VueScan Enhancement Requests
Ed Hamrick
in 2003, so if you have any suggestions for improving
VueScan, please send your top three in an e-mail to:
Please only include your top three suggestions in this
e-mail, and don't post your suggestions in this
newsgroup. I'll post a summary of the suggestions
in this newsgroup in a few days.
I'm particularly interested in specific, concrete ideas
for making VueScan easier to use for beginning computer
users. Marketing ideas are also very welcome.
Things that will end up near the top of the list
are specific suggestions that are easy to implement
or make VueScan easier to use.
Thanks,
Ed Hamrick
crijnen
Ed,
is it possible to ad an option to Vuescan for dust and scratches
without infrared like the new Epson scanner. A lot of people like me
are using a scanner without infrared.
http://www.epson.co.uk/sohoprod/imaging/scanner/perf3200/index.htm.
I think this option will make Vuescan the top of the bill.
Regards,
Hans Crijnen
Laren Dart
Don't you pay any attention to what you read? Ed specifically asked
people to email suggestions and NOT to post them here.
Have another cup of coffee and wake up!
http://www.got.net/~ldart
photography and writing
Ed Hamrick
> is it possible to ad an option to Vuescan for dust and scratches
> without infrared like the new Epson scanner.
I have some ideas for doing this, and I'll add it to my list
of things to do. It might work better for negatives than for
slides, but even this would be useful.
Regards,
Ed Hamrick
wally
Poloroid has a really nice program/photoshop plugin for dust and scratch
removal. search for: pdsr1_0.exe
Sorry I didn't save the link, but someone posted it here some time ago.
It was a free download then, don't know its status now, it can be over
aggressive and remove some texture, but well worth having.
--wally.
Don
Ed Hamrick
> Don't re-invent the wheel,
Polaroid didn't release the source code for their dust and
scratch removing plugin.
> Poloroid has a really nice program/photoshop plugin for dust and scratch
> removal. search for: pdsr1_0.exe
This doesn't help me to produce an algorithm for doing this
in VueScan.
Regards,
Ed Hamrick
Julian Vrieslander
wa...@nomail.com (wally) wrote:
That software only runs on Windows. Some VueScan users are running Macs
and Linux.
--
Julian Vrieslander
Ralf R. Radermacher
> That software only runs on Windows. Some VueScan users are running Macs
> and Linux.
Indeed they are. :-)
Ralf
--
Ralf R. Radermacher - DL9KCG - Köln/Cologne, Germany
NEW URL!!! private homepage: http://www.fotoralf.de
manual cameras and photo galleries - updated Nov.26, 2002
Contarex - Kiev 60 - Horizon 202 - P6 mount lenses
wally
time being at least, I don't see much benefit from re-inventing it within
VueScan unless you have enough Mac and Linux users to make it worthwhile.
It is both a standalone program and a photoshop plugin, If you made it the
external viewer application launched for the VueScan TIF file, it'd look
pretty integrated to the casual observer.
Certainly this would be a good starting point for "reverse engineering" if you
really want to do this yourself. Deltas of the before and after image might
give you some clues as to what their algorthim is.
--wally.
Ed Hamrick
> My point was, since Polaroid is giving this utility away for free, for the
> time being at least, I don't see much benefit from re-inventing it within
> VueScan unless you have enough Mac and Linux users to make it worthwhile.
Yes, there are a lot of VueScan users who use either Mac OS or Linux.
Regards,
Ed Hamrick
holdfeny
control of scanning process, like scripting, some command language, or
even an API (wow).
Istvan
"Ed Hamrick" <use...@hamrick.com> wrote in message news:<auungl$6p8$1...@ngspool-d02.news.aol.com>...
Ed Hamrick
> It'd be very nice to have some kind of possibility for external
> control of scanning process, like scripting, some command language, or
> even an API (wow).
For what operating system?
Can you cite an example of a similar program that does this?
Regards,
Ed Hamrick
Bryan
Go to that web site posted previously in this thread.
Julian Vrieslander <julianvREMO...@mindspring.com> wrote in message news:<julianvREMOVE_THIS_PAR...@news.mindspring.com>...
Ed Hamrick
> No, there's a version for the Mac now too. It was just added today.
> Go to that web site posted previously in this thread.
I just tried the Polaroid Dust and Scratch Removal program,
and it works very poorly. I used it on a Q60 calibration
slide that had a few dust spots, and it removed all the black
text written on the slide along with parts of the edges of
the calibration blocks.
Regards,
Ed Hamrick
Postman
| For what operating system?
| Can you cite an example of a similar program that does this?
Ed
PhotoShop 7 for the PC now has VBA Scripting available as a free add in
(download from Adobe)
(While still being sold for the mac)
Of all the suggestions, this is the one that would REALLY make a difference
(I'd even buy it again to be able to get that).
Being able to "automate" Vuescan from VB really would be a WOW.
To be able to set/record parameters from outside of Vuescan itself ... to be
able to code for yourself the little features that "Ed" will never have the
time to include ...
Mmmm, no more writing down settings, just get the macro to update the
spreadsheet ...
dim details as SCANDATA
with application.VueScan.scan
.AutoExpose = true
.IRclean = true
.path = "C:\scans\"
.filespec = "Film2413_"
.AutoNumber = true
.AutoNumberFormat = "0000"
etc etc ...
details = .doScanNow()
Update "C:\mylog\Spreadheet", details
end with
wally
Did you try it as the PS plugin or standalone? As a plugin it has a very nice
preview to help adjust, I've not used the standalone.
I don't use it alot, nor the IR clean feature in VueScan for that matter, but
I noticed its defaults are a bit agressive removing some textures.
On a scratched and dirty slide, I'm more concerned about how the result looks
independent of what has been removed -- If I had a better non-damaged shot I'd
not be doing a salvage operation -- no doubt it removed things that were not
dust and scratches, but the overall result was useful to me and I thought it
amazing compared to how much cloning I'd have had to do.
You can get caught up in a "Holy Grail" type quest here, I mean telling a
seam in an old fashion Betty Grabel type stocking from a scratch on a slide
could be quite a trick! In the clubs these days "body glitter" is quite
popular, on a negative these specular reflections would look a lot like dust
-- I often clone these out if they are in a location that detracts.
--wally.
Mac McDougald
wa...@nomail.com says...
> You can get caught up in a "Holy Grail" type quest here, I mean telling a
> seam in an old fashion Betty Grabel type stocking from a scratch on a slide
> could be quite a trick!
It's really not, since the whole purpose of the IR channel is simply to
differentiate between what is ON the film and what in IN the film. That's
why ICE/FARE/IR Clean can be so effective. But why a "scratch remover"
like the Poloroid version can be so wrong.
For example, take a dupe slide that has dust and scratches duplicated as
now part of the image; it's in the actual emulsion of the film, and ICE
won't touch ANY of it. But the Poloroid method would, with whatever
success (or lack of it).
That's why I can't understand how the new flatbeds with ICE could do much
with prints. Since most all the crud you see on prints is IN the
emulsion, not laying on TOP of it.
--
Mac McDougald
Doogle Digital - www.doogle.com
holdfeny
It'd be marvellous.
Istvan
"Postman" <Nob...@st-abbs.fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message news:<av50qi$ghk$1...@news5.svr.pol.co.uk>...
Godfrey DiGiorgi
the "To," "Cc," and "Newsgroups" headers for details. ]]
For Mac OS, providing an AppleScript suite would be superb and would
integrate brilliantly with FileMaker Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, In
Design and many other products that are scripted with AppleScript in
workflow solutions for the graphics and pre-press industry. There are
few, if any, scanning applications that allow this at present,
presenting you with a unique business opportunity.
A C-based control API would allow developers to create VueScan tools
for any language on almost any platform.
Godfrey
In article <av3nac$53s$1...@ngspool-d02.news.aol.com>, Ed Hamrick
Godfrey DiGiorgi
the "To," "Cc," and "Newsgroups" headers for details. ]]
There are many settings in the current VueScan interface which require
the user to understand their dependence on other controls in other
views and make adjustments in more than one place to achieve a given
result. For instance, you have no access to certain functions in the
Color, Files and Preferences tabs unless you first use the Device tab
to set the user level to "Advanced", and then you are presented with a
host of other controls in each window, some of whose functions overlap
in often subtle and unexpected ways.
These kinds of control organizational and functional relationships are
daunting to new and even experienced users occasionally. A professional
UI analysis and redesign could help redesign the workflow in VueScan to
make it more accessible, understandable and reveal more of the power of
the application without need to reference documentation and tips-tricks
listings.
The feedback model (scan view vs histogram view, developing the
histogram view as a more interactive control panel instead of just a
static state display) could also offer improvement to both novice and
experienced users. Generally speaking, my experience is that people
learn how a histogram represents their data more quickly when
manipulating the histogram provides a direct feedback on the image
view, rather than 'change a setting in one space, see a change on the
histogram in another, and then swap to the image view to see the
result'. This principle of direct manipulation is exploited extensively
in other popular graphics and image-editing applications to very good
effect.
Although I work for Apple and have a natural desire to see VueScan
become more conformant with Mac OS X HI Guidelines, I do understand the
limitations imposed by wanting to ship an application that runs on
multiple OS platforms with dissimilar UI concepts as well as using a
transportable source framework as the development basis. However, the
kinds of UI analysis and redesign I'm suggesting would enhance VueScan
on all platforms, for both entry-level users and experienced users, and
would allow them all to obtain more value from it through higher
productivity.
Godfrey
Frederic
> PhotoShop 7 for the PC now has VBA Scripting available as a free add in
> (download from Adobe)
> (While still being sold for the mac)
Well, VBA, AppleScript... Very nice, but only for Windows and Mac users.
What about Linux ? As I posted to Ed, Python could be a good scripting
language.
There are more and more apps using Python as scripting language. As it
exists on all platforms, and as it is really powerfull, free of use, why
one should use propriatary (full of bugs) stuffs ?
And it exists a lot of tools to use Python, such C++ Wrappers, EDI and so
on.
My 2 euros...
--
Frederic
ThomasH
Shall we than post the suggestions here or rather send them via
email to Ed for a selection?
Thomas.
Godfrey DiGiorgi
<sup...@hamrick.com> address, I've been copying any responses I make
there as well as posting here on replies.
Godfrey
In article <3E17480C...@attbi.com>, ThomasH <Tho...@coco.net>
wrote:
Ed Hamrick
> These kinds of control organizational and functional relationships are
> daunting to new and even experienced users occasionally. A professional
> UI analysis and redesign could help redesign the workflow in VueScan to
> make it more accessible, understandable and reveal more of the power of
> the application without need to reference documentation and tips-tricks
> listings.
A lot of people say this, but I never get specific suggestions
(i.e. "move the XYZ option from tab AAA to tab BBB", or "change
the way the XYZ option works so it isn't dependant on ABC")
People tend to send general suggestions, but these are seldom
useful since they're almost always unimplementable. Scanning
is by it's very nature complex, and the interaction of various
options is complex. I've tried to hide as much of this
complexity as possible, but it's not easy.
> However, the
> kinds of UI analysis and redesign I'm suggesting would enhance VueScan
> on all platforms, for both entry-level users and experienced users, and
> would allow them all to obtain more value from it through higher
> productivity.
I'm always open to suggestions, but the more specific the suggestion,
the better. I'm guessing that you're suggesting that I add
black/white point sliders to the histogram, make the histogram
visible at the same time as the image, and allow real-time updates
to the image as these sliders are moved.
Regards,
Ed Hamrick
Tom Bombadil
> I'm always open to suggestions, but the more specific the suggestion,
> the better. I'm guessing that you're suggesting that I add
> black/white point sliders to the histogram, make the histogram
> visible at the same time as the image, and allow real-time updates
> to the image as these sliders are moved.
>
> Regards,
> Ed Hamrick
>
I also guess that's what he meant. As for me, I'd certainly like
to see the image and histogram at the same time, in independent windows!
That way I could maximize both of them on my two monitors!
I wonder if the sliders with real-time updates is feasible, since it seems
to take some time to recalculate the image when black or white point is
changed.
It might indeed be useful to allow specifying black and white point by input
level entered in a text field if sliders is too big a deal. I wonder
why you chose percent of pixels in the first place; I don't find it
very intuitive.
The recent addition of colors for clipped pixels is really really good.
-Tom
Randy Lane
available currently by clicking on a specific tab. I asked Ed the last
time he requested enhancement suggestions to consider giving the user
the option of undocking a tab and moving it. At that time, I just
wanted to have all of the controls on one monitor and the images on
another.
In support of Ed though, lets remember he needs suggestions that will
make Vuescan attractive to new users. While experienced users would
give standing ovations all day for this (and probably the scripting
suggestion too) I doubt such improvements would make much of a
difference when it comes to attracting new customers. Remember, Ed
gets nothing from existing users for these enhancements. Would you
consider, Ed, a "Pro" version of Vuescan that would include some of
these suggestions and require an additional fee? I'm sure a vast
number of current users would gladly pony up additional $ for
enhancements such as these.
Tom Bombadil <noS...@noSpam.tv> wrote in message news:<3E17B14F...@noSpam.tv>...
Erik Krause
you wrote...
> I'm guessing that you're suggesting that I add
> black/white point sliders to the histogram, make the histogram
> visible at the same time as the image, and allow real-time updates
> to the image as these sliders are moved.
I would be very grateful if the black point adjustment would be fine
enough to be of some use...
--
Erik Krause
Digital contrast problems: http://www.erik-krause.de/contrast
Gary Hundt
I understand that you need an evolutionary approach to take your
program from where it is now to whare you want to go, but, it seems
that where I'd like your program to go takes more than three specific
suggestions to get there (so I've emailed you a dozen*, some specific
"bug-fix-like", some rather general because if I had to be more
specific, I might as well do it myself ;-).
In general, its more like: skip tweaking this or that particular UI
element; instead, provide a programmable interface so some enthusiasts
well versed in Windows, Apple and X-Linux GUI conventions can present
some appropriate "skins" that do justice to the amazingly powerful
functionality hidden beneath.
Gary
Gary Hundt
Granted these are PC applications, but:
"Total Recorder" is an application similar in many ways to Vuescan but
for audio. There is a "Standard" ($12), "Professional" ($4), and
"Developer" ($100), and a "Virtual Sound Driver SDK" ($?dontknow).
http://www.highcriteria.com/productfr.htm#prod_TRDE
(Total Recorder Developer Edition allows software developers to access
Total Recorder controls and functions, through OLE Automation.
Integrate sound recording functionality with your applications.)
http://www.highcriteria.com/productfr.htm#prod_PIK
(Virtual Sound Driver SDK can be imbedded into applications that must
monitor, capture or modify the output sound stream to the sound card.
Here's another example how to package it:
(Nullsoft's WinAmp scripting, skins & plugins - rather more glitzey
marketing and a lot of fluff hiding content deficiencies, but hey, you
can do better!)
http://www.winamp.com/nsdn/
Uni
>
> I'm trying to decide what changes to make to VueScan
> in 2003, so if you have any suggestions for improving
> VueScan, please send your top three in an e-mail to:
>
> sup...@hamrick.com
>
> Please only include your top three suggestions in this
> e-mail, and don't post your suggestions in this
> newsgroup. I'll post a summary of the suggestions
> in this newsgroup in a few days.
>
> I'm particularly interested in specific, concrete ideas
> for making VueScan easier to use for beginning computer
> users. Marketing ideas are also very welcome.
>
> Things that will end up near the top of the list
> are specific suggestions that are easy to implement
> or make VueScan easier to use.
>
> Thanks,
> Ed Hamrick
All I want for Christmas 2003, are my two front teeth and a TWAIN
interface for Vuescan :-)
Uni
Jouko Vierumäki
news:170e2316.03010...@posting.google.com...
> Here's another example how to package it:
> (Nullsoft's WinAmp scripting, skins & plugins - rather more glitzey
> marketing and a lot of fluff hiding content deficiencies, but hey, you
> can do better!)
> http://www.winamp.com/nsdn/
Ed, I beg you: whatever you do, don't make VueScan feel like WinAmp. I can
almost imagine myself wondering "how to get rid of all this crap?" and when
asking for help, somebody replying me "Dunno. I don't have such a button. I
click on the babe on my Q60 skin to make the skan. It workz.".
I know I shouldn't see it in this way... However, seeing how tasteless
people are (http://www.winamp.com/skins/), I realize I need to praise the
current VueScan interface more often.
Jouko
Craig Johnson
wrote:
>I'm always open to suggestions, but the more specific the suggestion,
>the better. I'm guessing that you're suggesting that I add
>black/white point sliders to the histogram, make the histogram
>visible at the same time as the image, and allow real-time updates
>to the image as these sliders are moved.
Yes! It took me quite a while to catch on to what was going on with
the histograms and black/white point settings. (Almost a year).
Also, would it be possible to change the points from a percentage to a
value 0-255? Seems confusing to me to use a percentage.
Here are a couple of suggestions that I hope are specific enough:
1. Allow me to create a custom tab with only the controls I want to
see. For instance, there are a couple of controls I change on the
device tab, crop, color and filter, and I get tired of going back and
forth through the tabs to get to them. I'd like to be able to pick
and choose a few from each of those tabs, and have them show up on my
own tab. Then I would simply stay on one tab 99% of the time.
2. Have a 'crop offset' set capability without having to type it.
This should be quite easy since you already display the number as you
move the cursor, but if there was a) a label for the term, and b) you
could right click at some point and fix that value into the x or y
offset without having to retype it, I think it would be more
intuitive. This would have saved me a lot of time figuring out that
I could simply read the offset number when trying to get my Nikon
negative strip feeder to line up the first negative correctly. I
don't know why I never associated the cursor values with the offset
values, but it simply didn't dawn on me for a long, long time, until
told in this newsgroup to do that. So I think it must be the type of
newbie thing you wouldn't think of as an issue.
Gary Hundt
Aww, party pooper ;-)
just imagine vuescan listed on that site as a winamp plugin! imagine
all the new novice users that would generate. and imagine my scans of
pacific northwest cascade peak profiles morphed into histograms and
sliding the kayaks in the creeks on either side to set white & black
points (others might use sunbather snapshots instead)...
<g> ;-) <g> ;-) <g> ;-)
ok, i'll take my cold shower now
Gary
DF
and LS 8000)
You could make another tab in the viewing pane called thumbnails and
another button for thumbnails scan at the bottom, then... well, you
figure it out... but it shure would be handy.
Thanks
DF
Nicolas Beaudet
here is my suggestion for Ed:
since batch scanning from raw files involves many files processed 'at
the same time', i tend to get lost between frames of loaded files. How
about a filename in the preview, scan and histogram tabs?
TIA
Nicolas Beaudet
Postman
| Yes! It took me quite a while to catch on to what was going on with
| the histograms and black/white point settings. (Almost a year).
| Also, would it be possible to change the points from a percentage to a
| value 0-255? Seems confusing to me to use a percentage.
Might be less confusing if it was a percentage of something other than 255.
Now when working in 16-bit per channel, does it have higher resolution than
1/256?
wally
Just set whatever app you'd use the twain driver in as VueScan's default
viewer, then the scan will lanuch into it.
I hate the way TWAIN drivers block the application they are running in, with
VueScan I can edit in photoshop while an image is scanning, with a TWAIN
driver I can't .
--wally.
Rick
else, please do this. Having real-time updates would be great with this.
Rick Schiller
In article <av7fa5$1m5$1...@ngspool-d02.news.aol.com>, use...@hamrick.com says...
Uni
I can understand where that may be an advantage. However, I simply don't
like the idea of saving everything as LARGE TIFF files, and then have to
delete them, afterwards. Some people say there's an advantage to saving
as TIFF, since it doesn't add distortion, such as JPEG does, But I do
believe, most people process an image once in their life, then forget
about it. So, why save it as a TIFF?
I didn't think my TWAIN request would be very popular, and I suspect
it'll be at the very bottom of the VueScan enhancement list :-)
Uni
p.s. Besides, Ed said, here, that he had plans for a TWAIN driver,
sometime last year :)
> --wally.
Ed Hamrick
> consider giving the user
> the option of undocking a tab and moving it.
The problem is that I don't know how to do this with wxWindows.
It needs to work on Windows, Mac OS 9/X and Linux.
See www.wxwindows.org for details.
If someone can send me code snippets for undocking tabs,
I'll consider adding this. Especially useful would be
an actual test program that did this.
> Would you
> consider, Ed, a "Pro" version of Vuescan that would include some of
> these suggestions and require an additional fee?
There would be a huge outcry if I charged anything for
any kind of VueScan upgrade. I certainly have a lot of
motivation for adding features for advanced users, since
these users tend to tell others about VueScan. Word of
mouth marketing is quite powerful.
The only reason I haven't done something like undocked tabs
is that I just don't know how to do it.
Regards,
Ed Hamrick
Ed Hamrick
> I would be very grateful if the black point adjustment would be fine
> enough to be of some use...
It's near the top of my list of things to improve.
Regards,
Ed Hamrick
Frédéric
>> Would you
>> consider, Ed, a "Pro" version of Vuescan that would include some of
>> these suggestions and require an additional fee?
>
> There would be a huge outcry if I charged anything for
> any kind of VueScan upgrade. I certainly have a lot of
> motivation for adding features for advanced users, since
> these users tend to tell others about VueScan. Word of
> mouth marketing is quite powerful.
I think you could ask for an additional fee when you do major releases.
Adding all functions that we would love to see needs much more work than
just adding a scanner support, I guess. As you improve Vuescan every day, I
will pay for a major upgrade without hesitate.
I always tend to find free software when I can, but when I find a really
good one, not free, I pay for it. I'm not using Linux only because it is
free. I use it because it is one of the best OS (I pay for distributions).
So I can pay for Vuescan. And the price is very cheap. Even if I had to pay
for it every year, I think it is very reasonnable.
But I understand you have to be very carreful, because I know that a lot of
people doesn't see things this way. And as you have to make money to
live...
> The only reason I haven't done something like undocked tabs
> is that I just don't know how to do it.
Well, I'll have a look at this library. Even if it is not possible to do
dockable windows, maybe there is another way, using several little apps,
one for menus, one for display, with some kind of communication. Just an
idea.
I asked you one day why you where not using Qt, and the problem was about
the license. Is it a money problem ? Do you mean that you would have to
sell Vuescan more expensive ? Maybe you could consider this way ? I would
love to pay for Vuescan based on Qt :o)
Regards,
--
Frédéric
Frédéric
> Ed Hamrick wrote:
>> The only reason I haven't done something like undocked tabs
>> is that I just don't know how to do it.
>
> Well, I'll have a look at this library.
Have a look at :
http://soften.ktu.lt/~alex/home_page/projects.html
Hope it will help you to add this feature.
Andrew Price
>>All I want for Christmas 2003, are my two front teeth and a TWAIN
>>interface for Vuescan :-)
>>
>Why?
>
>Just set whatever app you'd use the twain driver in as VueScan's default
>viewer, then the scan will lanuch into it.
>
>I hate the way TWAIN drivers block the application they are running in, with
>VueScan I can edit in photoshop while an image is scanning, with a TWAIN
>driver I can't .
Couldn't agree more. That was one of the things that got me to switch
to VueScan in the first place.
Kurt Stege
>There would be a huge outcry if I charged anything for
>any kind of VueScan upgrade.
I don't know, but probably, yes.
>I certainly have a lot of
>motivation for adding features for advanced users, since
>these users tend to tell others about VueScan. Word of
>mouth marketing is quite powerful.
This is very true. I have just purchased Vuescan, even
before I got my scanner. All the many people are telling,
that program is really good. The feeling of the program
without a scanner is good; it is obvious, that the work
is done for function, correct function, and not for
hiding any features or non-features, and masking them
behind a glittering user interface. And the software is
cheap; I get real worth for a long time of period, for
any scanner I might get in the future. All this together
whispers, "buy me, it's worth, it's fun, you must have me".
But, Ed, whenever you change this policy, and introduce
different versions of vuescan, let's say standard version
and pro version, or sell version 8.0 as upgrade, ...
... then much of the charm of vuescan will be lost.
Then, vuescan will only be another good program, but
I have to think, whether to pay for the upgrade, or to
work another two years with the last paid version, and
then switch to the original manufacturer software.
But, alas, Minolta is just not able to deliver the
scanner. I would like to have a Scan Multi Pro...
And, my flatbed scanner is still working; and really
old parallel port model, with no vuescan support ;-(
Regards,
Kurt.
Ed Hamrick
> Have a look at :
>
> http://soften.ktu.lt/~alex/home_page/projects.html
The wxFrameLayout class isn't really what I'm looking for.
Take a look at the test program - it's incredibly confusing
and non-standard.
In addition, all the windows are located inside the main
windows. I need to figure out how to allow users to drag
VueScan tabs outside of the main window.
Regards,
Ed Hamrick
Ed Hamrick
> >>All I want for Christmas 2003, are my two front teeth and a TWAIN
> >>interface for Vuescan :-)
> >I hate the way TWAIN drivers block the application they are running in,
with
> >VueScan I can edit in photoshop while an image is scanning, with a TWAIN
> >driver I can't .
> Couldn't agree more. That was one of the things that got me to switch
> to VueScan in the first place.
I have similar conflicting opinions on TWAIN myself. However,
my main concern with adding TWAIN to VueScan is that it will
turn into a major support headache. I already get too much
e-mail, and it's possible that adding TWAIN could double the
amount of support e-mail I get with a minimal increase in my
revenues. On the other hand, it might result in a minimal
increase in my support e-mail and double my revenues. It's
hard to predict.
My latest thoughts are to write a small TWAIN stub program
that talks to the stand-alone VueScan program via shared
memory. This would allow VueScan to continue as it is now,
but when the TWAIN stub is also running, to send the scans
to the TWAIN driver in addition to the selected files.
Regards,
Ed Hamrick
Gary Hundt
Well, Vuescan already has SORT OF a thumbnail making facility - on the
files tab you can choose to create an "index file" which is an array
of thumbnails, all in one file, and that file is a .bmp file. I agree
it would be nice if Vuescan could produce separate thumbnails - and
use the same positioning specifications instead (or maybe as an
additional option) to produce an HTML table with the tags to link the
thumbs to the larger jpg's also being produced!
Your idea of a "thumbnails pane" is also interesting and I think I
have it all figured out for Ed ;-) - but before I get around to that
let me digress a bit..
(and just to make sure I'm not misunderstood, those ";-)" marks mean
I'm just kidding, OK?)
WHAT? You using an LS8000 just to make thumbnails ;-)
How about we trade your two scanners for my Photosmart? I'll even
throw in the computer it's attached to! My Photosmart is more suited
for thumbnail making than is your LS8000 ;-)
Hmmm, OK, maybe I am going about it backwards: first I make high
resolution scans (relatively speaking - remember its the photosmart -
and I don't even start with the highest rez it's capable of - takes
too long on my computer).
I take great pains to brush off the dust and balance the colors, then
I throw half of it away, saving as 2x size-reduced jpg - just big
enough to fill a web browser screen. Then I go into ThumbsPlus and
have it produce thumbnails - twice - once for the database, a second
set via the "web page wizard" that gets me a table of thumbnails I can
click with my browser to get the larger image to pop up. It DOES
almost seem like the whole object is to make the thumbs, in which
case, hey, I could shortcut all this by scanning at lowest possible
rez to begin with, maybe?
In fact that is already how I start out in Vuescan - doing a Preview
scan - a quick&dirty lowrez scan just for orientation and quick
feedback while fiddling to fix the crop and optimize contrast & color
balance. In the case of negative film strips on the Photosmart the
preview shows me all the frames on the strip at once (Don't know how
it works on the Nikon).
What's missing on that preview though, is a means to individually
rotate each frame, as well as the ability to simultaneously see the
"true colors" for each frame. The way it is now, only one frame on
the strip is "active", colors are optimized only for that frame, the
other frames appear in the preview as if I had chosen to "lock image
colors" for those frames. This sometimes leads to surprises when I
then "batch list process" all the frames on that strip and discover
the colors are quite different on the "scanned" version than I saw in
the preview. (As a result I don't use "batch list" that much anymore,
unless I've first activated and "refreshed" each frame to verify
acceptable colors.)
What I'd really like to see is thumbnails of each frame, individually
color corrected and rotated as specifed on the "batch list". In other
words , I'd like to see a thumbnail preview of the batch list.
I would also like a thumbnail view of the "raw" uncorrected strip!
This would be especially relevant when writing raw files to begin
with. (It would also be really neat on the Photosmart to have this
view appear in real time as it is being scanned, maybe even oriented
as inserted into the scanner, e.g., top is end 1st inserted into
scanner.)
Where to put all these new thumbs and views?. Well, how about a 2nd
layer of tabs in the option panel. This new row of tabs could hold
(1.) the "raw preview thumbnail" (scaled to be just as tall as the
available space in that pane), (2.) the "cropped" or "batch list"
thumbs (the set of cropped, rotated & color corrected thumbnails for
each frame on the strip, with a vertical scroll bar to see them all),
and (3.) maybe another tab for "histogram controls" (smaller versions
of the current set and which have Black & white point markers, which
eventually will be slide-able but maybe in the mean time the text
boxes can me moved - or duplicated - from the color tab?). Also, (4.)
I'd like to see a tab with kind of a "color wheel control" That I can
use to adjust neutral RG&B to colorbalance more intuitively than
adjusting those 3 sets of numbers. (Maybe there is room at the bottom
of the current color tab for this.)
-Gary
Oh, and...
P.S.
With all the talk about "dockable tabs" - I'd be happy if just the
whole option panel (with it's new two rows of tabs) were "floatable" -
this way I could have a larger window for the main image (be it
preview or scan) and still have the rather necessarily "fixed width"
option panel available. It would also be nice to be able to specify a
neutral grey (or other color) frame alound the main image window -
maybe even a "full-screen keystroke toggle".
Uni
If there were an option in the TWAIN stub, to tell Vuesacn not to
generate a file, I'd like that :-)
But if that's not possible, I'll still be a guinea pig tester for this
Vuescan TWAIN stub, with my unstable Windows ME :-)
Uni
>
> Regards,
> Ed Hamrick
Gary Hundt
> "Randy Lane" <rmat...@pacbell.net> wrote:
SNIP
> > Would you
> > consider, Ed, a "Pro" version of Vuescan that would include some of
> > these suggestions and require an additional fee?
>
> There would be a huge outcry if I charged anything for
> any kind of VueScan upgrade. I certainly have a lot of
> motivation for adding features for advanced users, since
> these users tend to tell others about VueScan. Word of
> mouth marketing is quite powerful.
>
>
> Regards,
> Ed Hamrick
There might be an alternative path to a "Pro" version and/or fancier
GUI: to create that "API" and "licence" the core Vuescan to GUI
developers who would sell their OS-specific shell to drive Vuescan.
You could continue to evolve your "universal" UI and users would have
the choice, $40 for your's of $40+15, say for the bills, windows skin,
$40+60 for J's mac GUI, or $40+0 for GNU's linux shell or SANEs
interface, say.
What everyone needs to understand though, (I think) is that your
changes need to be evolutionary - and the suggestions need to include
the PATH from here to there. That doesn'tt mean you can't have lofty,
visionary goals, but the path will be longer, steeper.
FWIW (its past my bedtime, why am I babbling here)
-Gary
Lars Ekdahl
100% scale while photographers prefer the 0-255 scale
Lars ekdahl at http://www.ekdahl.org/digital2.htm
Tom Bombadil
> From my experience people with prepress experience prefer the 0% -
> 100% scale while photographers prefer the 0-255 scale
>
> Lars ekdahl at http://www.ekdahl.org/digital2.htm
>
>
>
Don't forget that the black and white point settings in VueScan
are not absolute gray levels but rather represent percentage
of the pixels in the image! I said I found this rather unintuitive,
and Ed replied in email:
> It's for batch scanning. You can use the same value for lots of
> different images, while black/white point values must be different
> for each image.
I'm not sure I understand this. I generally find that I need to set
the black and white point percentage settings differently for each image.
Also I seem to recall that the percentages max out at 11, and I've had
images where I needed more. I think I entered higher numbers in
the text field and they did not take effect.
Ed Hamrick
e-mail in response to this thread.
In summary, people seem to be most interested in User Interface
improvements. It was surprising to me that there was only one
request for a TWAIN driver and no requests for a Photoshop
plug-in.
There were lots of good ideas in these e-mails, and I'd like
to thank everyone who sent suggestions.
Regards,
Ed Hamrick
User Interface
--------------
5 Black/white point setting like Photoshop
4 Interactive (randomly placed) batch scans on flatbed
2 Make VueScan scriptable (or have command line options or AppleScript)
2 Add Refresh button
Set black/white point before brightness adjustment
Use dockable windows
Use wizard for advanced workflow suggestions
Add black/white point padding option
Fix problem with window resizing (on some systems)
Change cursor to hourglass when busy
Display histogram from selected area
Make "beep when done" apply to "Image->Refresh"
Combine Filter and Color tabs
Context sensitive help
Eliminate option types, move advanced options to their own tab
Customizable toolbars
See all thumbnails at once
Use multiple icons for image rotation
Improve user interface
Two preview images - one before corrections, one after
Eliminate command menu (use buttons instead)
Change to "Page setup", "Print..." and "Print one copy"
Use hotkeys to cycle between frames
Add TWAIN interface
Add option to set automatic cropping for each preview, even if set to
manual
Allow seeing RGB and infrared exposure, even when not locked
Put last file written in status bar
Move "Files|Disk file name" to Files tab
Display name of current .ini file, use (modified), change color of changed
options
Add Refresh button
Put basic/intermedite/advanced in each tab (use checkbox for advanced
options)
Create thumbnails when batch scanning
Features
--------
2 Option for strength of descreen filter
Use ICC profile for scanner
Allow attaching scanner profile to raw files
Apply gamma correction to raw scan files
Add option for a gamma 1.0 color space
Raw scan files with ICE applied
Save files in LAB color space
Use Photoshop curve files
Color wheel feature like HP SmartScan
Better handling of underexposed negatives
When scanning raw files, make output file same number as input
Add option to increase color saturation
Support saving PNG files
Small-angle image rotation
Option for storing non-default options in comments field in files
Allow remote scanning (over network)
Improve Infrared cleaning
Command-line option to specify raw scan file
Display black point pixels more clearly in histogram
User's Guide
------------
More robust User's Guide
More verbose in message boxes and User's Guide
Produce PDF version of User's Guide
Produce index for User's Guide
Give roadmap to identify film from color markings
Performance
-----------
Speed up scanning, especially when filters used
Multitasking - scanning and processing at the same time
File locations
--------------
Put .ini file in each user's Preferences folder on Mac OS X
Put .ini file location ($HOMEDIR/xxx) in system-wide file (like serial
number)
use ~/.vuescanrc on Linux
save multiple configurations in ~/.vuescanrc
Allow installing to different directory on Windows
Film support
------------
2 Better negative support for Fuji Superia etc
More predefined film types
More black/white film profiles
Allow users to create their own film profiles
Allow manual adjustments of key film parameters
Allow entering a floating point number for slide curve
Scanner Specific Features
-------------------------
2 Automatically determine frame offset on LS-40/LS-4000 strip film adapter
2 Separate RGB channel adjustment for analog gain on Nikon
Auto power-down of scanners (especially Epson)
Automatic detection of film borders on Epson 2450
Improve scan quality on Epson 2450
Option for "slow scan" on PhotoSmart S20
LS8000 trilinear support
Support Microtek 5900
Don't let Nikon film strip auto-eject if doing long-running processing
Ed Hamrick
> If there were an option in the TWAIN stub, to tell Vuesacn not to
> generate a file, I'd like that :-)
That would be the default.
Regards,
Ed Hamrick
Iñigo
On Wed, 8 Jan 2003 06:46:56 -0700, "Ed Hamrick" <use...@hamrick.com>
wrote:
>Here is a summary of the suggestions I've gotten by
Frederic
> Here is a summary of the suggestions I've gotten by
> e-mail in response to this thread.
Well, nice little list. But as you develop faster than your shadow, you will
be free at the 4th of July !!! Maybe we could add some little things ;o)
> There were lots of good ideas in these e-mails, and I'd like
> to thank everyone who sent suggestions.
Ed, *we* thank you for improving Vuescan !!!
--
Frederic
Ed E.
Even if only a small fraction of these get implemented, how far has *any*
other scanner manufacurer gone to solicit feedback from their users?
Ed, thanks for listening and for all of your hard work.
ThomasH
I second this. Considering the wide use and the plethora of
platforms and scanning devices Ed Hamrick is amazing effective
in maintaining the tool in good condition and in improving it!
Thanks,
Thomas
Carsten J. Arnholm
Postman wrote in message ...
>
>| For what operating system?
>| Can you cite an example of a similar program that does this?
>
>Ed
>
>PhotoShop 7 for the PC now has VBA Scripting available as a free add in
>(download from Adobe)
>(While still being sold for the mac)
>
>
>Of all the suggestions, this is the one that would REALLY make a
difference
>(I'd even buy it again to be able to get that).
>Being able to "automate" Vuescan from VB really would be a WOW.
>
>To be able to set/record parameters from outside of Vuescan itself ...
to be
>able to code for yourself the little features that "Ed" will never have
the
>time to include ...
A very good idea indeed.
If so, use a type of script that most people have a chance to manage
without too much extra effort, VB or VBA is a good choice.
And writing these settings to a log file (as a *.txt file with the same
name as the image file)?
Regards,
Carsten J. Arnholm, Oslo, Norway.
http://carnholm.home.online.no
Postman
| name as the image file)?
| Carsten
I'm working on a quite old version of Vuescan (upgrade inertia ;o)
For all I know the latest produces these log files (?).
For "anoraks" this sort of info-dump is always useful.
Carsten J. Arnholm
Postman wrote in message ...
same
>| name as the image file)?
>
>| Carsten
>
>I'm working on a quite old version of Vuescan (upgrade inertia ;o)
>For all I know the latest produces these log files (?).
The parameters used may be saved (v.3.8), but there is no log file
created (as far as I can see) - but, of course, I may have overlooked
something.
>For "anoraks" this sort of info-dump is always useful.
>
"anoraks" - that's an Inuit garment - what else?
Carsten J. Arnholm
Carsten J. Arnholm wrote in message ...
>
>Postman wrote in message ...
>The parameters used may be saved (v.3.8), but there is no log file
>created (as far as I can see) - but, of course, I may have overlooked
>something.
Correction: I meant to refer to my latest version of Vuescan, which is
7.5.32. For some silly reason I used the latest version number of
another piece of software. Sorry!