AUTOGRAIN
HELP FILE
GETTING
STARTED
The
program file itself is called autograin.sav.
This is a binary file with everything compiled that can be executed from the
IDL runtime version. Unfortunately, at this period in time the whole IDL
license cannot be embedded in the program itself. You will have to load the
runtime version on your computer.
USING
THE PROGRAM
There
are two functions that the software can perform:
(1) View images and test particle definition
parameters. You can do this by selecting:
A dialog box will open where you can then choose an
image to load. The first time an image is loaded, you will be asked to select
what species do define grains in if there is more than 1. To change definition
parameters, put in new values for the variable you want to change, and click
“Update definition parameters”. After loading the image you should see
something like:
There
are two images, one of all the grains defined, and the other of all grains
defined after sorting. There is also a results box that shows how many grains
were removed and some other parameters.
Moving
the cursor over anywhere in either image will display the current location in
pixels and the intensity of that pixel.
Pressing the toggle mask button will remove or re-display the grain
recognition contours.
(2) The other function of the software is
essentially identical to the testing mode; however, it initializes
communication with Cameca software. It sits in a
waiting mode and automatically loads images and writes grain list files. The
default communication directory is: /space/ims/data/raw_ima/ so this is
where the software currently looks for communication files. To start the
automatic portion of the software click:
To stop or pause the
software, press the “Stop autograin” button. To close
the program, simply go to File->Exit.
However, it is not required to stop or pause
the autograin communication in order to test an image
or update parameters. This way, if one wants to change the particle definition conditions, this can be done during an autograin
session.
DIRECTORY
AND FILE INFORMATION
Here is a list of the directory and files used for
communication:
|
/space/ims/data/raw_ima/ |
Directory for communication files |
|
.AutoGrainIsOn |
File saying IDL software is on and running |
|
.AutoGrainImage |
2 line text file: 1st line flag (0 or 1) whether
image is done being acquired, 2nd line is full path of image for
IDL to analyze |
|
.AutoGrainList |
Text file list of grains to analyze |
|
.AutoGrainDPPARS |
Text file list of particle definition parameters |
|
.AutoGrainResults |
Text results file that is displayed in the result
window |
|
.AutoGrainCompleted |
Text file IDL creates when it is done creating the
grainlist file |
GRAIN
DEFINITON PARAMETERS
The following is a table of what the particle
definition parameters mean. It is best to just play around with them for a
given image to see what effect they have.
|
Minimum threshold |
minimum intensity pixel must have to be considered
a center of a particle |
|
Absolute threshold |
if equal 1 then minimum threshold is absolute
value, otherwise it is fraction of maximum image intenstiy |
|
Threshold |
pixels >
threshold*maximum intensity are included in particle |
|
Smooth |
images smoothed by this amount before defining |
|
Maximum Pixel |
maximum number of pixels allowed in a particle |
|
Minimum Pixel |
minimum number of pixels allowed in a particle |
|
Minimum Intensity |
minimum intensity for pixel to be included in
particle |
|
Minimum Distance |
minimum radius between adjacent grains |
|
Valley to peak |
valley to peak intensity ratio allowed of adjacent
grains |