Visual Inspection

Though the Input and Output Overview images display a lot of useful information, they are usually too small. Use the Investigation View to see them bigger. The input and the output image can be investigated side by side in the Investigation View as shown in Figure 8-2.

Figure 8-2. Investigate View Window

To open the Investigation View window, click the Investigate button on the Exception List. The Investigation View consists of two images; the Input Overview on the left and the Output Overview on the right. To switch between the two panes, press the Tab key. Between the two overviews is a splitter bar. Move your mouse over it and drag and drop the splitter to change the width of the overview images.

Under the overview images are some important information about the input and the output image.

The button bar at the bottom of the window has the following buttons:

• OK: Click to close the the Investigation View window. You can also press the Esc key to close the window.
• Reprocess: Opens the processor indicator window, and start processing the selected image.
• Split 50%: Click to set the splitter between the the overview images to 50%. This makes the two overview images the same width.
• Previous: Investigate the previous image in the Exception List.
• Next: Investigate the next image in the Exception List.
• Help: Open the online help.

Focused Zoom™ Technology

On the overview images are special marks that display important visual information about the current image processor settings. Here is a description of these marks:

• The dashed lines show placement of the margins. If the line is red, the margin is erroneous because the subimage sticks out of it. If it is black, the margin is OK.
• The thick blue rectangle shows the boundaries of the detected subimage. It might stick out of the canvas; in this case only two lines can be seen instead of a rectangle.

Some important notes about these marks:

• PPP does not display these marks on the Input Overview if deskew is turned on before processing, but you can still see the marks on the Output Overview. If deskew is off, the marks are displayed on both overview images.
• If positioning is turned off (simple mode), the marks are not be displayed at all. The marks would not make sense in simple mode as there are no margins and no subimage.
• The same marks are displayed on the small overview images displayed in the Exception List window.

You can place a special mark on the images by clicking with the mouse. This mark looks like a red cross and is called the cross hair mark. By default, the cross hair mark is in the center of the Input Overview image. When you click somewhere in the image, the cross hair mark will move to that position. The cross hair mark is at the same place on both overview images. For example, if you move the cross hair mark to the center of a letter 'o', the cross hairs will be displayed in the center of the 'o' on both overviews as shown in Figure 8-3.

Figure 8-3. Placing Cross Hair Mark on Overview Images

The meaning of the cross hairs is twofold. First, you can use the cross hairs to find a location on the other image. For example, if you place the cross hair mark somewhere in the Output Overview, PPP will find the corresponding point on the Input Overview. You can check if the location is on the Input Overview or not.

Second, the cross hair mark is the center of the zoom. When you zoom the image, the center of the zoom will be the cross hairs if visible, or the center of the viewable area if the cross hairs are not visible.

Finally, here is a list of keys you can use in the Investigate View window:

• Arrow keys scroll the currently selected overview image.
• Ctrl + arrow keys scroll the overview in large steps.
• Tab switches between the two overview images. If the Input Overview is selected, it changes to the Output Overview, and vice versa. The other keys control the currently selected overview.
• [*] zooms both overviews to fit on the screen.
• Space key moves both overviews so that the cross hairs are displayed in the center of the viewable area on the screen.
• [+] zooms in the currently selected overview image. The other overview image will zoom synchronized to the currently selected one.
• [-] zooms out the currently selected overview image. The other overview image will zoom synchronized to the currently selected one.
• PgUp investigates the previous image in the Exception List.
• PgDn investigates the next image in the Exception List.

The synchronized zoom needs some explanation. If the cross hairs are visible in the viewable area of the currently selected overview, both images will be zoomed so that the cross hairs are visible in the center of the viewable area of each overview.

If you press the [+] or [-] key and the cross hair mark is not visible in the viewable area of the currently selected overview, the cross hairs are automatically placed in the center of the viewable area of the currently selected overview, and the zoom is performed as described in the previous paragraph. This is because if you scroll the image so the cross hairs are not visible, it would be very strange for the center of the zoom to be the center of the invisible cross hairs. You probably scroll the image because you are interested in that region, and want to focus on that region instead of the crosshair area. But PPP will absolutely focus on the cross hairs if they are visible.

See also:

Quality Control Concepts

About Exception List

About Good Files List

© 1998-2009 ELAN GMK