The Digital Sight ACT-1 software package provides the microscopist with the capability to print captured images either from the main image window or from the thumbnail display panel (Figure 1). The procedure involves the initial configuration of a printer, common to most Windows applications, examination of the print image in a preview window, and output of the image to the printer.

The details of selecting and configuring a printer are specific to each user's requirements and available equipment, and the printing procedure described in this section assumes that the computer is configured for a printer and that the appropriate drivers are installed prior to attempting to print captured images. The instruction manual for the printer being used should be consulted for setup details. Once a printer is configured, the printer model and paper size can be specified by accessing the File pull-down list from the software main menu, and clicking on the Printer Setting option. The Print Setup dialog box will open (a standard Windows dialog box), allowing the user to select a printer, paper size, and print orientation. This information is retained by the operating system, and does not have to be set at each printing session. More setup details may be accessed by clicking the Properties button in the Print Setup dialog box, which provides settings for the number of copies to be printed, the printing resolution, and other details affecting the output quality.

When printing a captured image displayed in one of the main windows, the print image can be examined prior to sending to the printer by activating the Print Preview window. This window is opened either by clicking on the Print Preview button in the main window left-hand toolbar (Figure 2), or by selecting Print Preview from the main menu File command list. A set of command buttons at the top of the preview window (illustrated in Figure 3) provide several functions, including the option of zooming the image for closer inspection (Zoom In button). When the image has been enlarged, a Zoom Out button is enabled for returning the image to the unzoomed state. The image may be printed from the Print Preview window by clicking the Print button, or the window can be closed without printing by clicking the Close button when evaluation of the image is finished. If printing or previewing is attempted when no captured image is displayed, a Printer Output dialog box is displayed to caution the user (not illustrated). The box is dismissed by clicking OK, after which an image can be selected for display.

With the captured image displayed in one of the main windows, printing of the image can be directly initiated by clicking the Print button in the main (left-hand) software toolbar (Figure 2), or by choosing Print from the File menu list. Either of these options will bypass the Print Preview window and begin printing immediately.

Images displayed in the Thumbnail Display Area can be selected and printed, either individually or in groups of up to six images on one sheet of paper. A variety of formatting options are provided for selecting the layout of images and accompanying information on the page. The procedure for selecting images for printing in the Thumbnail Display Area is identical to that described in the Image Display and Analysis Features section. An image is selected by clicking it with the mouse, and can be unselected by clicking it again. Selected images are designated by red borders, as illustrated for two images in Figure 1. Multiple images can be individually selected for printing in groups of up to six on a single sheet. A series of adjacent images can be selected by clicking on the first image, and then clicking the last while holding down the Shift key on the keyboard. Right-clicking an image displays the Thumbnail Menu (Figure 1), which provides options to jump to the first or last images in the directory, or to select or unselect all of the images.

The image layout properties can be specified by selecting the Layout Preview command in the File menu list. This causes the Print Type Image dialog box to appear (Figure 4), from which the user can choose between Tile and Report layout options, whether to turn title printing on or off (Title checkbox), and the number of images to print per page when the Tile option is chosen (this option is illustrated in Figure 4). If Report layout is chosen, images are printed accompanied by a detailed listing of experimental information for the image. Four layout styles are available in the Print Type Image dialog box, which differ in the relative positioning of the image and text information. The font type, size, and style for the title printing option can be modified by clicking on the Set Font button. When the selection of image layout variables is complete, clicking on the OK button opens the Print Preview window, allowing examination of the print image. Utilizing the Print button from the Print Preview window causes the Print dialog box to appear, or the window can be closed without printing (Close button).

Selection of the Layout Print command in the File menu (instead of Layout Preview) will also cause the Print Type Image dialog box to appear. A difference occurs, however, when the Print Type Image dialog box is closed, in that the Print dialog box appears immediately, bypassing the Print Preview window.