SPIP offers a number of ways by which you can open a data file from the user interface:
· File > Open: standard way of opening files without the ImageMet Explorer.
· File > Browse: Activates ImageMet Explorer from where you can enter files into SPIP by double clicking, by use of the dedicated tool key or by Drag-Dropping selected files. See ImageMet Explorer for more information.
· File > Import: This will activate the Heuristic File Importer dialog from where you can open data files of formats unknown by SPIP. See the Heuristic File Importer for more information.
· Drag Drop: You can Drag Drop one or more files from other program supporting the Drag Drop technique for example the Microsoft File Explorer.
· Send To: By putting a shortcut to SPIP into your Send To folder you can send files to SPIP from the Microsoft File Explorer by right clicking on SPIP in the Send To menu.
On Windows 7 and later you can open your SendTo folder by typing the following into the location bar:
shell:sendto
And then drag a shortcut to SPIP.exe into this folder.
· Command Line: SPIP can be started from the command line with optional data file names as parameters. The parameters should be space separated and written in quotes when the names include space characters, see example:
C:/Programming Files/Image Metrology/SPIP/Spip.exe "file 1.img" "file 2.img"
The complete command line syntax definition is shown below:
SPIP [/?] {/p [group :] plugin} {/b batchfile} {filename [: subimage]}
[/d [: [logfile] [: name {, name}]]
|
/? |
Displays this help text |
|
/p |
Activates the specified plug-in function |
|
group |
Plugin group filter (case sensitive) |
|
plugin |
Plugin to run (case sensitive) |
|
filename |
The name of a data file to open |
|
/b |
Activates batch processing, supersedes autorun mode |
|
batchfile |
Name of the batch file to process the data file using the Batch Processor |
|
subimage |
The image in the file to open (number or "last") |
|
/d |
Runs SPIP in diagnostic mode |
|
logfile |
The name of the file to which log text is saved |
|
name |
The name of program group(s) to log |
SPIP offers a number of ways by which other software programs can interface with SPIP and automate processing:
· The Sniffer: Used for automated processing of new files stored to a defined Sniffer Folder. See The Sniffer section for more information.
· Shell Command: If you are programming other programs and want to process data in SPIP you can store the data into a file and have a Shell command calling SPIP with the file names as arguments. This enables you also to run a specific batch process on your data. See command line example above.
Plug-in Interface: This programming tool enables you to retrieve data from SPIP and have SPIP to view and process data given by the Plug-in. The Plug-ins can be part of a Batch Process and can therefore be part of an automation process. See the "SPIP Plug-in Interface for Programmers" for more information.
By applying the above facilities it is possible to use SPIP in an on-line scenario, where for example a microscope system acquires images and whenever a new image is recorded, it will be sent to SPIP by a shell command instructing to SPIP on how to process the data by referring to a user defined batch process. Such a batch process can perform most of SPIP's functions and it is also possible to include user written plug-ins and user defined templates for the Active Reporter.