MacFormat 2000 March/macformat-088.iso/Shareware Plus/Graphics/PanoTools2.0b1/Readme

Text File | 2000-01-21 | 8.6 KB | 239 lines | [TEXT/ttxt]

Readme PanoTools

PanoTools is a collection of free programs which aid in Panorama and 3D Object
creation. It consists of:

- Panorama Tools: Photoshop and GraphicConverter plug-ins
  to create, remap and edit panoramic images.

- PTStitcher: Combine images into panoramic views.

- PTStereo: Extract 3D Objects from stereoscopic views

- PTPicker: Frontend to PTStitcher and PTStereo with user interface
  to select feature points in images, optimize positions and
  create VR-files.

- PTAverage: A utility to enhance density of scans.


Installation:
=============

After extraction of the stuffit archive, you need to drop the
library file 'pano12.lib' onto your system folder. The system should
then move it into the extensions folder. The extracted folders
then comprise a working installation.

If you want to move this installation, make sure that
- PTPicker is in the same folder as the folders 'Project Models'
  and 'Helpers'
- The content of these two folders remains unchanged.

The installation of the Photoshop/GraphicConverter plug-ins
and/or PTAverage is not required for the other programs, and is
described in separate Readme files.


Working with PanoTools:
=======================

Please read the description of the individual programs about
specific features. In the following, only PTPicker will be
explained in more detail.

PTPicker lets you select and edit feature points in pairs of images.
These pairs are taken from a list of images comprising a project,
which can be a panorama or a 3D-object. The coordinates of
the feature points are written to a textfile, which is handed over to
one of the appropriate helper applications (PTStitcher and/or PTStereo).
This is transparent to the user, who ideally should not get in contact
with these programs directly.

If you haven't worked with Panorama Tools' optimizer, PTOptimizer, or
the previous version of PtStereo before, I recommend to download the
examples from my website, which include a step-by-step tutorial.
<http://www.fh-furtwangen.de/~dersch/examples.zip>.

To load images into PTPicker, you need to open or create a project
file first. Use one of the examples from the tutorial, one
of your own Panorama Tools scripts, or create a new one. Then
you can open a pair of (ideally overlapping) images.

Control points:
===============

Control points are locations in two images
exhibiting identical features. Their coordinates are used by the
optimizer to adjust images for stitching. PTPicker displays
three types of feature points:

- red: selected points
- green: deselected points having a counterpart in the second image window
- blue: deselected points having no counterpart in the second image window

You can hide blue points using the command 'Show linked points' in the
View menu. They are displayed again by clicking 'Show All points'

There are two cursor modes: Setting and selecting  points (arrow cursor),
and only selecting points (cross cursor). You toggle between the modes using
the commands 'Select'/'Set Points' in the 'Edit' menu.

To set points, use the arrow cursor, and click in the front window. A red dot
is set, and simultaneously another red dot appears in the second window
(provided there is a second image open). Switch to the second window
by clicking it, then click again onto the selected point, and while holding
the mouse button down, drag it to the location it belongs.

If you click onto an existing point, this point becomes selected. The
other window automatically scrolls to the correct position to show the point.
Shift-clicking toggles the select status. Selected points are removed by
typing backspace, or clicking 'clear' in the 'Edit' menu.

The cross cursor allows you to quickly select one or several points without
the danger of accidentally setting new or moving old points. It is useful for
setting triangles, see next paragraph.

You can find a control point from the list displayed in the project file by hitting
'Find' in the 'Edit' menu, and entering the point number. The corresponding
images are automatically loaded, and scrolled to the newly selected and highlighted
point.

If a blue point is selected, ie a point having no counterpart in the second
open window, only this point becomes highlighted (red). If you switch to the
other window, and click at some location, a new control point is created
which is now linked to the previously selected point. This feature allows
you to link points among more than two images.

Zooming in and out is performed using the respective commands in the 'View'
menu. You can revert to the original magnification by hitting 'Normal'. Zooming
in automatically improves accuracy of point adjustment, since you can then set
control points at fractional grid positions.


Triangles:
==========

Triangles must be set for 3D-objects, but are not required and ignored for panoramas.
Triangles are set by selecting three points, and clicking 'Set Triangle' in the
'Edit' menu. PTSTereo uses this triangular portion for texture mapping, hence
it is only selected in one (the front) window. Triangles are removed by selecting
the three corner points and clicking 'Remove Triangle'. Using 'clear' or
Backspace removes the selected points together with the triangle which might
not be what you want. Triangles are also removed if any single of the corner points
is removed using the 'clear' command.

Triangles are filled with grey color. You can hide the filling using the 'Hide Triangles'
command in the 'Edit' window. They reappear after hitting 'Show Triangles'.

Menus:
======

File->Open:
Open existing project file; must be a valid Panorama Tools script. All images
belonging to the project must be in the same folder as this script.

File->New:
Choose Project model from a list. You can add to this list by creating new
scripts; see the file "2 CC Fisheye PSD" in the 'Project Models' folder for
options, and try the tutorials.

File->Close:
Close open image.

File->Save/Save as:
Save Project file with current set of control points/ triangles.

File->Revert to Saved:
Load saved version of Project file. This is required if the project
file has been edited with another program while open in PTPicker.

File->Quit:

Edit->Clear:
Remove selected points

Edit->Select:
Set cursor to cross/ select mode

Edit->Set Point:
Set cursor to arrow/ set points

Edit->set triangle:
Set a triangle comprising three selected points.
Complains if there are not enough selected.

Edit->remove triangle:
Remove triangle comprising of three selected points.

Edit->Find:
Find control point with selected number.
Two images are opened and scrolled to the
selected point.

View->Zoom in/out
Magnification of image is changed by a factor
of 2. Control point size remains unchanged.

View->Normal
Recover original magnification.

View->Show all Points:
Display linked and single points.

View->Show linked Points:
Display only linked points

View->Show Triangles:
Triangles are filled with grey color.

View->Hide Triangles:
Triangles are not displayed.

Project->View Script:
Launch SimpleText and display Project File.

Project->Optimizer:
Call Panorama Tools optimizer to process Project file.
Commands are added for PTStitcher. While optimizing, a
progress dialog is displayed. This can be stopped at any time
if the fit appears to be good enough.

Project->Stitcher:
Call PTStitcher to process images and project file.
Please see the tutorial and PTStitchers documentation
about the many options you have for panorama creation.
Clicking this menu option must be preceded by a call
to Project->Optimizer, since otherwise no Stitcher
commands are added to the project file.
This is also required, if the project has been
written to disk using the 'save' or 'save as' command,
since this also removes the stitcher commands.

Project->3D Stereo:
Call PTSTereo to process images and project file.
No optimization is required in this case, since
PtStereo does all the necessary calculations.



Credits:
=======
The following resources are used in this program:
- I am using Andrew Regan's ([e-mail]) ProgressCDEF package.
- Motorola's fast mathematical library 'libmoto' (Copyright © 1996 by Motorola, Inc. )
  is linked with the program (Mac only).
- The Levenberg-Marquardt solver of the MINPACK program is used.
- The public domain solver 'PZeros' from D. Bini ([e-mail]), available
  from Netlib, is used in the program.
- The public domain Fast Fourier Transform package FFTN by Mark Olesen is used.
- The program is linked to the free JPEG-library of the Independent JPEG Group.
- The free TIFF-library (Copyright (c) 1988-1996 Sam Leffler, Copyright (c) 1991-1996
   Silicon Graphics, Inc.) is linked to the program.



Copyright © 2000 Helmut Dersch, [e-mail]