i	NCSA ImageTool

Introduction	i

National Center for Supercomputing Applications

January 1991

                                                                


January 1991





Introduction





Overview

This introduction provides an overview of NCSA ImageTool 
capabilities on the Sun Workstation. The organization and use of 
this manual is described and its typographic conventions are 
explained.


About NCSA ImageTool

NCSA ImageTool is a utility that provides a variety of methods for 
visualizing a set of data points. Color images, contour plots, 3D 
plots, and XY graphs are mechanisms that you employ to "see" the 
data. Contour plots, 3D plots, and XY graphs can be printed. Color 
images can be magnified, composited, and, to some degree, edited. 
You can modify color palettes and save them. You can also save 
individual images or selected portions of the canvas.


New Features in NCSA ImageTool 1.1

NCSA ImageTool 1.1 now allows you to load and manipulate HDF 
(Hierarchical Data Format) files. Consequently, with HDF 
support you can open HDF files from or transfer them to other 
NCSA software. 

You'll notice a few new option in the NCSA ImageTool screen. One 
of these options, "Image Loading," requires you to specify the type 
of file you are loading. The other option, "SDS scaling,"  requires 
that you enter your file dimensions (unless you're opening an 
HDF file which includes its dimensions.)

Finally, NCSA programmers have fixed many bugs, added error 
messages, and cleaned up the format and text of the first version. 


System Requirements

In order to run NCSA ImageTool, you must have a Sun 
Workstation with color hardware capable of displaying 256 colors 
simultaneously. You must also have SunView installed on the 
machine.
Use of This Manual

This section describes the organization of this manual and the 
conventions and nomenclature used in developing it. Before using 
NCSA ImageTool, you should be familiar with the SunView user 
interface and know how to use control buttons, the mouse,  and 
scroll bars. If you have not used the Sun Workstation before, refer 
to the owner's guide that came with your Sun Workstation before 
using this package.


Manual Contents
This manual is organized into the following chapters:

Chapter 1, "Learning to Use NCSA ImageTool," assists you in 
creating a graphic representation of your data file. The chapter 
offers a brief tutorial on the simpler options available in NCSA 
ImageTool.

Chapter 2, "Formatting Your Data Files," explains how NCSA 
ImageTool reads and displays data files. The chapter contains a 
detailed discussion of the file formats NCSA ImageTool can read. 

Chapter 3, "Animation, Palettes, and Plots," covers more 
advanced display options in NCSA ImageTool, including 
animation, palette modification, and plots.

Chapter 4, "NCSA ImageTool Menus," provides information on 
the hidden menu items available in NCSA ImageTool.

Appendix A, "NCSA ImageTool Mouse Button Usage," describes 
the use of the program's mouse buttons.

Appendix B, "Errors and Warnings," describes the meaning of 
many of NCSA ImageTool's error numbers and warning 
messages, as well as some operation system errors.

Appendix C, "Obtaining NCSA Software," outlines the procedures 
for obtaining NCSA software via FTP, an archive server, or by 
regular mail.

Also included is a Glossary of key terms.


Form of Presentation
The material in this manual is presented in text, screen displays, 
or command line notation.


Text
In explaining various features and commands, this manual often 
presents a word within a paragraph in italics to indicate that the 
word is defined within the paragraph, or that it is a significant 
term that should be noted and/or is being mentioned for the first 
time.

Portions of this manual refer to other sections of the manual which 
explain related topics. These cross references usually mention the 
title of sections or chapters enclosed in quotation marks, such as, 
See Chapter 1, "Using Composite Tool."


Command Line Format Notation
Throughout this manual, many explanations instruct you to make 
entries by typing on the keyboard. These entry instructions are 
printed in courier bold type and appear within a paragraph 
or on a separate line. The command lines in this manual are 
normally shown in lowercase, except in rare instances where 
uppercase is required.

When it is necessary for you to press a key that is labeled with 
more than one character (such as the RETURN key), this manual 
identifies the key with all capital (uppercase) letters. Keys to be 
entered are printed in bold type. Keys that are pressed 
simultaneously or in succession are linked with a hyphen. For 
example, press CONTROL-A.