Thermalyze Operation


Settings

The topics in this section cover user preferences and how to save and restore program settings.

User Preferences

Description

The User Preferences window (see Figure 1) contains global software settings that control how Thermalyze operates and displays data.  To open the User Preferences window, click the User Preferences item under the Setup menu or press the  button in the Setup section of the Shortcuts toolbar.

Figure 1: User Preferences window

Display

Units Choose the units in which temperature will be displayed.  Select Metric to display temperature in degrees Celsius and English to display temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
Resolution
Select the resolution (number of decimal places) in which temperature values are displayed.  Temperature values can be displayed with 0, 1, or 2 decimal place resolution.

Flip Captured Images

Horizontally Check this box to flip captured images horizontally.
Vertically
Check this box to flip captured images vertically.

Sounds

Alarm Alarms are sounds that are played when a region test statistic failure occurs. Select the specific sound to play in the drop-down box.

Camera Link Video Board

Initialize Camera Link Board at Startup Check this box and the Initialize Camera Link Board button  will be automatically pressed when the program is started to setup the camera link board for image capture.
Enable Camera Link Power at Startup
Check this box and the Camera Link Power button  will be automatically pressed when the program is started to power the IS640 camera.

Windows and File Menus

Remember Window Location and Size Check this box and program windows will be opened with the same size and position as when they were last closed.
Show Previous Version File Menus
Check this box display menu items on program windows for opening files created with Thermalyze versions prior to version 7.0.0.

Performance

Region Data Update Rate Select the rate at which data displayed in the Region Date Grid below the Main Image is updated.  Decrease this rate to improve Image Processing Rate.
Update Image in Background Thread
Check this box to update thermal images in a background thread to improve Image Processing Rate.

Note: Depending on computer speed, periodic image flickering may occur when updating in a background thread.
Update Graphics in Background Thread
Check this box to update regions and other image graphics in a background thread to improve Image Processing Rate.

Note: Depending on computer speed, periodic Region and graphics flickering may occur when updating in a background thread.

Status Messages

Show Range Exceeded
Check this box and the Calibration Range combo box will turn red if one or more pixels is saturated high, blue if saturated low, and purple if both conditions are met.
Show Detector Temp Exceeded
The detector temperature range in which the IS640 camera is calibrated is 15-40°C.  Check this box and the Detector Temp field will turn red if the detector temperature exceeds 40°C and blue if it falls below 15°C.
Hide Missing Settings Message
Check this box to refrain from displaying the notification window when program parameter settings are missing at program startup.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Description

The Keyboard Shortcuts window (see Figure 2) designates specific keystrokes to activate a number of often-used software commands.  To open the Keyboard Shortcuts window, click the Keyboard Shortcuts item under the Setup menu or press the  button in the Setup section of the Shortcuts toolbar.

Multiple Commands: It is possible to select the same shortcut key for multiple software commands, therefore triggering multiple commands with one keystroke.

Key Conflict: It is possible to select the same shortcut keys on the Linear Stage Advanced Settings window. In this case, if keystrokes are handled by the Linear Stage Control window, they will not activate keyboard shortcuts. 

Figure 2: Keyboard Shortcuts window

Enable Shortcuts
Check this box to enable keyboard shortcut.
Require Control Key
Check this box to require the control key to be pressed while pressing the shortcut key in order to activate the command.

Camera

Capture Thermal Images
Same as pressing the  button camera-fixed in the Camera section of the Shortcuts Toolbar.
Image Averaging Enable
Same as pressing the Enable Image Averaging button  in the Camera section of the Shortcuts Toolbar.

Setup

Large Image Size
Same as pressing the Large Image Size button  in the Setup section of the Shortcuts Toolbar.

Image

Open
Same as pressing the Open Image button  in the Image section of the Shortcuts Toolbar.
Save
Same as pressing the Open Image button  in the Image section of the Shortcuts Toolbar.

Sequence

Record
Same as pressing the Record Images button  button on the Sequence Toolbar.

Regions

Select Pointer
Same as pressing the Select button  on the Region Toolbar.

Color Palette

Auto
Same as pressing the Auto button in the Color Palette panel.

Program Settings

Description

Program Settings files enable you to store and retrieve all user-changeable parameters in Thermalyze.   This provides the ability to configure the program for specific applications and then store and retrieve that configuration.

To open the Save or Open Program Settings dialog box, click the item from the Setup menu or press the  or  button in the Setup section of the Shortcuts toolbar.  When saving a Program Settings file, the file name that you provide is appended with ".oset" and saved in the "Optotherm\Thermalyze\Program Settings" folder unless you specify a different folder.

Starting and Closing Down Thermalyze

When Thermalyze is closed down, the values of all user-changeable parameters are saved to a file name Thermalyze.ini in the "Optotherm\Thermalyze" folder.  When Thermalyze is restarted, the saved settings are retrieved from the file and then loaded into Thermalyze.  In other words, Thermalyze starts with the same settings values as when it was last closed down. All user-changeable parameters can also be saved while Thermalyze is running by clicking the Save Startup Settings item from the Setup menu.