User’s Guide
For Windows®
www.optronics.com
(800) 796-8909
PictureFrame™ 2.2
for Windows® User Guide
Copyright (c) 2005, Optronics
i
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introducing PictureFrame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What is PictureFrame? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The PictureFrame Application Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2: Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Opening PictureFrame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Acquiring Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Using the Thumbnail Strip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Saving an Image or Sequence File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Zooming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Working with Sequence Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Viewing Meta-Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter 3: Manipulating Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Enhancing Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Using the Background Subtraction Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Using the Flat Field Correction Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
White Balancing an Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Changing the Orientation (Flip, Reverse, Rotate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Processing an Image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Using the Color Separation and Color Merge Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Mixing Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Annotating an Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Calibrating an Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Measuring Features in an Image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 4: Using the PictureFrame Capture Utility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Overview of the Capture Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Live Preview Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Camera Controls drawers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Opening the Capture Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Capturing Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Capturing Images to a Sequence File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 5: PictureFrame Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
File menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Open. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
New Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Close. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Save As. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Stamp Annotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Snap Direct To Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
TWAIN Select. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
TWAIN Acquire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Print Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Print Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Page Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Add Print Info On/Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recent File List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Edit menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Paste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Duplicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
View menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
50% Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
100% Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
User Defined Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Snap Image to Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Click To Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Magnifying Glass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pan Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Snap Window to Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Picture Info Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thumbnail Strip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Annotation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Image menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Flip Up/Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reverse Right/Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rotate 90o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rotate 180o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rotate 270o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rotate Any Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Resize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
White Balance on Click . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manual White Balance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pixel Boost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Image Mixing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Choose Back/Flat Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manual Back/Flat Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Meta Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Process menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spatial Filters|Sharpen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spatial Filters|Average . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spatial Filters|Median . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spatial Filters|Gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spatial Filters|Laplacian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spatial Filters|Sobel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spatial Filters|Prewitt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spatial Filters|Shift and Difference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Edge Enhance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Invert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Histogram Equalize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Histo-Contrast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stretch Intensity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Optronics PictureFrame User Guide
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Intensity Detect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Hue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Gamma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Contrast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Saturation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Brightness/Contrast/Gamma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Histogram Adjust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Color Correction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Color menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Convert to GrayScale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Color Resolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Color Separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Color Merge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Windows menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Cascade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Tile Horizontal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Tile Vertical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Close All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Bring Live Window To Top. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
List of Open Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Script menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Create New Script. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Edit Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Execute Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Script Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Help menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Camera Help Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
PictureFrame Help Topics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Reset Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
About PictureFrame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Thumbnail Strip Context Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Undock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Remove All To Main . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Close All Thumbnail Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Save [ImageName]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Close [ImageName] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Chapter 6: Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
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Introducing PictureFrame
This chapter introduces PictureFrame and its user interface. It provides an overview of the
components, features and functions of PictureFrame.
What is PictureFrame?
PictureFrame is an image processing application that provides an array of tools for
acquiring, manipulating, and storing high resolution images. Tailored for the purposes of
microscopic imaging and laboratory analysis, PictureFrame provides:
c Flexible image acquisition options
c Sophisticated image manipulation tools
c Advanced image analysis tools
c Efficient interface components.
These features are described in the following sections.
Flexible Image Acquisition
c Previously saved images: PictureFrame allows you to work with existing image files in a
wide variety of formats, bit depths, and color configurations. For example, it allows you
to open images in the following formats: TIF, JPEG, BMP, PNG, PSG, and Mac PICT.
c New images: PictureFrame allows you to capture images from compatible cameras. It
also allows you to obtain images from any TWAIN compliant device, such as a scanner.
c Image sequence files: PictureFrame allows you to open and capture image sequence files
as well as single-image files. Its “Playback” tool provides flexible controls for viewing
image sequences.
Once an image is opened in PictureFrame, PictureFrame’s image processing tools are
available for processing, annotating, and analyzing the image.
Sophisticated Image Manipulation
PictureFrame’s image manipulation tools allow you to modify images in order to produce
more useful representations of image data.
c Standard editing tools: PictureFrame provides the standard set of image editing tools
that allow you to resize, rotate, flip, and crop images.
c Image correction: PictureFrame provides special functions that correct common
irregularities in captured images, allowing you to obtain the best possible image for the
purposes of analysis. For example, you can white balance captured images to obtain the
best possible color rendering, and you can perform flat field correction on captured
images to remove irregularities (vignetting, shading, dust, debris, spots, etc.) introduced
by your imaging equipment.
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c Image processing: PictureFrame provides an array of image processing tools that allow
you to optimally isolate, define, and otherwise enhance the visibility and analysability of
features of interest in images. It provides common processing tools that allow you to, for
example, increase or decrease brightness, contrast, and gamma. It also provides more
sophisticated image enhancement tools that are particularly useful for enhancing
microscopic image data. For example, PictureFrame provides many image filters,
including Median, Gradient, Sobel, Prewitt, and Laplacian.
c Image mixing: Using PictureFrame, you can merge images with other images or with
color fills. The image mixing capabilities allow you to pseudo color images and merge
different phases of a single image. For example, you can:
c Merge fluorescent, brightfield and DIC images.
c Merge multiple fluorescent images coding narrow band pass exposures with millions
of colors.
c Merge IR to visible images.
Advanced Image Analysis
PictureFrame provides tools for the metrical analysis of features in images. These tools
include:
c Annotation: Allows you to annotate images with text and graphic overlays.
c Calibration: Allows you to define the scale of your image so that measurement
calculations can be converted from pixel values to more meaningful values.
c Measurements: Allows you to produce reports on the measurable characteristics of
objects of interest in an image, including their length, perimeter, area, and so on.
Efficient Interface Components
c The Thumbnail Strip: PictureFrame’s Thumbnail Strip allows you to organize open
images into a scrollable strip of thumbnails. This makes working with multiple images
manageable and productive.
c Scripting: PictureFrame provides scripting capabilities that allow you to automate
routine operations associated with capturing and manipulating images, saving you time
and effort.
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The PictureFrame Application Window
All PictureFrame functionality is accessible through the PictureFrame window. The
PictureFrame window is shown below with an image opened in the workspace area.
Menu bar
Thumbnail Strip
Toolbar
Image window
Info bar
Workspace
Annotation palette
The PictureFrame window has the following components:
c Menubar
c Toolbar
c Infobar
c Image Windows
c Thumbnail Strip
c Annotation palette.
Menu Bar
The PictureFrame menu bar contains the full range of commands that provide access to
virtually all of PictureFrame’s functions and features.
Toolbar
The buttons on the PictureFrame toolbar provide shortcuts to commonly used commands
listed in the PictureFrame menu bar. Click on the button to execute the command.
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The options on the PictureFrame toolbar are described below.
Corresponds to the File|Open command.
Corresponds to the File|Save command.
Corresponds to the File|Print command.
Corresponds to the Image|White Balance on Click command.
Corresponds to the View|Click to Zoom command.
Corresponds to the Window|Bring Live Window to Top command.
Corresponds to the View|Snap Window to Image command.
Corresponds to the File|Snap Direct to Disk command.
Corresponds to the View|Add Measure command.
Corresponds to the Script|Execute Script command.
Allows you to create a Meta Data report and save it to disk (applies to images
captured with an Optronics camera through the PictureFrame Capture Utility
only). See “Viewing Meta-Data” on page 15 for instructions and more
information.
Corresponds to the Color|Color Merge command.
Corresponds to the Image|Image Mixing command.
Info Bar
The Picture Info Bar displays information about the currently active image appearing in the
PictureFrame workspace. It displays the Red, Green, Blue (RGB) value under the cursor’s
hotspot, the X-Y location of the cursor’s hotspot, the bit depth of the image, and the current
zoom factor. The Info Bar also displays the calibration definition applied to the currently
active image (if any), and it provides a pull-down list box that allows you to show/hide the
Capture Utility controls for your camera.
RGB Value
Cursor Location
Bit Depth Zoom Factor
Capture Utility Controls Current Calibration
Image Windows
Opened images are displayed in image windows. If more than one image is opened, the
top-most image window represents the active image. Commands selected from the menu
bar or toolbar will be executed on the active image.
Windows in PictureFrame have standard Windows controls in the upper right corner, as
follows:
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Maximize — This button enlarges the window to its maximum size.
Minimize — If the Thumbnail Strip is opened in the PictureFrame window, this
button places the image in the next available frame in the strip. If the Thumbnail strip
is not opened, this button reduces the image window to an icon. You can double-click
on the icon to restore the window to its default state.
Close — This button closes the window.
Thumbnail Strip
The Thumbnail Strip is a reservoir of opened images you are not currently working with. It
represents them as thumbnails and organizes them in a scrollable strip so that they can be
easily referenced and browsed.
Opened images can be easily placed in the Thumbnail Strip and restored to the
PictureFrame workspace when you are ready to work with them. You can simply drag and
drop images into the Thumbnail Strip and drag and drop them back to the PictureFrame
workspace. You can also place images in the Thumbnail Strip by clicking on the Minimize
button of the image window.
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Getting Started
This chapter provides instructions for performing fundamental tasks in PictureFrame. It
describes how to open PictureFrame, open and save images, manage images using the
Thumbnail strip, zoom in and out on images, and work with sequence files.
Opening PictureFrame
PictureFrame behaves differently depending on whether you received it as part of an
Optronics camera purchase or whether it was purchased as a stand-alone product. Follow
the appropriate set of instructions below.
To open a stand-alone version of PictureFrame
1.
Click on the PictureFrame icon on your desktop.
PictureFrame is opened and the PictureFrame window appears.
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To open a version of PictureFrame attached to an Optronics camera
1.
Make sure your camera is turned on and attached to your computer.
2.
Click on the PictureFrame icon on your desktop.
PictureFrame is opened. The PictureFrame window and the Capture Utility controls
for your camera (for example, the Live Preview window and Master Control drawer)
appear on the desktop. In the example below, the Capture Utility controls for the
MicroFire camera are shown.
At this point, you can capture images using the PictureFrame Capture Utility controls,
or you can suppress the Capture Utility and work with image files through the
PictureFrame window.
To capture images, you will need to focus the camera and configure the live preview
display (for example, the image above appears dark and blurry). See Chapter 4: “Using
the PictureFrame Capture Utility” for more information.
If you want to use PictureFrame’s image processing tools and you do not want to
capture images at this time, click on the PictureFrame workspace (behind the Live
Preview window) to bring the PictureFrame window to the foreground.
t
If you click behind the Capture Utility controls and the PictureFrame window is not
brought to the foreground, the Live Window on Top button of the Capture Utility is currently
selected. Consult the reference guide for your camera to learn how to disable this function.
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Acquiring Images
The topics in this section describe how to acquire images in PictureFrame by:
c Opening previously saved image files
c Importing images from a TWAIN compliant device.
i
If you have purchased an Optronics camera in conjunction with PictureFrame, another
method of acquiring images is by capturing them from your camera using the PictureFrame
Capture Utility. Refer to Chapter 4: “Using the PictureFrame Capture Utility” for information and instructions.
To open a previously saved image:
1.
Click on File|Open in the PictureFrame menu bar.
The Open dialog box appears.
2.
Use the controls on the Open dialog box to locate the image file you want to open.
3.
Select the image file and click on the Open button.
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Another option for opening previously saved images is to drag-and-drop the image
file name from Windows Explorer to the PictureFrame workspace. This action is equivalent to following steps 1-3 above.
If the Thumbnail Strip is opened in the PictureFrame window, the image appears in an
unused frame of the strip. If the Thumbnail Strip is not opened, the image appears in
the PictureFrame workspace in a new image window.
To import images using a TWAIN device:
A TWAIN device can be any imaging device that communicates with PictureFrame
through a TWAIN device driver, such as a camera or scanner. To acquire images using such
a device:
1.
From the PictureFrame menu bar, click on File|TWAIN Select.
The Select Source dialog box appears. All currently installed TWAIN compliant devices
are listed in the display area of this dialog box.
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2.
Select the device you want to use.
3.
Click OK.
4.
From the PictureFrame menu bar, click on File|TWAIN Acquire.
This launches the interface for your TWAIN compliant device.
5.
Use the device’s image acquisition controls to acquire images. Consult the
documentation of the selected device for more information.
Images acquired from TWAIN devices are passed to PictureFrame as unsaved files. If
the Thumbnail Strip is opened in the PictureFrame window, each newly acquired image
appears in an unused frame of the strip. If the Thumbnail Strip is not opened, each
newly acquired image appears in the PictureFrame workspace in a new image window.
w
The image must be saved using the File|Save command before it is stored as a permanent
file. See “Saving an Image or Sequence File” on page 11 for instructions.
Using the Thumbnail Strip
The Thumbnail Strip is a reservoir of opened images you are not currently working with. It
represents them as thumbnails and organizes them in a scrollable strip so that they can be
easily referenced and browsed. Opened images can be easily assigned to the Thumbnail
Strip and restored to the PictureFrame workspace when you are ready to work with them.
To assign an image to the Thumbnail Strip:
1.
Click on the image you want to assign to the Thumbnail Strip and drag it from the
PictureFrame workspace to an empty frame in the Thumbnail Strip. You can also drag
and drop it between frames to insert it between two occupied frames.
t
You can also click on the Minimize button of the opened image to have PictureFrame place it automatically in the first available empty frame of the Thumbnail Strip.
The image appears as a thumbnail in one of the visible frames of the Thumbnail strip.
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To restore a thumbnailed image to the PictureFrame workspace:
1.
Do one of the following:
c Click and drag the thumbnail of the image you want to open from the Thumbnail
Strip to the PictureFrame workspace.
c Double-click on the thumbnail of the image you want to open.
The image appears in an image window on the PictureFrame workspace.
To access thumbnails in the strip that are not currently in view:
1.
Click the Scroll arrows at the top or bottom of the Thumbnail Strip to view images
outside of the current display.
Scroll arrows
Saving an Image or Sequence File
The Save feature allows you to save changes you have made to an image or sequence file and
to store images you have acquired from your camera or from a TWAIN device.
To save an image or sequence file:
1.
Make sure the image you want to save is the currently-active image in the PictureFrame
workspace.
2.
Click on File|Save in the PictureFrame menu bar.
If the image is already a stored file, the file is updated with the changes you have made
to the image since the last time it was saved.
If the image was recently captured or acquired from a TWAIN device and is being saved
for the first time, the Save As dialog box appears, as follows:
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To save the file:
a) Give the file a name in the File name text box. For example, type “MyFile.”
b) From the Save as type pull-down list box, select the image format you want
PictureFrame to save it in.
Special Considerations for Captured Images
c The format option to which this control defaults is tailored to the characteristics
of the captured image. For example, if the image is a color image captured at 8
bits per color channel, the Save as type option will default to a 24-bit format. See
“Preferences” on page 44 for more information.
c Images can be saved in a number of available formats, including TIF, BMP,
JPEG, and Photoshop PSD. But only the TIF formats can save meta-data with
images. All images captured through the PictureFrame Capture Utility using an
Optronics camera have meta-data associated with them. Meta-data reflects the
settings you made to configure the camera and Live Preview window when the
image was captured. If you save an image in any format other than TIF, the
meta-data associated with that image will be lost.
Special Considerations for Sequence Files
c The format options are different for saving sequence files than they are for
saving still images. Selecting one of the “AVI” options makes the sequence
available to video-playing software. If you save it as an AVI, the frame rate
defined through the Options dialog box of the Playback dialog box will be used
when the file is opened in a video-playing application.
c) Click on the Save button.
Zooming
PictureFrame allows you to zoom in and out on images. There are several ways to zoom.
You can:
c Use the Zoom tool on the PictureFrame toolbar. The Zoom tool gives you the most
control over how the image will be positioned in the image window after the zoom is
applied. Use this option if you want to zoom in on a particular feature.
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c Use the ‘Snap Image to Window’ option. This option always results in a zoom that
shows the entire image in the PictureFrame workspace. Use this option if you want to
see the entire image at a greater or lesser level of magnification, resized to occupy the
whole window.
c Zoom to a specified percentage. This option gives you the most control over the level of
zoom. Use this option if you want to zoom to a particular level of magnification.
To use the Zoom tool:
1.
Click on the Zoom tool on the PictureFrame toolbar.
The cursor becomes a magnifying glass.
2.
Do one of the following:
c To zoom in: Left-click the mouse over the feature you want to zoom in on, or click
and drag a rectangle around the portion of the image on which you want to zoom.
c To zoom out: Right-click the mouse over the area you want to zoom out on.
To Use the ‘Snap Image to Window’ Option:
This method allows you to set the zoom by indicating the size of the window to which you
want the image reduced.
1.
Position the cursor over one of the corners of the image window.
The resize cursor appears.
2.
Click and drag the window to the desired size.
For example, click and drag it to a smaller size if you want to zoom out on the image.
Click and drag it to a larger size if you want to zoom in on the image.
3.
Once the image window is resized, click on View|Snap Image to Window in the
PictureFrame menu bar.
PictureFrame resizes the image to fit in the image window.
To zoom to a specified percentage:
You can zoom to 50% or 100% by selecting one of the zoom presets from the View menu.
For example, to restore the image to its actual size (100%), click on View|100% Zoom in the
PictureFrame menu bar. To set the zoom to a non-standard percentage, follow the
instructions below.
1.
Click on View|User Defined Zoom in the PictureFrame menu bar.
The Zoom dialog box appears.
2.
In the Amount text box, type the percentage to which you want the image zoomed. For
example, type 200% to make the image appear twice its actual size.
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If you zoom in on the image, PictureFrame magnifies the image without changing
the window size. The result is that only a portion of the image is displayed. If this is the
case, you can use the Pan tool to easily locate and display the portion of the image that
contains the features you are interested in viewing. The Pan tool is enabled by clicking
on View|Pan from the PictureFrame menu bar. When you click on View|Pan, a thumbnail of the entire image appears with a bounding box in it corresponding to the relative
size of the current image window. Click and drag the bounding box around the thumbnail to display the desired portion of the magnified image in the image window.
Working with Sequence Files
A sequence file is a file that contains a whole series of images. Sequence files hold any
number of individual image frames that can be viewed one at a time or ‘played’ like a slide
show or video image. PictureFrame allows you to open, view, and save sequence files, and
it allows you to create sequence files from images captured from your camera or from
images stored on a disk. Typically, sequence files are used to:
c Collect a series of image snaps (captures) from a camera that are made over time.
c Collect a set of related images that have already been saved to disk and store them as a
sequence file collection.
The following sections provide instructions for building a sequence file from already-saved
images and for viewing sequence files.
i
For instructions on capturing images to a sequence file, refer to “Capturing Images to a
Sequence File” on page 37.
To create a sequence file from stored images:
1.
Click on File|New Sequence from the PictureFrame menu bar.
An empty sequence window and the sequence file controls appear in the PictureFrame
workspace.
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To receive images, the empty sequence window must be the currently active window in
PictureFrame, and the Sequence Strip button must be enabled.
Enabled Disabled
2.
With the empty sequence window as the active window and the Sequence Strip button
enabled, switch to Windows Explorer.
3.
Through the Explorer window, locate the image files that you want to add to the
sequence.
4.
Drag and drop each image file that you want to add from the Explorer window to the
active sequence file window in PictureFrame.
Each time you drag an image file name to the sequence window, the file is added to the
sequence.
i
All files added to the sequence must be of the same bit depth, width, and height.
5.
When you are finished adding images to the sequence file, switch back to the
PictureFrame window.
6.
Save the sequence file to disk. (See “Saving an Image or Sequence File” on page 11 for
instructions.)
Viewing Meta-Data
This feature is only applicable for images captured through the PictureFrame Capture
Utility using an Optronics camera. Meta-data provides details on the configuration of the
camera and Live Preview window at the time the image was captured. For example, metadata summarizes all adjustments that were made to the image before it was snapped. This
information is passed with the captured image to PictureFrame.
PictureFrame allows you to view meta-data on-screen and/or save a Meta-Data report to
disk.
To view meta-data on-screen:
1.
Make sure the image for which you want to view meta-data is the currently-active
image in the PictureFrame workspace.
2.
Click on Image|Meta Data from the PictureFrame menu bar.
The Meta Data dialog box appears displaying all meta-data associated with the active
image.
To generate a Meta-Data report:
1.
Make sure the image for which you want to view meta-data is the currently-active
image in the PictureFrame workspace.
2.
Click on the Meta Data button on the PictureFrame toolbar.
A Save As dialog box appears.
3.
Through the Save As dialog box, give the Meta Data report a name.
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4.
Click OK.
The Meta Data report is saved to disk as a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file, and the file
contents are displayed through the default application for opening CSV files (typically
Microsoft Excel).
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Manipulating Images
This chapter describes how to use PictureFrame’s image manipulation tools to edit,
enhance, annotate, and analyze images.
i
Note that this chapter provides instructions for performing many common tasks, but it
does not provide instructions for using all of PictureFrame’s image processing functions.
Please refer to Chapter 5: “PictureFrame Reference” for complete descriptions of all the PictureFrame functions and commands.
Enhancing Images
The topics in this section describe how to enhance, process, and manipulate images using
PictureFrame.
Using the Background Subtraction Feature
The Background Subtraction feature helps remove background noise from an image. This
is useful, for example, if you are capturing images using a high gain settings or one of the
display modes that use binning. You can remove the noise caused by these settings by
providing PictureFrame with a “Black Reference” image it can use to identify the
background in the captured images in order to remove it. The Black Reference image is
simply an image captured with no light entering the camera. The Black Reference image
must be the same size and bit depth as the images to be background subtracted, and it must
be snapped at the same gain, binning mode, and exposure time. When the Black Reference
image is applied to an image targeted for background subtraction, PictureFrame subtracts
each of the pixel values of the Black Reference image from the image of interest. This
removes much of the fixed pattern noise present in the image.
To use the Background Subtraction feature:
1.
Using the controls for your camera, capture the images to which you want Background
Subtraction applied.
2.
Capture the Black Reference image using the same gain, live mode (binning), and
exposure settings as was used for the images captured in Step 1. The same bit depth
and image size should also be maintained.
3.
Switch to the PictureFrame window and save the Black Reference image as a TIF or
BMP file.
4.
Click on Image|Choose Back/Flat Files from the PictureFrame menu bar.
The Flat Field/Background Correction dialog box appears.
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5.
Under Background Subtraction, check the ON box.
6.
Click the FILE button and locate and select the Black Reference image saved in Step 3.
7.
Click OK.
8.
With the image that you wish to apply Background Subtraction to active in the
PictureFrame workspace, click on Image|Manual Back/Flat Correction from the
PictureFrame menu bar.
The specified Black Reference image is applied to the active image, removing
background noise.
Using the Flat Field Correction Feature
The Flat Field Correction feature helps remove problems in the optical path, such as
shading, spots, or vignetting. To use this feature, you will need to capture a “Flat Field
Reference” image through your camera. A Flat Field Reference image is an image of a clean
and clear area of the slide. The Flat File Reference image must be the same size and bit depth
as the images that you want flat field corrected, and it should also be captured using the
same gain, live mode (binning), and white balance settings.
To use the Flat Field Correction feature:
1.
Using the controls for your camera, capture the images to which you want flat field
correction applied.
2.
Capture the Flat Field Reference image using the same gain, live mode (binning), and
white balance settings as was used for the images captured in Step 1. The same bit
depth and image size should also be maintained.
3.
Switch to the PictureFrame window and save the Flat Field Reference image as a TIF or
BMP file.
4.
Click on Image|Choose Back/Flat Files from the PictureFrame menu bar.
The Flat Field/Background Correction dialog box appears.
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5.
Under Flat Field Correction, check the ON box.
6.
Click the FILE button and locate and select the Flat Field Reference image saved in
Step 3.
7.
Click OK.
8.
With the image that you wish to apply Flat Field Correction to active in the
PictureFrame workspace, click on Image|Manual Back/Flat Correction from the
PictureFrame menu bar.
The specified Flat Field Reference image is applied to the active image, removing
problems in the optical path, such as shading, spots, or vignetting.
White Balancing an Image
Sometimes the color in captured images can appear ‘off ’, appearing too red, too green, too
blue, or some combination (for example, appearing purplish). The color in the image can
be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the gain for the red, green, and blue color channels
until colors appear in the image as they do to the naked eye. This is called “white” balancing
because the objective of this form of color adjustment is to make what appears white to the
eye appear white in the image. The colors are optimally balanced if this condition is met.
There are two ways to white balance an image in PictureFrame: automatically and
manually.
Using the Automatic White Balance Feature
You can have the PictureFrame automatically adjust the white balance, if desired. The
automatic white balance feature attempts to automatically adjust the color channel settings
such that what should appear white in the image does appear white.
To use the automatic white balance feature:
1.
Click on Image|White Balance on Click in the PictureFrame menu bar, or click on the
White Balance button in the PictureFrame toolbar.
The cursor becomes a bounding box.
2.
Position the bounding box over an area of the image that should be appearing as white,
and click.
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The color channel intensity levels are automatically adjusted accordingly.
Adjusting the White Balance Manually
You can manually adjust the white balance of images by using the color channel controls on
the Manual White Balance dialog box.
Manual color adjustments can be useful when the automatic white balance does not suit
your needs. For example, you can use the manual color controls to fine tune the color
channel adjustments after the automatic white balance feature has been used.
To make manual white balance adjustments:
1.
(Recommended) Perform an automatic white balance adjustment. (See “Using the
Automatic White Balance Feature” above for instructions.)
2.
Click on Image|Manual White Balance from the PictureFrame menu bar.
The Manual White Balance dialog box appears.
3.
Increase or decrease the gain value for Red, Green, or Blue, as needed.
The default gain value for each color channel setting is 100%. The color channel’s
intensity values are reduced if the gain is set to less then 100; the color channel’s
intensity values are boosted if the gain is increased to a value greater than 100. You can
decrease the gain to 1/4th of the actual intensity (25%); you can increase the gain to 8
times the actual intensity (800%).
To adjust the gain value, you can type in a value in the text box, or use the color
channel’s slider control. Putting a check in the All Channels checkbox causes the
channel controls to be increased and decreased uniformly.
Changing the Orientation (Flip, Reverse, Rotate)
PictureFrame provides several options for changing the orientation of an image, including
flipping, mirroring, and rotating the image.
To change the orientation of an image:
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1.
Make sure the image you want to flip, mirror, or rotate is the currently-active image on
the desktop.
2.
Click on Image in the PictureFrame menu bar.
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The options of the Image menu are displayed.
3.
Select the orientation option you want to perform.
270o
c Flip Up/Down: Mirrors the image on the
horizontal plain.
Flip
c Reverse Left/Right: Mirrors the image on the
vertical plain.
c Rotate: Provides several options for rotating
the image by degrees.
180o
15o
90o
Rotate
Reverse
Processing an Image
PictureFrame provides several options for processing images using one of its processing
filters. There are, for example, filters to sharpen, edge enhance, and invert images. The
image processing options are located in the Process menu.
To process an image:
1.
Make sure the image you want to process is the currently-active image in the
PictureFrame workspace.
2.
Click on the Process menu in the PictureFrame menu bar.
The image processing options are displayed.
3.
Select the image processing option you want to use. (For complete descriptions of all
the image processing options, refer to “Process menu” on page 54.)
Some processing options are executed immediately on the image when you click on the
command in the Process menu. Some options give you more control over the
parameters for applying the filter. Typically, in these cases, a dialog box appears
showing a preview of the image with controls to adjust the available parameters of the
filter. As the controls are adjusted, the preview is updated to show the effect the
specified setting would have on the image. For example, if you click on the
Process|Spatial Filters|Average command, the following dialog box appears:
As you increase the value for the Sample Size parameter, the effect is reflected in the
preview display, as follows:
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4.
Once you have optimally set the filter parameter(s), click on the OK button to apply the
filter to the active image.
Using the Color Separation and Color Merge Functions
Each pixel of a color image is comprised of several intensity values, one for each color
channel. For example, for RGB color images, each pixel has an intensity value for red, an
intensity value for green, and an intensity value for blue.
The Color Separation function allows you to extract the color channels of a color image. It
takes each color channel’s intensity values and produces a separate monochrome image out
of them. After you have performed a color separation, you can work with one of the
monochrome images. Often objects of interest can be better visualized in color separated
images because they are better defined, or can be more effectively enhanced using the
image enhancement tools.
The Color Merge function allows you to combine the monochrome images that represent
the individual color channels into a single color image.
To perform a color separation:
1.
Make sure the image you want to color-separate is the currently-active image in the
PictureFrame workspace.
2.
Click on the Color|Color Separation option in the PictureFrame menu bar.
PictureFrame extracts the pixel values for each color channel. The resulting monochrome
images, one for each color channel, appear on the PictureFrame workspace.
To performing a color merge:
1.
Open the monochrome images representing the color channels that you want to merge.
All images to be merged must be opened and appearing on the PictureFrame
workspace to use the Color Merge function.
2.
Click on the Color|Color Merge option in the PictureFrame menu bar.
The Color Merge dialog box appears.
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The pull-down list boxes on this dialog box are populated with the names of the
currently opened images.
3.
From the Red pull-down list box, select the name of the monochrome image that
represents the red channel, or select “black” if unused.
4.
From the Green pull-down list box, select the name of the monochrome image that
represents the green channel, or select “black” if unused.
5.
From the Blue pull-down list box, select the name of the monochrome image that
represents the blue channel, or select “black” if unused.
6.
Click on the OK button.
The resulting color image appears in a new image window in the PictureFrame
workspace.
i
Note: If color images are used as inputs for the components, PictureFrame will automatically extract the corresponding color channel from each of the color images to produce the
merged image.
Mixing Images
The Image Mixing feature has two uses. It can be used for:
c Pseudo-coloring monochrome images: Image mixing lets you merge a color fill with a
monochrome image so that objects and features in the image are colorized.
c Combining two or more still images: You can combine up to six images (monochrome
and/or color) into a single merged image.
In both cases, the Image Mixing dialog box allows you to control what images/colors get
added to the mix and how much of each image/color contributes to the final merged image.
i
When combining images, the images must have the same dimensions to be mixed. That
is, all images selected for mixing must have the same pixel width and height.
To mix images:
1.
Open the image or images you want to mix in the PictureFrame workspace.
2.
Click on Image|Image Mixing in the PictureFrame menu bar, or click on the Image
Mixing button on the PictureFrame toolbar.
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The Image Mixing dialog box appears.
3.
From the pull-down list box in the Image 1 group, select an image that you want to
mix.
The images listed in the pull-down list box correspond to the images currently opened
in PictureFrame. To open an image not listed, click on the “Browse” option.
4.
Follow the appropriate set of instructions below.
If you are Pseudo-Coloring the Image Selected in Step 3
a) Click on the checkbox in the same group box that you selected the image.
b) Click on the Color Selector button beside the checked checkbox.
The Color dialog box appears.
c) Through the Color dialog box, select the color you want to use to pseudo-color the
image.
d) Click OK.
If you are Image Mixing
e) Repeat Step 3 (and Steps 4a through 4d, if applicable) for each image you want to
add to the mix.
i
If the images have different bit depths, the image with the highest bit depth will set
the standard and all other images will be automatically promoted in bit depth to match
it. For example, if you mix a 16-bit image and a 48-bit image, the output will be a 48-bit
image.
5.
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For each image selected for mixing/pseudo-coloring, adjust the Intensity Level value,
as needed.
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The Intensity Level value is the numeric value appearing in the text box in the same
group as the image. For the image to which it applies, this value controls the percentage
of its intensity values to be applied to the resulting image. For example, a value of “50”
indicates that the image’s pixel intensity values should be cut in half before adding them
to the resulting image. A value of “200” indicates that the image’s pixel intensity values
should be doubled before adding them to the resulting image. The resulting image is
determined by the sum of pixel intensity values contributed by all participating images.
The Intensity Level value controls:
c Brightness. The range of Intensity Level values goes from 1 to 400 percent. This
allows you to control the brightness of participating images. The brightness of an
image will be reduced if its Intensity Level value is less than 100; its brightness will
be boosted (up to a gain of 4) if its Intensity Level value is greater than 100.
c Prominence. If you are mixing multiple images, each image’s Intensity Level value
has meaning in relation to the Intensity Level values of the other images being
mixed. Images with a higher Intensity Level value will appear more prominent in
the resulting mixed image than images with a lower Intensity Level value.
6.
Click on the Preview button to view a preview of the current selections and settings.
If you are mixing multiple images, you may find that you want some images to have
more or less prominence in the mix. If you are pseudo-coloring, you may want the
colorized image to be darkened or brightened. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 until the desired
effect is achieved.
7.
When the settings are as you want them, click OK.
The resulting image is placed as an unsaved file in the PictureFrame workspace.
Annotating an Image
Annotations are used to add text or drawings to your images. The annotations you make
will be in a graphics overlay that is displayed over the image without modifying the image
data itself. Optionally, you can choose to 'burn' your annotations into the image making
them a part of the bitmap. The following sections provides instructions for creating text
and graphical annotation, arranging them, and burning them into the image.
To draw an annotation:
1.
Display the Annotation toolbar, if it is not already displayed. To display this toolbar,
click on View|Annotation in the PictureFrame menu bar. The Annotation toolbar is
shown below:
2.
Click on the annotation tool that you want to use. For example, click on the Line
annotation tool
if you want to draw a line in the image. If you want to add text to
the image, click on the Text annotation tool
.
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3.
Follow the appropriate set of instructions below.
To add a graphical annotation:
a) Click and drag the cursor from the starting point for the line, circle, or rectangle to
the ending point.
To add a textual annotation:
When you click on the Text annotation tool, the Text dialog box appears.
a) (Optional) Click on the Font button to change the font, font size, or attributes of
the text to be added.
When you click on the Font button, the Font dialog box appears prompting you to
select the font, font size, and other attributes that you want to use. Once you have
set the font options as you want them, click OK to return to the Text dialog box.
b) In the Text dialog box, type in the text that you want to add as an annotation. For
example, type “Object 1.”
c) Click OK.
d) Click in the image where you want the text added.
The text is added at the specified insertion point.
To move or resize an annotation:
Annotations can be moved and resized after they have been added to an image. To move or
resize an annotation:
1.
Select the annotation by clicking on it in the image window.
When an annotation is selected, its control points appear.
2.
To resize the annotation, click and drag one of the control points until it reflects the
desired size. To move the annotation, click on it away from any of its control points and
drag it to the desired location.
To ‘burn’ annotations into the image:
When you ‘burn’ annotations into an image, they become part of the image bitmap. This
operation cannot be undone.
1.
Make sure the annotations you have drawn appear as you want them to appear.
2.
Click File|Stamp Annotations in the PictureFrame menu bar.
The annotations are ‘burned’ into the image.
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Calibrating an Image
The Calibration feature allows you to define a spatial calibration for an image. A spatial
calibration converts a pixel distance to some more meaningful unit of measurement (such
as centimeters or inches). For example, a spatial calibration might indicate that a width of
100 pixels as viewed in the image is equal to 1 millimeter in real-world terms. Knowing the
ratio of pixel distance to real-world distance provides the necessary scale for determining
the size, area, perimeter, and other characteristics of objects and features in the image.
You can apply a previously saved calibration definition to an image, or you can create a new
calibration definition.
To apply a previously saved calibration definition:
1.
Open the image you want to calibrate.
2.
Open the Calibration dialog box by clicking on View|Add Measurement in the
PictureFrame menu bar, or by clicking on the Measurement tool on the PictureFrame
toolbar:
The Calibration dialog box appears.
3.
From the Current Calibration pull-down list box, select the calibration definition you
want to apply to the image.
4.
Click OK.
To create a new calibration definition:
1.
Open the image you want to calibrate.
2.
Open the Calibration dialog box by clicking on View|Add Measurement in the
PictureFrame menu bar, or by clicking on the Measurement tool on the PictureFrame
toolbar:
3.
The Calibration dialog box appears.
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4.
There are two ways to create a new calibration definition: by using an object of known
length that appears in the image, or by defining a known calibration scale for the image.
Follow the appropriate set of instructions below.
To calibrate an image using an object of known length:
a) Click on the New button.
You are prompted to draw a line from the beginning to the end of the object of
known length.
b) Click and drag the cursor in the image from one end of the object of known length
to the other end.
The length in pixels of the drawn line is calculated and entered into the Number of
Pixels text box. You are now prompted to enter the actual length of the object of
known length.
c) In the Measurement Size and Units text boxes, specify the known length of the
object. For example, if it is 2 millimeters long, type “2” in the Measurement Size
text box and type “mm” in the Units text box.
To calibrate an image using a known calibration scale:
a) In the Number of Pixels text box, type the pixel distance value of the calibration
definition. For example, if 100 pixels is equal to 2 mm in the image, you would type
“100.”
b) In the Measurement Size and Units text boxes, specify the known length of the
object. For example, if 100 pixels is equal to 2 mm in the image, you would type “2”
in the Measurement Size text box and “mm” in the Units text box.
5.
In the Legend Size text box, type the real-world length (in the units specified in the
Units text box) that you want to be reflected by the legend. For example, if you want the
legend to show what 5 millimeters looks like in the image, type “5.”
The legend is like a key on a map. It is a horizontal bar that can be applied to the image
showing the relative image distance to the real-world distance specified through the
Legend Size text box. The legend does not automatically appear in the image once the
calibration is defined. It will only appear if you click the Legend button on the
Annotation toolbar:
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6.
In the Current Calibration pull-down list box, type a name for the new calibration
definition.
Select a name that identifies the calibration so that it can be used for other images
captured from the same device at the same level of magnification. For example, you
might name it “20x Olympus BX41” if it calibrates an image captured on that Olympus
device at 20x magnification.
7.
Click on the Save button.
The new calibration is applied to the current image and it is saved with the specified
name. It can now be recalled at any time to be assigned to other images by selecting it
from the Current Calibration pull-down list box.
Measuring Features in an Image
PictureFrame provides tools that allow you to measure the length, area, and perimeter of
objects pictured in your images, or measure the distance between two points in an image.
To make measurements, you should first calibrate your image. The calibration definition
converts pixel distances to real-world distances. A feature may be, for example, 100 pixels
long. What this translates to in real-world terms depends on the calibration you define. If
you specify that 10 pixels is equal to 1 millimeter, for instance, than the feature can be
determined to be 10 millimeters long. (See “Calibrating an Image” on page 27 for
instructions on how to calibrate your images.)
Once a calibration definition is applied to the image, measurements can be made using the
Annotation tools. For example, you can draw a line annotation in the image and
PictureFrame will return the distance between the start and end point of that line, or you
can trace an object in the image using the Circle or Rectangle annotation tool and
PictureFrame will return the perimeter and area of the traced object. When you are ready
to view the measurement results, you can invoke the Create Table function and the
measurement statistics associated with the annotations you have drawn will be saved to a
Comma Separated Value (CSV) file. They will also be displayed in the default application
for opening CSV files (typically Microsoft Excel).
To measure features in an image:
1.
Display the Annotation toolbar, if it is not already displayed. To display this toolbar,
click on View|Annotation in the PictureFrame menu bar. The Annotation toolbar is
shown below:
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2.
Use the Annotation tools to designate the features you want to measure. For example,
if you wanted to know the distance between two points in the image, you would select
the
tool and then click and drag the cursor in the image from one point to the
other. In the example below, two lines have been drawn to measure the diameter of two
features in the image. (See “Annotating an Image” on page 25 for complete
instructions on using the Annotation tools.)
3.
Once you have annotated all the features you want to measure, click on the Annotation
Properties button on the Annotation toolbar.
The Properties dialog box appears.
4.
Click on Create Table.
PictureFrame will now save the measurements corresponding to the defined
annotations in a comma separated file. The Save As dialog box appears prompting you
to specify where you want the file stored and what name you want to give to the file.
5.
Specify the name and location for the file. For example, type “MyMeasurements” in
the File name text box.
6.
Click on OK.
The measurement data is saved to disk as a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file, and the
file contents are displayed through the default application for opening CSV files. If you
have Microsoft Excel, for example, the measurement statistics appear in an Excel
spreadsheet.
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Using the PictureFrame
Capture Utility
If you obtained PictureFrame in conjunction with your purchase of an Optronics camera,
the software provides a full-featured capture utility that allows you to capture live images
from your camera. This chapter describes the PictureFrame Capture Utility and its
interface components. It also provides basic instructions for capturing images using the
Capture Utility’s camera controls.
i
Note that this chapter provides only an introduction to capturing images from an
Optronics camera. For complete instructions and reference, please refer to the Reference
Guide for your camera.
Overview of the Capture Utility
The Capture Utility provides tools for viewing and capturing live images from your
camera. It consists of two interface components:
c Live Preview window
c Camera Control drawers.
These interface components appear automatically when you open PictureFrame. They are
described in the following sections.
Live Preview Window
The Live Preview window displays real-time images from your camera. It differs in size and
shape according to the camera you are using. The Live Preview for the MicroFire camera is
shown below.
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Image dimensions
Device type
Zoom setting
Cursor position
RGB color values
In addition to showing live images, this window also provides information about the
current live image and the display settings currently applied to that image. For example, it
specifies the following:
c Device Type for the current imaging device
c Image dimensions of the current image
c Zoom setting for the current image
c Cursor position from the top left hand corner of the image
c RGB color values of the pixel under the cursor (for color cameras) or the grayscale
intensity value for the pixel under the cursor (for monochrome cameras).
Camera Controls drawers
The Camera Controls component provides several dialog boxes (called “drawers”) that
allow you to operate your camera and adjust the appearance of the live image appearing
through the Live Preview window. For example, there are controls that allow you to set the
camera’s exposure time and ‘take a picture’, and there are controls that allow you to white
balance the image, adjust it for brightness, contrast, and gamma, and enhance it in many
other ways. In this way, the PictureFrame Capture Utility offers a great deal of control over
color, resolution, brightness, and more allowing you to fine tune the image before snapping
it.
All the available drawers of the Capture Utility are accessed from the Master Control drawer
for your camera. The Master Control drawer for the MicroFire camera is shown below:
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White Balance drawer
Adjustments drawer
Common drawer
Color Corrections drawer
Advanced drawer
Pseudo Color drawer
Averaging drawer
Measurement Calibration drawer
Each button on this drawer shows or hides another drawer that provides controls for
configuring your camera and live image. For example, clicking on the button picturing a
hammer opens the Common drawer. The example below is the Common drawer for the
MicroFire camera.
Provides controls for
snapping pictures
Provides controls for
configuring the Live Preview
window display
Provides controls for setting
the exposure time
Provides controls for
setting the gain in order
to boost brightness in
the live image
Detailed instructions for using the Capture Utility, and complete descriptions for all the
controls available for your camera, are located in the reference manual for your camera.
Basic instructions for using the capture utility are included in this chapter. Refer to
“Capturing Images” on page 36.
Opening the Capture Utility
The Capture Utility controls for your camera are automatically opened whenever you open
PictureFrame. Refer to “Opening PictureFrame” on page 7 for more information.
Once opened, the Capture Utility controls can be suppressed or restored using the pulldown list box on the PictureFrame Info Bar:
Capture Utility pull-down list box
From this pull-down list box, select “None” to suppress the Live Preview window and
Camera Controls drawers. To restore the Capture Utility controls, click on your camera’s
name in this list box.
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Capturing Images
Images are captured in PictureFrame by viewing live images from the camera through the
Live Preview window and clicking the Snap button of the camera controls when you want to
capture an image. The following section provides basic instructions for capturing single
images. For special instructions describing how to capture a series of images to a sequence
file, refer to “Capturing Images to a Sequence File” on page 37.
To capture an image:
1.
Use the camera controls for your camera to optimally configure the camera and live
preview settings.
The available drawers and controls will vary by camera. All Optronics cameras,
however, provide controls that allow you to set the exposure time of the camera and to
optimally configure the live image for the purposes of framing and focussing the
camera. Typically, basic camera and live image configuration entails:
c Adjusting the exposure setting to acquire the optimal level of brightness in the Live
Preview window display.
c Adjusting the Gain and Live Mode controls to boost brightness allowing you to
work with shorter exposure times. This can be useful if the optimal exposure time
is long, causing movements to appear choppy through the Live Preview window.
c Using the Snap Settings options
to indicate actions you want
taken whenever you snap a
picture. For example, you can tell
PictureFrame to perform an edge
enhancement routine on
captured images.
TIP: The Gain and Live Mode
settings improve conditions for
viewing images through the Live
Preview window, but they
adversely effect the quality of the
image. Use the “Bin off ” and
“Gain = 1” Snap Settings options
to tell PictureFrame to turn the
Live Mode and Gain settings off
whenever it captures an image.
This ensures that the captured
image is of the highest quality.
Use the available
camera controls
to brighten the
image.
Focus and frame
the camera, as
needed.
There are a wide range of other controls that allow you to adjust the color of the live
image (if you are using a color camera), adjust brightness, contrast, and gamma, define
a region of interest, configure the Live Preview window to show an averaged image, and
much more. For complete instructions on capturing images with your camera, and for
complete descriptions of the controls available with your camera, refer to your camera’s
reference manual.
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2.
Once the live image and capture settings are optimally configured, frame and focus the
camera, as needed.
3.
Click the Snap button to capture an image.
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When an image is captured using the Capture Utility, it is automatically transferred to the
PictureFrame application window. If the Thumbnail Strip is displayed, it will be placed in
the next available frame, otherwise it appears in an image window in the PictureFrame
workspace. Captured files are passed to PictureFrame as unsaved files with the temporary
name of “IMAGEn” where n is increased sequentially by 1 for each successive snap. For
example, the first image captured is named “IMAGE0001,” the second image captured is
named “IMAGE0002,” and so on.
w
Captured images must be saved using the File|Save command if they are to be stored as
permanent files. See “Saving an Image or Sequence File” on page 11 for instructions.
Along with each captured image passed to PictureFrame, the Capture Utility also passes
meta-data. The meta-data describes all preprocessing to which the image was subjected
before it was captured. If a calibration definition was used through the Capture Utility to
convert pixel lengths to real-world lengths, the meta-data also passes this calibration
definition to PictureFrame. This way you can begin using PictureFrame’s measurement
tools without having to redefine the image’s calibration settings.
Capturing Images to a Sequence File
These instructions assume you have already optimally configured the camera settings and
live image display using the camera controls for your camera. See “Capturing Images”
above for more information. For more information on sequence files, refer to “Working
with Sequence Files” on page 14.
To capture images to a sequence file:
1.
Click on File|New Sequence from the PictureFrame menu bar.
An empty sequence window and the sequence file controls appear in the PictureFrame
workspace.
2.
With the empty sequence window as the active window in PictureFrame, switch to the
Capture Utility controls for your camera.
For example, the Capture Utility controls for the MicroFire camera are shown below,
with the Common drawer in view.
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At this point, any image you capture using the Snap button, or any sequence of images
you capture using the Sequence Snap button
will be added as frames to the empty
sequence file.
3.
Do one of the following:
c Capture a sequence of images manually by repeatedly clicking on the Snap button.
c Set up an automated sequence of snaps using the Sequence Snap button. When the
sequence is initiated, all snaps taken will be added to the active sequence file.
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4.
When you are finished adding images to the sequence file, switch back to the
PictureFrame window interface.
5.
Save the sequence file to disk. (See “Saving an Image or Sequence File” on page 11 for
instructions.)
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PictureFrame Reference
This chapter provides detailed descriptions of the various menu options available through
the menu bar of PictureFrame.
File menu
The following functions are available from the File menu.
Open
Use the Open command to open previously saved images. Once opened, any of the various
image and process functions can be used on the image.
There are a number of available graphic formats that can be opened by PictureFrame. By
default, all graphic formats are displayed. You can limit the display of available graphics to
a single format by choosing that format from the drop-down list.
If the Enable Preview checkbox is checked, a preview of the selected image file will be displayed
when selected in preview area on the right side of the dialog box. Some files and formats may
not have a preview available.
New Sequence
This command opens an empty sequence file in the PictureFrame workspace. To add
images to the sequence file:
c Capture images using the Snap button or Snap Sequence function of the Capture
Utility component of PictureFrame. Any images you capture while the new sequence
file is the currently active file in the PictureFrame workspace will be added to the
sequence in the order in which they are captured.
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c Drag and drop image files from Windows Explorer to the new sequence file. Saved files
existing on a disk can be added to the sequence file in this way.
To block new images from being added to an opened sequence file, click on the Lock
Sequence File button on the Playback dialog box.
Lock Sequence File
For more information on sequence files and the Playback dialog box, see “Working with
Sequence Files” on page 14.
Close
This command closes the currently active image window. If it is a snapped image or a
previously saved image that has been changed, you will be asked if you wish to save the image.
Click Yes to save the image, No to close the image without saving it, No To All to close all open
files without saving them, or Cancel to cancel the close process and return to the PictureFrame
window.
Save
Click on this command to save the current image. If the current image is a previously-saved
file, this command saves and changes that have been made since the last time it was saved. If
the current image is an unsaved image, the Save As dialog box will appear. See “Save As”
below.
Save As
This command allows you save unsaved images. It also allows you to save a copy of a
previously saved image under a different name or in a different location. When you click on
this command, a Save As dialog box appears.
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Use the controls on this dialog box to save the current image.
c File name - Enter the name of the file. The format extension of the file name will be
automatically added when the graphic format is selected from the Save as type list.
c Save as type - From the Save as type list, choose the format to use for the image. The file
type selected will be the default for future Save and Save As operations.
c Subfile Type - Depending on the particular graphic format selected, there may be a
Subfile Type as well. For example, for TIFF format, you can choose uncompressed RGB
or lossless JPEG.
c QFactor - The quality factor (QFactor) determines the degree of image quality loss in
the compression process. The value can be set from 2 to 255. A setting of 2 allows for the
least image quality loss, the least compression, and 255 allows for the most quality loss,
but the most compression.
Stamp Annotations
This command causes any annotations that have been drawn over the currently active
image to ‘burned’ into the image—that is, made a part of the image bitmap rather than
existing as an image overlay.
w
This operation cannot be undone.
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Snap Direct To Disk
This command allows you to tell PictureFrame to save snapped images directly to disk. Use
the Choose Directory button to specify the target directory for snapped images. Use the
Base File Name text box to specify a base name for snapped images. Use the File Type and
Bit Depth pull-down list box to specify the file format for snapped images. Click on the OK
button to accept the settings and turn the Snap Direct to Disk function on. When a snap
is taken, the image is stored in the selected directory in the selected file format, and the
name of the file is the specified base name with the snap number added to it. For example,
if the base name is “slide,’ then the images would be named slide1, slide2, slide3, etc.
When the Snap Direct to Disk function is on, snapped images do not appear in the
PictureFrame workspace. If the Show Tooltip with Snap Direct to Disk checkbox on the
Preferences dialog box is selected, a tooltip appears after each snap indicating that the image
was stored to disk. See the Preferences dialog box on page 44 for more information.
i
By default, whenever PictureFrame is restarted, the Snap Direct to Disk function is
turned off. You can tell PictureFrame to remember the state of the Snap Direct to Disk function across sessions, if desired. See the Preferences dialog box on page 44 for more information.
The Save TIFF Files with Meta Data option controls whether meta-data can be saved with
captured images. All images captured through the PictureFrame Capture Utility using an
Optronics camera have meta-data associated with them. Meta-data reflects the settings
you made to configure the camera and Live Preview window when the image was captured.
This information is passed to PictureFrame with the captured image. Uncheck the Save
TIFF Files with Meta Data option if you do not want meta-data to ever be saved with
captured images. If this option is checked, the meta-data will be saved with the image if a
TIFF format is used.
TWAIN Select
This command allows you to select a TWAIN compliant image capture device, such as a
camera or scanner.
TWAIN Acquire
This command is used to invoke the TWAIN interface for the TWAIN compliant device you
selected with the TWAIN Select command.
Print
The print command brings up the Print dialog box. From this dialog box, you can:
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c Select the printer to print to
c Specify the number of copies to be printed
c Set various printer properties.
The options in this dialog box may change depending on the printer driver being used.
Consult your printer’s documentation for other options.
Print Preview
This command opens the Print Preview window which displays a preview of the way the
currently active image will appear when printed.
Print Setup
The Print Setup command allows you to choose the printer to print to, set the paper source,
and page orientation. When you click on this command, the Print Setup dialog box
appears.
Clicking the Properties button gives you access to other printer features. These features
vary from printer to printer, so check the printer’s documentation for specific information
concerning the printer’s properties and other options.
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Page Setup
This command allows you to select how images will be aligned on the printed page when
they are printed. When you click on this command, the Page Setup dialog box appears.
Add Print Info On/Off
This menu option can be checked or unchecked. When checked, the information that was
entered on the Page Setup dialog box (described above) is printed along with the image
being printed. When it is unchecked, none of that information is printed.
Preferences
Click on this command to display the Preferences dialog box:
There are two preferences you can set:
c Select Best Fit Tiff/Jpeg/Bmp - This option is useful for ensuring that captured images
are saved in an appropriate image format. It controls what the default selection will be in
the Save as type pull-down list box of the Save As dialog box whenever you go to save a
recently captured image. If selected, PictureFrame preselects an appropriate image
format to match the format of the captured image. If unchecked, the Save as type pulldown list box will always default to the option that was used the last time you saved an
image.
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c Save TIFF file with Meta Data - This option controls whether meta-data can be saved
with captured images. All images captured through the PictureFrame Capture Utility
using an Optronics camera have meta-data associated with them. Meta-data reflects the
settings you made to configure the camera and Live Preview window when the image
was captured. This information is passed to PictureFrame with the captured image.
Uncheck the Save TIFF Files with Meta Data option if you do not want meta-data to
ever be saved with captured images. If this option is checked, the meta-data will be
saved with the image if a TIFF format is used.
c Persist Snap Direct to Disk Setting - This option controls the state of the Snap Direct
to Disk function whenever PictureFrame is restarted. When the Persist Snap Direct to
Disk Setting option is unchecked, PictureFrame always powers up with the Snap Direct
to Disk function turned off. When the Persist Snap Direct to Disk Setting option is
checked, PictureFrame sets the state of the Snap Direct to Disk function to whatever it
was the last time PictureFrame was closed.
c Show Tooltip with Snap Direct to Disk - This option enables/disables the Snap Direct
to Disk tooltip message. When this option is checked, if the Snap Direct to Disk
function is turned on, PictureFrame displays a tooltip message each time an image is
snapped indicating that a file was written to disk. When the Show Tooltip with Snap
Direct to Disk option is unchecked, the Snap Direct to Disk tooltip message is
suppressed and no indication is given when snapped images are written to disk.
Recent File List
This area of the File menu lists the most recently opened files. Click on a listed file to open
it.
Exit
Clicking on this command closes and exits the PictureFrame program. You will be
prompted to save any unsaved images.
Edit menu
The following functions are available from the Edit menu.
Undo
This command undoes the last operation that was done to an image.
Redo
This command reverses the Undo function. It “redoes” the action of the last Undo
command.
Copy
This command copies the currently active image to the Windows Clipboard.
Paste
Once image data has been copied to the Windows Clipboard using PictureFrame or some
other image editing tool, you can click on the Paste command to place a copy of the
Clipboard image in the PictureFrame workspace. The pasted image appears in a new
unsaved image window.
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Duplicate
This command copies the currently active image and pastes the copy to the PictureFrame
workspace. The pasted image appears in a new unsaved image window.
View menu
The following functions are available from the View menu.
50% Zoom
This command displays the image at one half of it’s actual size.
100% Zoom
This command displays the image at its actual size.
User Defined Zoom
The User Defined Zoom function allows you to specify the desired scale of the image, from
10%to 1600%. When you click on this command, the Zoom dialog box appears.
Enter either the desired percentage in the Amount text box, or use the slider bar to select
the desired scaling.
Snap Image to Window
This option zooms in or out on the image to fit it to the window in which it is being
displayed. This is handy if the window has been resized to an optimal size. You can then use
this option to force the image to fit inside the window.
Click To Zoom
When this menu option is checked, clicking the left mouse button will zoom in on the
image by twice the magnification with each click. Clicking the right mouse button will
zoom out on the image by half the magnification with each click. Uncheck this option, or
click on the Zoom tool in the PictureFrame toolbar, to turn this function off. Pressing the
ESC key also turns this function off.
Magnifying Glass
Click on this command to invoke the Magnifying Glass function. When you click on this
command, the cursor becomes a window pane that magnifies a portion of the image.
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Pan Window
Click on this command to invoke the Pan Window function. When you click on this
command, a small thumbnail view of the image is displayed with an outline of the currently
visible area of the image window. You can drag the blue rectangle around the Pan Window
to display other parts of the image that aren’t currently visible. The image window will scroll
as the Pan Window rectangle is moved.
Snap Window to Image
This option enlarges or reduces the window to fit the image being displayed. In this mode
the image will always fill the entire image window. That is, as you drag the image window
larger or smaller, the displayed window will be zoomed larger and smaller accordingly.
Toolbar
This command shows/hides the PictureFrame toolbar. The toolbar can be toggled off
when more screen space is needed to a display an image.
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Status Bar
This command shows/hides the Status Bar at the bottom of the PictureFrame window. The
Status Bar can be toggled off when more screen space is needed to display an image.
Picture Info Bar
This command shows/hides the Info Bar at the top of the PictureFrame window. The Info
Bar can be toggled off when more screen space is needed to display an image.
Thumbnail Strip
This command shows/hides the Thumbnail Strip that displays currently open images. The
Thumbnail Strip can be toggled off when more screen space is needed to display an image.
Annotation
This menu option shows/hides the Annotation toolbar. There are five graphical
annotations you can make, as follows:
Line
Pointer
Distance
Ellipse
Rectangle
To add a graphical annotation, click on the tool you want to use and draw the annotation in
the image by clicking and dragging the mouse. The selected annotation remains active
until you click on it again or until you select a different icon from the Annotation toolbar.
You can also add text annotations using the following tool:.
Text
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To add a text annotation, click on this tool. The Text dialog box will be displayed. Type the
text you wish to add to the image overlay in the Text dialog box. If desired, you can change
the font, font attributes, and font color by clicking on the Font button. When you are ready
to add to the text, click OK and then click in the image where you want the text added.
To add a scale bar to the lower right corner of the image, click on the Scale Bar tool:
Scale Bar
The scale bar will appear according to the Legend Size setting of the calibration definition
currently assigned to the image. See “Calibrating an Image” on page 27 for more
information.
The last tool on the Annotation toolbar is the Properties tool:
Properties
Click on this tool to display the Properties dialog box. The Properties dialog box allows you
to set the default properties that control the border color of graphical annotations and font
attributes of text annotations. The Create Table option allows you to export measurements
associated with your annotations to a file. See “Measuring Features in an Image” on page 29
for more information.
Image menu
The following functions are available from the Image menu.
Flip Up/Down
This command flips the currently active image upside down. This is different from a 180
degree rotation, as it produces an upside down mirror image of the original.
Reverse Right/Left
This command flips the currently active image horizontally creating a mirror image from
the original.
Rotate 90o
This command rotates the image on its side 90 degrees clockwise.
Rotate 180o
This command rotates the image top side down 180 degrees clockwise.
Rotate 270o
This command rotates the image on its side 270 degrees clockwise.
Rotate Any Angle
This command presents a dialog box where you can enter an exact angle of rotation to be
applied to the currently active image.
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Check the Resize check box to resize the image to fit within the existing window when it is
rotated. If this option in not checked, the corners of the image may be cropped off
depending on the angle of rotation.
Resize
This command allows you to resize the image based on the width and height of the image in
pixels. When you click on this command, the Resize dialog box appears.
The Maintain Aspect Ratio check box causes the current aspect ratio to be maintained, so
making a change to either width or height will make a proportional change in the other
measurement.
Fill
This command allows you to ‘fill’ the currently active image window with a specific color.
When you click on this command, the standard Windows Color palette is opened. Select a
color and click OK. The currently active image is filled with the selected color.
White Balance on Click
This function allows you to click on a portion of the image to set the White Balance for the
current image. After selecting White Balance on Click, the cursor becomes a window pane.
Position the window pane cursor over a white portion of the image and click.
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Manual White Balance
This function allows you to manually adjust the white balance for the currently active
image. When Manual White Balance is selected, PictureFrame displays the current white
balance settings. The example below is the settings for the 3200K white balance preset
option.
Moving a slider to the left to reduces that particular color in the white balance; moving a
slider to the right to increases that color in the white balance. Adjustments can be made
from 2.5 to 800, expressed as a percentage.
Pixel Boost
This function allows you to increase the size of the current image by 200%, 400%, or 800%
using bicubic interpolation. Interpolation assigns color values to the new pixels it creates,
based on the color values of existing pixels in the image. The zoom is adjusted so the image
displays in the same size image window.
Crop
This function allows you to crop a portion of the current image. After selecting Crop, drag
a selection rectangle around the portion of the image you want to retain. When you release
the mouse, the portions of the image outside of the drawn rectangle will be cropped.
Image Mixing
This function allows you to:
c Pseudo-color a monochrome image
c Merge from two to six still images into a single image.
If you are merging multiple images, the images can be different bit depths, but they must
have the same pixel widths and heights.
i
If you are mixing images that have different bit depths, the image with the highest bit
depth will set the standard and all other images will be automatically promoted in bit depth
to match it. For example, if you mix a 16-bit image and a 48-bit image, the output will be a
48-bit image.
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When you click on this command, the Image Mixing dialog box appears.
Each image group has the following controls:
c Pull-down list box - The pull-down list box lists all currently opened images in the
PictureFrame workspace. If you are mixing two or more images, use this list box to
select the images you want to add to the mix. If you are using the Image Mixing dialog
box to pseudo-color a monochrome image, select the monochrome image you want to
pseudo-color. If there is an image you want to select that is not currently opened in
PictureFrame, click on the “Browse” option in this list box to open it and select it.
c Slider/text box - These controls alllow you to set the Intensity Level value for each
image. This value controls the percentage of the image’s intensity values to be applied to
the resulting image. For example, a value of “50” indicates that the image’s pixel
intensity values should be cut in half before adding them to the resulting image. A value
of “200” indicates that the image’s pixel intensity values should be doubled before
adding them to the resulting image. The resulting image is determined by the sum of
pixel intensity values contributed by all participating images. This value allows you to
boost brightness and control the relative prominence of each image in the mix. For
more information, refer to “Mixing Images” on page 23.
c Checkbox - Check this box if the image selected in the same group is a monochrome
image that you want to pseudo-color. When selected, PictureFrame will pseudo-color
the monochrome image with the color you select through the Color Selector button
(described below).
c Color Selector button - This button allows you to select the color you want
PictureFrame to use to pseudo-color an image. When you click on the Color Selector
button, a standard Color palette appears. Select the color that you want PictureFrame to
use and click OK. The color is only applied to the image if the checkbox to the left of the
Color Selector button is checked.
The other controls on this dialog box are as follows:
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c Save - Allows you to save the currently defined image mixing configuration to a file.
c Load - Allows you to load a previously saved image mixing configuration.
c Preview - Click this button to see a preview of the current image mix.
Choose Back/Flat Files
This function allows you to select the reference files that are needed for performing
background subtraction and flat field correction on images (that is, the Black Reference file
and the Flat Field Reference file, respectively). When you click on this command, the Flat
Field/Background Subtraction dialog box appears.
For the function(s) you want to use, click on the File button to locate and select the
reference file to be applied and put a check in the On checkbox to enable the function. Flat
field correction and/or background subtraction will be applied to the active image
whenever you click on Image|Manual/Flat Corrections (described below) from the
PictureFrame menu bar. See “Using the Background Subtraction Feature” on page 17 and
“Using the Flat Field Correction Feature” on page 18 for more information.
Manual Back/Flat Corrections
This function applies the settings set through the Choose Back/Flat Files command
(described above) to the active image. See “Using the Background Subtraction Feature” on
page 17 and “Using the Flat Field Correction Feature” on page 18 for more information.
Meta Data
Click on this command to display the Meta-data dialog box for the currently active image
in the PictureFrame workspace.
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The Meta-data feature is only relevant for images captured from an Optronics camera using
the PictureFrame Capture Utility. Meta-data are the settings that configured the camera
and Live Preview window when the image was captured using the Capture Utility
component of PictureFrame. This information is passed to the Image Processing
component of PictureFrame with the captured image. The Meta-data dialog box
summarizes all adjustments that were made to the image before it was snapped.
Process menu
The options in this menu impose a spatial filter on the currently active image. Spatial filters
are used for operations such as sharpening an image or detecting edges within the image.
These functions work best with 24-bit, 16-bit, or monochrome bitmaps. If a bitmap uses a
color palette, this method matches the new brightness value of each pixel to the nearest
color in the existing palette.
Some image processing features will provide a dialog box to make adjustments. These
dialog boxes offer the ability to preview a portion of the image at a 1:1 ratio, or the entire
image. When using the 1:1 Ratio preview, you can click on the image and drag it to view
different portions of the image.
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1:1 Ratio
Entire Image
Spatial Filters|Sharpen
This filter increases or decreases the sharpness of the image in the bitmap.
Negative values decrease the sharpness of the image. Specify -100 for minimum sharpness.
Positive values increase the sharpness. Specify +100 for maximum sharpness.
Spatial Filters|Average
This filter changes the color of each pixel in the bitmap to the average color of pixels in its
neighborhood. This results in a blur effect.
The amount of blur can be controlled by specifying the size of the neighborhood that is to
be used for averaging. Specify a value from 3 to 255.
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Spatial Filters|Median
This filter changes the color of each pixel in the bitmap to the median color of pixels in its
neighborhood. This is similar to the Average function (described above), but it is used for
noise reduction, rather than a blur effect.
The median effect can be controlled by specifying the size of the neighborhood that is used
for calculating the median value. Select a value from 2 to 64.
Spatial Filters|Gradient
This command detects edges in images using a Gradient directional filter. All pixels not on
the detected edges are changed to black. Choose the appropriate value for the direction of
the effect.
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Spatial Filters|Laplacian
This command applies Laplacian line detection to the currently active image. There are
three omnidirectional filters and three bi-directional filters. All pixels not on the detected
lines are changed to black.
Spatial Filters|Sobel
This command applies Sobel edge detection to the currently active image. All pixels not on
the detected edges are changed to black. (The usage is the same as Prewitt, but the
algorithm is different.) Choose the appropriate value for horizontal or vertical detection.
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Spatial Filters|Prewitt
This command applies Prewitt edge detection to the currently active image. All pixels not
on the detected edges are changed to black. (The usage is the same as Sobel, but the
algorithm is different.) Choose the appropriate value for horizontal or vertical detection.
Spatial Filters|Shift and Difference
This command applies shift-and-difference edge detection to the currently active image.
All pixels not on the detected edges are changed to black. Choose the appropriate value for
diagonal, horizontal, or vertical detection.
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Edge Enhance
This filter increases the contrast of edges in the image, thereby sharpening the image.
Invert
This command inverts the colors in the bitmap, making it like a photographic negative.
This command can also be used to invert the color of a 1-bit bitmap, making the black white
and the white black.
Histogram Equalize
This command linearizes the number of pixels per gray level in the currently active bitmap.
This can be used to bring out the detail in dark areas of an image.
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Histo-Contrast
This command increases or decreases the contrast of the image in a bitmap, using a
histogram to determine the median brightness.
This method finds the median brightness of the image, brightens the pixels with values
above the median, and darkens the pixels with values below the median. This is more
sophisticated (but slower) than the Contrast method, which uses the middle possible value
(128) rather than finding the actual median. Select a value from -100 to +100.
Stretch Intensity
This function increases the contrast in a bitmap by centering, maximizing, and
proportioning the range of intensity values between 0 and 100.
Unlike the Contrast method, this method always retains the original number of different
intensity values. (Ordinary contrast adjustments can lose values at the high and low ends of
the scale.)
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Intensity Detect
This command filters the bitmap of the currently active image to detect colors in a specified
intensity range for both high and low intensity. When you click on this command, the
Intensity Detect dialog box appears.
Intensity levels range from 0 to 255 for each color plane (red, green, and blue). This
function processes each plane separately. If a value falls within the range, it is raised to 255,
and if it falls outside the range, it is lowered to 0.
Hue
This command changes the hue of colors in the color bitmap by rotating the color wheel.
This function can rotate the color wheel in either direction. A 180-degree rotation in either
direction changes each color to its complement. Positive rotation takes red toward green,
green toward blue, and blue toward red. Negative rotation has the opposite effect.
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Gamma
This command remaps the intensity values of the image to compensate for the
characteristics of the monitor.
Intensity values ideally follow a logarithmic progression, because the eye perceives changes
in intensity as being equal when the ratio of change is equal. For example, humans would
see a change from 0.1 to 0.2 as being equal to a change from 0.2 to 0.4. The numbers are
expressed as the gamma setting times 100. So to set the gamma to 1.4, enter 140.
Gamma is a standard constant that is used to calculate the progression. For most monitors
the gamma constant is around 1.4.
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Brightness
This function allows you to change the intensity (brightness) of the currently active image.
Specify a value from –100 (very dark) to +100 (very bright).
Contrast
This function allows you to increase or decrease the contrast of the currently active image.
Specify a value from –100 (low contrast) to +100 (high contrast).
Saturation
This function allows you to increase or decrease the saturation of colors in the currently
active image.
Negative values decrease the saturation of colors. Specify -100 to change the colors to
monochrome. Positive values increase the saturation. Specify +100 to make the colors as
intense as they can be.
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Brightness/Contrast/Gamma
This function allows you to control the image contrast, brightness, and gamma adjustment
at one time.
c Contrast - Increases or decreases the contrast of the bitmap. Specify a value from –100
(low contrast) to +100 (high contrast).
c Brightness - Changes the intensity (brightness) of the bitmap. Specify a value from –100
(very dark) to +100 (very bright).
c Gamma - Remaps the intensity values of the image to compensate for the characteristics
of the monitor. Intensity values ideally follow a logarithmic progression, because the eye
perceives changes in intensity as being equal when the ratio of change is equal. For
example, humans would see a change from 0.1 to 0.2 as being equal to a change from 0.2
to 0.4. Gamma is a standard constant that is used to calculate the progression. For most
monitors the gamma constant is around 1.4.
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Histogram Adjust
This command allows you to use the histogram of the currently active image to isolate a
range of intensities that are of particular interest. When you click on this command, the
Histogram dialog box appears:
The controls on this dialog box are described below.
c Channel - Use this pull-down list box to indicate the color channel that you want to
adjust. For example, if you want to adjust the Red color channel, select “RED.” Select
“RGB” to adjust all three color channels simultaneously. For monochrome images,
“Luminance” is the only choice.
c Input Levels - Use the top and bottom text boxes in the Input Levels group to specify
the intensity range of interest. The top text box specifies the low intensity in the range;
the bottom text box specifies the high intensity in the range. Clicking on the Auto
button causes PictureFrame to automatically adjust these two controls to make the
lowest and highest intensity values in the range match the lowest and highest intensity
values in the image.
Use the middle text box in the Input Levels group to apply a gamma adjustment to the
intensities of interest.
The selected range will be scaled to the intensity range specified through the Output
Levels text boxes (described below).
c Output Levels - Use the two text boxes in the Output Levels group to specify the
intensity range to which the intensities selected through the Input Levels controls is to
be scaled. For example, if you use the default values (0 and 255 for 8-bit images; 0 and
65535 for 16-bit images), the intensity range of interest will be ‘stretched’ to use the full
range of intensity values.
c Apply - Click on this button to apply the current set of adjustments to the image.
c Auto - See “Input Levels” above.
c Save - This button allows you to save the current set of adjustment to a file so that they
may be recalled at a later time.
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c Load - This button allows you to load a previously saved set of adjustments.
Color Correction
The controls on the Color Correction dialog box allow you to increase and decrease certain
hues in the image without effecting areas of the image that do not contain that hue. For
example, if you increase the amount of Red, only pixels that contain that hue are effected.
t
It is recommended that you configure the white balance accurately before using the color
correction controls. The purpose of these controls is to increase or decrease the saturation of
certain hues when they appear particularly pale or sharp, respectively.
The Color Correction dialog box provides six sliders that allow you to adjust the saturation
levels of the following colors: Red, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, and Magenta. The neutral
state for each slider is 1. A value greater than 1 boosts the saturation level for that color, and
a value less than 1 decreases the saturation level for that color. Adjusting the saturation level
of any of these colors effects the saturation level of all pixels that contain any trace of that
color. Compositely, the six colors cover the full range of color frequencies in color images.
Link
When this checkbox is selected, all color controls are increased or decreased uniformly
whenever one of the color controls is changed independently. For example, if this checkbox
is selected, increasing the Red saturation level by 1 causes the Yellow, Green, Blue, Cyan,
and Magenta saturation levels to also be increased by 1.
Reset
Click on this button to reset all of the color correction controls to their neutral state.
Color menu
The following functions are available from the Color menu.
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Convert to GrayScale
This command converts a color image to a monochrome bitmap of the same relative bit
depth.
Color Resolution
This command allows you to change the bit depth of the currently active window. For
example, you can convert a 24-bit color image to a 3-bit color image. When reducing the bit
depth of an image, you can select from a list of dithering methods to be used. When
converting to 16-bits per pixel or higher, you can specify RGB or BGR color order.
Color Separation
This command allows you to extract separate monochrome images for each color channel
of a color image.
Before clicking on this command, make sure the image on which you want to perform a
color separation is opened and the currently active image on the desktop. When you click
on this command, the Separation dialog box appears.
Choose the color separation model to be used and click OK. When you click OK,
monochrome images appear in the PictureFrame workspace, each representing one of the
color channels.
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Color Merge
This command allows you to merge separate monochrome images into a single color image. It
is usually used to recombine the monochrome images that were produced by the Color
Separation command (described above), or to combine monochrome images acquired
with red, green, and blue filters.
Before clicking on this command, make sure the monochrome images representing the
various color channels are opened in the PictureFrame workspace. When you click on this
command, the Color Merge dialog box appears. Choose the color model to be used (RGB,
CMYK, HSV, HSL and CMY) and then select the monochrome image that represents each
color channel.
Windows menu
The following functions are available from the Window menu.
Cascade
This command arranges all the open windows to overlap each other with their Title bars
visible.
Tile Horizontal
This command arranges all windows side by side and reduces the windows in size so they are
not overlapping.
Tile Vertical
This command arranges all windows in a vertical stack and reduces the windows in size so they
are not overlapping.
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Close All
This command closes all the currently opened image windows. If there are unsaved images
opened, a warning dialog box is displayed.
Click Yes to close all open files without saving them. Click No to exit the Close All function
so that you can save your files. Check the Never Show this Dialog Again checkbox if you
don’t want PictureFrame to warn you when you are about to close unsaved files using the
Close All command.
Bring Live Window To Top
Selecting this option brings the Live Preview window and all opened camera controls
drawers to the foreground. Use this command if the camera controls have become
obstructed from view.
List of Open Windows
This list appears at the bottom of the Windows menu. It lists all currently opened windows.
Selecting an item in the list brings that window to the foreground.
Script menu
PictureFrame provides a macro language that allows you to automate routine procedures,
both related to capturing images using the camera controls functions and processing
images through the PictureFrame window. For example, you can write a script that sets up
the camera controls options and snaps an image, or you can write a script that performs a
series of processing operations on the currently active image.
Scripts must be written using the PictureFrame scripting language. This language provides
keywords that correspond to Image Processing and Capture Utility functions. For
example, the keyword for the Image|Invert command is “Invert().” When this is
encountered in a script, the Invert function is applied to the currently active image. Some
PictureFrame commands and functions require that you set certain parameters or select
certain options. Keywords corresponding to commands that require parameters allow you
to specify the parameters within the parentheses of the keyword. For example, the
Process|Spatial Filters|Average command requires a “Sample Size” parameter. The keyword
for this command is “Average(samplesize)” where the value you specify within the
parentheses for samplesize sets the Sample Size parameter.
i
All available keywords are listed and described in the online help file for scripting (accessible by clicking on Script|Script Help from the PictureFrame menu bar).
Scripts are written and stored in a script file. A script file is an ASCII file that lists the
commands you want executed in the order in which you want them executed. For example,
the following sample script alerts the user with a message, loads a saved set of camera
controls settings, brings the camera controls interface to the foreground, sets the Bit Depth
option of the Advanced drawer to “8/8 Bit,” and snaps a picture.
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Each line is separated by a carriage return. Two backslashes at the beginning of a line
indicate that the contents of that line are a comment and are to be ignored by the program.
Special Keywords
There are two macro commands that do not correspond to PictureFrame commands but
are included to enhance scripting capabilities. They are:
Message() — Allows you to include a message box in your macro.
Wait() — Allows you to insert a pause in your macro. The macro is paused for the specified
amount of time and resumes when that amount of time elapses.
The Script Menu
The options in the Script menu allows you to create new scripts, edit existing scripts,
execute saved scripts, and access descriptions for all available macro keywords. The Script
menu options are described below.
Create New Script
This command allows you to create a new script. When you click on this command,
PictureFrame creates an empty script file and opens it in Notepad (a standard Windows
text editing program).
To write a new script, type in the commands and parameters that you want executed in the
order you want them executed, separating each command line by a carriage return. For
example, to write a script that brings the PictureFrame window to the foreground and
converts the currently active image to grayscale, you would type:
SetOnType(0)
ConvertGrayscale()
When you have completed writing your script, save the script file using the File|Save or
File|Save As command from the Notepad menu bar.
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By default, the script file is named “Scriptn.psc” where n is the sequential number of the
script. For example, if you have 4 scripts saved, the default name for the next script will be
“Script5.psc.” To give the script a more meaningful name, use the File|Save As command in
Notepad to save the script. When the Save As dialog box appears, type the desired name for
the script in the File name text box and click OK.
Edit Script
This command allows you to edit an existing script. When you click on this option the
Open dialog box appears:
Select the script you want to edit, and click Open. The text for the selected script is opened
in Notepad (a standard Windows text editor). Edit the script as needed and click on
File|Save from the Notepad menu bar to save the changes you have made.
Execute Script
This command allows you to execute a previously saved script. When you click on this
option the Open dialog box appears:
Select the script you want to edit, and click Open. The selected script is executed.
Script Help
This command opens the help file for the scripting function. This help file contains
descriptions for all the available macro language keywords.
Help menu
The following functions are available from the Help menu.
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Camera Help Topics
This command launches the Online Help for your camera.
PictureFrame Help Topics
This command launches the PictureFrame Online Help that corresponds to this user’s
guide.
Reset Defaults
This command resets the program defaults for various parameters (such as the default for
Image Type when saving and opening).
About PictureFrame
This command displays General information about the PictureFrame application,
including the version number.
Thumbnail Strip Context Menu
Right-clicking over the Thumbnail Strip pops up the following context menu:
Undock
This command “undocks” the Thumbnail Strip so that it can be moved to another location
on the screen. When you click on Undock, the Thumbnail Strip becomes a floating dialog
box, as follows:
Title bar
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You can choose to use the Thumbnail Strip in this state. This allows you to move it around
the desktop so that it doesn’t interfere with images appearing in the PictureFrame
workspace. You can also move it to another docking station on the PictureFrame window
(for example, the right side border of the window). To re-dock the Thumbnail Strip, click
and drag it to the docking station. When you hover the Thumbnail Strip over the docking
station, PictureFrame will recognize that you want to re-dock it in that location. Release the
mouse and it will be re-docked automatically.
Remove All To Main
This command removes all the images from the Thumbnail Strip and opens them in the
PictureFrame workspace.
Close All Thumbnail Images
This command closes all images currently assigned to the Thumbnail Strip. Note that any
changes you have made to these images will not be saved if you close them using this option.
Save [ImageName]
This option only appears if you right-click over a thumbnail displayed in the strip.
Selecting this option saves the specified image file.
Close [ImageName]
This option only appears if you right-click over a thumbnail displayed in the strip.
Selecting this option closes the specified image file.
w
You will not be prompted to save the file if changes have been made since the last time
the image was saved. To ensure that changes are not lost, always save the image before using
this command.
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C
H A
Chapter 6:
P T
E
R
6
Troubleshooting
Listed below are commonly encountered problems and their solutions.
c The software starts up, but there is no Live Window [Optronics and Jenoptik only].
1) Verify that the power to the camera is on and the connection between the camera and
the power supply is secure.
2) Verify that both ends of the FireWire cable are seated correctly.
c Cannot save an image to a diskette.
PictureFrame images are much larger than the capacity of high density diskette, a ZIP
diskette or burnable CD ROM should be used. Keep in mind that each image captured
in Color or Mono mode will be approximately 25MB in size.
c Cannot open a high bit depth (12 bit) image in another application.
Many image editing applications do not support high bit depth image formats. Consult
your image editor’s documentation for compatibility.
For continued problems contact Optronics Technical Support. Technical support is
available by phone, fax, email, and the World Wide Web, as follows:
c Phone
(800) 796-8909
c Fax
(805) 968-0933
c Email
[email protected]
c Home Page
www.optronics.com
c US Mail/Shipping Address
Optronics
175 Cremona Drive
Goleta, CA 93117
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Index
Numerics
100% Zoom command, 46
50% Zoom command, 46
A
Add Print Info command, 44
annotation
annotating an image, 25
burning annotations into images, 26
resizing annotations, 26
showing/hiding the Annotation toolbar, 48
the Stamp Annotation command, 41
tools described, 48
automatic white balance, performing, 19
Average command, 55
B
background subtraction
about, 17
performing, 17
the Choose Back/Flat Files command, 53
the Manual Back/Flat Corrections command, 53
Best Fit Tiff/Jpeg/Bmp option, 44
Brightness command, 63
Brightness/Contrast/Gamma command, 64
brightness/darkness in live image, 36
burning annotations into images, 26
C
calibration
about, 27
applying a calibration definition, 27
calibrating an image, 27
naming calibrations, 29
camera controls, introduction to, 34
Capture Utility
basic instructions for capturing images, 36
capturing images to a sequence file, 37
opening, 35
overview of, 33
Choose Back/Flat Files command, 53
Close All command, 69
Close command, 40
closing all images in the Thumbnail Strip, 73
color
adjusting in still images, 19
color correction, 66
merging colors, 22
pseudo-coloring images, 23
separating colors, 22
Color Correction command, 66
Color Merge command, 68
using, 22
Color Resolution command, 67
Color Separation command, 67
using, 22
Contrast command, 63
Convert to Grayscale command, 67
Copy command, 45
Create New Script command, 70
Crop command, 51
D
darkness/brightness in live image, 36
docking and undocking the Thumbnail Strip, 72
Duplicate command, 46
E
Edge Enhancement command, 59
Edit Script command, 71
Execute Script command, 71
exiting PictureFrame, 45
exposure, adjusting, 36
F
Fill command, 50
flat field correction
about, 18
performing, 18
the Choose Back/Flat Files command, 53
the Manual Back/Flat Corrections command, 53
flipping images
instructions, 20
the Flip Up/Down command, 49
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G
Gamma command, 62
Gradient command, 56
grayscale, converting images to, 67
H
Histo-Contrast command, 60
Histogram Adjust command, 65
Histogram Equalize command, 59
Hue command, 61
I
Image Mixing command
instructions for using, 23
reference, 51
image processing tools
about, 54
instructions for using, 21
image window
described, 4
fitting the image to, 13
fitting to the image, 47
Info Bar
described, 4
showing/hiding, 48
Intensity Detect command, 61
Invert command, 59
L
Laplacian command, 57
legend (calibration), adding to images, 28
Live Preview window
bringing to the top, 69
described, 33
M
macros (scripts)
editing, 71
writing, 69
Magnifying Glass command, 46
Manual Back/Flat Corrections command, 53
manually adjusting the color balance, 20
Maximize button, described, 5
measurement of image data
about, 29
and calibration definitions, 29
measuring features in images, 29
producing a report, 16, 30
Median command, 56
Menubar, described, 3
merging images
using the Color Merge function, 22
with the Image Mixing function, 23
meta-data
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about, 37
producing a meta-data report, 15
saving with the image, 12, 45
viewing in a dialog box, 15, 53
Minimize button, described, 5
mixing images
about, 23
the Image Mixing command, 51
using the Image Mixing dialog box, 23
N
New Sequence command, 39
O
Open command, 39
opening
an image, 9
PictureFrame, 7
orientation of images, changing, 20
P
Page Setup command, 44
Pan Window command
instructions for using, 14
reference, 47
Paste command, 45
Persist Snap Direct to Disk Setting (checkbox),
45
Picture Info Bar command, 48
PictureFrame
about the PictureFrame Capture Utility, 33
closing, 45
introduction to, 1
opening a stand-alone version, 7
opening an Optronics-ready version, 8
overview of application window, 3
Pixel Boost command, 51
Preferences command, 44
previewing
a print job, 43
image mixing results, 24
image processing results, 54
Prewitt command, 58
Print command, 42
Print Preview command, 43
Print Setup command, 43
processing tools, using, 21
pseudo-coloring images
about, 23
instructions, 23
the Image Mixing command, 51
R
Redo command, 45
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INDEX •
Reset Color Controls (button), 66
Resize command, 50
reversing images
instructions, 20
the Reverse Right/Left command, 49
rotating images
instructions, 20
the Rotate Any Angle command, 49
S
Saturation command, 63
Save As command, 40
Save command, 40
saving
annotations, 26
captured images directly to disk, 42
images and sequence files, 11
meta-data, 45
scanner, using, 9
Script Help command, 71
scripts
editing, 71
getting descriptions for the macro keywords,
71
writing, 69
separating color channels in still images, 22
sequence files
about, 14
creating from captured images, 37
creating from stored images, 14
New Sequence command, 39
saving, 12
setting up
the page for printing, 44
the printer, 43
Sharpen command, 55
Shift and Difference command, 58
Show Tooltip with Snap Direct to Disk (checkbox), 45
size of image
increasing with Pixel Boost command, 51
modifying with Resize command, 50
Snap Direct to Disk command, 42
persistence across sessions, 45
showing/hiding tooltip message, 45
Snap Image to Window command
instructions for using, 13
reference, 46
Snap Window To Image command, 47
snapping images
See “Capture Utility”
Sobel command, 57
Stamp Annotations command, 41
Status Bar, showing/hiding, 48
Stretch Intensity command, 60
T
Thumbnail Strip, 72
instructions for using, 10
overview of, 5
showing/hiding, 48
the Close All Thumbnail Images command,
73
the Remove All To Main command, 73
the Undock command, 72
Toolbar
described, 3
showing/hiding, 47
TWAIN
importing images with a TWAIN device, 9
the TWAIN Acquire command, 42
the TWAIN Select command, 42
U
Undo command, 45
undocking the Thumbnail Strip, 72
User Defined Zoom command, 46
W
White Balance, 19
setting manually, 20
the Manual White Balance command, 51
the White Balance On Click command, 50
using the auto-white balance function, 19
Z
zooming
overview of zoom options, 12
to a specified percentage, 13
using the ’Snap Image to Window’ option, 13
using the Zoom tool, 13
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