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What's new in PICOLAY ?

• 2010-09-01
  - New tutorial (engl.)
  - Some small changes to match tutorial and program.
   
• 2010-08-27
  - New function 'Sharpen' under mouse functions. This allows to apply the sharpening procedure to selected areas of images.
  - New button on the mouse function window. This makes it easier to overwrite original images, e.g. after you have sharpened or blurred certain areas to improve stacking results.
   
• 2010-08-13
  - Some internal simplifications.
   
• 2010-08-07
  - Stacking results of the F1 routine ('Try set of varied parameters') are now saved in the format selected under 'Options'.
  - Stacking parameters of the F1 routine changed.
  - Bug occurring during generation of more than one rocking gifs fixed.
   
• 2010-08-04
  - One-click stacking for lazy users
  The F1-key or clicking on 'Stack with varied parmeters' will start a series of routines with pre-adjusted parameters.
  * Non-marked entries in the listbox (but not the image files on disc) will be removed.
  * The images of the stack will be corrected for x- and y- displacements (especially required for stacks taken with a stereo microscope).
  * Brightness of the images will be harmonised.
  * Repeated stacking runs with varied parameters will be performed. This generates a list of 'p#sharp...' files with the parameters as part of the name.
  * The files 'p#avmap.bmp' and 'p#avsharp.bmp' will be generated, which contain the average of the stacked results and the corresponding 2-D maps.
  Just browse the stacked results to find the best one or to learn which parameters give the best result.
   
• 2010-08-01
  - Stacking algorithm improved. PICOLAY is still expecting to have the uppermost image on top of the list (carry out 'Reverse list top-down', if this is not the case). However, stacking now starts at the bottom and gives better results for the object surface.
   
• 2010-07-07
  - Print function improved (is still not very sophisticated).
  - Bug in 'Save result as' function fixed.
   
• 2010-07-04
  - Acoustic signal when done, can now be selected under options.
  - Little bug that displayed strange colours during stacking was removed.
   
• 2010-06-13
  - Visualisation of rectangles and circles during image editing improved.
   
• 2010-06-10
  - x/y alignment improved. Should give better results with image series taken through stereo micrsoscopes.
   
• 2010-05-30
  - Stacking algorithm improved again. Now one has to apply about 20 % higher values for 'Minimum contrast', which allows finer differentiation than before.
   
• 2010-05-29
  - Stepwise rotation is now correctly done with all 8 different output 3-D formats.
   
• 2010-05-06
  - Algorithm for sharpness detection improved. Fine structures are better detectable than before, especially if a filter frame size >1 is used.
  - Preview of Rotation angles close to 90° or 270° (subroutine 'Enhance') is now correct.
   
• 2010-04-05
  - New function Divide, which allows to divide the RGB values of marked images by those of the first image in the list. This is useful for some scientific applications.
  - Wipe dust routine removed. The same result can be obtained by other routines.
  - Manual (engl.) updated.
  - Some minor bugs fixed.
   
• 2010-04-04
  - Several algorithms have been changed to obtain more stable and smoother results: The stacking routine now (is a bit slower than so far as it) looks at edges in the maximum black and maximum white extracts as well as colour saturation. Weighted average is not a selectable parameter any more, as it has been integrated into the normal stacking procedure. Low contrast areas are now filled with a more structured background than the pure average used so far.
  - Animated gif images can now be named before saving them.
   
• 2010-03-27
  - Some internal things simplified, some bugs fixed (hologram stacking with maps and overlay display), hopefully no new bugs built in.
   
• 2010-03-20
  - Hologram stacking improved. Furthermore, like with map-base projections, one can now use either the average or a defined background colour for low-contrast areas.
   
• 2010-03-14
  - Map-based 3-D views improved again. One can now use either the average or a defined background colour for low-contrast areas.
   
• 2010-03-09
  - Map-based 3-D views improved. Just try a 360° rotation around the x- or y-axis , and you'll get a much sharper result than before.
   
• 2010-03-07
  - Perfect stacking parameters can now be found faster: Results for new values/settings for 'Minimum contrast', 'Smoothing' and 'Auto-enhancement' are now displayed in a second, without reading the image stack again.
  - Results of 3-D images with seam are calculated a bit faster than before, too.
   
• 2010-03-05
  - Stacking algorithm improved -> faster, smaller, better...
   
• 2010-02-26
  - Bugs removed that occurred when Scale bar or Text were positioned on images at zoom values different from 100%.
   
• 2010-02-24
  - Transitions between sharp and averaged areas are now smoothed. This gives much better looking stacking results!
   
• 2010-02-20
  - New algorithm for Focus stacking gives better results. Gaps of low contrast between sharp areas are filled by a new method. This allows to use higher values for 'Minimum contrast' if the 'Smooth 2-D map' option is used.
  - Little bug in Crop selection removed.
   
• 2010-02-13
  - PICOLAY parameters and Batch jobs can be saved to (or loaded from) a text file called 'PICOLAYparams.txt' (in the current image directory). This function is available in File menue and allows to start batch jobs to run series of different routines with series of different parameters.
  - 3-D view now with virtual perspective. Free rotations of objects was done already by PICOLAY. So far the size of structures was kept as found in the original images. Now a (central) perspective can be added showing parts in the foreground bigger (e.g. 5 or 10 %) than the those in the background. This gives a more natural impression.
  - English Manual updated.
   
• 2010-02-01
  - Smooth option within sharpness-based stacking now gives softer transitions between sharp and background zones.
  -Weighted average slightly improved.
  -Hologram stacking slightly improved.
   
• 2010-01-25
  - Displacement correction of x- and y-positions improved. PICOLAY is now better suited for use with z-stacks generated with stereo microscopes. One click (F6) generates an aligned stack (saved under xy#...bmp).
   
• 2010-01-24
  - 'Flat field correction' and 'White balance' now offer an image-based target colour when activated.
  - Bug fixed that occurred when prior to Flat field correction another routine was run.
  - Manual updated.
  - German manual and German tutorial updated.
   
• 2010-01-17
  - Hologram stacking improved. Bug in colour-based hologram-stacking fixed.
  - Image list handling improved. List window can now be resized.
   
• 2010-01-13
  - New modes of 3D output added. There are now 8 different image formats selectable with a single click:
  • Cyan-red overlay = anaglyph image
  • Two separated images [R] and [L] (showing right- and left-eye view)
  • [RL] = right-left combined (for cross viewing)
  • [RLR] = right-left-right (shows convex and concave image)
  • [LR] = left-right combined (for parallel viewing)
  • [LRL] = left-right-left (shows convex and concave image)
  • [RLLR] = panel with 4 half-sized images (shows convex and concave image)
  • Rocking gif: generates animated gif file rocking by the viewing angle.
    (Although the animated file is saved correctly, rocking is displayed only once, but not if you click on the filename in the list.)
  
  
• 2010-01-10
  - Hologram stacking improved. Pixels to be displayed have to possess higher contrast than their neighbours in the previous or next layers. This gives results with increased sharpness.
   
• 2009-12-18
  - Bug concerning automatic file name generation fixed.
   
• 2009-12-04
  - Stacking algorithm improved, now analyses RGB channels separately instead of grey values averaged from them.
   
• 2009-11-27
  - New shortcuts for image list operations.
  - Minor bugs removed.
   
• 2009-11-12
  - Map smothing improved.
  - File names generated for 3D-views are now giving more of the used parameters.
   
• 2009-11-05
  - Image handling improved (hopefully no new bugs ...).
   
• 2009-10-31
  - Hologram stacking improved (interpolation between Z-layers).
  - Image handling improved. PICOLAY now offers to overwrite files beginning with p#, enh#, clip# and slice#, when they were retouched.
   
• 2009-10-25
  - Hologram stacking improved, now generates less noise but is a bit slower than before. Furthermore, slices containing the sharp areas of each frame can be exported.
  - Image handling slightly improved.
   
• 2009-10-21
  - Image handling and zoom functions improved. Newly opened images are stretched to the window size. Walking through the stack is now performed by clicking on <-- and --> on the image window. One can zoom in ([+] / [-]) without loosing the central postion of the window.
  - Blur function added under mouse tools.
  - Some minor bugs fixed.
   
• 2009-10-11
  - The last 'improvement' (Image rotation) had to be bug-fixed - sorry! I appreciate any messages about routines that are obviously faulty.
   
• 2009-10-09
  - Image rotation (subroutine of 'Enhance image') improved. Rotation around 90, 180 and 270 degrees is now faster, and the images dimensions (width and height) are adapted.
   
• 2009-10-07
  - Bug-fix for 'JPEG error #36' restored. PICOLAY can now handle large jpg files again. Sorry to those who downloaded the program during the last 5 days.
   
• 2009-09-23
  - Stacking algorithm improved, some internal simplifications.
   
• 2009-09-21
  English & Deutsches Tutorial update
   
• 2009-09-19
  New Tutorial (engl.), new Demo video clip
   
• 2009-09-13
  Die Anleitung auf DEUTSCH wurde aktualisiert. German Manual updated.
   
• 2009-09-08
  The Manual (engl.) was updated .
   
• 2009-09-05
  - New progress window added. Incremental numbers indicate program activity. One can terminate ongoing operations (which might leave some crazy results!)
  - Text and scale bars can now be added to all marked images at the same position.
   
• 2009-09-01
  - Stacking algorithm improved. Internal simplifications.
  - 'Weighted average' is now set as standard stacking procedure (Start by pressing F1).
  - Alignment of x- and y-positions can now generate jpg and gif files (if selected under options). However bmp remains the recommended file type as the results will be further processed.
   
• 2009-08-29
  - New function: Write text on images . This is achieved under Mouse functions. Just select 'Insert text', edit your text in the new little window and place it on the image by a simple click. You can select a font, colour and size before, and write horizontally as well vertically. The 'undo' function is enabled as well.
  - The insert of a scale bar has been simplified, too. This is now done by similar steps as adding text under Mouse functions. Still you have to calculate the length by yourself. One can select any colour, and add it by a click, 'undo' implemented as well.
   
• 2009-08-28
  - New function: Insert intermediate images in the Image list menue. This generates additional images (averaged from 1+2, 2+3 ...) and is useful to get smooth transitions in slide shows and if you are going to make 3-D projections with a rather low number of layers in your stack.
  - New function: Seam also usable for Hologram stacking. This gives smoother results, however with less details.
  - New function: The hologram procedure stretches pixels in z direction. This avoids gaps if you turn your 3-D projections to angles around 90°. Before, there were only thin lines visible in that case.
  - Slide show bug removed.
   
• 2009-08-25
  - Stacking algorithm slightly improved. Weigthed average function significantly improved.
   
• 2009-08-21
  - Ring artefact showing up after 'undo' during cloning removed..
   
• 2009-08-20
  - Stacking algorithm slightly improved.
  - The viewing angle of 3-D images can now be set to broken numbers. Please use integers for the rotation angles as before.
  - Wrong naming in the image list (b#b#... instead of b#...) corrected.
   
• 2009-08-18
  - Minor corrections of PICOLAY.
  - New page added under Examples: The 3-D capacities are demonstrated in detail...
   
• 2009-08-16
  - PICOLAY has got a new stacking algorithm. Instead of using filters (little squares) of different size to detect sharp areas, the images are now resized to smaller dimensions, before they are analysed (with a small filter) to detect large structures. In a second round the original size is analysed in order to detect fine structures. This is a bit similar to the pyramid algorithm. However, I got better (and faster) results when I applied this simple two-step procedure.
  Smooth structures without details are now better detected. Filter frame '2' or '5' now means: Divide width and height by a factor of 2 or 5 for the detection of large structures. The minimum contrast now needs lower values than before. This makes it easier to find the perfect stacking parameters.
   
• 2009-08-12
  - New function added: 'Clear list' (under Image list). I became aware that users had tried to clear the list by deleting all marked files from disk...
   
• 2009-08-07
  - Some bugs eliminated (hopefully not new ones built in...)
   
• 2009-08-04
  - PICOLAY now allows to generate animated gif files by means of a simple click. First start the slide show by pressing the F12-key. This will display all marked images in the list with the interval set under 'Options | Set image parameters'. (Here one also can set whether the show goes backwards or starts from the beginning when the end of the list is reached.) Stop the slide show by clicking in the list or in the image window. Generate the file 'animated.gif' by clicking on 'Image list | Generate animated gif image'. That's it. Your slide show is brought to a format that can be displayed by any browser without the requirement of special drivers. Please regard: Large pictures and many of them will require much disk space and download time...
  
  - The retouching mouse functions were improved. Rings indicate position and brush width of the mouse tool. The effects are strongest in the middle and fade out at the edges of the line. One can now easily perform manual stacking: Let the program do the stacking routine first. This will bring the result (and hidden depth map) to the (right) result window. Then activate 'Mouse function | Clone to result window' in the image window at the left. Click on each of the original images in the list, and move the mouse (with the left button pressed down) over areas that should be cloned to the stacked result. The cloned areas will automatically be written into the depth map to allow correct 3-D projection later on.
  
  - The English manual (also readable within PICOLAY under 'Help | Manual') was updated.
   

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