Column Profile Plot

A Column Profile plots the pixel values along a line parallel to the image columns. This type of plot shows changes in image luminance, or pixel value, in the vertical direction.

There are two ways to create a column profile plot: Use the Line Profile tool to draw along a column, or use the current command to plot the column(s) defined by the Image Cursor. To plot in the perpendicular direction, use a Row Profile Plot.

Types of Column Profile Plots

This command plots the following types of profiles:

Single Column
Averaged Column. Various methods are available for combining the columns; see Plot Averaging Mode.
Range of Columns showing multiple column profiles on the same graph.

If the Image Window has 2 or more images in an Image Set, Mira can make the same types of plots for either the active image or for the entire image set.

The Window Caption reminds you of the type of plot:

An Average Column Profile plot has the suffix [ACP] in the window caption.
A simple Column Profile of one column has the suffix [CP] in the window caption.

Procedures

Making a column profile plot involves two steps

Adjusting the image cursor to cover the desired pixels, and
Clicking the plotting button or executing the menu command to create the plot.

Plotting a Single Column

Set the command mode to Cursor Mode.
Click the mouse on the image to position the Image Cursor.
Adjust the corners or edges of the Image Cursor until it defines the region you wish to average. Combine moving and sizing operations to get the image cursor where you want it.
Execute the Plot > Column command in the menu or click the button to make the plot.

Plotting an Average Column

Mira AP can combine the neighboring columns and plot the result as a single line of data.

Set the command mode to Cursor Mode. If the image cursor is a rectangle, it outlines the region to be averaged into a single column. If it is a crosshair, the averaged region is the number of columns spanned by the crosshair. In both cases, the same number of columns will be averaged.
Combine moving and sizing operations to get the image cursor where you want it. Click the mouse on the image to position the cursor and adjust the corners or edges until it defines the range of columns to average.
Select the collapse method using the Plot > Combine Mode option in the Image Window's Plot menu or the Image Context Menu.
Execute the appropriate Plot > [Average Column] command in the menu or use the command in the drop menu.

Plotting a Range of Columns

Set the command mode to Cursor Mode. If the image cursor is a rectangle, it outlines the region of columns to be plotted. If it is a crosshair, the span of the crosshair defines the number of columns to be plotted. In both cases, the same number of columns will be plotted.
Combine moving and sizing operations to get the image cursor where you want it. Click the mouse on the image to position the cursor and adjust the corners or edges until it defines the range of columns to plot.
In the plotting menu set the Plot Series Mode to Overplot and then use the Range of Rows command. You can later change the Plot Series Mode from the Plot Window using its Context Menu.

Changing the Plot Appearance