn how to use Image-Pros
help facility. It describes the organization of the help system and the
commands you can use to locate information within it.
Image-Pros help system is a standard Windows help system. As you
are viewing topics you can jump to a cross reference, denoted with an
underscore, by clicking on the underscored word or phrase. You can
also pop-up a definition, denoted with a dotted underscore, by clicking
on the underscored term.
The Using Help command retrieves Windows Using Help topic panels
from your Windows directory.

Page 2-666

Help:About Image-Pro Plus

About Image-Pro Plus


Use the About Image-Pro Plus... command to access Image-Pros
About information box. The About dialog box contains important
version and release date information, as well as pertinent copyright
information. You can register your product, get system information,
and verify your settings from the buttons on the About dialog.
If you need to contact our Technical Support Center, you will need to
provide the version information supplied by this box.

Register: Click this button to register your copy of Image-Pro Plus.


You will see the Registration dialog:

Page 2-667

Help:About Image-Pro Plus


We strongly recommend that you register your copy of Image-Pro
Plus so that you can receive all the benefits to which users of Media
Cybernetics products are entitled. Please see the Registration section
of your Start-Up Guide for more information.
System Info: Click this button to see the your system information. If
you call for Technical Support, you will need this information . You
will see the Application Version Information dialog:

Email to Support: Click this button to bring up the Send Mail


dialog. You can automatically email your system information to
Media Cybernetics Technical Support.
Copy to Clipboard: Click this button to send a copy of your
system information to the Windows Clipboard.
Settings: Click this button to save your current Image-Pro settings.
You will see the File: Save dialog, enabling you to save the
Documents and Settings folder.

Page 2-668

Appendix A - Glossary

Appendix A - Glossary
Active Window

The image window that is currently selected. If only one image


window is open, it will always be the active window. If more
than one image window is open, the active window is the
frontmost window. Its title bar is highlighted.

Angle dot screen

A technique for representing gray tones through dots of varying


sizes placed at regular intervals on a grid. The distance between
the dots on the grid is the resolution in dots per inch (DPI). The
positions of the dots on the grid fall on two sets of imaginary
lines at 90 degrees to one another. The angle of these imaginary
lines to the horizontal is 45 degrees, which is the conventional
angle in printing processes using the screen technique.

AOI

Area of Interest. A contiguous subset of pixels defined within


an image, which may be arranged in any polygonal shape. They
are used to isolate the subset from the rest of the image.

BCG

Brightness, Contrast, Gamma

Bilevel

The simplest way to represent an image in digital terms, with


each pixel represented by a single bit that is either on or off.
Also referred to as Black and White, Line art, or
Halftone.

Bilinear Scaling

A scaling technique that interpolates a pixel's rescaled value


based upon its relationship to surrounding pixels. This
technique creates smoother scaled output than traditional
factor or pixel replication scaling methods.

Bit

The smallest unit of information recognized by a computer. A


pixel is represented by one or more computer bits. The number
of bits per pixel directly determines the number of colors or gray
shades that can be represented. See Bit Depth.

Bit Depth

The number of pixels used to represent one pixel value. Also


referred to as Pixel Depth and bits-per-pixel (BPP).

Bitmap

A two-dimensional array used to represent an image. Each cell


in the array contains a value that describes a sample of the image
in terms of its color.
Contrast this with Vector graphics, where an image is created
by describing its elements as geometric objects.
Page 3-1

Appendix A - Glossary
BMP

Image bit-mapped format used by Windows and OS/2.

BPP

Bits Per Pixel. Describes the depth of an image. Bilevel


images are only 1 BPP; True Color images are 24 BPP.

Brightness

The amount of white in an image. The brighter the image, the


more white it contains, and, as brightness is increased, each
color in the image is shifted more toward white.

Calibration,
Device

The process of setting Color Map attributes to compensate for


the variations in quality of images due to differences in printers,
scanners, and the materials associated with them.
You can calibrate your printer(s) or scanner(s), save the
calibration(s), then load them each time you use a different
scanner or printer, or as your printer toner or ribbon age.

Calibration,
Intensity

The process of redefining the intensity scale associated with an


image, to express intensity values in another unit of measure.
For example, intensity values can calibrated to reflect density, or
temperature.

Calibration,
Spatial

The process of redefining the spatial scale in an image to


express distance between pixels in a unit of measure other than
pixels. For example, you might calibrate the spatial scale to
measure microns or kilometers.

CCITT

Consultative Committee for International Telegraph and


Telephone (a committee of the International Standards
Organization). The committee developed the CCITT
compression methods for FAX data, which are used to compress
Bilevel image files.

Channel

The luminance and color components associated with a color


image. An RGB image contains 4 channels: Red, Green, Blue
and Luminance. The Luminance channel being intensity
irrespective of color.

Chunk
RGB Chunk

The 3-byte (24-bit) group that represents the red, green and blue
values for a pixel. A chunky image data line is made up of
consecutive chunks, with no gaps or fillers between chunks.

Class

See Image Class.

CMY

Color model in which color is expressed in varying amounts of


Cyan, Magenta and Yellow (CMY). CMY is the standard color
model in printing.

Page 3-2

Appendix A - Glossary
Color Correction

Making changes to brightness, contrast, color, highlight,


shadows in an image to compensate for perceived deficiencies.

Color Model

A mathematical model describing color. There are several


Color Models are used today. Image-Pro supports the popular
models. See the Color Model discussion in Section 1, and CMY,
HSI, HSV, RGB, and YIQ entries in this Glossary.

Color Plane

See Plane.

Color Reduction

Optimization or reduction of the number of colors in a color


image. Accomplished using the Convert To menus Palette
command. Often performed to reduce the amount of space
require to store a color image.

Compression

Mathematical technique that allows an image to be stored with


less memory. Redundancies in the internal representation of the
image are identified and given a code; the data in the
redundancies is then replaced by the code.

Contrast

The sharpness of an image. The higher the contrast in an image


the larger the difference between white and black in the image,
or (in color images) the more spread out the color range is. As
contrast is increased, all the colors or gray shades in the image
spread apart.

DLL

Windows Dynamic Link Library

DPI

Dots Per Inch. A unit of measure for resolution. DPI can refer
to the resolution of the displayed image, or the output page.
The output DPI does not necessarily map one-to-one to the
image DPI. The number of dots per inch in a document
determines its visual quality. A higher resolution document
can appear smooth, realistic, and finely defined. A lower
resolution document can appear blotchy, jagged, and ragged.
(See also Spatial Resolution)

Drag

To press and hold down a button on your pointing device while


you move the cursor on the screen. You drag something when
you want to move it to a new location on the screen, or when
you want to resize it. For example, you drag a document window
to reposition or resize it.

Error Diffusion

A halftoning technique where the difference between the image


pixel value, and the targeted halftoned pixel is added to the
value of the next image pixel.

Page 3-3

Appendix A - Glossary
Factor Scaling

A scaling technique that uses a zoom factor. The zoom factor


allows scaling to be accomplished quickly.

File Format

The method with which an image is stored to disk, based on


image class, compression type (if applicable), and halftone
pattern (for bilevel images). TIFF, CUT, GIF, BMP and PCX
are examples of file formats.

Gamma

A nonlinear contrast correction factor which is used to adjust the


contrast in dark or light areas of the image.

Gray Level

In gray scale images, the brightness value assigned to a pixel. In


an 8-bit image, this value ranges from 0 to 255 (from black,
through shades of gray, to white).

Halftoning

A method of simulating a gray scale image using patterns of very


small black and white dots.

Horizontal
Differencing

Technique used for enhancing LZW compression. Horizontal


differencing takes advantage of the fact that, in many images, the
difference between adjacent pixels if frequently 0 or a small
number. Instead of compressing the actual value, LZW then
compresses the differencing values of the adjacent pixels.

HSI

Color model in which color is expressed in varying amounts of


Hue, Saturation and Intensity. The color space for the HSI
model is normally represented by a double hexcone, with
Intensity forming the primary axis as shown in the drawing
below.
1.0 White

Green

Yellow

Cyan

Red
Magenta

Blue

Hue
0.0 Black

Page 3-4

Saturation

Appendix A - Glossary
HSV

Color model in which color is expressed in varying amounts of


Hue, Saturation and Value. HSV differs from HSI in the way
Intensity is derived. See HSI above.

Huffman

See Modified Huffman

Icon

A symbol that represents a tool or item. For example, the


symbols on the Ribbon are icons of the available tools.

Image

The document that Image-Pro works upon. Also may refer to


the original artwork, graphics, or photo that you scan or import.

Image Class

Image category, determined by bit depth. Image classes


supported by Image-Pro include Bilevel (1-bit), Palette (8-bit),
Gray Scale (8-bit), Gray Scale 12 (12-bit) and True Color (24bit).

Image
Conversion

The process of changing an image from one class and/or format


and/or compression type to another.

IMG

Image file format developed by Digital Research, and used


extensively by Ventura Publisher.

Lossless

Type of compression that allows full recovery of the original


image and is fully reversible.

Lossy

Type of compression that degenerates an image during


compression and is not fully reversible.

Luminance

Intensity irrespective of color. Usually derived from the mean


of the RGB color values.

LUT
Lookup Table

A table in which BCG adjustments are maintained, and through


which the image bitmap is rendered. This allows you to
experiment with the BCG qualities without affecting your actual
image data. Also lets you improve the image for viewing
purposes without affecting the integrity of your data for
analytical purposes.

LZW
Lempel-Zif
Encoding

Lempel-Zif Encoding. A compression method which utilizes


string encoding (assigning codes to groups of repeated data).

Page 3-5

Appendix A - Glossary
MColor

A method of converting a 24-bit color image to an 8-bit palette


image. The MColor technique, developed by Media
Cybernetics, uses a fixed 256 color palette, representing a range
of values across the color spectrum. During MColoring, the 24
bit image is reduced to 8 bits using a dithering technique to
convert the pixel values into MColor palette indices.

Modified Huffman

Compression type which is a variation on RLE. Modified


Huffman uses a standard table of patterns that represent typical
patterns in an image. These tables are usually tuned to the type
of data they are used to compress.

MSP

Image file format developed by Microsoft Paint.

Palette

For a Palette class image, the 256 element array used to specify
the RGB values associated with that image. Each pixel in the
image contains an index to the palette, which contains the RGB
value for that pixel.

PCX

Image file format developed by ZSoft Inc.

Pixel

Picture element. The smallest element in a digitized image.

Pixel Depth

The number of pixels used to represent one pixel value. Also


referred to as Bit Depth and bits-per-pixel (BPP).

Plane
Color Plane

An arrangement of RGB image data such that all Red values are
located in one array, all Green values in a second array, and all
Blue values in a third. Contrast with Chunk above.

Polyline

A series of lines connecting pairs of points (vertices).

Pseudo-color

The process of assigning RGB color values to replace gray


levels for display purposes. Usually used to highlight certain
intensity ranges in a Gray Scale image, with color.

Resolution

See Spatial Resolution

RGB

Color model in which color is expressed in varying amounts of


Red, Green and Blue (RGB). RGB is used by most digital
imaging devices.

RGB Chunk

See Chunk

Ribbon

The graphic bar along the left side of some application windows
that displays icon controls for some procedures..

Page 3-6

Appendix A - Glossary
RLE
Run Length
Encoding

Run Length Encoding. A compression technique that encodes


data runs (lengths of identical information).

Sharpen

A filtering process that intensifies edges and details in an image


by increasing the difference between gray values of neighboring
pixels. Sharpen produces a crisper image.

Smooth

Bilinear scaling option that may be used during printing and


resizing. This is a form of resizing that takes into account
adjacent pixel values to generate in-between values for the
resized image, so that the new image does not look as if pixels
were arbitrarily removed or added. When this option is not
selected, scaling is done using pixel replication (bigger) and
decimation (smaller).

Spatial
Resolution

Image attribute defined by a two-dimensional (width and height)


grid of pixels.

Threshold

A value used to separate gray values into 2 values. Gray values


less than the threshold will be set to 0. Gray values greater or
equal to the threshold will be set to 255. Typically, the
threshold is set to 128.

TIFF

Tagged Image File Format. A general-purpose file format


recognized as a standard for image files.

Tile

One page panel in a multi-page poster-size print.

TGA

TARGA image file format developed by TrueVision Inc.

True Color

24-bit color. Image class in which each pixel contains 256


shades each of red, green, and blue, therefore the image can
contain up to 16.7 million colors.

YIQ

A component analog color model wherein Y represents


luminance value, and I and Q represent the color
components. YIQ is the standard in broadcast television.

VRI

Virtual Raster Image. The memory-based copy of an image. It


contains image data and the image attributes. (A raster image is
formed by patterns of light and dark pixels in a rectangular
array.)

Page 3-7

Appendix A - Glossary

Page 3-8

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Appendix B - File Format Specifications


Supported File Formats
Image-Pro Plus supports the following file formats. A brief description of
each format will list the name used by Image-Pro in the File:Open and
File:Save As dialogs, the typical file extensions that identify the file format, and any
limitations such as formats that are supported for File:Open only.

AutoQuant ( *.DEB, *.AVZ. *.HDR)


Image-Pro supports many varieties of the AutoQuant file formats, which will
have a *.DEB, *.HDR, or .AVZ file extension. AutoQuant files are supported in
File:Open only.

AVI (*.AVI).
Image-Pro supports many of the video varieties of the Microsoft AVI file
format, which will usually have the *.AVI file extension. The varieties that
will be available in your copy of Image-Pro depend on the AVI file
compression support that has been installed by the operating system and
other multi-media components.

BioRad (*.PIC)
Image-Pro supports many varieties of the BioRad file format, which will have
a *.PIC file extension. BioRad files are supported in File:Open only.

BMP (*.BMP, *.DIB, *.RLE)


Image-Pro supports all known varieties of the Microsoft BMP file format,
which will usually have the *.BMP file extension but may also have a *.DIB or
*.RLE extension.

Page 4-1

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Dr. HALO (*.CUT)


Image-Pro supports all varieties of the Dr. HALO CUT format that many
previous Media Cybernetics applications supported. CUT files are supported
in File:Open only..

Flat
Image-Pro supports loading a wide variety of proprietary file formats using
a configurable file description. This capability can also be used to define,
load and save simple proprietary file formats of your own. For additional
information on flat files, please see the section Flat File Format later in
this appendix..

Gatan DigitalMicrograph
Image-Pro supports many varieties of the Gatan DigitalMicrograph file
format, which will have a *.DM3 file extension. DM3 files are supported in
File: Open only..

Image-Pro Workspace (*.IPW)


Image-Pro supports a proprietary file format with the *.IPW file extension.

JPEG (*.JPG)
JPEG files will have a *.JPG or JPEG file extension. Image-Pro supports all
standard varieties of the JPEG file format..

Kodak PhotoCD (*.PCD)


Image-Pro supports all known varieties of the Kodak PhotoCD file format,
which will have a *.PCD file extension. PCD files are supported in File:Open
only.

Page 4-2

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Molecular Dynamics (*.GEL)


Image-Pro supports many varieties of the Molecular Dynamics file format,
which will have a *.GEL file extension. GEL files are supported in File:Open
only.

MetaMorph (*.STK)
Image-Pro supports many varieties of the MetaMorph file format, which will
have a *.STK file extension. STK files are supported in File:Open only.

PICT (*.PCT, *.PICT)


Image-Pro supports many varieties of versions 1 and 2 of the Macintosh PICT file format,
which will usually have a *.PCT or *.PICT file extension. PICT files may contain vector
graphs (e.g. lines and text) as well as raster image or bitmap data; only the bitmap data will be
read.

PostScript (*.EPS)
Image-Pro supports Encapsulated PostScript files, which will have an *.EPS
file extension. EPS files are supported in File:Save As only.

QED Imaging (*.EXP, *.QRS)


Image-Pro supports the *.EXP and *.QRS file types writen by the QED Capture, Image, and
In Vivo products. These image sets can be opened directly by the Set Manager, which may
give better results than using the File:Open command.

Sequence (*.SEQ)
Image-Pro supports multiple-image TIFF files with the .SEQ file extension.
For additional information on TIFF files saved by Image-Pro Plus, please see
the section, Image-Pro Plus TIFF and SEQ Files later in this appendix.

Page 4-3

Appendix B File Format Specifications

TIFF (*.TIF)
Image-Pro supports all known varieties of the TIFF (the Tag Image File
Format) file format, including most multiple-image varieties and PowerPoint TIFF files.
For additional information on TIFF files saved by Image-Pro Plus, please see the section
Image-Pro Plus TIFF and SEQ Files later in this appendix.

TrueVision (*.TGA)
Image-Pro supports all known varieties of the Targa and TrueVision file
format with the *.TGA file extension.

Zsoft (*.PCX)
Image-Pro supports all known varieties of the ZSoft PCX file format, which
will have a *.PCX file extension. PCX files are supported in File:Open only.

Zeiss (*.LSM)
Image-Pro supports many varieties of the Zeiss file format, which will have
a *.LSM file extension. LSM files are supported in File:Open only.

Page 4-4

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Calibration Files (*.CAL files)


A calibration file is created when you store your Calibration command settings. A *.CAL
file is created using the Save All command from the Calibration commands pop-out menu.
A *.CAL file is an ASCII file that contains the calibration values you specified in the Intensity and
Spatial Calibration command windows. If values for only one of the two types of calibration have
been specified, the file will contain values for only the one type.
An example of a *.CAL file to which both intensity and spatial calibration values have been
stored, is given below.
[SPATIAL]
CalibName=Spatial Cal 0
UnitName=Pixels
PixPerUnit=10,10
Origin=15,15
AngleOffset=20
[INTENSITY]
ImageClass=1
Name=Intensity Cal 0
UnitName=Gray Level
Type=0
InputRange=0,255
BlackIncident=0,255
NumPoints=3
Point0=0,0
Point1=10,50
Point2=255,255
NumSamples=256

Page 4-5

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Measurement Files (*.CNT files)


Measurement files are created when you store the measurement or statistical results of a
Count/Size operation. They are created using the Data to File command from the File menu
in the Measurements or Count/Size window.
A *.CNT file is an ASCII file that contains the measurement data. Each line in the file is
made up of the measurements for one object in the count. The measurement results for that
object are separated by spaces within the line. The file contains header information
describing the total number of records in the file, and the measurement types contained
within it.
Note - measurements for objects that were deactivated (hidden) when the Data to File
command was performed, are not stored to the measurement file.
An example of a *.CNT file to which measurement results have been stored is given below.
#Total Count: 58
Obj#

Area

Centr-X

Centr-Y

Maj.Ax.

Min.Ax.

Perim.

1
2
3
4
5
6

277
375
10
152
181
349

5.498195
180.20
193.70
250.1250
311.6077
35.99714

19.76534
15.25067
.10
3.243421
6.624310
16.70201

37.79405
28.08347
10.65680
25.75376
24.76410
25.30080

11.87908
27.37673
1.148118
8.073408
11.92682
23.72677

110
159
16
56
72
126

An example of a *.CNT file to which statistical results have been stored is given below.

Page 4-6

Stats

Area

Centr-X

Centr-Y

Maj.Ax.

Min.Ax.

Perim.

Min
(Obj.#)
Max
(Obj.#)
Range
Mean
Std.Dev
Sum
Samples

11
11
824
92
813
288.194
178.90
17868
62

5.48276
37
320.378
65
314.895
161.479
95.1388
10011.7
62

.166667
4
346.767
143
346.60
142.390
100.414
8828.15
62

3.81379
11
50.8240
98
47.0102
23.8237
9.85365
1477.07
62

1.36119
4
31.7350
92
30.3738
18.0395
8.83737
1118.45
62

8
11
271
98
263
102.274
56.0582
6341
62

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Environment Files (*.ENV files)


An environment file is created when you store your Count/Save command settings. A
*.ENV file is created using the Save Settings command from the File menu in the
Count/Size window.
A *.ENV file is an ASCII file that contains the values and parameters you specified in the Count/Size
command window. Settings such a Intensity Range, Select Measurements are stored in this file.
Loading an environment file lets you re-establish a Count/Size environment without having to reset all
the parameters manually.
An example of a *.ENV file to which Count/Size settings have been stored,
is given below.
[BLOBLIB]
Start=189
End=255
Labels=1
DisplayMode=1
MinArea=0
FillHoles=0
CleanBorder=0
Smoothing=0
AutoRange=1
BrightOnDark=1
DispColor=0
LabelColor=1
Measure=1
Filter=1
FeatureSize=20
AddCount=1
NumClasses=10
Iterate=1
[BLOBENABLE]
Area=1
Aspect=1
Centr-X=1
Centr-Y=1
Max.Dia.=1
Min.Dia.=1
Perim.=1
[BLOBCLASS]
Area=1
[BLOBRANGE]
Area=10,1000000
Aspect=1,1000000
Centr-X=0,1000000
Centr-Y=0,1000000
Max.Dia.=0,1000000

Page 4-7

Appendix B File Format Specifications


Min.Dia.=0,1000000
Perim.=1,1000000

Page 4-8

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Fast Fourier Transform Files (*.FFT files)


For versions prior to Image-Pro Plus 3.0:
Fast Fourier Transform files are created when you save FFT data from the FFT window. The
FFT file is a binary file containing the coefficients from the FFT array. If the Full FFT option
in the Forward FFT Options dialog box has been selected, the entire set of FFT data will be
stored. If the Half FFT option has been selected, only a little more than half of the array
produced by the FFT (the left half) is stored in the file. However, the missing elements can be
easily recreated because the data set is symmetrical.
All data stored within the FFT file are made up of 2-byte integers. The first 2-byte integer in
the file defines the FFT arrays width (referred to as "M") and the second 2-byte integer
defines its height (referred to as "N"). M and N values will range from 16 to 512, and will be
powers of 2.
The 4-byte header is followed by the Fourier coefficients. In an FFT file that contains only
half the data, this 4-byte file header is followed by the Fourier coefficients which make up the
left half of the FFT array (see below).
Each coefficient (array element) consists of a 2-byte, fixed-point REAL component, followed
by a 2-byte, fixed-point IMAGINARY component. Within the file, each 4-byte coefficient is
formatted as shown in the following example:
16-bit wide
REAL component

16-bit wide
IMAGINARY component

011000010
(194)

0100111
(39)

000111100
(60)

1101010
(106)

9-bit mantissa

7-bit fraction

9-bit mantissa

7-bit fraction

Within each 16-bit component, the mantissa occupies the 9 most significant positions. Its
value can range from -256 to +256. The fractional portion occupies the least significant 7 bits,
and can have a value of 0 to 127/128.
Note - FFT coefficients generated from a Floating Point image will be 8 bytes in length: a 4byte, floating-point REAL component, followed by a 4-byte, floating-point IMAGINARY
component.
In a complete array, the FFT data are symmetrically organized around the central "zero
frequency component". Except for two elements, every FFT element has a symmetric
"opposite", which is made up of the same REAL value, but the opposite IMAGINARY value.
The two exceptions are the first array element (at position 0,0) and the zero frequency
component. These two array elements are unique.

Page 4-9

Appendix B File Format Specifications


Also, the first row and column in the array are symmetrically arranged along their midpoints,
rather than around the zero frequency component.
If only half the data have been stored, the file will contain (M/2 +1) * N coefficients (where M
and N are the FFT arrays width and height, respectively). Remember, only the left side of the
FFT array is actually recorded in the file, resulting in only (M/2 +1) width elements.
The following figure illustrates the organization of a complete FFT array (for simplicity an 8 x
8 array is shown; however, the smallest array created by Image-Pro is 16 x 16). The figure
also depicts the portion of the array that would be contained in the FFT file (the left-hand side,
up to and including the column containing the "zero frequency component" (ZFC)) if only half
of the data had been generated. The right-hand elements (shown in the de-emphasized grid)
are the ones that must be recreated .
The labels within the array show how the elements are symmetrically related. Note that the
first column and row are symmetrically "mirrored" along their middle elements, not around the
ZFC like the remaining data.
column (u)
0
0
1
2
row (v)

3
4
5
6

N=8

M=8
4

1x

2x

3x

4x

5x

4x

3x

2x

2y

3y

4y

ZFC

5y

4y

3y

2y

The zero frequency component in an FFT array is located in the M/2 column of the N/2 row,
where the first position in the array is 0,0.
Within the FFT file, this element will be found beginning at byte:
4 * (((M/2 + 1) * N/2) + M/2) + 4
where the file begins with byte 0.
F(u,v) denotes the Fourier coefficient in column u, row v. It is a complex number that is
represented by:
F(u,v) = {R(u,v), I(u,v)}
Page 4-10

Appendix B File Format Specifications


where R is the real part, and I is the imaginary part.
Within the file, F(u,v), 0 } u } M/2, 0 } v }N-1, would be located beginning at byte:
4*(((v*(M/2 + 1)) + u) + 4
The first component of F(0,0) would be found at byte 4.
If you have stored only the half of the FFT array, use the following formulas to generate the
Fourier coefficients for the right half.
For the right side of row 0, use:
F(u,0) = {R(M-u,0), -I(M-u,0)}
For the right side of the remaining rows, use:
F(u,v) = {R(M-u, N-v), -I(M-u, N-v)}
where, where M/2 < u < M.
For Image-Pro Plus version 3.0 (and subsequent) :
New features in the 3.0 version of the FFT module made it necessary to extend the FFT file
format. The new format includes a version number which will enable us in the future to extend
this format further while insuring backward compatibility. To differentiate the old files from
the new ones, and since the old files did not have a version number, we set the first two short
integers to 0. When we read a file with these two numbers set to a valid width and height, we
know it is an old file. If the two numbers are (0, 0), we know it is a new file and that the format
is as follow:
byte

type

description

0
2
4
6
8
16
24
32
40
42
44
46
48

short
short
short
short
double
double
double
double
short
short
short
short
short

0 (used to be the width of the FFT data)


0 (used to be the height of the FFT data)
version number
type:
5 = 32 bit floating point, 6 = 16 bit fixed point
start of spectrum display range (1)
end of spectrum display range (1)
start of phase display range (1)
end of phase display range (1)
0 = real/imaginary, 1 = spectrum/phase
0 = full data, not 0 = half data
width
height
class of the original image (2)
Page 4-11

Appendix B File Format Specifications


byte
50
58
...

type
description
4*short position of the unpadded original within the padded image (3)
Spectrum or real part
Phase or imaginary part.

short = short integer in C = integer in Basic = 2 bytes.


double = double precision floating point in C = double in Basic = 8 bytes.
(1): When displaying the 8-bit spectrum or the 8-bit phase, the real and imaginary parts are
what gets saved. These are not displayed directly and do not require the floating point display
ranges. When displaying the real spectrum and/or phase, the real and imaginary data are not
maintained and the spectrum and phase are saved to file. These are displayed into floating
point images which require a floating point display range. That range is visible in the Info
dialog accessible from the Edit menu.
(2): 1 = 8 bits/pix, 4 = 12 bpp, 5 = 32 bpp, 6 = 16 bpp.
(3): When the sizes of the image are not powers of two, the image is padded into the next
biggest power of two image sizes. The position of the original (smaller) image is kept in the fft
data file in order to be able to inverse the fft data once it is read back. The position is stored as
left, top, right, bottom.

Page 4-12

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Flat File Format


Image-Pros flat file format allows you to read and write image files in a format that you
define. It provides a way for you to save Gray Scale 12, Gray Scale 16, and Floating Point

images, since standard formats do not usually accommodate these classes.


When a flat file is read or written, Image-Pro looks for the format definition in a "description"
file. The description file is a file that you create to define your image file format. It contains
the following information about your file:
ClassName
bits:BitsPerSample
width:ImageWidth
height:ImageHeight
start_offset:ImageOffset
line_offset:LineOffset
sample_offset:GreenOffset
sample_offset1:BlueOffset
next_sample:SameColorOffset
byte:@Position=Value
datatype:ByteOrder
palette:PaletteOffset

where ClassName specifies the class of image contained in the file (e.g., IFFCL_BILEVEL,
IFFCL_GRAY), and each of the definitions following class name provides a parameter (e.g.,
ImageWidth, BitPerSample) specifying information about the file (e.g., width:512).
Your parameter values in the description file may be entered as constant values, or can be
specified as variables to be obtained from the image file itself. For example,
width:100

indicates that the width of the image is 100 bytes, while


width:@100=sshort

indicates that the width is specified by a standard (msb first), short value located 100 bytes
into the image file.
If you specify a parameter as a constant, Image-Pro assumes it is a decimal value unless you
use the 0xHEX_NUMBER notation. If you specify a parameter as a variable to be obtained
from the image file, you must format the parameter as follows:
@Offset=Datatype

where: Offset is a decimal value specifying the position of the value in the file,
expressed as an offset from the beginning of the file, in bytes, and
Page 4-13

Appendix B File Format Specifications


Datatype specifies the format of the value located at that position as follows:
A Datatype of...

Interprets the value in the file as...

ishort

Intel short format. Two bytes, with the least


significant byte first.

ilong

Intel long format. Four bytes, with the least


significant bytes first.

A Datatype of...

Interprets the value in the file as...

sshort

Standard short. Two bytes with the most


significant byte first.

slong

Standard long. Four bytes with the most


significant bytes first.

byte

Single character

You may also include arithmetic operators and definition names in your parameter value, as
long as the definition name you specify has been given a value.
For example, you might calculate line offset as line_offset:width+10.
This will work as long as width has already been assigned a value (i.e., width must appear
before line_offset in your definition).
The table on the following page explains the elements of a file format description. Note that
not all elements are required.

Page 4-14

Appendix B File Format Specifications


COMPONENT

DESCRIPTION

ClassName

Specifies the class of image contained in the file. Must be one


of the following:
IFFCL_GRAY
IFFCL_PALETTE
IFFCL_RGB

This component is required.


Note - if you are reading/writing an IMC_GRAY12,
IMC_GRAY16, or IMC_FLOAT image, specify IFFCL_GRAY as
your ClassName, then specify 12 (for IMC_GRAY12), 16 (for
IMC_GRAY16), or 32 (for IMC_FLOAT) in the bits
parameter.
bits:

Bits per sample (not bits per pixel). The following bits
values would be used for the standard Image-Pro image
classes:
For image class...
Gray Scale
Palette
True Color
Gray Scale 12
Gray Scale 16
Floating Point

set bits to:


8
8
8
12
16
32

This component is required.


Important The bits definition must be the first definition
in your description file.
width:

Width of the image, in pixels.


This component is required.

height:

Height of the image, in pixels.


This component is required.

start_offset:

Byte offset to first image line.


This component is optional. Default is 0.
continued on next page

Page 4-15

Appendix B File Format Specifications


COMPONENT

DESCRIPTION

sample_offset:

Byte offset between the Red and Green channels. Valid


only for IFFCL_RGB images. Used in color images when the
Green sample does not immediately follow the Red sample.
Also used to access the Green channel when reading planar
images (an example of which can be found in the sample
IFFFLAT.DES file that has been provided with Image-Pro).
This component is optional. Default is 1.

sample_offset1:

Byte offset between Green and Blue channels. Valid only


for IFFCL_RGB images. Used in color images when the
Blue sample does not immediately follow the Green sample.
Also used to access the Blue channel when reading planar
images (an example of which can be found in the sample
IFFFLAT.DES file that has been provided with Image-Pro).
This component is optional. Default is sample_offset
value.

line_offset:

Byte offset from one image line to the next. This parameter
would be used if your application embedded additional
information in an image line. If you specify a
line_offset value, the value you specify must be
greater than or equal to the width value. line_offset
is combined with sample offset values to access data for the
current channel on the next line.
This component is optional. Default is:
2*

next_sample:

width * bits + 15
.
16

Offset to next sample of same color.


Used when working with planar images, or to move from
chunk-to-chunk in IMC_RGB images (useful in cases where
there are 4 samples in a chunk -- see example in the sample
IFFLAT.DES file that has been provided with Image-Pro ).
This component is optional. Default is 1.
continued on next page

Page 4-16

Appendix B File Format Specifications


COMPONENT

DESCRIPTION

byte:

Specifies a value and a position to which the value is to be


written (on write), or from which the value is to be read (on
read). Parameter is entered as follows:
byte:@Position=Value
where Position specifies an offset into the file, and Value
specifies a 1-byte value to be written to (on write) or read from
(on read) that position.
This is usually used to read/write format-identifying, header
information from/to an image file.
While only a single byte can be defined in the byte:
descriptor, you may include as many byte: descriptors as
you need to read/write specific data to a file. For example, if
you wanted to write "G12" in bytes 0-2 to mark your image file
as a 12-bit gray scale class, you would use the following:
byte:@0=G
byte:@1=1
byte:@2=2
Note that the Value can be expressed as a decimal value
(default), a hex value (in 0xHEX_NUMBER form) or a
character, as shown above.
This component is optional.

datatype:

Specifies byte order in image data that are greater than 8 bits
per sample (i.e., contains short or long integer values). Must
be one of the following:
msb_lsb
lsb_msb
Where:
lsb_msb specifies that the least-significant byte(s) appear(s)
first.
msb_lsb specifies that the most-significant byte(s) appear(s)
first.
continued on next page

Page 4-17

Appendix B File Format Specifications


COMPONENT

DESCRIPTION

datatype:
continued

When writing a flat file, datatype specifies whether the


most-significant byte of the short/long value will be written
first or last. When reading, describes how the short/long
values are presented in the existing file.
This component is optional. If datatype is not provided,
default is to write/read data as a binary stream.

bit_offset

Specifies how many low-order bits will be dropped when


reading an N-bit-per-pixel image file into an M-bit-per-pixel
workspace, where M < N. If the bit offset is less than the
difference between N and M, the remaining bits will be
dropped from the high-order position.
For example, if a 16-bit-per-pixel image file is to be read into
a 12-bit-per-pixel workspace, then
bit_offset: 3
specifies that the 3 low-order bits of each 16-bit byte will be
dropped. This also means that the high-order bit will also be
dropped.
16

12

image file msb workspace lsb


palette:

Offset to palette. Used with IFFCL_PALETTE class images,


and optionally with IFFCL_GRAY class images. Palette will
consist of 2**bits of RGB values.
This component is optional.

A description file can contain more than one description, and it can contain more than one
description for a single class. For example, the following file contains two descriptions for
IFFCL_GRAY, one for 12-bit images, and one for floating-point image files.
IFFCL_GRAY
{
bits:12
width:@0=sshort
height:@2=sshort
byte:@3:12
}

Page 4-18

Appendix B File Format Specifications


IFFCL_GRAY
{
bits:32
width:@0=sshort
height:@2=sshort
byte:@3=32
}

When a FLAT file is open for read and there is more than one format description in the
description file, Image-Pro attempts to match each description to the image file (starting with
the first description). It will use the first description it finds that agrees with the data in the
file. This is why the byte: description, while not a technically a required component of the
description file, is one that, for practical purposes, is required to ensure the correct format
description is selected for a file. In the example above, the first IFFCL_GRAY description will
be used only if a value of 12 is found at byte 3 in the file. If this criterion was not included,
every FLAT file would match this first description, and they all would be opened as 12-bit
images.
When a FLAT file is open for write and there is more than one format description in the
description file, Image-Pro will select the one with ClassName and bits values matching the
Image Class and Bits elements in the image files File Parameter Block.
For more examples of FLAT file descriptions, see the sample IFFFLAT.DES file that has been
included with your Image-Pro files.

Page 4-19

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Histogram Files (*.HST files)


Histogram files are created when you store histogram or line profile data. They are created
using the Data to File command from the File menu in the Histogram or Line Profile
window. A *.HST file is an ASCII file that contains the values that have been charted along
the X and Y axes.
An example of a *.HST file created by the Histogram command is given below. A *.HST
file that contains histogram data will contain a record for each intensity level (X-axis) value.
The record will contain the calibrated intensity value in the first field, followed by the
calibrated spatial measurement value . If the data are from a color image, the record will
contain 3 measurement values; one for each of the RGB channels, as shown below. Data
fields are separated by spaces.
The file contains several lines of header information that provides information about the
contents of the file. It also lists the histogram statistics before the individual measurement
records. If the file contains histogram data for a color file, statistics will be listed for each
of the color channels in Red, Green and Blue order.
# Image-Pro Plus Histogram Data
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#

Time: Mon Aug 23 09:40:45 1996


Image: color.tif
Spatial Unit: Pixels
Intensity Unit: Pixels
Number of Data Sets: 3
Set Size: 256
Channels: Red Green Blue
Mean

Min

Max

Std.Dev

118.2758
82.77801
80.31753

33
31
25

255
226
212

71.77151
32.74552
31.88052

# Gray Level

Pixels

0
1
2
3
4

0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0

253
254
255

993
175
18

0
0
0

0
0
0

.
.
.

An example of a *.HST file created by a Line Profile command is given below. A *.HST
file that contains line profile data will contain a record for each pixel position (X-axis) along
the line. The record will contain the calibrated spatial measurement value in the first field,
followed by the calibrated intensity value. If the data are from a color image, the record will
Page 4-20

Appendix B File Format Specifications


contain 3 intensity values; one for each of the RGB channels, as shown below. Data fields
are separated by spaces.
The file contains several lines of header information that provide information about the
contents of the file.
# Image-Pro Plus Line Profile Data
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#

Time: Mon Aug 23 09:59:58 1993


Image: colordot.tif
Spatial Unit: Pixels
Intensity Unit: Pixels
Number of Data Sets: 3
Set Size: 22
Channels: Red Green Blue
Mean
248.4545
84.27273
148.1364
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Min

Max

Std.Dev

244
79
136
249
249
250
247
250
250
246
249
249
249
249
245
252
248
249
244
249
250
248
249
248
247

252
95
167

1.751033
3.967846
7.706523
95
91
88
88
86
85
86
84
86
86
86
86
82
83
79
81
81
81
80
80
80
80

167
160
154
156
152
149
151
149
152
152
151
155
143
146
138
143
143
143
144
138
136
137

Page 4-21

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Lookup Table Files (*.LUT files)


A lookup table file is created when you store your the current LUT values using the
Contrast Enhancement commands Save option.
A *.LUT file contains the intensity table through which your image bitmap values are
interpreted. This file is not in ASCII format.

Page 4-22

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Outline Files (*.OUT files)


Outline files are created when you save object outlines using File menus Save Outlines
command from the Count/Size or Measurement commands. An Outline file is a binary file
containing a list of polygonal shapes. All elements of this file are made up of 2-byte integers.
The first 2-byte integer defines the total number of polygons contained in the file. This is
followed by the polygon definitions themselves. A polygon is represented as a 2-byte
integer defining the number of points in the polygon, followed by the XY coordinate-pairs
for each of these points. Each coordinate pair is made up of 2, 2-byte integers; the first 2
bytes define the X position, and the next 2 bytes, the Y position.
The following table illustrates the structure and contents of a file containing 2 polygons, one
with 3 points, and one with 4 points:
16-BIT
INT #
#0 - #13

#14
#15

BINARY/DECIMAL
CONTENTS OF THE
2-BYTE INTEGERS

String

DESCRIPTION

"IpWin_Blob_Outline"
carriage return,line feed in next 2 bytes
"v30"
carriage return,line feed in next 2 bytes

00000000 00000010
(2)

Indicates that 2 polygons are contained


in this file

00000000 00000011
(3)

Indicates that Poly1 has 3 points

#16 & 17

00000000 00001010
(10)

00000000 00010100
(20)

Defines XY location of Poly1s 1st point


(10,20)

#18 & 19

00000000 00001010
(10)

00000000 00101000
(40)

Defines XY location of Poly1s 2nd


point (10,40)

#20 & 21

00000000 01000110
(70)

00000000 00101000
(40)

Defines XY location of Poly1s 3rd point


(70,40)

#22

00000000 00000100
(4)

Indicates that Poly2 has 4 points.

#23 & 24

00000000 01100100
(100)

00000000 01000000
(64)

Defines XY location of Poly2s 1st point


(100,64)

#25 & 26

00000000 01100100
(100)

00000000 10010110
(150)

Defines XY location of Poly2s 2nd


point (100,150)

#27 & 28

00000000 01111000
(120)

00000000 10010110
(150)

Defines XY location of Poly2s 3rd point


(120,150)

#29 & 30

00000000 01111000
(120)

00000000 01000000
(64)

Defines XY location of Poly2s 4th point


(120,64)

Page 4-23

Appendix B File Format Specifications


The following example shows how an Outline file would be accessed and used within a C
program:
typedef struct {short x;short y;} COORD;
#define MAXPOINTS 4000
int
LoadOutlines(char *outfile)
{
int i;
short count;
short num_obj = 0;
COORD *Points;
FILE *fp;
/* open outline file */
if((fp = fopen(outfile, "rb"))==NULL)
return -1;
/* allocate space for polygon */
if((Points=malloc((long)MAXPOINTS*sizeof(COORD)))==NULL)
return -1;
/* reads in number of polygons */
fread((char *) &num_obj, sizeof(short),1,fp);
if(num_obj <= 0)
return -1;
/* for each polygon...*/
for(i = 0; i< num_obj; i++){
/* reads in number of points in polygon */
fread ((char *)&count,sizeof(short),1,fp);
if(count > MAXPOINTS || count < 0)
break;
/* read points*/
if(fread((char *)Points,sizeof(COORD),count,fp)==count{
.
.
.
do something with the polygon
.
.
.
}
else
break;
}
free(Points);
fclose(fp);
return 0;
}

Page 4-24

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Pseudo-Color Files (*.PSC files)


A pseudo-color file is created when you store your Pseudo-Color palette. A *.PSC file is
created using the Save Pseudo-Colors command from the File menu in the Pseudo-Color
dialog box.
A *.PSC file is an Image-Pro file that contains the color assignments that are to be applied to
the intensity range. This file is not in ASCII format.

Page 4-25

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Range Files (*.RGE files)


A range file is created when you save the color selections you have made using the Save
Ranges command on the Color Segmentation Input/Output tab. The range file contains all of
the colors that are to be extracted from an image. If the file has been saved in RGB format,
the values it contains will be RGB values. If the file has been saved in HSI format, it will
contain HSI values.
The example file below contains the RGB values extracted from an image using the Color
Segmentation command.
# IPWindows Color Segmentation ranges
# V.1
# Divisions: 6
# Color Model: RGB
200
55 100
200
55 111
200
55 122
200
67 100
200
67 111
200
67 122
200
78 100
200
78 111
200
78 122
211
55
89
211
55 100
211
55 111
211
55 122
211
67
89
211
67 100
211
67 111
211
67 122
211
67 133
211
78
89
211
78 100
211
78 111
211
78 122
211
78 133
211
78 144
211
78 155
211
78 166

Page 4-26

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Manual Tag Files (*.TAG files)


A Manual Tag file is created when you store your class and/or tag marker information in the
Manual Tag selection from the Measure menu. A *.TAG file is created using the Save
Points command on the File menu in the Manual Point Count dialog box.
A *.TAG file is an Image-Pro file that contains the class and marker information that is to be
applied to the objects in an image. This file is not in ASCII format. Users should not attempt
to modify a *.TAG file

Page 4-27

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Kernel Files (*.?x? files)


A kernel file contains the coefficients used by the convolution filtering process. A number of
pre-defined kernel files are provided with Image-Pro. You can also develop your own filters
by creating a kernel file like the ones shown below. A kernel file can be created using any
ASCII file editor. It is made up of 5 header lines, followed by the kernel itself.
The file must contain the following information:
line1:
line2:
line3:
line4:
line5:
line6:
line7:

# Image Pro Plus Kernel


Name Your Kernel Name
Size X X
Offset X X
Data
kernel coefficients, 1st row
kernel coefficients, 2nd row
.
.
.

where:
Size X X defines the size of your kernel array
Offset X X defines the position of the pixel to be replaced

Two kernel file examples are shown below:


# Image Pro Plus Kernel
Name HiPass3x3
Size 3 3
Offset 1 1
Data
-1 -1 -1
-1 9 -1
-1 -1 -1
# Image Pro Plus Kernel
Name HorzEdge7x7
Size 7 7
Offset 3 3
Data
-1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1
-1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1
-1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Page 4-28

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Image-Pro Plus TIFF and SEQ Files


Image-Pro Plus will open all known varieties of the TIFF file format. The
TIFF file format supports multiple images and thumbnails. Images and
thumbnails can be in different image formats (e.g. pixel type and bit depth)
and/or sizes. Multiple-image files where all the images are the same image
format and size will be opened as Image-Pro multi-frame sequences, where you
will be prompted to decide how many frames to open. Multiple-image files
where the images are the same image format but different sizes will be
loaded as multiple-resolution files, where you will be prompted to decide
which image resolution to open. Multiple-image files where the images are
saved in different image formats will be treated as a single-image file and
the first image in the file directory will be opened.
When Image-Pro saves an image document (or workspace) to a TIFF or SEQ file,
it will always write the TIFF file in a standard manner that follows the
TIFF 6.0 Specification. This discussion assumes the reader is familiar with
the TIFF standard and the organization of TIFF files. For detailed
information on the TIFF standard, please consult that document, which is
available on-line from Adobe at:
http://partners.adobe.com/asn/developer/pdfs/tn/TIFF6.pdf .
How the TIFF or SEQ image is saved depends on whether the image is a
multi-frame sequence workspace or single-frame, and on the other information
that is known about the image. Single-frame images will be saved as a single
image directory. Multiple-frame images will be saved as a multiple-image
file, with one image directory for each frame of the active portion of the
sequence.
Additional information known about the image is saved in custom TIFF tags.
Image-Pro and other Media Cybernetics products may write one or more
proprietary TIFF tags along with the image(s). Frame-dependent information
will be written in each image directory, while general information about the
image as a whole will be written only to the first image's directory. Media
Cybernetics proprietary TIFF tags generally use tag numbers in the range
between 40100 and 40110.

Page 4-29

Appendix B File Format Specifications


TIFF tags from 50288 through 50297, inclusive, are reserved by Media
Cybernetics from Adobe. Unless otherwise indicated, the following tags will be present on
each image of mutiple-image files. The following tags are currently in use.
Tag number: 50288
Purpose: Media Cybernetics ID
Type: ASCII
Length: Varies according to ID string.
Value: Currently, all Media products will write the following ID string: MC
TIFF 4.0. Future products may write a new version number. Presence of this
tag containing an ID string containing MC TIFF indicates that the file was
written by a Media product and the rest of the tags should be valid, if
present.
Note: It is still recommended that a TIFF reader check the type and length
of each tag prior to assuming that it is valid.
Tag number: 50289
Purpose: X/Y position
Type: DOUBLE
Length: 2
Value: X/Y position of the image, where the first value is the position
along the X axis, and the second value along Y.
Note: These positions are in the current calibration units (see tag 50291).
Tag number: 50290
Purpose: Z position
Type: DOUBLE
Length: 1
Value: Z position of the image, which is always expressed in microns.
Tag number: 50291
Purpose: X/Y calibration
Type: DOUBLE
Length: 3
Value: This tag contains values that can be used to spatially calibrate the
image. The first value is a conversion factor from the native calibration
units to millimeters (e.g. for microns this value will be 1000). The second
value is the size of a single pixel along the X axis in the native
calibration units, and the third value the size along the Y axis.
Note: This tag is written only to the first image of multiple-image files as
it is constant for all images in the file.

Page 4-30

Appendix B File Format Specifications


Tag number: 50292
Purpose: Lens characteristics
Type: DOUBLE
Length: 3
Value: The following lens characteristics, in order
Emissions wavelength in nanometers
Numeric aperture
Refractive index
Tag number: 50293
Purpose: Channel name
Type: ASCII
Length: Varies with length of channel name, will not exceed 260 characters.
Value: The name of the channel, often the name of the dye used to stain and filter the image.
Tag number: 50294
Purpose: Excitation wavelength
Type: DOUBLE
Length: 1.
Value: The excitation wavelength in nanometers
Tag number: 50295
Purpose: Time stamp
Type: DOUBLE
Length: 1.
Value: The time point that the frame belongs to in V/OLE/DATE format.
Tag number: 50296
Purpose: Frame properties
Type: Byte
Length: 2054
Value: A proprietary structure containing information about other frame properties.

Page 4-31

Appendix B File Format Specifications

Page 4-32

Appendix C Source Code

Appendix C - Source Code


Working with Fast Fourier Transform Data Files
If you plan to develop programs that read Image-Pro FFT files, the following source code
shows you how to work with integer-based, FFT data files, to which only half of the FFT data
have been stored.
In this example, the program reads the Image-Pro FFT data file and stores it in a
[width]x[height] buffer, which is pointed to by [FFT]. Then, the program recreates the
missing half of the data.
Floating-point FFT data are treated in a similar manner, but use 4-byte, floating-point data
instead of data that are in the 2-byte, fixed-point format.
#include "fft.h"
/*
Usage:
complex *fft;
char *filespec;
int width;
int height;
.
.
fft = C_ReadFFTData(filespec, &width, &height);
fft: pointer to a struct complex. Memory is allocated by
routine.
filespec: name of the file containing the FFT data.
width: width of the fft array (power of 2). Initialized by
routine.
height: height of the fft array (power of 2). Initialized by
routine.
*/
complex *
C_ReadFFTData(filespec,width,height)
char *filespec;
int *width, *height;
{
complex *fft;
FILE * DataFP;
int row,col;
complex *RowData = NULL;
FFTHEADER ffthead;
int temp = 0;
int retcod;
DataFP = fopen(filespec, "rb");
if (fread((char *)&ffthead, sizeof(FFTHEADER), 1, DataFP)< 1)

Page 5-1

Appendix C Source Code


{
printf("File I/O Error\n");
return ((complex *)NULL);
}
*width = ffthead.Size;
*height = ffthead.Height;
RowData = (complex*)malloc((*width/2 + 1)*sizeof(complex));
fft = (complex*)malloc((*width)*(*height)*sizeof(complex));
for(row=0;row<*height;row++)
{
if(fread((char*)RowData, sizeof(complex),
*width/2 + 1, DataFP) == *width/2 + 1)
{
C_PutRowData(RowData,fft,row,*width,*height);
}
else
{
printf("File I/O Error\n");
break;
}
}
free((unsigned char *)RowData);
fclose(DataFP);
return(fft);
}
C_PutRowData(dataline,fft,row,width,height)
complex dataline[];
complex *fft;
int row, width, height;
{
int col;
unsigned int offset1, offset2;
offset1 =row * width;
if (row!=0)
offset2 = (height - row) * width;
else
offset2 = 0;
fft[offset1].x = dataline [0].x;
fft[offset1].y = dataline [0].y;
for (col = 1; col<width/2; col++)
{
fft[offset1 + col].x = dataline [col].x;
fft[offset1 + col].y = dataline [col].y;
fft[offset2 + width - col].x = dataline[col].x;
fft[offset2 + width - col].y = dataline[col].y;
}
fft[offset1 + width/2].x = dataline[width/2].x;
fft[offset1 + width/2].y = dataline[width/2].y;
return(0);
}

The structure, "complex," is made of two signed integers (2 bytes each), representing,
respectively, the real and imaginary parts. Each integer is, in fact, a fixed-point number in

Page 5-2

Appendix C Source Code


which the decimal part is contained in the 7 lowest bits. The following example transforms a
fixed-point "complex" into a floating-point "complex."
typedef struct COMPLEX {int x; int y;} complex;
typedef struct FCOMPLEX {float x; float y;} fcomplex;
fcomplex
FixedToFloatingPoint(number)
complex number;
{
fcomplex fnumber;
fnumber.x = (float)number.x / 128.0;
fnumber.y = (float)number.y / 128.0;
return(fnumber);
}

The contents of FFT.H follow:


#define N 512L
#define DIRECT 1
#define INVERSE 2
#define FFT_MAX_SIZE N
#define MAXINDEX 255
#define SCALE 30
#define FIXEDPOINT
#ifdef FIXEDPOINT
#define FFTCLASS int
#define FFTLCLASS long
#else
#define FFTCLASS float
#define FFTLCLASS float
#endif
typedef struct COMPLEX { FFTCLASS x; FFTCLASS y;} complex;
typedef struct LCOMPLEX { FFTLCLASS x; FFTLCLASS y;} lcomplex;
typedef struct fftheader {
unsigned int Size;
/* in pixels per line */
unsigned int Height;
/* number of lines */
} FFTHEADER;
struct FFT {
FFTCLASS huge *Rp;
FFTCLASS huge *Ip;
unsigned int Length;
unsigned int Height;
unsigned int *Bit;
complex *W;
int LogN;
RECT sourcearea;
RECT spectrumarea;
RECT inversearea;
int NoDisplay;
};
#define SPECTRUM 1
#define PHASE 2
#define REAL 3

Page 5-3

Appendix C Source Code


#define IMAGINARY 4
#define AOI_FFT (AOI_USER<<4)
int C_StoreDataInFile(MENU menu, char *filespec, struct FFT *fft);
int C_GetDataFromFile(MENU menu, char *filespec, struct FFT *fft);
int C_FreeData(struct FFT *fft);
int C_AllocateData(struct FFT *fft);
int C_TwoDimFFTd(struct FFT *fft);
int C_XorScanLine(int row, RECT *bounds, int horiz, int paneid);
int C_DisplayFFTline(lcomplex *Cout, RECT *lineaoi, int height, int
flag);
int C_TwoDimFFTi(struct FFT *fft);
int C_DisplaySpectrum(struct FFT *fft);
int C_SetCoefTable(struct FFT *fft, int length);
int
C_SetBitOrderTable(struct FFT *fft);
int _C_SetDataEnviron(struct FFT *ptr1, int *ptr2, int *ptr3, char
*ptr4);
int C_FreeData(struct FFT *fft);
int Menu_Pop();
int _C_SetFFTenviron(struct FFT *data);
#define SCAN_HORIZ 1
#define SCAN_VERT 2
#define MAX_SPECTRUM_SIZE 256
#define LOGTABLELEN 512

Page 5-4

Appendix D - References

Appendix D - References
If you would like more information about digital image processing, consult the following
sources:
Baxes, Gregory A., Digital Image Processing: Principles and Applications,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1994
Castleman, Keneth R., Digital Image Processing, Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1979.
Conrac Corporation. Raster Graphics Handbook, 2nd Edition, Van Nostrand
Reinhold Company, New York, 1985.
Foley, J. D., et al. Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics, 2nd
Edition, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, MA, 1990.
Gonzalez, Rafael C. and Woods, Richard E., Digital Image Processing,
Addison Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, MA, 1992.
Newmann, W. M. & Sproul, R. F. Principles of Interactive Computer
Graphics, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1973.
Pratt, William K., Digital Image Processing, John Wesley and Sons, New
York, NY, 1978.
Rosenfield, A. and Kak, A. A Digital Picture Processing, Volumes I and II.
Academic Press, San Diego, 1982.
Russ, John C., The Image Processing Handbook, 3rd Edition, CRC Press, Inc.,
Boca Raton, FL, 1998.
Russ, John C., Computer-Assisted Microscopy, The Measurement and Analysis
of Images, Plenum Press, New York, NY, 1990.
Russ, John C., Practical Stereology, Plenum Press, New York, NY, 1986.

Page 6-1

Appendix D - References

Page 6-2

Index

Index

<
<Ctrl>+<Tab> Key Combination

*
*.?x?, 4-28
*.AVI, 4-1
*.AVZ, 4-1
*.BMP, 4-1
*.CAL, 4-5
*.CUT, 4-2
*.DEB, 4-1
*.DIB, 4-1
*.DM3, 4-2
*.ENV, 4-7
*.EPS, 4-3
*.EXP, 4-3
*.FFT, 4-9
*.GEL, 4-3
*.HDR, 4-1
*.HST, 4-20
*.IPW, 4-2
*.JPG, 4-2
*.LSM, 4-4
*.LUT, 4-22
*.OUT, 4-23
*.PCD, 4-2
*.PCT, 4-3
*.PCX, 4-4
*.PIC, 4-1
*.PICT, 4-3
*.PSC, 4-25
*.QRS, 4-3
*.RGE, 4-26
*.RLE, 4-1
*.Seq, 4-3
*.SEQ, 4-29
*.STK, 4-3
*.TAG, 4-27
*.TGA, 4-4
*.TIF, 4-4, 4-29

Toggle Between Open Images, 1-20


<F2> Function Key, 1-20
<F4> Function Key, 1-20
<F5> Function Key, 1-20

1
1 x 3 Column, Filters Command, 2-277
1/4 Tone, Show Map Command, 2-247
1/8 Tone, Show Map Command, 2-247
10-point calibration, 2-314
11 x 11 Circle, Filters Command, 2-277

2
2 x 2 Square, Filters Command, 2-276
20-point calibration, 2-314

3
3 x 1 Row, Filters Command, 2-277
3x3

Cross, Filters Command, 2-277


Filters Command, 2-273, 2-284,
2-287, 2-288, 2-289
3 x 3, Filters Command, 2-268
3D Constructor, 2-198
3-D Plot, 2-582
3-point calibration, 2-314, 2-278

Index - 1

Index
Accumulated, Histogram Command,
2-552
Acquire

4
4-point calibration, 2-314

Menu, 2-143
Preview dialog box, 2-155
Setup dialog box, 2-178
Signal dialog box, 2-182
Acquire Command

5x5

Circle, Filters Command, 2-277


Filters Command, 2-273
5 x 5, Filters Command, 2-268

7
7x7

Circle, Filters Command, 2-277


Filters Command, 2-273
7 x 7, Filters Command, 2-268
7-point calibration, 2-314

8
8-Bit Gray Scale Acquire, 2-154, 2-162

9
9 x 9, Filters Command, 2-268

A
About dialog box, 2-667
About Image-Pro Plus, 2-667
Acc. Dist, 2-523
Acceleration, 2-523
Acceleration limit, 2-528
Access, Info Command, 2-124
Accessing the Image Database, 2-10
Accumulate

Operations Command, 2-304


Accumulate Count, 2-432
Accumulated Histogram dialog box,
2-552

Index - 2

Accumulate frames, 2-172


Accumulate Settings, 2-172
Acquire, 2-158
Auto-Exposure, 2-175
Basic dialog, 2-144, 2-155, 2-161
Binning, 2-155, 2-158
Button, 1-16
Capture Area, 2-159
Channel, 2-162, 2-182
Composite, 2-181
Digital Gain, 2-155, 2-158, 2-164
Display Sequence, 2-168
Exposure Time, 2-155, 2-158, 2-175
External Trigger, 2-157, 2-160,
2-182
File Name Prefix, 2-169
File Numbering, 2-169
Genlock, 2-182
Image, 2-167
Integration, 2-171
Load Settings, 2-152, 2-179
Macro, 2-184
Minimum Possible Interval, 2-170
Multiple Image Capture, 2-170
Multiple Images, 2-170
Number of Digits, 2-169
Number of Images, 2-170
Post-Live Macro, 2-185
Post-Snap Macro, 2-184
Pre-Live Macro, 2-185
Pre-Snap Macro, 2-184
Preview, 2-144, 2-154, 2-161, 2-165
Preview Area, 2-155
Preview on second monitor, 2-162,
2-165
Refresh Rate, 2-166
Reload Settings, 2-154, 2-180

Index
Save Settings, 2-153, 2-179
Select Settings, 2-154, 2-180
Sequence, 2-168
Set time, 2-170
Settings File, 2-152, 2-179
Setup, 2-178
Signal, 2-182
Snap, 2-144, 2-155, 2-161, 2-181
Start Preview, 2-181
Time Between Images Command,
2-170
Zoom, 2-165
Acquire Image

Multiple Frame, 2-167


Acquire Setup

Digital Camera, 2-152


Acquisition Area, 2-148, 2-149
Active Image, 2-168, 2-315
active portion of sequence, 2-192, 2-195, 2196
Active Set Properties, 2-227
Active Sets, 2-202
Active Window, 3-1
Actual Size Print, 2-56
Add

AOI, 2-77
Multiple AOI, 1-12
Operations Command, 2-303
Add button, 2-317, 2-524
Add dimension dialog, 2-204
Add image to set dialog, 2-204, 2-205
Add New Points dialog box, 2-495
Add track automatically, 2-520
Add track manually, 2-519
Add track manually button,, 2-532
Add/Edit button dialog, 2-651
Adding

Image for Color Composite, 2-317


Advanced Measurement Tools, 2-484
Advanced View

Workflow Toolbar, 2-653


AFA, 2-198
Align All, 2-211
Align Images

Input Tab, 2-374


Align Images Command, 2-374

Alignment Correction, 2-374


Alignment Method, 2-376
All workspaces same size, 2-136
Allocation, Info Command, 2-125
Allow Distortion, 2-56
Allow Distortion Resize Command,
2-119
Always at Top Left, Preferences Command, 2135
Ambient Reflection, 2-587
Amplitude

FFT, 2-349
anchor frame, 2-376
Anchor Plane, 2-375
AND, Operations Command, 2-302
Angle, 2-523
Angle dot screen

Defined, 3-1
Angle Offset dialog box, 2-405
Angle Offset, Spatial Calibration Command,
2-404
Annotate

Image Command Button, 1-16


Annotate Command, 2-81
Annotation Object Properties dialog box, 287, 2-89
Annotation Tools, 2-81
Anonymous FTP, 2-29
AOI

Bounding-box, 1-10
Command, 2-80
Command Button, 1-16
Defined, 3-1
Elliptical, 1-5
Extents, Reporting in Status Bar,
2-141
Freeform, 1-6
Management Command Button, 1-16
Manager dialog box, 2-77
Rectangular, 1-4
Size, Reporting in Status Bar, 2-140
Tools, 1-3
AOI Command, 2-75, 2-77
Append

Bitmap Analysis Data, 2-578


Count/Size Measurements, 2-434
Index - 3

Index
Header, Pseudo-Color, 2-335
Histogram, 2-543
Macro Output Window, 2-622
Manual Tag, 2-497
Pseudo-Color, 2-334, 2-335
Pseudo-Color Division Number,
2-335
Append

Line Profile, 2-565


Append Data dialog box, 1-28

File Name, 1-28


Folders, 1-28
Header, 1-28
Left Column, 1-28
Save as Type, 1-28
Append Data Set, DDE Options, 1-32
Append Line Profile Data, 2-564
Apply

AOI, 2-78, 2-80


Map dialog box, 2-257
Apply Contrast Command, 2-257
Apply Dye, 2-98
Apply Lens, 2-101
Archive Command, 2-17
Area

Count/Size Histogram, 2-449


Area of Interest, 1-3, 2-77

defined, 1-3
area to full frame, 2-148, 2-149, 2-151, 2-156,
2-159
Arithmetic and Logical Operations Command
Button, 1-16
Arithmetic Operations, 2-301
Arithmetic Operations dialog box, 2-302
Arrow size, 2-526
Artist, Info Command, 2-125
As Is Operations Command, 2-305
ASCII Files

CAL, 4-5
CNT, 4-6
ENV, 4-7
HST, 4-20
Aspect Ratio

Spatial Calibration Command, 2-401


Aspect Ratio dialog box, 2-401
Attach Image dialog box, 2-25
Attaching a Calibration

Index - 4

Intensity, 2-408
Spatial, 2-394, 2-396
Audit Trail log, 2-133
Auto Classification, Count/Size Command, 2461
Auto split objects, 2-530
Auto-Classification dialog box, 2-461
Auto-Collection, 2-598
auto-exposure, 2-143, 2-145
Automatic

LUT Equalization Command Button,


1-16
Automatic Collection, 2-592
Automatic Measuring with Count/Size, 2-422
Automatic Set Operations, 2-136
Automatic tracking, 2-535
Automatic, Intensity Range Selection, 2-423
Auto-Pro, 2-601, 2-665
AutoQuant file formats, 4-1
Auto-range flag, 2-539
Auto-reverse, 2-211
Auto-Scaling, 2-514
Auto-Scaling, Histogram, 2-558
Auto-Set, 2-143, 2-145
Autosize bound, 2-88
Auto-Split Message Box, 2-439
Auto-Split, Count/Size Edit Command,
2-439
Auto-Trace, 1-8
Auto-Tracking, 2-528
Available Images, 2-203, 2-368, 2-369, 2374, 2-375, 2-380, 2-381
Average Operations Command, 2-304
AVI file formats, 4-1

B
Background

Correction, 2-263
Filter, 2-269, 2-282, 2-283
Image, 2-264
Operations Command Button, 1-16
Subtraction, 2-195, 2-262, 2-263
Background correction

apply to, 2-195


Background Correction, 2-194
Background Correction Command, 2-262

Index
Background Image, 2-194, 2-195, 2-199, 2200
Background Image, 2-195
Background Subtraction, 2-194
BandPass Filter, 2-287
Bar, Histogram, 2-553
Baseline, Line Profile, 2-562
Basic Digital Capture Dialog, 2-144
Basic Measurements and Tools, 2-475
Basic View

Workflow Toolbar, 2-652


BCG

Button, 1-15
Controls, 1-15
Defined, 3-1
BCG sliders, 2-320
Bell, Histogram Equalization, 2-250,
2-270
Best Fit, 2-241, 2-250

Gray Scale 12 Conversion, 2-104


Histogram Equalization, 2-270
Best Fit button, 2-320
Best Fit Display, 2-9
Best Fit Display Range, 2-158
Best LUTs Command Button, 1-16
Best-focus plane, 2-212
Bilevel

Defined, 3-1
Bilinear Scaling, 3-1
binning, 2-145, 2-157, 2-160
Bins

Count/Size Histogram, 2-449


Histogram Command, 2-550
Bins, Classification, 2-466
BioRad file formats, 4-1
Bit

Defined, 3-1
Bit Depth, 2-16

Defined, 3-1
bit_offset, 4-18
Bitmap

Defined, 3-1
Bitmap Analysis Command, 2-576

File Menu, 2-578


Options Menu, 2-580
Update Menu, 2-581

bits, 4-13, 4-15


Bits/Channel, Info Command, 2-126
Bits/Pixel, Info Command, 2-126
Black level, 2-176
Black Level

Intensity Calibration Command,


2-417
Black Level Commands

Background Correction, 2-264


Blend Options

Controls, 2-361
Darker Pixels Only, 2-74
Lighter Pixels Only, 2-74
Lighter/Darker, 2-362
Preview, 2-73
BMP, 2-71, 2-72

Defined, 3-2
BMP file formats, 4-1
Boost Kernels, 2-281
Bounding-box, 1-10

AOI, 1-10
Multiple AOI, 1-13
BPP, 2-3, 2-16

Defined, 3-2
Branch/Endpoints Filter, 2-276
Break Point Command, 2-628
Brightness, 1-15, 2-243

Defined, 3-2
Test Strip, 2-253
Browse, 2-625
Browse for Local File dialog box, 2-33
Browse for Remote File, 2-30
Browse Remote file server dialog box,
2-31
Browse Remote File Server dialog box, 2-28
Burn Button, 2-84
Button picture, 2-653
Button script, 2-654
Buttons

Add, 2-317
BCG sliders, 2-320
Best Fit, 2-320
Configure, 2-151, 2-164, 2-181
Delete, 2-317
New, 2-321
Registration (arrows), 2-320
Index - 5

Index
Reset (contrast), 2-320
Set Hue, 2-317
Byte, 4-13, 4-14, 4-17
Bytes/Line, Info Command, 2-125

Capture Area, 2-147, 2-159


Capture Depth, 2-150
Capture Image

Multiple Frames, 2-167


Capture properties, 2-217
Capturing

a Video Image, 2-167

Calculate, 2-378
Calibrate

Cursor Position, 2-141


Pixel Values, 2-141
Calibrating the Intensity Curve, 2-413
Calibrating the Spatial Scale, 2-396
Calibration, 3-2

Command Button, 1-17


Calibration Command, 2-390
Calibration File Format, 4-5
Calibration Files

Opening, 2-417, 2-419


Saving, 2-419, 2-420
Calibration Name, 2-397
Calibration Wizard, 2-407
Calibration, Device, 3-2
Calibration, Intensity, 3-2
Calibration, Spatial, 3-2
Caliper

Input/Output, 2-510
Load Data, 2-510
Luminance Profile, 2-507
Measurements, 2-508
Options, 2-511
Sampling Tools, 2-504
Caliper Command, 2-503
Caliper dialog box, 2-503
Caliper Measurements dialog box, 2-509
Caliper Options

Calibration, 2-513
Caliper Options dialog box, 2-512
Camera

Acquiring an Image From, 2-167


Camera Options, 2-151, 2-164
Cancel

Pseudo-Color Command, 2-330


Capture

dialog box, 2-158


Kit Options dialog box, 2-183
Index - 6

Cascade Images Command, 2-639


CCITT, 3-2
Changing Intensity Curve, 2-413
Channel, 2-254

Defined, 3-2
Merge Channel Command, 2-312
Channel name, 2-218
Channel Offsets, 2-214
Channels, 2-206
Chessboard Distance, 2-283
Chessboard Distance, 2-276
Chunk

Defined, 3-2
CIE L*A*B Color, 2-314, 2-315, 2-337
Cityblock Distance, 2-276, 2-283
Class, 2-501

Info Command, 2-122, 2-124, 2-125


Class

Defined, 3-2
Class Conversion

To Floating Point, 2-111


To Gray Scale, 2-105
To Gray Scale 12, 2-109
To Gray Scale 16, 2-110
To Palette, 2-106
To RGB 36, 2-112
To RGB 48, 2-113
True Color, 2-108
Class Labels, Count/Size Command,
2-429
Class Outlines, 2-429
Class Range, 2-465
Classes dialog box, 2-496
Classification

Automatic, 2-461
Manual, 2-465
Classification dialog box, 2-467
Classification Window, 2-462
Classifying Objects, 2-461, 2-465

Index
Clean Border, Count/Size Command,
2-430
Clear Screen, Macro Output Window,
2-623
Clip Margins, 2-7
Clipboard

and Cut Command, 2-69


and Paste New Command, 2-72
Copy To, 2-69, 2-70
Copying Bitmap Analysis Data To,
2-578
Copying Histogram Data To, 2-544
Copying Histogram Graph To, 2-544
Copying Line Profile Data To, 2-565
Copying Line Profile Graph To,
2-565
Copying Macro Output To, 2-622
Copying Manual Tag To, 2-497
Paste From, 2-71, 2-72, 2-73
Transfer, 1-29
Close, 2-464, 2-468

Filter, 2-274
Macro Output, 2-623
Close All Command, 2-643
Close Command, 2-12
Close Tools Command, 2-644
Close track, 2-532, 2-535
Cluster Analysis, 2-459
Cluster Info dialog box, 2-459
CMY

Defined, 3-2
co-localization coefficients, 2-517
Co-Localization Command, 2-515
co-localization plot, 2-516
Co-Localization Plot:, 2-517
Co-localization with Frequencies, 2-516
Color, 2-526, 2-584, 2-586, See Pseudo-Color

Bar, 2-319
Color Palette, 2-319
Cube-Based dialog box, 2-297
Fill Command, 2-91
Index, Convert To Command, 2-107
Map, 2-242
Numeric Color value (Selected
Color), 2-319

Slider, 2-318, 2-319


White, 2-318
Color Bar, 2-317
Color block

Current, 2-319
Selected, 2-319
Color Channel Command, 2-244, 2-309

Convert, 2-309
Extract, 2-310
Merge, 2-311
Color Channel Convert dialog box, 2-309
Color Co-localization, 2-516
Color Composite, 2-136, 2-321

Add button, 2-317


Background, 2-320
BCG sliders, 2-320
Best Fit button, 2-320
Color Bar, 2-317
Colors, 2-317
Contrast, 2-320
Delete button, 2-317
New button, 2-321
Registration, 2-320
Reset button, 2-320
Set Hue, 2-317
Source Images list box, 2-317
Color Composite Command, 2-316
Color Composite dialog box, 2-316,
2-317
Color Correction, 2-314

Defined, 3-3
Color Correction Command, 2-314
Color Menu

Histogram Command, 2-548


Line Profile Command, 2-567
Color Model

Conversion, 2-309
Defined, 3-3
Show Palette Command, 2-130
Color Page, 2-89
Color Palette, 2-319
Color Plane

Defined, 3-6
Color Reduction, 2-106

Defined, 3-3
Index - 7

Index
Color Selection

dialog box, 2-329


Color Spread, 2-328, 2-585

dialog box, 2-328


Color Values, 2-501
Colorize Command Button, 1-17
Colorize Image Command Button, 1-17
Colors, 2-317, 2-425, 2-430, See PseudoColor, See Pseudo-Color

dialog box, 2-93


Colors dialog box, 2-425, 2-430
Command Tools, 1-15
Common dialog boxes, 1-22
Compact layout, 2-136
Compact Set, 2-200
comparing images, 2-378
Compensating for Variations

Calibrating, 3-2
Complete program and continue, 2-625
Composite best-focus, 2-212
Compression, 2-15

Defined, 3-3
During Batch Conversion, 2-20
Info Command, 2-124
Conditional Update, 2-598
Configure

camera, 2-154
Configure button, 2-151, 2-164, 2-181
Configure File Transfer Protocol dialog box,
2-32
Configure File Transfer Protocol dialog box,
2-29
Configure Mail dialog box, 2-24
Configure Remote Conferencing dialog box,
2-43, 2-46
Configure remote file server dialog box, 2-36
Contents, Info Command, 2-128
Contrast, 1-15, 2-243, 2-320, 3-3

Test Strip, 2-253


Contrast Enhancement, 2-242, 2-245

Command Button, 1-16


Controls, 2-243, 2-256, 2-257
Controls and LUT, 2-244
dialog box, 2-245, 2-248
Grid, 2-248
Image Intensity, 2-248
Window, 2-244, 2-258
Index - 8

Contrast Enhancement Command, 2-242


Control-menu icon, 1-19
Conversion

Color Model, 2-309


Convert AOI to Object , Count/Size
Command, 2-441
Convert Command, 2-19
Convert To Command, 2-102

Palette, 2-106
Convert when change units, 2-398
Convex hull, Count/Size Command,
2-431
Convolution Filters, 2-265, 2-267

dialog box, 2-267


Copy

Macro Output Text, 2-623


without Scaling, 2-103, 2-105
Copy Command, 2-70
Copy Data To Clipboard

Histogram, 2-544
Copy graph to clipboard, 2-539
Copy Graph To Clipboard

Histogram, 2-544
Copy to Clipboard, 2-605, 2-668

Macro Output, 2-622


Pseudo-Color, 2-335
Copy To Clipboard

Bitmap Analysis Data, 2-578


Line Profile Graph, 2-565
Count and Measure

Command Button, 1-17


Count/Size

Append Data, 2-434


Record Environment, 2-437
Count/Size Command, 2-422

Button, 1-17
Edit Menu, 2-438
File Menu, 2-434
Image Menu, 2-469
Select Measurements, 2-453
View Menu, 2-444
Count/Size Measurements, 2-453

Classification File Menu, 2-463, 2467


Classification View Menu, 2-464
Edit Ranges, 2-455

Index
Count/Size Options dialog box, 2-427
Count/Size Results

Append Data, 2-463, 2-467


Data to File, 2-434
Save Data, 2-463, 2-467
Save, 2-445, 2-448
Creat New AOI, 2-77
Create

New Image, 2-72


Create New Image dialog box, 2-2
Creating

a New Filter Kernel, 2-281


Color Composite, 2-321
Creating a Calibration

Intensity, 2-408
Spatial, 2-396
Creating a New Image, 2-2
Crop to AOI Command, 2-115
Current Channel, 2-194
Current color block, 2-319
Current Driver, 2-152, 2-178
Current Image, 2-192
Current, Show Palette Command, 2-131
Cursor Position

Reporting Calibrated Values, 2-141


Reporting in Status Bar, 2-140
Curve Type, Contrast Enhancement
Command, 2-246
Custom Controls, 2-150
Cut

From Macro Output Window, 2-623


Cut Command, 2-69

D
Data

Exchange, 1-29
Data Collection Command, 2-591
Data Collector, 2-591

Data List, 2-595


Export, 2-596
Layout, 2-593
Options, 2-598
Statistics, 2-595
Data Collector dialog box, 2-591

Data Source Lists, 2-593


Data Table, 2-518
Data to Clipboard, 2-435, 2-511, 2-589
Data To Clipboard

Line Profile Data, 2-565


Manual Tag, 2-497
Data to Clipboard:, 2-463, 2-468
Data to Printer, 2-435, 2-497, 2-511, 2-544,
2-565, 2-579, 2-588
Data, Count/Size Window, 2-444
datatype, 4-13, 4-17, 4-18
Date, Info Command, 2-122, 2-124
DDE, 1-29, 1-31
DDE Options

Append data set at, 1-32


Increment Data Set, 1-32
Macro Output, 2-622
Position data set at, 1-32
Sheet, 1-32
Target Program, 1-32
DDE Options, 1-31
DDE Options, 2-435
DDE Options, 2-446
DDE Options, 2-448
DDE Options, 2-458
DDE Options, 2-461
DDE Options, 2-463
DDE Options, 2-468
DDE Options, 2-481
DDE Options, 2-498
DDE Options, 2-511
DDE Options, 2-527
DDE Options, 2-545
DDE Options, 2-566
DDE Options, 2-579
DDE To Excel, 1-31, 2-335, 2-435, 2-445, 2448, 2-458, 2-461, 2-463, 2-468, 2-481, 2498, 2-511, 2-544, 2-566, 2-579

Macro Output, 2-622


Degrees of Fit, Intensity Calibration
Command, 2-416
Delay Command, 2-628
Delete

AOI, 2-77, 2-78


Filter Kernel, 2-281
Delete all tracks, 2-520
Delete button, 2-317

Index - 9

Index
Delete Count, 2-433
Delete Count Message Box, 2-433
Delete Hidden Objects, Count/Size
Command, 2-443
Delete Points dialog box, 2-496
Delete selected tracks, 2-521
Deleting

Image for Color Composite, 2-317


Demo Macros, Loading, 2-632
Description, 2-199
Despeckle filter, 2-196

apply to, 2-196


size, 2-196
strength, 2-196

Display Range Command, 2-240


Distance, 2-522
Distance Filter, 2-275, 2-283
Divide Operations Command, 2-303
Division Attributes dialog box, 2-326
DLL, 3-3
DM3 file formats, 4-2
Dot Outlines, 2-429
Dots/Inch (X)

Info Command, 2-122


DPI, 2-3

Defined, 3-3
Dr. Halo file formats, 4-2
Drag

How To, 3-3


When To, 3-3

Despeckle Filter, 2-267


Destination, 2-192, 2-195, 2-196

Batch Conversion, 2-20


Info Command, 2-128
Details Button, 1-22, 1-26
Device

Draw/Merge Objects dialog box, 2-441


Draw/Merge, Count/Size Command, 2-440
Drawing

Lines, 2-83
Tool Palette, 2-81
Tools, 2-81

Independent Bitmap, 2-72


Independent Bitmap, 2-71
Device Calibration

Defined, 3-2
Diagonal Distance, 2-276
Dialog boxes

Driver Information dialog box, 2-178


Duplicate Command, 2-115
Dye List, 2-96
Dynamic

Range, Info Command, 2-126


Range, Info Command, 2-126

Color Composite, 2-316, 2-317


Select Color, 2-318
dialog boxes, 1-21
DIB, 2-71, 2-72
Difference Operations Command, 2-303
Digital Camera, 2-152
Digital Camera Options, 2-152
Digits after decimal, 2-527
Dilation Filter, 2-274
dimensions

adding, 2-205
Dimensions

Channel, 2-212
Site, 2-212
Time, 2-212
XY, 2-212
Z, 2-212
Direct Value Copy, 2-102
Display

Info Command, 2-126


Display points for best-fit features, 2-490

Index - 10

Dynamic Data Exchange, 1-29, See DDE


Dynamic Integration, 2-175

E
EDF Options, 2-212, 2-213
Edge

Filter, 2-288
Filters, 2-272
Filters dialog box, 2-272
Edge Detection, 2-503

Derivative, 2-505
Pattern Match, 2-505, 2-506
Pattern Matching Level, 2-506
Edge Detection Dialog box, 2-505
Edge Detection Markers, 2-514
Edge Tracking, 1-7, 1-9
Edit

a Filter Kernel, 2-280

Index
Color Values, Palette, 2-129
Command Button, 1-17
Kernel, 2-280
Kernel dialog box, 2-281
Macro Command Button, 1-17
Script File, 2-603
Selected Colors dialog box, 2-129
Sequence of Images, 2-233
Edit Button Function, 2-654
Edit Channel Properties, 2-217
edit channels, 2-206
Edit Dye, 2-96, 2-98
Edit Dye List dialog box, 2-96
Edit File List dialog box, 2-37
Edit File Listing dialog box, 2-38
Edit Image List dialog box, 2-38
Edit Image Listing dialog box, 2-39
Edit Lens, 2-99, 2-100, 2-101
Edit Lens List dialog box, 2-99
Edit Macro Command, 2-612
Edit Measurement Ranges dialog box, 2-454
Edit Menu, 2-67

Count/Size Command, 2-438

Equalize Command, 2-250

Bell, 2-250, 2-270


Best Fit, 2-270
Exponential, 2-251, 2-270
Linear, 2-250, 2-270
Local Histogram, 2-270
Logarithmic, 2-251, 2-270
Erosion Filter, 2-274
Error Diffusion

Defined, 3-3
Euclidian Distance, 2-276, 2-284
Excel, 1-29
Excitation wavelength, 2-97, 2-216, 2-218, 2221
Excitation Wavelength, 2-220
Exclusive message (modal), 2-626
Exit Command, 2-65
Exp

Operations Command, 2-304


Expanded Digital Capture Dialog, 2-147
Experimenter, 2-199, 2-203
Exponential, Histogram Equalization, 2-270
Extended Depth of Field

Focus Settings, 2-371


Image List, 2-368

Edit Menu Commands

Output Window, 2-623


Edit Position, 2-218
Edit Toolbar dialog, 2-650
Edit Workflow Tool Bar Command, 2-650
Edit Z-plane spacing, 2-219
Editing

Extended Depth of Field Command, 2-368


External Trigger, 2-157, 2-159
External Trigger,Acquire Command, 2-182
Extract

Command, 2-310
Z-stack, 2-211

a Filter Kernel, 2-279, 2-280


Elevation, 2-582, 2-586
ellipAOI, 1-5
Ellipse Tool, 2-83
Elliptical AOI, 1-5
Elliptical Outlines, 2-428
Emissions wavelength, 2-97, 2-216, 2-218, 2220
Emissions Wavelength, 2-220
End

program upon exit, 2-625


End Points

Filtering Command, 2-278


Enhance Menu, 2-239
Enhancement Filters, 2-267
Environment File Format, 4-7
EPS file formats, 4-3

extraction controls, 2-211

F
F2 Function Key, 2-641
F3 Function Key, 1-20, 2-642
F5 Function Key, 2-648
Factor Scaling, 3-4
Fast Fourier Transform, 2-301

File Format, 5-1


Fast Fourier Transform File Format, 4-9
Fast Scaling, 2-103
Feature Width, 2-269, 2-283
Feature Width, 2-283
Feature Width, 2-283

Index - 11

Index
FFT, 2-347

Command, 2-347
Command Button, 1-16
Load, 2-355
Save, 2-355
Show, 2-356
FFT Command, 2-301
File

Count/Size Measurements, 2-434


File Format

Batch Conversion, 2-20


Defined, 3-4
Info Command, 2-124
File Format Specifications, 4-1

*.?x? Files, 4-28


CAL, 4-5
Calibration, 4-5
CNT, 4-6
ENV, 4-7
Environment, 4-7
Fast Fourier Transform, 4-9
FFT, 4-9, 5-1
Flat File Format, 4-13
Histogram, 4-20
HST, 4-20
Kernel Files, 4-28
Lookup Table, 4-22
LUT, 4-22
Manual Tag, 4-27
Measurements, 4-6
OUT, 4-23
Outline, 4-23
PSC, 4-25, 4-26
Pseudo-Color, 4-25, 4-26
TAG, 4-27
File Formats, 2-5, 2-6, 4-1

AutoQuant, 4-1
AVI, 4-1
BioRadI, 4-1
Bitmap, 4-1
Dr. Halo, 4-2
Encapsulated PostScript, 4-3
Flat, 4-2
Gatan, 4-2
Image-Pro Workspace, 4-2
Index - 12

JPEG, 4-2
Kodak PhotoCD, 4-2
MetaMorph, 4-3
Molecular Dynamics, 4-3
PICT, 4-3
QED Imaging, 4-3
Sequence, 4-3
Targa, 4-4
TIFF, 4-4
TrueVision, 4-4
Zeiss, 4-4
ZSoft, 4-4
File Menu, 2-1

Bitmap Analysis Command, 2-578


Count/Size Command, 2-434
Histogram Command, 2-543
Line Profile Command, 2-564
Manual Tag Command, 2-497
File Menu Commands

Output Window, 2-622


File Name, 2-5
File Signature, 2-21
File Transfer

open remote file, 2-27


Save remote file, 2-30
File Transfer, 2-26
File Transfer Command, 2-26
File/Open dialog, 2-201
File\Save dialog, 2-201
Fill

dialog box, 2-91


Fill Command, 2-90
Fill Holes, Count/Size Command, 2-431
Filled Outlines, 2-428
Filter

Command Button, 1-16


FFT Command, 2-350
Kernels, 2-279
Filter Command

dialog box, 2-265


Preview, 2-266
Filter Kernel

Deleting, 2-281
dialog box, 2-279
New, 2-281
Filter Objects, Count/Size Command, 2-432

Index
Filter Plugins, 2-291
Filters

BandPass, 2-287
Branch/Endpoints, 2-276
Close, 2-274
Convolution, 2-267
Despeckle, 2-267
Dilation, 2-274
Distance, 2-275, 2-283
Edge, 2-272, 2-288
Enhancement, 2-267
Erode, 2-274
Flatten, 2-268
Gauss, 2-267
Higauss, 2-267
HiPass, 2-267, 2-286
Horizontal, 2-272
LaPlace, 2-272
Local Equalization, 2-267
LoPass, 2-267, 2-286
Median, 2-268
Morphological, 2-274
Open, 2-274
Phase, 2-272, 2-283
Pruning, 2-275
Rank, 2-268
Reduce, 2-275
Roberts, 2-272
Sculpt, 2-274
Sharpen, 2-268
Sobel, 2-272
Special, 2-282
Spectral, 2-285
Thinning, 2-275
Variance, 2-272
Vertical, 2-272
Watershed, 2-275
Well, 2-275
Filters Command, 2-265
Find all tracks automatically, 2-520
First measurement, 2-525
first-order illumination, 2-192
Fit to Page, 2-56
Fit Window Size to Screen

Preferences Command, 2-135


Fixed Point Precision, During Registration, 2345
Flat, 2-195
Flat Field correction, 2-194
Flat File Format, 4-13, See Appendix B
Flat file formats, 4-2
FLAT Files, 1-24
Flatten

Filter, 2-268
Flatten Background

Count/Size Command, 2-469


Flatten Background dialog box, 2-469
Floating Point, 2-3

Convert To Command, 2-111


Precision During Registration, 2-345
Focus

Maximum contrast method, ScopePro, 2-372


Maximum intensity method, ScopePro, 2-372
Minimum intensity method, ScopePro, 2-372
Select regions for, ScopePro, 2-372
Font size, 2-525
Foreground/Background Color, Fill
Command, 2-93
Forward FFT

Command, 2-348
Options dialog box, 2-349
Fourier Correlation, 2-377
Frame rate, 2-211
Frames per second, 2-211
Free Memory Available, Reporting in Status
Bar, 2-141
freeform AOI, 1-6
Freeform AOI, 1-6
Freeform Intensity Calibration dialog box, 2414
Freeform, Intensity Calibration Command, 2412
Freeze, Line Profile, 2-569
Frequency Filtering

FFT, 2-301
Hi Pass, 2-351
Low Pass, 2-351
Index - 13

Index
Spike Boost, 2-352
Spike Cut, 2-352
Full FFT, FFT Command, 2-350
full frame, 2-145
Function Keys, 1-20

F2, 2-641
F3, 2-642
F5, 2-648

H
Half FFT, FFT Command, 2-350
Halftoning

Defined, 3-4
Hanning, FFT Command, 2-353
Header, 2-546
height, 4-13, 4-15
Help

IPBasic, 2-619
Using Help, 2-666

G
Gain, 2-150
Gamma, 1-15, 2-150, 2-186, 2-243

Defined, 3-4
Test Strip, 2-253
Gauss Filter, 2-267
GEL file formats, 4-3
Gloss, 2-585
Graph

Pseudo-Color, 2-336
Graph options, 2-539
Graph Scaling dialog box, 2-558
Gray Level

Defined, 3-4
Gray Scale, 2-3

Convert To Command, 2-105


Gray Scale 12, 2-3

Convert To Command, 2-109


Gray Scale 16, 2-3

Convert To Command, 2-110


Grid, 2-381
Grid dialog box, 2-365
Grid Mask

Grid, 2-365
Preview, 2-364
Settings, 2-367
Grid Mask Calibration Summary, 2-364
Grid Mask Command, 2-363
Grid Mask dialog box, 2-363
Grid Preview dialog box, 2-364
Grid Settings dialog box, 2-61
Group tab

Color Composite, 2-316

Index - 14

Help Contents Command, 2-661


Help Index, 2-660
Help Menu, 2-659
Hi Pass

FFT Command, 2-351


Hide selected tracks, 2-520
Hide unselected tracks, 2-520
Hide, Counted Object, 2-451
Hide/Show

Borders, 1-20
Hide/Show Objects, Count/Size Command, 2443
Hide/Show Tool Bar Command, 2-648
Hide/Show Tools Command, 1-20
Hide/Show Workflow Tool Bar Command, 2649
Hiding an object

Count/Size Command, 2-452


Higauss Filter, 2-267
Highlight and Shadow, Show Map Command,
2-247
HiPass

Spatial Filter, 2-267


HiPass Filter, 2-286
Histogram

Append, 2-543
Command Button, 1-17
Count/Size Command, 2-449
File Format, 4-20
Intensity Analysis, 2-541
Save, 2-543
Histogram Command, 2-541

Color Menu, 2-548


File Menu, 2-543
Report Menu, 2-550
Scaling Menu, 2-558

Index
Update Menu, 2-557
Histogram dialog box, 2-541
Histogram Divisions dialog box, 2-550, 2-551
Histogram Equalization

Bell, 2-250, 2-270


Exponential, 2-251, 2-270
Linear, 2-250, 2-270
Logarithmic, 2-251, 2-270
Histogram Order dialog box, 2-549
Histogram Window

Count/Size, 2-449
Intensity Analysis, 2-554
Holes, 2-442

Fill Holes, 2-431


With Holes, 2-428
Horizontal

Filter, 2-272
Horizontal Differencing, 3-4
Hot Key for Screen Capture, 2-51
HSI

and Histogram, 2-548


and Line Profile, 2-567
Defined, 3-4
HSV

and Histogram, 2-548


and Line Profile, 2-567
Defined, 3-5
HSV Color Model

Show Palette Command, 2-130


Hue, 2-162, 2-182

Color Bar for Color Composite, 2317


Hue, Fill Command, 2-92
Huffman, 3-5

Operations Command, 2-305


Operations dialog box, 2-302
Overlay Command, 2-359
Image Archiving dialog box, 2-17
Image Button

Angle Offset Calibration, 2-404


Aspect Ratio Calibration, 2-401
Intensity Calibration Command, 2417
Origin Calibration, 2-403
Pixels/Unit Calibration, 2-399
Image Class, 2-60
Image Class, 2-3

Batch Conversion, 2-20


Image Class, 3-5
Image Conversion, 2-102

Defined, 3-5
Image Database, 2-201

Archiving, 2-17
Image Database Command, 2-10
Image Information, 2-121
Image Information Dialog, 2-121
Image Information dialog box, 2-6
Image List dialog box, 2-63
Image Menu

Count/Size Command, 2-469


Image Overlay, 2-359
Image Properties

Set Information, 2-216


Image Resolution, 2-3
Image Sequences, 2-320, 2-321
Image sets

defined, 2-198
Image Signature, 2-22
Image Type, 2-3
Image Window, 1-18
Image-Pro

Application Area, 1-3


Icon

Defined, 3-5
ID, Info Command, 2-122
Illuminated, 2-583
ilong, 4-14
Image, 3-5

Capture, 2-143
List of for Color Composite, 2-317

Image-Pro File Formats, 2-5


Image-Pro Remote Conference dialog box, 242, 2-45
Image-Pro settings., 2-668
Image-Pro Tools, 1-1
Images, 2-64
IMG

Defined, 3-5
Index - 15

Index
Import Plugins Command, 2-190
Incomplete Frames, 2-237
Increment Data Set, DDE Options, 1-32
Index

Palette Window Field, 2-129


Index Command, 2-660
Index of Max, 2-524
Index of Min, 2-524
Info Command, 2-121

Calibration, 2-127
File, 2-124
General, 2-122
Image, 2-125
Report, 2-128

Remote File Transfer, 2-26


Send Mail, 2-23
Inverse

Operations Command, 2-304


Inverse FFT Command, 2-354
Inverse/Filter Options dialog box, 2-352
Invert

Using NOT, 2-303


Invert Contrast Command, 2-255
Invert Image Command, 2-259
Invoking A Macro, 2-609
IPBasic Help, 2-619
IPBasic Macro Language Editor Menu, 2-612
IPBasic Macro Language Editor Menus

Debug, 2-618
Edit, 2-614
File, 2-613
Help, 2-619
Macro, 2-617
Sheet, 2-619
View, 2-615

Info dialog box, 2-6


Information Command, 1-20
Information/File tab, 2-199
Input Level Message Box, 2-415
Insert

Comment Command, 2-630


Insert Blank, 2-381
Insert Macro Command, 2-624
Intensity, 2-318, 2-501

Area of Radius, 2-501


Points Only, 2-501
Intensity Analysis

IPW file formats, 4-2


ipwin.exe, 2-631
ishort, 4-14
Iterate results, 2-375
Iterate, Classification Option, 2-462

Line Profile Command, 2-560


Intensity Calibration, 2-408

Bitmap Analysis Option, 2-580


Defined, 3-2
Histogram, 2-552
Info Command, 2-127
Line Profile, 2-572
Reporting in Status Bar, 2-141
Intensity Calibration dialog box, 2-409, 2410, 2-413
Intensity Calibration, Changing, 2-413
Intensity Level

Intensity Calibration Command, 2417


Intensity Range Selection, for Count/Size, 2423
Intensity Scale, 2-589
Internet Commands

Open Remote Conference, 2-42


Personal Conference Server, 2-45
Remote Conference, 2-41
Index - 16

J
JPG file formats, 4-2

K
Keep Preview Image, 2-146, 2-162, 2-166
Kernels

Boost, 2-281
Editing, 2-279, 2-280
File Format, 4-28
Filling, 2-280
Filter Type, 2-279
Offset, 2-281
Size, 2-280

Index

L
Labels, 2-525

Count/Size Command, 2-429


Language, 1-30
LaPlace Filter, 2-272
Last Set AOI:, 2-151
Launch Report Generator Command Button,
1-16
Layout, Info Command, 2-125
Legend, 2-546
Lempel-Zif Encoding

Defined, 3-5
Lens List, 2-99
Limited Watershed

Split, Count/Size Edit Command, 2440


Line

Drawing, 2-83
Tool, 2-83
Line Profile

Append, 2-565
Command Button, 1-17
Dual Line, 2-569
Full Scale, 2-574
Save, 2-564
Save Statistics, 2-565
Line Profile Command, 2-560

Color Menu, 2-567


File Menu, 2-564
Report Menu, 2-569
Update Menu, 2-575
Line Profile Data

Append, 2-564
Line Profile Order dialog box, 2-568
Line Profile Window, 2-560, 2-572, 2-574
Line, Histogram, 2-553
line_offset, 4-13, 4-16
Linear

Calibration Command, 2-421


Histogram Equalization, 2-250, 2270
Linearize New Calibration Command, 2-421
List

Button, 1-22, 1-26

List Files of Type, 2-6


List reference calibrations, 2-397, 2-411
Live Histogram, 2-157
live preview, 2-145, 2-148, 2-149, 2-155, 2156, 2-157, 2-159, 2-162, 2-166
Live Preview Context Window, 2-157
Load

AOI, 2-78, 2-80


Calibration Files, 2-417, 2-419
dialog box, 1-22
FFT, 2-355
Outlines, 2-436
Pseudo-Color dialog box, 2-331
Pseudo-Color Palette, 2-331
Settings, 2-437, 2-498
Load Alignment, 2-376
Load Demo Macros Command, 2-632
Load Measurements dialog box, 2-480
Load Outlines dialog box, 2-456
Load Points, 2-498
Load tracking options, 2-519
Load tracks, 2-518
Local

Equalization Filter, 2-267


Histogram Equalization, 2-270
Local Zoom, 2-120
Locate Step Tablet Message Box, 2-418
Lock all channels, 2-214
Lock Exposure Times, 2-157, 2-160
Lock icon, 2-145, 2-150, 2-157, 2-160
Lock Z Positions, 2-214
Log

Operations Command, 2-304


Log Scale, FFT Command, 2-349
Logarithmic, Histogram Equalization, 2-270
Logical Resolution, 2-3
Lookup Table, 2-242

Defined, 3-5
File Format, 4-22
Modifications, 2-257
Reset LUT Command, 2-256
LoPass

FFT Command, 2-351


Spatial Filter, 2-267
LoPass Filter, 2-286
Lossless

Index - 17

Index
Defined, 3-5
Lossy

Defined, 3-5
LSM File Format, 4-4
Luminance

Defined, 3-5
Luminance Profile, 2-507

Auto-Scale, 2-514
Smoothing, 2-512
Thickness, 2-512
Luminance Profile dialog box, 2-507
LUT, 2-242

Defined, 3-5
Reset LUT Command, 2-256
LZW

Defined, 3-5

Record Macro Command, 2-606


Running In Trace Mode, 2-604, 2610
Show Recording, 2-606
Start-Up Macro, 2-630
Stop Recording Command, 2-606
Ways To Run, 2-609
Magic Wand

defined, 1-8
Tool Bar, 1-8
Magnification, 2-216
Magnifying an image, 1-14
Make Mask, 2-307, 2-470
Managing Open Image Windows, 1-20
Manual Measurements, 2-473
Manual Measurements Command Button, 117
Manual Point Count

Manual Tag. See

m Start-up Parameter, 2-631


-m Start-up Parameter, 2-631
M/Color

Convert To Command, 2-106


Macro Buttons, 2-137
Macro Command, 2-602
Macros, 1-17
Macro Language Command, 2-665
Macro Menu, 2-601
Macro Player, 2-634
Macros

Calling Another Program From, 2624


Including A Pause In, 2-628
Insert Command, 2-624
Interrupting Processing Of, 2-628
Load Demo Macros Command, 2632
Macro Command, 2-602
Macro Editor, 2-603
Macro Management Command
Button, 1-17
Naming Conventions, 2-607
Output Window Command, 2-620
Printing To The Output Window, 2621
Index - 18

Manual Point Count dialog box, 2-495


Manual Tag

Append, 2-497
Class, 2-496
Delete All, 2-496
Delete Points, 2-495
File Format, 4-27
Save Options, 2-498
Tag Points, 2-495
Manual Tag Command, 2-495

File Menu, 2-497


Options Menu, 2-501
Update Menu, 2-502
View Menu, 2-500
Manual Tag Save, 2-497
Manual Tag View Menu

Area, 2-500
Counts, 2-500
Hide/Show Marker, 2-500
Label, 2-500
Points, 2-500
Statistics, 2-500
Manual Tagging Options dialog box, 2-501
Manual tracking, 2-532
Manual, Intensity Range Selection, 2-423
Mark, Spatial Calibration Command, 2-394,
2-407

Index
Markers

Edge Detection, 2-514


mask of co-localizing objects, 2-517
Max

Count/Size Command, 2-446


Histogram, 2-555
Line Profile, 2-573
Operations Command, 2-304
Max. Feature Size

Count/Size Command, 2-469


Maximize button, 1-18
Maximum, 2-464
Maximum Contrast (texture), Scope-Pro, 2372
Maximum Feature Points, 2-491
Maximum Intensity, Scope-Pro, 2-372
Maximum Range, 2-524
MColor

Defined, 3-6
Mean, 2-464

Count/Size Command, 2-447


Histogram, 2-554
Line Profile, 2-573
Mean value, 2-524
Measure, 2-464
Measure Menu, 2-389
Measure Objects, Count/Size Command, 2432
Measurement

File Format, 4-6


Measurement Controls

Add Meas, 2-489


Auto Add, 2-489
Remove Meas, 2-489
Select Meas, 2-489
Measurements, 2-522

Adding Measurements to a grid, 2489


Advanced Distance Measurements,
2-486
Advanced Measurements, 2-488
Advanced Options, 2-490
Angle Measurement, 2-476
Angles, 2-482
Best Fit Arc Tool, 2-485

Best Fit Circle Tool, 2-485


Best Fit Line Tool, 2-485
Caliper, 2-508
Circle Tool, 2-484
Classification, 2-461, 2-465
Click and Drag Angle Measurement,
2-476
Command Button, 1-17
Count Gray Spots Tool, 2-485
Count/Size Command, 2-444
Curve Thickness, 2-476
Data OverlayTool, 2-485
Delete All Tool, 2-475
Delete Tool, 2-475
display feature statistics, 2-483
Display prompting dialog, 2-482
Display Thickness, 2-483
Distance Measurement, 2-476
Features, 2-477
Filter for Minimum Size, 2-491
Histogram, 2-449
Horizontal Thickness, 2-476
Individual Objects, 2-451
Input/Output, 2-479
Labels, 2-483
Launch Count/Size Tool, 2-485
Load/Save Features, 2-479
Options, 2-482
Pass/Fail Tolerances, 2-491
Pitch Tool, 2-485
Point Tool, 2-484
Polygon Tool, 2-475
Rectangle Tool, 2-484
Selector Tool, 2-475
Straight Line Tool, 2-475
Trace Tool, 2-476
Updating, 2-482
Vertical Thickness, 2-476
Measurements Command, 2-473
Measurements window, 2-473
Measurements Window, 2-444
Measuring with Count/Size Command, 2-422
Median

Convert To Command, 2-107


Index - 19

Index
Filter, 2-268
Memory

Move Up/Move Down, 2-370, 2-381


MSP

Defined, 3-6

Info Command, 2-126


Memory Monitor, 2-656
Memory Monitor dialog, 2-658
Memory Required for Image, 2-4
Menu

Selection Command, 2-629


Menu Selection, 2-133
Menus

Basic, 2-645
Biological, 2-645
Complete, 2-645
Industrial, 2-645

Multiframe Acquire, 2-167


Multi-Frame Undo, 2-136
Multiframe/Timed Acquire, 2-167
Multiframe/Timed Command, 2-167
Multi-Image Info Command, 2-124
Multiple AOI

Add, 1-12
Bounding Box, 1-13
Reset, 1-13
Tool, 1-12
Multiply Operations Command, 2-303

Merge

Channel dialog box, 2-312


Images dialog box, 2-233
images in a sequence, 2-232, 2-233
Merge Channel

Command, 2-311
Merge Files, 2-232
Merge menus, 2-647
Merge product features, 2-646
Merge Product Features, 2-646
Merging Transparency, 2-361
Min

Count/Size Command, 2-446


Histogram, 2-554
Minimize button, 1-18
Minimum, 2-464, 2-524

Operations Command, 2-304


Minimum Intensity, Scope-Pro, 2-372
Minimum track length, 2-530
Mode dialog box, 2-249
Modified

Info Command, 2-122


Modified Huffman Encoding, 3-6
Morphological Filtering, 2-274

dialog box, 2-274


Morphological Filters, 2-265
Mosaic

Grid Settings, 2-61


Image List, 2-63
Mosaic Image, 2-60
Mosaic Image Command, 2-58
Mosaic Image dialog box, 2-58, 2-60
Mosaic Image page size, 2-60

Index - 20

N
Name, 2-525
Name, Info Command, 2-122
Naming

a Filter Kernel, 2-280


Naming Conventions

Macro Names, 2-607


NAND, Operations Command, 2-302
Navigate Tab, 2-209
Navigation

Color Bar, 2-319


Color Value Slider, 2-319
Select Color dialog box, 2-318
Negative Image, Using NOT, 2-303
New

Document Settings, Preferences


Command, 2-135
Filter Kernel, 2-281
Folder Button, 1-22, 1-26
Show Palette Command, 2-131
New button, 2-321
New Command, 2-2
New Image, 2-168, 2-192, 2-195, 2-196, 2588
New Look, 2-133
new set, 2-202
newAOI, 1-4
Next Image Command, 1-20
Next Image Command, 2-641
next_sample, 4-13, 4-16
Nonconvolution Filtering, 2-265

Index
NOR, Operations Command, 2-303
Normal, Line Profile Command, 2-570
Normalize Illumination, 2-192
Normalize Illumination, Scope-Pro, 2-371
NOT, Operations Command, 2-303
Number

of Channels, Info Command, 2-126


Number

Operations Command, 2-305


Number of channels, 2-218
Number of frames, 2-218
Number of Frames in Sequence, 2-4
Number of Images, 2-253
Numeric aperture, 2-216
Numeric Aperture, 2-100, 2-221

Command, 2-301
Command Button, 1-16
Operations Command, 2-301
Operations Commands

AND, 2-302
NAND, 2-302
NOR, 2-303
NOT, 2-303
OR, 2-302
XOR, 2-302
Optical Density, 2-194, 2-262, 2-263

Calibration, 2-416
Intensity Calibration Command, 2412
Optical Density Calibration dialog box, 2-417
Options

O
Object, 2-464
Object Attribute Window, 2-451
Object Attributes, 2-451
Object Classification, 2-461, 2-465
Object Count, 2-464
object outlines, 2-533
Object Page, 2-86
Object Sorting dialog box, 2-471
Object Sorting Options, 2-471
Object Window, Count/Size Command, 2-451
Objects, 2-464
objects outlines, 2-531
Offset, 2-150
Offset Kernels, 2-281
On-Chip Integration, 2-172
Open

Calibration Command, 2-417, 2-419


Command Button, 1-15
Document from Disk Command
Button, 1-15
Filter, 2-274
Open Command, 2-5
Open dialog box, 1-22, 1-23
Open File dialog box, 2-5
Open Remote Conference Command, 2-42
Open remote file, 2-27
Open Remote Image dialog box, 2-27
Operations

Caliper, 2-511
Count/Size Command, 2-427
Filter Command, 2-266
Forward FFT Command, 2-349
Inverse FFT Command, 2-352
Outline, 2-428
Registration, 2-345
Thick Line Profile Command, 2-571
Options Menu

Bitmap Analysis Command, 2-580


Manual Tag Command, 2-501
Options tab, 2-376
OR, Operations Command, 2-302
Or. Dist, 2-523
Order

Histogram, 2-549
Line Profile, 2-568
Origin Offset dialog box, 2-403
Origin, Spatial Calibration Command, 2-402
Outline

File Format, 4-23


Options, 2-428
Outlines

Count/Size Command, 2-428


Load, 2-436
Save, 2-435
Output Window Command, 2-620
Output Window Command Menus

Edit, 2-623
Index - 21

Index
File, 2-622
Overlay Transparency, 2-360

Pixel Values Only, 2-579


Pixel Values, Displaying, 2-576
Pixels/Unit

Calibration, 2-399

P
palette, 4-13, 4-18
Palette, 2-3

Convert To Command, 2-106


Defined, 3-6
dialog box, 2-129
Editing Color Values, 2-129
Palette Command, 2-129
Pan

To Point, 2-344
Pan Tool, 1-14
partial tracks, 2-529
Passes

Filters Command, 2-268, 2-273, 2278, 2-284


Passes, Filters Command, 2-287, 2-288, 2289
Paste

New Command, 2-72


Options dialog box, 2-73
To Macro Output Window, 2-623
Paste Command, 2-71
Paste Options Command, 2-73
Pattern, Fill Command, 2-92
Pattern/Texture, Fill Command, 2-92
PCD file formats, 4-2
PCX

Defined, 3-6
PCX File Format, 4-4
Personal Conference Server Command, 2-45
Personal File Server, 2-35
Phase

FFT Command, 2-349


Filter, 2-283
Phase Filter, 2-272
PICT file formats, 4-3
Pixel

Defined, 3-6
Value, Reporting in Status Bar, 2140
Pixel Depth

Defined, 3-6
Index - 22

Place Results Into Operations Command, 2305


Plane

Defined, 3-6
Play Options dialog

Set Navigator, 2-210


Play to end, 2-211
Plugins, 2-190
Plug-ins, 2-291
Polygon/Polyline Tool, 2-83
Polyline, 1-7

Defined, 3-6
Population Density, 2-456
Population Density Window, 2-457
Position

Fit to Page, 2-56


For Printing, 2-55
Position Data Set At, DDE Options, 1-32
Poster Print, 2-56
PostScript Files, 4-3
Precision During Registration, 2-345
Predominant motion type, 2-529
Preferences Command, 2-132

Application, 2-132
Document, 2-135
Status Bar, 2-140
Tool Bar, 2-137
Preferences Dialog, 2-132
Pre-filter, Count/Size Command, 2-430
Prefix, 2-526

Preferences Command, 2-135


Prev. Image Command, 1-20, 2-642
Preview Area, 2-148, 2-155
Preview Button, 2-7
Preview Command

Digital Camera, 2-155


Preview full frame, 2-146
Preview Image, 2-7
Preview Image dialog box, 2-7
Preview Zoom, 2-146
Print

Current Command Button, 1-16


Current Document Command
Button, 1-16

Index
Macro Output, 2-622
Print Command, 2-54
Print dialog box, 2-54
Print Position dialog box, 2-55
Print Screen Command, 2-53
Printer

Setup, 2-54
Printing

Fit to Page, 2-56


Multiple Copies, 2-54
To The Macro Output Window, 2621
Process Menu, 2-261
Program

Item Properties, 2-630


Manager, 2-630
Progress Update, 2-132
Prompt Before Closing Modified Images, 2132
Pruning Filter, 2-275
Pseudo-Color, 2-323

Append To dialog box, 2-335


Areas, 2-333
Color Edit, 2-327
Convert To Command, 2-107
Defined, 3-6
Dialog Basic, 2-333
dialog box, 2-328
dialog box, 2-324
Division Number, 2-326
File Format, 4-25, 4-26
Graph, 2-336
Load, 2-331
Methods of Interpolation, 2-329
Save, 2-331
Table, 2-336
Pseudo-Color Command, 2-323

Button, 1-17
Pseudo-Color Command Menus

Areas, 2-333
Areas File, 2-334
Areas Report, 2-336
File, 2-331
Pseudo-Color Settings, 2-334, 2-335

Q
QED file format, 4-3

R
Ramp, 2-329
Range

Count/Size Command, 2-447


Gray Values, 1-9
Range/Area

and Zoom Button, 2-555


Histogram, 2-555
Line Profile, 2-573
Rank

Filter, 2-268
Filters Command, 2-269
Recalculate, 2-378
Record

Macro Command, 2-606


Macro Command Button, 1-17
Record Environment, 2-437
Rectangle

FFT Command, 2-353


Tool, 2-83
Rectangular AOI, 1-4
rectAOI, 1-4
Reducing

Filter, 2-275
Reducing an image, 1-14
reference calibrations, 2-391
Reference Image, 2-314, 2-315
Reference, Line Profile, 2-562
Reflection

Ambient, 2-587
Reflective Index, 2-100
Refractive Index, 2-216, 2-222
Register

Image-Pro Plus, 2-667


Registration, 2-320, 2-341

Command, 2-341
dialog box, 2-344
Options dialog box, 2-345
Relative time, 2-539
Reload

Index - 23

Index
Script File, 2-602
Reload Command, 2-11
Remote Conference Command, 2-41
Remote Directory, 2-28, 2-31
Remote File Name, 2-27, 2-30, 2-31
Remote file server dialog box, 2-35, 2-40
Remote File Transfer Command, 2-26
Remote Files, 2-28
Remote Host, 2-27, 2-30
Remove button, 2-524
Remove Holes Message Box, 2-442
Remove Holes, Count/Size Command, 2-442
Rename

AOI, 2-79
Macro, 2-604
Reorder by document age, 2-136
Repaint Background Images, 2-133
Replace Image Message Box, 2-19
Report Command, 2-590
Report Generator, 2-590

Command Button, 1-16


Report Menu

Histogram Command, 2-550


Line Profile Command, 2-569

and Line Profile, 2-567


Convert To Command, 2-108
Defined, 3-6
RGB 36, 2-3

Convert To Command, 2-112


RGB 48, 2-3

Convert To Command, 2-113


RGB Chunk

Defined, 3-2, 3-6


RGB Color Model,Show Palette Command,
2-130
Ribbon

Defined, 3-6
RLE

Defined, 3-7
Roberts Filter, 2-272
Rotate Command, 2-116
Rotation, 2-377, 2-378, 2-583, 2-586
Round Retangle Tool, 2-83
Run In Trace Mode, 2-604, 2-610
Run Length Encoding

Defined, 3-7
Run Program

Command, 2-624
Minimized, 2-625

Reset

AOI, 1-4
LUTs Command Button, 1-16
Multiple AOI, 1-13
Registration, 2-344
Reset (contrast) button, 2-320
Reset button, 2-539
Reset Contrast Command, 2-256
Reset to Defaults, 2-151, 2-164
Resize Command, 2-119
Resize Image

dialog box, 2-119


Units, 2-119
Resize Images, 2-254
Resolution, 2-147

Defined, 3-7
Restore Settings dialog box, 2-180
Restricted Dilation

dialog box, 2-307


Restricted Dilation Command, 2-307
Resume Image Refresh Command, 2-630
RGB

and Histogram, 2-548


Index - 24

Running

A Macro, 2-604, 2-609


Average Options dialog box, 2-237

S
s Start-up Parameter, 2-631
-s Start-up Parameter, 2-631
sample_offset, 4-13, 4-16
sample_offset1, 4-13, 4-16
Samples

Count/Size Command, 2-447


Sampling Tools, 2-504
Sampling, Bitmap Analysis Data, 2-580
Saturation, 2-162, 2-182, 2-318
Saturation warning, 2-176
Saturation Warning, 2-146, 2-162, 2-176
Save

AOI To AOI List, 2-79


AOI To Disk, 2-78, 2-79
Bitmap Analysis Data, 2-578

Index
Command Button, 1-15
Count/Size Measurements, 2-445, 2448, 2-463, 2-467
dialog box, 1-26
Document to Disk Command Button,
1-15
FFT, 2-355
Histogram, 2-543
Histogram Statistics, 2-543
Line Profile, 2-564
Macro Output Window, 2-622
Manual Tag Data, 2-497
Options
Pseudo-Color, 2-335
Outlines, 2-435
Points, 2-498
Pseudo-Color Palette, 2-331
Pseudo-Color Settings, 2-334
Pseudo-Colors dialog box, 2-332
Sequence dialog box, 2-233
Settings, 2-437, 2-498
Save Active

Calibration Command, 2-419


Save Alignment, 2-376
Save All

Calibration Files, 2-420


Save As

dialog box, 2-153, 2-179


Save As Command, 2-14
Save As dialog box, 2-14
Save Classes dialog box, 2-463, 2-467
Save Command, 2-13
Save Data dialog box, 2-434
Save dialog box, 1-26, 1-27
Save Environment dialog box, 2-437
Save Histogram dialog box, 2-546
Save Histogram dialog box, 2-543
Save Log As dialog box, 2-44
Save Log dialog box, 2-47
Save Mail As Text dialog box, 2-25
Save Options, 2-498
Save Outlines dialog box, 2-436
Save Profile dialog box, 2-564
Save remote file, 2-30
Save Statistics

Line Profile, 2-565


Save Statistics Command, 2-543
Save table, 2-518
Save tracking options, 2-519
Save tracks, 2-518
Saving

a Sequence, 2-233
Scaling, 2-377, 2-378

Allow Distortion, 2-56


Aspect Ratio, 2-56
by Multiplying, 2-102, 2-103
Output, 2-55
Scaling dialog box, 2-399
Scaling Menu

Histogram Command, 2-558


Scan

Command Button, 1-16


to New Document Command Button,
1-16
Scan Command, 2-186
Scan Options Command, 2-189
Scanning Procedure, 2-186
Scattergram, 2-450
Scattergram Window, 2-450
Screen Capture

Procedure, 2-48
Screen Capture Command, 2-48
Screen Capture dialog box, 2-50
Screen Capture Options dialog box, 2-49
Script File, 2-602
Sculpt Filter, 2-282, 2-284
Search radius, 2-528
Seed Image, 2-307
Segmentation, 2-424, See Thresholding

Command Button, 1-16


dialog box, 2-294
Segmentation Command, 2-292
Segmentation dialog box, 2-424, 2-426
Segmentation Models

Color-Cube Based, 2-297


Histogram Based, 2-293
Select

Capture Area dialog box, 2-148, 2156, 2-159


File Destination dialog box, 2-169
Focus regions, Scope-Pro, 2-372
Index - 25

Index
Input Range, 2-104
Method dialog box, 2-103
Open Image, 1-20
Output Range, 2-104
Range dialog box, 2-104
Scanner dialog box, 2-188
Select Color dialog box, 2-318

Navigation through, 2-318


Select Dye, 2-96
Select File or Image dialog box, 2-33, 2-34
Select Lens, 2-99
Select Measurements

Editing, 2-233
Sequence file formats, 4-3
sequence files, 2-209
Sequence Gallery Command, 2-386
Sequence menu, 2-191, 2-192, 2-194, 2-196,
2-199, 2-209, 2-216
Sequence Toolbar Command, 2-228
Sequencer

Operations Command, 2-236


Options dialog box, 2-230
Toolbar, 2-228
Sequential Integration, 2-173

irregular intervals, 2-174


regular intervals, 2-174

Count/Size Command, 2-453


Select Measurements dialog box, 2-453
Select Measurements, Count/Size Command,
2-453
Select Menu, 2-645
Select Menu Command, 2-645
Select Ranges, 2-424, 2-425, See
Segmentation, See Segmentation
Select Scanner Command, 2-188
Select Set tab, 2-199, 2-202, 2-206
Select Set Tab, 2-202
Select Spatial Calibration, 2-394
Select tracks, 2-519
Select Z plane, 2-213
Select Z planes, 2-212, 2-213, 2-214
Select Z Planes tab, 2-213
Selected Color, 2-319
Selected color block, 2-319
Selected Images, 2-368, 2-369, 2-370, 2-374,
2-375, 2-380, 2-381
Selected measurements, 2-524
selected planes, 2-212
Selection Tool, 2-82
Semi-Automatic Tracking, 2-533
Send Mail Command, 2-23

Attach, 2-25
Cancel, 2-25
Configure, 2-24
Save As, 2-25
Send, 2-25
Verify, 2-24
Send Mail dialog, 2-668
Send Mail dialog box, 2-23
Send table to Excel, 2-518
Sensitivity Threshold, 2-506
Sequence

Index - 26

Set

AOI, 2-78, 2-80


Operations Command, 2-304
Set From EDF, 2-213
Set Hot Keys dialog box, 2-51
Set Hue button, 2-317
Set Images, 2-203
Set Images list, 2-206
Set Information

features and functions, 2-216


Set Manager, 2-194, 2-198, 2-199, 2-200, 2201, 2-203, 2-204, 2-205, 2-216

features & functions, 2-198


Set Name, 2-199
Set Navigator, 2-209

features and functions, 2-209


Set System

Calibration, 2-408
Set Title, 2-199, 2-203
Setting Black/Incident Levels, 2-417
Settings

Load, 2-437, 2-498


Save, 2-437
Setup

Acquire, 2-178
Shaded, 2-583
Shadow and Highlight, Show Map Command,
2-247
shared objects, 2-529
Sharpen

Defined, 3-7
Filter, 2-268
SharpStack, 2-198

Index
Sheet, DDE Options, 1-32
Shortcut Key, 2-607, 2-609
Show

FFT, 2-356
Pane, 2-140
Recording, 2-606
Show all tracks, 2-520
Show graph, 2-520
Show Pattern

FFT, 2-357
Show statistics, 2-519
Show/Hide

Borders, 1-20
Show/Hide Tools command, 1-20
Showing an object

Count/Size Command, 2-452


Single Variable Class, Count/Size Command,
2-465
Site Label, 2-224
Sites Outline File dialog box, 2-456
Skeleton, Filtering Command, 2-278
Skeletonize. See Thinning
Slider for Color Value, 2-318, 2-319
slong, 4-14
Smooth

Defined, 3-7
Resize Command, 2-119
Smooth Objects dialog box, 2-442
Smooth Objects, Count/Size Command, 2442
Smoothing

AOI Auto-Trace option, 1-9


Count/Size Command, 2-431
During Printing, 2-57
Magic Wand, 1-9
Snap Command Button, 1-17
Snap Measurements, 2-540
Sobel Filter, 2-272
Solid Color, Fill Command, 2-91
Solutions Zone, 2-662
Sort

By Key, 2-604
Sort Objects Command, 2-471
Source

Batch Conversion, 2-20


Source Code

FFT, 5-1
Source Image, 2-309, 2-310, 2-312, 2-317, 2359
Source Images, 2-317, 2-321
Source Images list box for color composite, 2317
Spatial Calibration

Command Button, 1-17


Histogram, 2-552
Info Command, 2-127
Line Profile, 2-572
Reporting in Status Bar, 2-141
Spatial Calibration, 2-394
Spatial Calibration, 2-396
Spatial Calibration dialog box, 2-396, 2-400,
2-402, 2-404, 2-406
Spatial Calibration Marker Box, 2-394, 2-407
Spatial Calibration Wizard, 2-392
Spatial Calibration,

Defined, 3-2
Spatial Filter Command Button, 1-16
Spatial Resolution

Defined, 3-7
Special

Filters, 2-282
Filters dialog box, 2-282
Spectral Filters, 2-285
Spectrum, FFT Command, 2-349, 2-350
Speed

AOI Auto-Trace option, 1-9


Spike

Boost, FFT Command, 2-352


Cut, FFT Command, 2-352
Spins, 2-585
Split Object

Auto-Split, 2-439
Limited Watershed, 2-440
Watershed, 2-440
Split Objects dialog box, 2-438
Split Objects, Count/Size Command, 2-438
Spread, Classification, 2-467
Square

Distance, 2-276, 2-283


Operations Command, 2-304
Root Operations Command, 2-304
sshort, 4-14

Index - 27

Index
Standard deviation, 2-524
Standard Deviation, 2-270, 2-464

Style, 2-583
Surface, 2-584
Viewpoint, 2-582

plus or minus, 2-271


Standard Optical Density

Intensity Calibration Command, 2412, 2-416


Start program and continue, 2-625
start_offset, 4-13, 4-15
Starting Z-position, 2-219
Start-Up Macro, 2-630
statistical parameters, 2-524
Statistics

Count/Size Command, 2-446


Histogram Data, 2-554
Line Profile, 2-572
Statistics dialog box, 2-446
Status Bar, 1-1
Std Dev

Histogram, 2-554
Line Profile, 2-573
Std. Dev

Count/Size Command, 2-447


Step, 2-271

AOI Auto-Trace option, 1-9


Step Tablet dialog box, 2-418, 2-419
STK file formats, 4-3
Stop

Image Refresh Command, 2-630


Recording Command, 2-606
Stop/Message Command, 2-625
Storage Directory, 2-657
Strength

Filters Command, 2-268, 2-288, 2289


Strength, Filters Command, 2-273, 2-284, 2287
Subsample Sequence dialog box, 2-235
Subtract, Operations Command, 2-303
Sum, 2-464, 2-524

Count/Size Command, 2-447


Histogram, 2-555
Line Profile, 2-573
Surface Plot

Advanced, 2-587
Default Settings, 2-589
Lighting, 2-586
Output, 2-588
Index - 28

Surface Plot Command, 2-582


Sync Pan and Zoom Command, 2-655
Synchronize channels, 2-212
System Calibration, 2-398

T
Table

Histogram Data, 2-554


Line Profile Data, 2-574
Pseudo-Color, 2-336
Table to Clipboard:, 2-463, 2-468
Tag Area, 2-315
Tag File Format, 4-27
Tag points, 2-315
Tagged Image File Format, 4-4
Target Program, DDE Options, 1-32
Test Strips Command, 2-252
Test Strips dialog box, 2-253
Text color, 2-525
Text Justification, 2-89
Text Page, 2-87
Text Tool, 2-83
Texture, Fill Command, 2-93
TGA

Defined, 3-7
The Show toolbar on startup, 2-651
Thick Horz, Line Profile Command, 2-570
Thick Options, Line Profile Command, 2-571
Thick Vert, Line Profile Command, 2-571
Thinning Filter, 2-275
Third-Party, 2-190
third-party filters, 2-291
Threshold

AOI Auto-Trace option, 1-9


Defined, 3-7
Filters Command, 2-269
Filters Command, 2-276
Filters Command, 2-277
Filters Command, 2-278
Filters Command, 2-284
Threshold Command, 2-292
Tiepoint, 2-342
TIFF

Index
Options dialog box, 2-359
Overlay, 2-360

Defined, 3-7
TIFF and SEQ Files, 4-29
Tile

Defined, 3-7
Tile Images, 2-380
Tile Images Command, 2-638
Tiling

Transparent, 2-88
Transpose Rotate Command, 2-118
Trim Borders, 2-377
Triple Branches Filtering Command, 2-278
True Color, 2-3

Grid, 2-381
Input, 2-380
Time Interval dialog box, 2-170
time point, 2-200, 2-209, 2-212
Time point, 2-217
Time Points, 2-225
Time Stamp, 2-200
Time Units, 2-526
Tint, Fill Command, 2-92
Title, Info Command, 2-124
Toggle Between Open Images

Convert To Command, 2-108


Defined, 3-7

U
Undo

Buffers In Preferences Command, 2135


Command Button, 1-16
Last Macro Output Window, 2-623
Previous Command Button, 1-16

Ctrl+Tab Key Combination, 1-20


Toggle Objects On/Off, 2-443
Tool Bar, 1-1
Toolbar controls

Set Manager, 2-210


Toolbars

Workflow, 2-651

Undo Command, 2-68


Unit

Calibration, 2-398
Up One Level Button, 1-22, 1-26
Update Menu

Bitmap Analysis Command, 2-581


Histogram Command, 2-557
Line Profile Command, 2-575
Manual Tag Command, 2-502

Tools

Drawing, 2-81
Tophat Filter, 2-274
Total number of objects, 2-524
Trace

AOI Auto-Trace option, 1-9


Mode, 2-604, 2-610
Trace dialog box, 2-308
Trace Objects Command, 2-308
Track Objects, 2-518
Track options, 2-526
Tracking, 2-518
Tracking Data Table, 2-521
Tracking Graph, 2-538
Tracking Graph Toolbar, 2-539
Tracking options, 2-519
Tracking Options, 2-522
Transfer File/Image dialog box, 2-30
Transforms, FFT, 2-301
Translation, 2-377, 2-378
Transparency

Fill Command, 2-94

Use button picture, 2-653


Use button text, 2-653
Use Watershed split, 2-530
User Defined Filtering Kernels, Editing, 2279, 2-280
Using

Help Command, 2-666

V
Values, 2-524
Variance Filter, 2-272
Velocity, 2-523
Velocity limit, 2-528
Vertical Filter, 2-272
Vertical range, 2-539
Video

Integration dialog box, 2-171


Index - 29

Index
Standards, 2-180
NTSC, 2-180
PAL, 2-181
Video Average Command, 2-171
Video Capture

Workspace Preview, 2-146, 2-156, 2-162, 2166


Workspace Tiling Settings, 2-136
Wrap around at end, 2-211
Wrap buttons to next line, 2-137

Timed, 2-167
Video Print Command, 2-177
Video/Digital

Capture Command Button, 1-16


View

Image Database Command Button,


1-16
View Menu

Count/Size Command, 2-444


Immediate Window, 2-615
Manual Tag Command, 2-500
Stack Window, 2-616
Watch Window, 2-616
Viewing Object Measurement, 2-451
Viewpoint, 2-582
virtual memory, 2-656
Virtual Memory Management, 2-657
Visual Basic, Calling Macro From, 2-609
Voltage, 2-183

X
X Coord, 2-522
X labels, 2-539
X Position, 2-501
X to Y Operations Command, 2-304
X-Axis, 2-546, 2-547
XOR, Operations Command, 2-302

Y
Y Coord, 2-523
Y Position, 2-501
YIQ

and Histogram, 2-549


and Line Profile, 2-568
Defined, 3-7

Watershed

Z- Illumination, Scope-Pro, 2-371


Z Location, 2-213
Z options for Extract, 2-212
Zig-Zag Ordering, 2-381
Zoom

Filter, 2-275
Split, Count/Size Edit Command, 2440
Well Filter, 2-275
White Balance, 2-151
White Color, 2-318
width, 4-13, 4-15
Width/Height Resize Command, 2-119
Window, 2-271
Window Menu, 2-637
Windows

Cascade, 2-639
Tile, 2-638
Wireframe, 2-583
With Holes, Count/Size Command, 2-428
Word Wrap, 2-89
workflow toolbar, 2-650
Workflow Toolbar, 2-133

Index - 30

In Command, 1-19
Out Command, 1-19
Tool, 1-14
Zoom Button, 2-555, 2-556
Zoom to fit workspace, 2-136
Zoom, 1-19
Z-Scale, 2-584
Z-spacing, 2-219

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