Batch Process Panel

The Batch Process Panel is a tool for recording and playing back sets of Operations.  Some programs refer to this type of operation as a "macro". 

As a simple example, suppose you want to calibrate an image, bin it 2x2, and then crop it to a certain size; you would simply perform those steps one at a time. Now suppose you wanted to do this 100 times; this would be very laborious.  The Batch Process Panel allows you to do this quickly and easily.  You can run a Batch on one image, multiple already open images, or images stored on disk.  

The list of Operations stores not only what command you used, but also what settings were used.  You can use the same command twice in a sequence with different settings.  

Similar functionality is also available via scripting but Batch Process Panel does not require any programming knowledge.  

Note that you cannot Undo a series of operations on an image.  Only the last command can be undone.  

Although an Open or Save operations can be recorded, these should normally be avoided.  When operating on sets of files, opening and saving occur automatically via the Queue funciton. 

Overview

The Batch Process Panel can be used to run a sequence of commands on a single file, or it can run the sequence on a set of images or files on disk.  

There are three sections to the dialog box:

• The left panel is used to manage Workflows.  A Workflow is a set of batch process Operations that you have saved for future use.
• The center panel is used to record and edit the set of Operations that you will perform on one or more images. 
• The right panel allows you to build a Queue. This is used when you are working on multiple images or files.  

We will talk about the Operations and Queue panels first, and circle back to the Workflows panel afterwards. 

Operations

The center panel is used to create and edit a set of Operations, which can then be applied to one or more images. 

•  To start recording a sequence of Operations, select an open image and click the Record button.  Peform your desired sequence of operations on the image as you normally would when processing manually.  You can only use functions available through the Ribbon Bars.  As each command is completed (i..e you click OK), it will be added to the Operation list.  
  
  The settings you use for each command will be remembered.  You can perform the same command more than once with different settings, and they will be remembered each time.  If you want to be able to tweak the settings for a command during playback, turn on the Man (manual) check box.  The Man check box will be greyed out if there are no adjustable settings. 
  
  There are some commands that cannot work with Batch Process - you will see an error message if you attempt one.  
  
•  When you have completed the sequence of operations, click Stop. You can resume recording at any later time by clicking Record again; this does not erase previously recorded commands. 
  
•   If you record an incorrect command by mistake, select it in the Operations list and click the Delete button. This will not reverse any effect it had on the image, so you may need to Undo it as well; if so, don't forget to delete the Undo entry from the list too.
  
•  If you want to remove all operations and start over, click the Erase button. 
  
•   You can reposition a recorded command in the list by selecting it and then clicking the Move Up or Move Down buttons. 
   
•  To play back a Batch on a single image, select that image with the mouse and then click the Play button.  The status line shows the name of the image being processed.  Playback starts at the first Operation, and proceeds automatically until the end.  During playback the active command is highlighted.  If a Man check box is enabled, playback pauses allowing you to manually adjust the dialog settings.  Click OK to process and continue.  
  
•  To play back a Batch on multiple images, click the Play All button.  You must first select images for your Queue; see below for instructions on setting up your queue. 
  
•  The Stop button can also be used to abort playback if needed.  You will see a Yes/No prompt, to confirm that you want to abort.  It is not possible to restart an aborted sequence.  

Note that you cannot close the Batch Process Panel while recording is in progress. 

Queue

The Batch Process command can be used to perform the same sequence on operations on multiple images.  To do this, first prepare your list of Operations as shown above, then set up a Queue of images to be processed.  Once your Queue has been set up, you use the Play All button on the Operations panel to start processing. 

•  To select a set of image files from disk to process, click the Files button.  This brings up the Select files to process dialog box.  Select a group of files from disk using SHIFT-click or CTRL-click as needed.  Click Open to add them to the Queue. 
  
  
  
• Turning on the Show Path check box will cause the Queue display to show the full path of each file, instead of just the filename. 
  
• If you have selected files, you will want to set their Disposition:
  
  • Rename original renames the original filename by adding a suffix.  Enter the desired suffix under Add Suffix. 
  • Rename result leaves the original files untouched, and adds a suffix to the processing image filename.  Enter the desired suffix under Add Suffix. 
  • Save result in allows you to create a subfolder for the processed images.  Enter the desired subfolder name under Subfolder. 
  • Overwrite original replaces the original files with processed versions.  Warning:  This will destroy your original files.  It is strongly recommended to save a backup copy of your image files first. 
    
•  If you would like to process images that are already open, click the Images button.  The Select Images dialog will open.  Select your images using SHIFT-click or CTRL-click as needed.  Click Add All to add all open images.  Click OK when the desired images have been selected.  Open images will be tagged with [Image] in the Queue. 
  
  
  
•  Once your Queue is set up, click the Play All button under Operations.  Each image will be processed in turn.  Images in the Queue that have been processed will be crossed out.  If you stop Play All and then restart, you will be asked whether to remove the struck out images from the list, or to reprocess them. 
  
  Note:  When processing open images, they will not be saved.  While it is possible to record a Save operation in the Operations, this is not recommended.  Instead, we strongly recommend using the Files feature. 

Workflows

A Workflow is a set of Operations that you can optionally create and reuse as needed.  If you have image processing workflows that you have developed for various types of objects or observations, you can conveniently reuse these workflows whenever they are needed, without having to re-record them.  The Workflows panel is used to load and save different workflow operations. 

1.  To create a new Workflow, click the Plus button.  This brings up the Workflow Properties dialog. Give the Workflow a Title, and optionally add a Description.  The optional description allows you to add more detail that might not be obvious from a short title. Click OK.  You can then record a sequence of Operations for this Workflow using the Operations panel, and then save it (see below). 
   
   
   
2.  To load a saved Workflow from disk, click the Open Files button.  Navigate to your file (.csq extension), select it, and click OK. 
   
3.  To save a recorded Workflow, click the Save drop-menu icon.  Save allows you to save the currently-selected workflow; Save As allows you to save it under a different filename. 
   
4.  If you want to remove a Workflow from the list, click on it and then click the Delete icon. 
   
5.  To run a Workflow, select it then click on the Arrow icon.  Alternatively you can double-click on the Workflow.  The Operations for the workflow will be loaded, at which point you can use Play or Play All to process images.