Digital Sight ACT-1 for L-1 Software
Annotation Tools
The ACT-1 software provides a variety of annotation tools for adding text and graphics to captured digital images, as well as the ability to superimpose a scale as a size reference for specimen features. Text can be positioned at any location in the image field, and the graphics tools provide the capability to draw straight lines, rectangles, ellipses, polygons, polylines, and freehand curves onto any image captured by the Digital Sight camera system. In addition, each of the tools is fully configurable through a variety of options that can be accessed with the Set button located on the annotation toolbar.
The annotation window, a floating toolbar with buttons for each of the available functions, is opened by clicking the Annotation icon on the left-hand toolbar of the main window or by selecting the Annotation option in the Image pull-down menu (Figure 1). Each of the annotation functions is activated by clicking the appropriate icon on the Annotation Toolbar, illustrated in Figure 2. The properties of the selected tool may be adjusted by clicking the Set button on the annotation toolbar, which opens a properties dialog box. Each tool has its own set of options, which may be easily configured for custom image manipulation, as may be required to prepare images for publication or presentation.
Text may be added to a captured image after activating the Text button on the annotation toolbar by first clicking with the mouse in the image area at the left edge of the desired location for the text. The Text Setting dialog box appears (Figure 3), which allows keyboard entry of the desired text into the entry field (Text Entry Box, Figure 3). When the OK button is clicked the text will be inserted into the captured image at the location that was clicked previously. The dialog box offers the user the option of displaying the text on a background field when the checkbox is clicked with the mouse; the color of the background is selected by clicking the Background Color button (Figure 3). The current text font settings are displayed in the Font area of the dialog box, and may be changed by clicking the SET button. Text options include choices of typeface and font style, pitch, color, script, and emphasis features.
The tools that enable drawing a straight line, rectangle, or ellipse are utilized by clicking and dragging the mouse cursor in the captured image window after activating the appropriate icon on the annotation toolbar (Straight Line, Rectangle, and Ellipse buttons). After drawing, the endpoints of a line may be repositioned by dragging with the mouse. Line settings include a choice of line width and color, and the option of adding an arrow head to either or both endpoints of the line. Settings for the rectangle drawing tool include color choice, the option to color-fill the rectangle, a square-drawing option, and choice of line width for a non-filled rectangle. Line color, width, and fill options are provided for the ellipse tool, as well as an option to draw a circle. A shortcut that will constrain the rectangle tool to draw a square or the ellipse tool to draw a circle, without selecting those options in the settings dialog, is to hold the Shift key on the keyboard while dragging the mouse in the image.
Drawing of a polyline or polygon is begun, after selecting the appropriate tool button (Polyline or Polygon), by clicking the mouse on the captured image to define the starting point. The mouse is then moved to each desired vertex position and clicked. A polygon is finished by double-clicking on the last selected vertex, or by single-clicking on the starting point. Polygon settings include line width and color and an option to color-fill the polygon. Drawing of a polyline is finished by double-clicking on the last vertex position. Polyline settings include choice of line width and color. The Freehand drawing tool allows the user to draw a freehand curve of any shape on the captured image by dragging the mouse cursor over the desired curve path in the image window. Freehand curve line width and color are selectable in the settings panel.
The Color Settings Panel is accessible from the settings dialog of each annotation tool, and provides the user the option of choosing a drawing color from a palette of basic commonly used colors, or from a detailed custom color selector. Clicking the Define Custom Color button opens the expanded color settings panel illustrated in Figure 4. A custom color may then be defined by directly entering RGB values in the appropriate fields, or by dragging the luminance slider and the marker in the hue/saturation grid to achieve the desired Hue, Saturation, and Intensity (HSI) color values.
After text or graphics have been added to an image, each can be repositioned or changed in size, shape or orientation, and any of the variable properties can be modified. In order to edit an annotation, it must first be selected by clicking the Selection tool button in the annotation toolbox (Figure 2), followed by clicking on the desired text or graphics. When an item has been selected, it is marked with an outline box having control handles. The item can then be re-positioned by clicking at the edge of the outline and dragging it to the desired position. Graphics elements that are color-filled can be moved by dragging from any point within the enclosed area of the selection box.
The size, shape, and orientation of image annotations can be modified after right-clicking on the selected item, and selecting Rotate or Reshape from the pop-up subordinate menu (Figure 5). As illustrated in Figure 5, not all options are enabled for every tool. The Reshape option allows the user to change the size and/or shape of the selected annotation in various ways depending upon the particular annotation type. When the Rotate option is chosen, the text or graphics feature may be rotated by clicking and dragging the object by one of the corner handles. It is important to note that only text in Open Type fonts can be rotated. These fonts are designated by an O appearing to the left of the font name in the font selection dialog box. The subordinate menu provides additional options common to Windows applications, including Copy, Cut, Paste, Delete, and Select All. Selecting the Properties option in the menu will open the settings dialog box that corresponds to the annotation type, enabling the editing of any of the properties of the annotation after it has been created. Once the captured image is saved, however, the annotations are made permanent and cannot be changed.
Selection of the Scale tool from the annotation toolbar allows a scale bar to be displayed at any location on a captured image. After clicking on the Scale button, two points are specified as end points of the scale by dragging the mouse cursor in the image. When the mouse button is released, a ruler is displayed, with properties determined by the settings dialog for the scale tool. In order for the scale to display accurate distance measurements, the pixel resolution must first be established for the microscope configuration that was employed to capture the digital image being displayed. The Pixel Resolution Settings dialog box (Figure 6) is opened by selecting the Pixel Resolution option from the Image pull-down menu (Figure 1).
Up to seven sets of pixel resolution settings can be saved and recalled from the Setting pull-down menu in the Pixel Resolution Settings dialog box. A name for each individual setting can be entered and edited in the Setting text field (Figure 6, Change Settings Title box). For proper display of the scale, the pixel size and formatting properties of the scale must be set. Two options are available for specifying the image pixel size to be utilized in determining the scale dimensions. An Optical method determines the approximate dimensions of an image pixel based on the objective magnification and intermediate magnification of the imaging system. The other method calculates the pixel size on the basis of two points designated in the captured image that are separated by a known straight-line distance. The method to be utilized is selected by checking the appropriate radio button (Optical or Measurement) in the Pixel Resolution Settings dialog box (Figure 6).
If the Optical method is selected, the objective magnification is entered in the Objective Lens field either by clicking the down-arrow button and selecting from the pull-down list, or by typing the magnification in the text box. The intermediate magnification added by the microscope imaging system is specified using the same procedure for the Intermediate mag. entry field. Clicking the Apply button finalizes the pixel size specification, which will be applied to properly label the scale when drawn on a captured image. Specification of the pixel size based on the separation distance of two points in the image is initiated by selecting the Measurement radio button. The Measurement button (illustrated by a yellow scale icon, Figure 6) is then clicked with the mouse, which closes the Pixel Resolution Settings dialog box and opens a small Measurement box (not illustrated). Two points on the captured image, for which the separation distance is known, can be designated by dragging the mouse pointer from one to the other. By clicking on the OK button in the Measurement box, the Pixel Resolution Settings dialog box re-opens, and the length of the line segment between the two measurement points on the captured image can be entered in the text input area located below the length of the line, displayed in pixels (Length, Figure 6). Selection of a unit of length from the adjacent Measurement Units pull-down list, followed by clicking the Apply button, completes the pixel-size setting procedure for calibrating the scale display.
Prior to displaying a scale on a captured image, use of the SET button in the annotation toolbar displays the Scale Bar Settings dialog box (Figure 7), which allows the user to specify a number of formatting properties for the scale, including orientation direction, length, width, number of divisions, and font style and color for the scale labeling. The color of the scale line and of an optional background field may also be chosen. Scale annotations that have already been created on the image can be changed, prior to saving the image, by selecting the scale (Select tool, annotation toolbar), right-clicking it to display the submenu, and choosing Properties from the command list (Figure 5). The Scale Bar Settings dialog box includes radio buttons for selecting the scale direction (Horizontal, Vertical, and Free), as well as text fields for specifying the Length and length units, the Width, and the number of scale divisions (Divide). Figure 8 illustrates the options that are provided for division of the scale bar. The Font area of the dialog box displays the current font selection, which may be changed by clicking the SET button to open the font properties dialog box. The settings panel also includes buttons labeled Line and Back that provide access to color selection panels for the scale and for an optional background color. In order to display the scale annotation on a background field, the checkbox adjacent to the Back button must be checked by clicking with the mouse. The scale formatting properties are applied and the dialog box closed by clicking on the OK button. An example of a scale bar superimposed on a captured specimen image is presented in Figure 9.
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