Image Sets

An Image Set is a Mira concept referring to a collection of 1 or more images that are treated as a single object. The Mira Image Set greatly extends the old concept of "stacking" images. The entire program architecture is designed to work with more than 1 image in a window just as naturally as working with just one image.

Because of Mira's image set architecture, images processing command or a measurement can be done to one image or all images using the same user interface protocol, but simply by setting the flag to process one or all images of the image set. Using an image set architecture, Mira can process, measure, or display many images as a group using the same commands that would use for a single image.

The term "image set" is often used in the context of 2 or more images. However, Mira treats any number of images, including 1 image, in the same way. Whether you open 1 image into an image display window (a CImageView) or 42 images into a single image display window, Mira is working with an image set for all interactions with the window and its images.

Definitions

Image Set	A collection of 1 or more images that is treated as a group.
Current Image	The selected image of the image set. If the image set is displayed in a window, this is the visible image on top of the stack.

Accessing Image Set Members

When you load one image into a window, the bottom window border appears to be "normal" and thin, perhaps with a scrollbar. When the window contains an image set—that is, more than 1 image, the bottom border shows the Animation Toolbar shown below. You can disable this toolbar from the Image Context Menu but, if you see it, the Image Window contains an Image Set.

Using an Image Set makes it easy to transition through a series of tasks involving more than 1 image. For example you might wish to calibrate a group of images, register them (bring them into alignment), and then combine them into a single, higher quality image. To do this you would load the group of images as an image set, perform the calibration operations on the set, register the set, and then combine the set into a single image. Processing each of the images separately, in separate windows, would be quite a tedious job! Mira's unique Image Set architecture significantly reduces the burden of doing this type of multiple image processing.

tip	You can also step through the Image Set the same way you step between controls in a dialog window: Press [Tab] to step forward in the image set. Press [Shift] + [Tab] to step backward. To use either of these keys, the Image Window must have focus so that it receives the keystrokes.