End User's Guide to Eye Communications ImageMouse

 

Overview

The Eye Com ImageMouse system is a way to view, print and store you micrographic images using digital technology. The ImageMouse system is essentially a high performance digital video camera connected by a USB cable to a computer. The image that appears on the screen is a real-time video of the microfiche.

 

Quick Start

This quick start is intended to instruct you on the basic functions of the ImageMouse, for a more detailed explanation please refer to the Hardware and Software sections of this guide.

 

To use the ImageMouse:

 

1.      Load the fiche or roll film.

2.      Double click on the ImageMouse icon on the computer.

3.      Wait for the software to load and turn on the ImageMouse hardware, you can tell if it is working if the light comes on the light table.

4.      After the intro screen appears a blue screen appears. When the image is loaded the blue screen disappears and the image will appear.

5.      To improve the appearance of the image you first set the gray level all the way to the left. Second adjust the exposure by click left or right and waiting a few seconds to see the results the image will darken or lighten.

6.      If the image is still not clear adjust the blue focus wheel on the ImageMouse camera head. The best method is to turn it a 1\8 of a turn and observe the results, continue to move until the desired results appear.

7.      To navigate the fiche move the handle of the carrier right, left, up or down to find the image you desire. For roll film press the forward or backward buttons.

8.      To save or print an image click on the Full Resolution button this will switch modes of the camera, the blue screen will again appear until the full resolution image loads.

9.      To print click on the print icon on the tool bar.

10.  To save an image click the save icon on the tool bar.

11.  To exit click the X in the upper right corner or click File then select Exit.

 

ImageMouse Hardware

 

 

Startup

To start operation of the ImageMouse/ImageMouse Plus:

 

1)      Ensure that the ImageMouse/ImageMouse Plus software and hardware are installed.

2)      Ensure that the microfiche or microfilm is loaded and ready for viewing

 

a)      Loading a microfiche/film to the ImageMouse Plus:

i)        Loading a cut fiche to the ImageMouse Plus:

(1)     Using the Film Carrier Handle to pull the Film Carrier all the way out so that the upper platen glass opens up.


Figure 3  - Loading A Microfiche

 

(2)     Load a cut fiche in between the lower and upper platen glasses. Make sure the title is oriented toward the rear of the ImageMouse Plus unit.

(3)     Push the Film Carrier back in using the Film Carrier Handle. The upper platen glass should close down.

ii)      

Loading a roll film to the ImageMouse Plus


Figure 3  - Loading a Roll Film

(1)     Using the Film Carrier Handle to pull the Film Carrier all the way out so that the upper platen glass opens up.

(2)     Install a roll of film on to the supply side spindle.

(3)    

Thread the film to the take-up side as shown on the below illustration.

 

Figure 3 -  - Film Path

(4)     Using the Film Carrier Handle push the Film Carrier back in. The upper platen glass should close down.


Software Features

 

The ImageMouse software has two modes of operation the first is Fast Search in this mode the camera is sending 1\2 the image information at twice the speed of the Full resultion image. This mode allows you a qucker response when searching for a image on a fiche or roll of film. Full Resultion give you all the image information at the normal rate of speed, this is the mode in which  you can save or print and image.


 

Icons

 

·        Save This saves the image as a bitmap, tiff or jpeg file.

·        Copy This stores the image in the Microsoft clipboard from which you can paste to another application that supports images like Pant, Word or in the body of an email.

·        Print This will print the image using the default printer and it's current settings.

·        Crop  Clicking this icon will change the cursor into a crosshairs and then you can select any part of the image by clicking and holding the left mouse button and dragging the crosshairs down then to the right. When you release the mouse the selected area will be highlighted with a green border. If you right click inside of the cropped area it will bring up a menu with saving and printing options.

·        Help  Clicking this icon will bring up a help function with helpful information about the ImageMouse.

·        USB The USB icon indicates if the USB is connected it may flicker at times if it disappears restart the ImageMouse software.

·        Status Bar  This area is used for status messages to keep you informed of the current status of the ImageMouse.

 

Buttons and Menu Functions

 

Full Resolution Clicking this button will switch the camera from Fast Search to Full Resolution mode. The Full Resolution is the mode where all the image information is sent at the normal rate of speed. This mode is used for printing and saving images.

 

Fast Search Clicking this button will switch the camera from Full Resolution to Fast Search mode. Fast Search mode is the mode that 1/2 of the image information is sent at twice the speed of Full Resolution. This give a faster response for searching for the desired image. This mode is used to obtain the desired image quality by adjusting the exposure and focus. This mode is the default mode on start up.

 

Full Page, Zoom 2X and Zoom 3X In Fast Search you have the option of selecting the magnification. The options are Full Page which will display the entire image, Zoom 2X will magnify the image 2 times, this is good for focusing. Zoom 3X will magnify the image three times at this rate of magnification the image becomes pixilated.

 

Gray Level The gray level slider bar controls the shades of gray that are displayed. It is recommended to set it to the  maximum number of shades by setting it towards the left.

 

Film Text When looking at the actual film if the text on the film is white then select white if it is black then select black. This is an additional filter to help the camera process the image better.

 

Exposure This controls the amount of exposure the camera receives, this control can greatly improve the readability of an image. It is suggested to click and then wait for the response.

 

Live Image This is the normal state of the ImageMouse, in this state you can move the carrier or the Rollfilm advance and see the results.

 

Freeze When clicking this option it will freeze the image so you can zoom in.

 

Normal and Invert The Normal option displays the image as is, the Invert changes the blacks to white and white to black. This helps when viewing negative film.

 

Auto-Save The Auto-Save function allows you to automate the saving process by setting up an Auto-Save profile in which you select the file prefix incremental number, file type and destination. For example: the image named Checks0001.tiff will be saved at c:\myimages when I click the Auto-Save button, when I click it a second time the image will be saved as Checks0002.tiff at the same location.

 

Reduction This setting is set at 24X or 42X depending on the lens you can increase the magnification slightly by selected 28X or 48X.

 

Set Crop This mirrors the Crop icon.

 

Despeckle On Save This menu option is only for saving tiff group 4 images.

 

Tips on ImageMouse Operations

 

1.      The ImageMouse is a very resource intensive application it requires some patience as well as a powerful computer.

2.      The less other application running the better.

3.      Set your display to 1024 X 768 to insure a 1:1 broadcast of the ImageMouse image.

4.      If needed you can manually rotate the ImageMouse camera head up to 180 degrees.

5.      Clean the glass with glass cleaner and a soft towel.

 

Procedures to install and operate Eye Com's ImageMouse using Windows XP Pro platform

 

 

Executive Summary:

The ImageMouse will run on the XP platform provided it is set up using NTFS, has the latest service pack installed and the ImageMouse software compatibility is set for Windows 2000.

 

Steps to install:

1.        Verify you are using NTFS

2.        Install software and reboot.

3.        Connect hardware which will bring up the found new hardware wizard.

4.        Follow the wizard using the files on the CD to install.

5.        Set the compatibility of the ImageMouse software to Windows 2000.

6.        Test ImageMouse

7.        Suppress USB warnings.

 

Install Procedures:

 

Verify your file system

 

Using windows explorer right click on the drive you will be installing the software on and select properties this will display details of your drive if it is NTFS you can continue with install software. If you have FAT32 you need to convert it to NTFS.

 

Converting to NTFS Using the Setup Program

The Setup program makes it easy to convert your partition to the new version of NTFS, even if it used FAT or FAT32 before. This kind of conversion keeps your files intact (unlike formatting a partition).

Setup begins by checking the existing file system. If it is NTFS, conversion is not necessary. If it is FAT or FAT32, Setup gives you the choice of converting to NTFS. If you don't need to keep your files intact and you have a FAT or FAT32 partition, it is recommended that you format the partition with NTFS rather than converting from FAT or FAT32. (Formatting a partition erases all data on the partition and allows you to start fresh with a clean drive.) However, it is still advantageous to use NTFS, regardless of whether the partition was formatted with NTFS or converted.

Converting to NTFS Using Convert.exe

A partition can also be converted after Setup by using Convert.exe. For more information about Convert.exe, after completing Setup, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER. In the command window, type help convert, and then press ENTER.

It is easy to convert partitions to NTFS. The Setup program makes conversion easy, whether your partitions used FAT, FAT32, or the older version of NTFS. This kind of conversion keeps your files intact (unlike formatting a partition.

To find out more information about Convert.exe

1.        After completing Setup, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER.

In the command window, type help convert and then press ENTER. Information about converting FAT volumes to NTFS is made available

Converting FAT volumes to NTFS

To convert a volume to NTFS from the command prompt

1.        Open Command Prompt. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.

2.        In the command prompt window, type: convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs

For example, typing convert D: /fs:ntfs would format drive D: with the ntfs format. You can convert FAT or FAT32 volumes to NTFS with this command.

Important Once you convert a drive or partition to NTFS, you cannot simply convert it back to FAT or FAT32. You will need to reformat the drive or partition which will erase all data, including programs and personal files, on the partition.

 

Installation instruction for Software

 

 

1. Remove previous versions of software using the control panel.

A.      Click START

B.       Select SETTINGS

C.       Click CONTROL PANEL

D.      Select ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS

 

2. Unplug the ImageMouse from the computer’s USB port.

 

3.Install ImageMouse version 3.3  using the CD provided.

A.      Insert disk into the CD in your CD-ROM drive. If your computer has auto-run on it's CD-ROM drive go to step E.

B.       Click START

C.       Select Run

D.      In the selected box type d:\setup then press ENTER (assuming d is the CD_ROM drive) letter)

E.       Follow instructions on the setup screens.

F.       If  you have Windows 2000 do not restart computer. If you have Windows 98SE, Windows NT 4.0 or Windows ME you may restart. Go to step K.

G.       If you have Windows 2000 plug the USB cable into a USB port  in the back of the computer.

H.      This will bring up the New Hardware wizard, click Next.

I.         Select search for suitable drive and click Next. The wizard will find the file named anacomp.inf on the install CD click Next.

J.        The wizard will next need a file named anacomp.sys click Browse it is located on the install CD under win2000_sys double click on the file and click Ok.

K.      Click Finish, remove the install CD and restart the computer.

 

.


Set the compatibility of the ImageMouse software.

 

Right click on the ImageMouse icon and select properties and then click on the compatibility tab.

Click on the Windows 2000 option and click apply.

 

Test ImageMouse

Double click the ImageMouse icon and try out the ImageMouse it should operate normally.

 

Suppress USB Warnings

The ImageMouse USB driver has not been digitally Signed  so the operating system will not recognized the ImageMouse as a USB device. It will run but it will display a warning often when shutting down the ImageMouse system. The following procuders is optional to suppress the USB messages.

 

Right click on My Computer select Prperties then go to the Hardware tab click on Device Manager.

Next click on Universal Serial Bus Controller and right click on the Universal Host Controller that is controlling the ImageMouse. Click on the advance tab and check the "Don't tell me about USB errors".

Click Ok.

 

 

 

 

 

Please read these instructions carefully. If further assistance is required please call: 1-800-822-4447