Views Preferences

The Views preferences, shown below, determine the appearance of the workspace, the default units and significant digits of measurements, the language of the application, and the default scene view. Choose Views in the Preferences dialog to see the Views preferences, shown below.

Views preferences

You can select the following the Views preferences:

Views preferences options
	Description
Significant digits for measurements	Determines how many decimal places are displayed for measurements. Enter a new value in the edit box or select a value with the Up and Down arrows.
Current view border size	Determines the size, in screen percentage, of the border applied to a view to indicate that it is selected. At a value of 0, no border will be visible. Enter a new value in the edit box or select a value with the Up and Down arrows. You can also change the color of the border, if required. See Selecting the Colors Preferences.
Scene separators size	Determines the size, in pixels, of the borders separating scenes in the workspace. At a value of 0, no border is shown. Enter a new value in the edit box or select a value with the Up and Down arrows. You can also change the color of the scene separators, if required. See Selecting the Colors Preferences.
View separators size	Determines the size, in pixels, of the borders separating views within a scene. At a value of 0, no border is shown. Enter a new value in the edit box or select a value with the Up and Down arrows. You can also change the color of the view separators, if required. See Selecting the Colors Preferences.
Default unit	Determines the default unit displayed for measurements. Enter the required unit or select a unit in the drop-down menu.
Default angle unit	Determines the default unit displayed for angles — degrees or radians. Select the required unit in the drop-down menu.
Language	Determines the language of the application. Note that changes to this preference will only be effective when the application is restarted. Select the required language in the drop-down menu to change.
Default scene view	Determines the scene view that appears by default in the workspace. For example, when you start the application, create a new session, or add a new scene to the workspace. See Scenes and Views for information about the different scene layouts and views that are available. Select the required scene view in the drop-down menu to change.

Selecting the Colors Preferences

The Colors preferences determine the color of text annotations, borders, and annotations, as well as the background color of views. Choose Views | Colors in the Preferences dialog to view the Color preferences, shown below.

Colors preferences

Click the color swatch associated with any of the available items and then choose a new color in the Color dialog, if required (see Choosing Colors).

Colors preferences options
	Description
Background	3D views… Determines the background color, gradient, or background image applied to 3D views. Backgrounds can be selected in the 3D Views Background Color dialog, shown below. Do the following to change the background color or gradient of 3D views: Click the 3D views Set button. The 3D Views Background Color dialog appears. Select a mode — Uniform, Gradient linear, or Gradient radial — in the Mode box. If you selected Uniform as the mode, click inside the Color 1 box and then choose a new color in the Color dialog. If you selected Gradient linear as the mode, you can pick an angle for the gradient as well as new colors for Color 1 and Color 2. Click the Swap button to reverse the color selection. If you selected Gradient radial as the mode, you can pick new colors for Color 1 and Color 2. Click the Swap button to reverse the color selection. Click OK to close the 3D Views Background Color dialog. Do the following to choose an image file as the background for 3D views: Click the 3D views Set button. The 3D Views Background Color dialog appears. Select Bitmap in the Mode box and click the Import button. Choose the required image file in the Select Image dialog and then click the Open button. Image files can be in the PNG, BMP, or JPG file format. Click OK to close the 3D Views Background Color dialog. 2D views… Determines the background color applied to 2D views. Do the following to change the background color of 2D views: Click the 2D Views Color box and then choose a new color in the Color dialog.
General colors	Determines color of scene and views separators, clip lines, measurements, histograms, and other items. Text annotations… Determines the color of the text annotations. Text annotations shadow… Determines the color of shadows drawn under text annotations. You must select the Draw text annotations shadow option at the bottom of the dialog to show shadows for the text annotations. Highlight…. Determines the color applied to the border of selected objects. Current view border… Determines the color of the border applied to a view within a scene to indicate that it is selected. See Selecting the Views Preferences for information about selecting a border size. Scene separators… Determines the color of the borders separating scenes in the workspace. See Selecting the Views Preferences for information about selecting a border size. View separators… Determines the color of the borders separating views within a scene. See Selecting the Views Preferences for information about selecting a border size. Range selection… Determines the highlight color applied to intensity range selections made in the Range box on the ROI Tools panel (see Thresholding).
Clip box	Determines the colors for selected and unselected Clip boxes, as well as for the axis arrows and tick marks associated with Clip boxes. Selected… Determines the color of selected Clip boxes. Unselected… Determines the color of unselected Clip boxes. X axis… Determines the color of X axis arrow. Y axis… Determines the color of Y axis arrow. Z axis… Determines the color of Z axis arrow. Ticks color… Determines the color of the graduated tick marks. Plane color… Determines the color of the selected plane of a Clip box.
Shape lines	Lets you select the colors for selected and unselected shape lines.
MPR planes	Determines the color that identifies each 2D plane in the scene views. MPR plane colors are also applied to the 3D Cursor and to visual planes in 3D views.
Measurements and other annotations	Determines the color of measurements, such as rulers, angles, regions, and points, as well as other annotations, such as the scale bar. Normal… Determines the default color of measurements and non-text annotations. Selected… Determines the color of selected measurements and non-text annotations. Selected control points… Determines the color of the currently active control point of a measurement. Text… Determines the color of text associated with measurements and other annotations. Text shadow…. Determines the color of shadows drawn under the text associated with measurements and other annotations. You must select the Draw other annotations text shadow option at the bottom of the dialog to show shadows. Scale bar… Lets you choose the color of the floating scale bar in 2D views.
Histograms	Determines the colors associated with histograms, for example in the Window Leveling panel and Intensity Profile dialog. Background… Determines the background color of histograms. Bins… Determines the color of the bins within histograms. Bin edges… Determines the color of bin edges. Range… Determines the color of the selected range window that appears over histograms. Labels… Lets you choose the color of the labels that appear in histograms.
Image processing	Determines the colors associated with the Image Processing panel. Selected filter… Determines the color applied to the border of a filter box when it is selected.
DICOM	Determines the color of items listed in the Manage DICOM Images dialog and Attributes dialog. DICOM browser lists' normal items… Determines the font color of read items listed in the Manage DICOM Images dialog. DICOM browser lists' unread items… Determines the font color of unread items listed in the Manage DICOM Images dialog. DICOM browser lists' series that contain sub-series… Determines the font color of items in the Manage DICOM Images dialog that contain sub-series. A DICOM series is an image or a group of images acquired from a single modality during a single encounter. A sub-series can be defined as a series in which a specified field has more than one discreet value. For example, a series that has two different Echo numbers may be two different acquisitions that were mistakenly stored together. Attribute browser's list items that are sequences… Determines the font color of data fields that contain multiple data elements in the DICOM Attributes dialog. The DICOM standard allows an attribute to contain multiple data elements. This means that the value of a data element may contain a number of items. Data elements that contain nested items are called Sequences and a single element that is nested within a sequence is called a Sequence Item.
Draw text annotations shadow	If selected, shadows will appear under text annotations.
Draw other annotations text shadow	If selected, shadows will appear under text associated with measurements and other annotations.
ROI sequential colors	Allows you to select the color table that will provide the sequential colors assigned automatically to new regions of interest.

Selecting the Fonts Preferences

The Fonts preferences determine the appearance of text annotations and text associated with measurements and other annotations. Choose Views | Fonts in the Preferences dialog to view the Fonts preferences, shown below.

Fonts preferences

Fonts preferences options
	Description
Text annotations	Determines the font face and size of the text annotations that appear in 2D and 3D views. Do the following to adjust the font properties of text annotations: Select a font face in the Font drop-down menu. Select a font size in the Font size (in screen percentage) edit box. Font sizes are always relative to the resolution of views in the workspace. Select a minimum font size, which determines how small text annotations can decrease when windows are resized, in the Minimum font size (in points) edit box.
Other annotations	Determines the font face and size of text associated with measurements and other annotations. Do the following to adjust the font properties of other annotations: Choose a font face in the Font drop-down menu. Select a font size in the Font size (in screen percentage) edit box. Font sizes are always relative to the resolution of views in the workspace Select a minimum font size, which determines how small text annotations can decrease when windows are resized, in the Minimum font size (in points) edit box.

Selecting the 2D Settings Preferences

The 2D Settings preferences allow you to configure the appearance of 2D views and the preferences related to the Zoom and Cine tools. Choose Views | 2D Settings in the Preferences dialog to view the 2D Settings preferences, shown below.

2D Settings preferences

2D Settings preferences options
	Description
Interpolation	Determines the interpolation applied to images in 2D views. Nearest… Is the most basic interpolation scheme and only considers one pixel when filtering. Linear… Considers the closest 2x2 neighborhood and then takes a weighted average of these 4 pixels to arrive at its final interpolated value. Will result in smoother looking images than Nearest.
Show text annotations	If selected, text annotations will be shown in 2D and 3D views by default.
Show scale bar	If selected, a floating scale bar will appear in 2D views by default (see Scale Bar).
Show legend	If selected, legends will appear in 2D and 3D views be default (see Legends). You can also choose an initial orientation for legends — Horizontal or Vertical.
LOD in 2D	If selected, the level of detail for 2D views may be diminished during movement. In general, selecting this option will increase speed during manipulations.
Zoom at cursor position	If selected, zooming will be implemented at the current position of the mouse cursor. This allows you to easily zoom on a given feature without first shifting the image to the center of the view. If not selected, zooming is implemented from the center of the view.
Cine increment	Determines how stacking through displays in Slab mode is implemented (see Viewing Images in Slab Mode). Single image… Stacks through all slices in the dataset. Half slab… Stacks through half the thickness value selected for slice integration. Full slab… Stacks through the full thickness value selected for slice integration.
Default 2D view orientations	Determines the default orientation — Ascending or Descending — for the X, Y, and Z axes.
3D cursor	Determines the appearance of the 3D cursor that appears in MPR views in Track mode. Line thickness… Determines the line thickness of the 3D cursor crosshair, as a screen percentage. Middle empty portion… Determines the size of the space at the center of the 3D crosshair, as a screen percentage.
Mesh contour thickness	Determines the thickness of mesh contour lines, as a screen percentage.

Selecting the 3D Settings Preferences

The 3D Settings preferences let you select a default projection mode for 3D views. Choose Views | 3D Settings in the Preferences dialog to view the 3D Settings preferences, shown below.

3D Settings preferences

3D Settings preferences options
	Description
Show axis indicator	Lets you choose the default appearance of the Axis Indicator (see Axis Indicator). Cube… If selected, the Axis Appearance will appear as a cube. Arrows… If selected, the Axis Appearance will appear as a series of three interconnected arrows. None… If selected, the Axis Appearance will not be shown. Axis Indicator size… Determines the size, in screen percentage, of the Axis Indicator. Enter a new value in the edit box to change the default size.
Default preset	Lets you choose a default 3D preset that will be applied to renderings (see Working with 3D Presets). Note You should select the 3D preset that is the most suitable for your typical data as the default setting.
Default to orthographic projection mode	If selected, 3D scene views will appear in Orthographic Projection mode by default (see Perspective and Orthographic Projection Modes). Show scale bar by default… If selected, the scale bar will be shown by default in Orthographic projections.
Cubic interpolation	If selected, cubic interpolation will be applied by default to 3D scene views.
Clip box	Lets you configure the default settings for the clip box, as follows: Show grid lines… If selected, the grid lines will appear on clip boxes. Show border… If selected, borders will appear on clip boxes. Show axes… If selected, identified axes will appear on clip boxes. Show ticks… If selected, graduated "tick marks" will appear on clip boxes. Axis size… Lets you choose the thickness, in screen percentage, of the axis lines. Do the following to adjust the font properties of tick marks: Select a font face in the Font drop-down menu. Select a font size in the Font size (in screen percentage) edit box. Font sizes are relative to the resolution of views in the workspace. Select a minimum font size, which determines how small text can decrease when windows are resized, in the Minimum font size (in points) spin box.

Selecting the Annotations Preferences

The Annotations preferences determine the thickness of markers such as rulers, angles, and paths, as well as the mouse grab tolerance. Choose Views | Annotations in the Preferences dialog to open the Annotations preferences, shown below.

Annotations preferences

Annotations preferences options
	Description
Line thickness	Determines the thickness of non-text annotations, such as lines, angles, and so on in 2D and 3D views, as a screen percentage.
Legend outline thickness	Determines the thickness of legend outlines, as a screen percentage.
Mouse grab tolerance (in pixels)	Determines the sensitivity of the mouse around object boundaries. The smaller the number, the more accurate you need to be to select an object. For example, a value of 0 means that the mouse needs to be exactly over a line in order to select it. Changing the value to 2 means that if the cursor is 1 or 2 pixels away from the same line you would still be able to select it. Enter a new value in the edit box to modify.