ACT-1 Main Window
Upon initalization, the ACT-1 software main window appears on the computer monitor. This window presents a variety of on-screen elements including menu bars and a Windows-style tool bar that facilitates capture and correction of digital images. There are two image display areas, a larger window appearing on the left portion and a smaller window positioned on the right.
The tutorial operates in a manner that is similar to the native Nikon software. A pop-up window will alert the user when a feature of the ACT-1 software is not available.
The live image window contains an exposure frame that outlines the area to be captured in the final digital image. The size of this frame corresponds to the selected image size (chosen in the Photo panel). When an image size is chosen that is smaller than full screen size, only the portion of the screen bounded by the exposure frame is included in the image. The exposure frame can be translated within the boundaries of the live image window by clicking anywhere within the frame and dragging with the mouse. In this manner, users can select a specific portion of the window for photomicrography.
The center of the live image window also contains a digital Focus Mark that denotes the area selected for focus. A set of radio buttons is utilized to toggle the Focus Mark icon on and off and to choose whether it is Docked (positioned and locked into the center of the window and focus frame), or mobile. Unchecking the Docked radio button will allow independent movement of the Focus Mark, a feature discussed more thoroughly in the section describing Focus Control with the DXM 1200 camera system.
Camera sensitivity (gain) can be adjusted through a set of radio buttons located in the Photo control panel. There are three options in the sensitivity window, Normal, High, and Max, which can be utilized to control the exposure time. Increasing the sensitivity by checking the High or Max radio buttons will shorten exposure time at the expense of increased noise. Avoid exceeding long exposure times (several tens of seconds), which can cause the image to be degraded by excess camera noise. Instead, adjust the microscope illumination intensity so that shorter exposure times can be comfortably utilized.
The image orientation can be configured in the Live settings panel to include a flipping function that is activated by the Flip checkbox in the Direction menu. Placing a check mark in the checkbox with the mouse cursor will enable image flipping by one of four re-orientation radio buttons. The default setting is image flipping turned Off with no change in orientation. This feature is conveniently utilized to flip the image at a specific angle in accordance with the manner in which the image appears through the microscope's eyepieces. Options available with the Flip menu include rotating the image 90 degrees in either a clockwise or counter clockwise direction and a complete 180 degree rotation. When this feature is activated, images appearing in the live image window are rotated or flipped to the orientation dictated by the radio button selection.
The actual displayed image orientation can become confusing due to slight inconsistencies between the flip nomenclature and the action taken by the software. When the Flip function is deactivated, the image appears in the live display exactly as it is seen through the microscope eyepieces. Upon activating the Flip checkbox with the default radio button selection set to "0" degrees of rotation, the image is actually flipped horizontally. All other rotations (90 and 180 degrees) are permutations of the original horizontal flip. Images that have been flipped by 90 degrees (either clockwise or counter clockwise) are resized by the software to fit into the window. This requires a minor reduction in the image size to allow the entire image to be placed within the confines of the window. When the Flip checkbox is deactivated, the radio buttons will continue to perform rotation functions, but will start without first flipping the image horizontally.
The toolbar area of the ACT-1 software is divided into left and right sections. The left toolbar contains buttons for performing general functions such as opening, saving, and deleting files, as well as buttons for manipulating the image in the large window. The right toolbar contains buttons for manipulating the image in the small window. The Change Live Window button in the left toolbar allows the user to toggle the live image between the large and small windows. One of these windows (the large window, by default) is utilized to display the live image, while the other contains the latest image captured by the software. The larger window encompasses four times the area of the smaller window, so images displayed in the small window are reduced in size (length and width dimensions) by 50 percent relative to the image in the large window. The actual displayed size of the image in the smaller window is dependent upon the pixel dimensions utilized during acquisition.
Contributing Authors
Matthew J. Parry-Hill and Michael W. Davidson - National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, 1800 East Paul Dirac Dr., The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32310.
